In the cult game Street Fighter, a major tournament took place from March 5 to 8: the Capcom Cup 11. The final was worth one million US dollars. The man of the tournament was a 15-year-old boy from Chile. Blaz is considered the new prodigy in Street Fighter 6. A surprising winning streak took the prodigy all the way to the finals.
What kind of tournament was that? The Capcom Cup 11 was played from March 5 to 8 in Tokyo, Japan.
A total of 48 players participated in the tournament, qualifying through various preliminary tournaments. Over several days, the fighters competed against each other to determine who would seize the crown and the lavish prize money.
The winner was awaited with 1 million US dollars, while the runner-up in the final received 100,000 $. Such a prize distribution is unusual. In other tournaments, the gap between the first and second place is not quite so large.
15-Year-Old Starts Incredible Winning Streak When Back Against the Wall
He was the man of the tournament: The just 15-year-old Chilean Derek Blaz has only been active in the fighter scene since 2023 and had won only a small prize until the tournament.
He faced many experienced players in Tokyo, some of whom had been making their living from Street Fighter for decades. After a loss in the quarter-finals against Kakeru, Blaz had slipped early into the loser’s bracket and was backed against the wall: any loss would mean his immediate elimination.
But unexpectedly, Blaz managed to eliminate 3 opponents in a row until the big names awaited him.
Next, he had to face Angry Bird, a fighter from Jordan who has been active since 2016. But Blaz actually managed to defeat him 3-0.
Next in line was Leshar: the 25-year-old Japanese has been a professional in Street Fighter for 6 years, but Blaz was also able to clear him out with 3-0. A sensation was brewing.
Now the young Chilean had worked his way up to the finals and met his final opponent, the 27-year-old Japanese Kakeru, who has earned his living from Street Fighter for 10 years and has already pocketed 450,000 $ in prize money. Kakeru was also the one who had defeated Blaz in the quarter-finals with 3-0 and sent him to the loser’s bracket.
For the 15-year-old Chilean, this was the big chance to win the massive prize of 1 million US dollars with one match.
But after 15 minutes, he ultimately had to succumb to the 12 years older Kakeru with 1-3 and went home with 100,000 $, while Kakeru celebrated in front of the home crowd in Tokyo and breathed a sigh of relief.
Despite everything, Blaz impressed and surprised many. There is a consensus that it was one of the strongest eSports performances by such a young player. The absolute legend in Street Fighter, whom many young players look up to, is Daigo, who still competes successfully at over 40: Street Fighter: Pro was beaten as a 13-year-old because he was too good – that shaped him