Photo Credit: Robert Paul - @TEMPUSROB

The Top 6 for Street Fighter 6 is significant for many reasons. It is the largest tournament in both Street Fighter and Evo history, with 7,083 players. Evo 2023 is also the first Offline Premiere Event in Capcom Pro Tour 2023. History was made tonight, and it is all because of you, the players, the volunteers, and the viewers who made this happen.

AngryBird and Kakeru had an incredible bout, each with two games and a round the players were neck and neck. AngryBird got the burnout on Kakeru and sealed the set. By the time his first set in Top 6 ended against Haitani, Punk had only lost two rounds throughout Evo 2023. 

Kakeru and Tokido faced off in a solid set. During the second to last round, Tokido broke through their burnout and returned it to Kakeru, finishing with a Critical Art. Solidifying their victory, Tokido ended the set with an incredible reaction you’ve got to see to believe.

Haitani’s Chun-Li and MenaRD’s Luke continued the Losers Quarter-Finals. While there were many moments where MenaRD was on the brink of KO, they came back for the win. 

AngryBird vs. Punk was a Winners Finals to go down in history. AngryBird took the first game of the tournament off of Punk. Just whenever it seemed like AngryBird had a guaranteed victory, Punk came back and tied things 2-2. AngryBird didn’t take too kindly to that and started swinging, quickly defeating Punk for the final game, ending things 3-2 and earning his spot in Grand Finals.

MenaRD benched Luke and brought out Blanka to take on Tokido’s Ken, earning multiple Perfect KOs. Still, things were mostly even throughout the match, with each player taking off a round. Words alone don’t do this set justice. The unbelievable game of tug-of-war ended when MenaRD expertly broke through the Drive Impact to join Punk in the Losers Finals.

Punk started strong against MenaRD, earning two games, and victory seemed assured. MenaRD turned the tables ending the set 3-2. MenaRD joined AngryBird in the Grand Finals and the last match of Evo 2023.

MenaRD rolled in strong with Blanka, earning the first game quickly. AngryBird returned in kind, tying the score with an aggressive onslaught with Ken. Right before taking things 2-1, it seemed like MenaRD had the win in the bag, but AngryBird denied that future. In the last game, MenaRD brought Luke back onto the stage to even the score, 2-2. Burnout was all over in round one of the fifth game. It was a pure fistfight. In the end, MenaRD took the set 3-2 to bring Street Fighter 6 at Evo 2023 to a reset!

If you thought the first match was intense, the Grand Finals after the reset was on an entirely different level. The two players pulled out all the stops, with AngryBird taking the first round. Unfortunately, MenaRD’s wireless controller disconnected, but they continued the game without penalty. Interestingly, MenaRD’s Blanka returned to try to mix things back up after a successful run with Luke. For game four, MenaRD did switch back to Luke to put the pressure back on AngryBird. The pressure was on, and AngryBird brought the heat back to MenaRD, ending the 7,083-player tournament, earning a spot at Capcom Cup X, and becoming the first-ever Street Fighter 6 Evo Champion!
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Final Standings for Evo 2023.

1. NASR|AngryBird

2. Bandits MenaRD

3. FLY Punk

4. ROHTO Z! Tokido

5. IBUSHIGIN Kakeru

5. RC HAITANI

View full results at start.gg.

Check out the entire Street Fighter 6 Top 6 and the rest of the Evo 2023 broadcast on our YouTube channel!

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Thank you all for making Evo 2023 unforgettable. Street Fighter 6 is off to a phenomenal start. We can’t wait to see where you all take this title. The upcoming Offline Premiere Events for the Capcom Pro Tour are in Singapore, 10/20-10/22, and France, 11/3-11/5. Premiere Event winners get qualified for the Capcom Cup. 18 players will join from online premieres, three from offline premieres, 26 from World Warrior Pro Tour events, and one from the Last Chance Qualifier, equaling a total of 48 players.