WorldGaming’s Street Fighter V Championship Delivered the Goods
Being an outsider to the hardcore fighting community, I was always intrigued about the culture and wanted to see what top-level play looked like. This past weekend’s Street Fighter V Championship, hosted by WorldGaming and Cineplex in Toronto, showcased players from across the country (street)fighting for a grand prize of $10,000 dollars. The event was full of surprises, epic KO’s, and insane plays from the pro’s competing.
The jam-packed cinema set the tone for a wonderful finale as the tournament came to its last venue, the gorgeous Scotiabank Theatre in downtown Toronto, after months of qualifications. Fans were adorned is Street Fighter apparel cheering on their favorite pros and in-game characters. The cast of 32 players slowly trickled down as the winners of each matchup would progress while the losers could still get a shot at making the finals through a redemption bracket seen below.
The tournament’s structure allowed for crazier comeback stories like that of Phiffe_Dawg on his road to the final, where he eventually lost to Chi-Rithy from Montreal. It turned the ‘loser’ bracket matches into high stakes affairs instead of filler games with no end product, and it seemed like an appropriate format for the tournament. As the player count whittled down, it was clear the crowd started to align themselves with certain pros or certain game characters, with R. Mika being a recurring fighter involved in most of the explosive matches and pro player Chockeh0ld garnering support for the fans.
In between duels the swashbuckling event host kept the crowd alive with giveaways ranging from t-shirts to collector’s editions of the game, Street Fighter quizzes, and an overall energy befitting of a fighting tournament. The production value of the event was top notch with Cineplex’s massive screens overlooking a host of gaming chairs and monitors set up for pro players. And who doesn’t love cosplay?
But the action was center stage, particularly during the play of the tournament as Chun-Li and Ken battled it out to a double K.O. finish seen below inducing a hefty roar from the viewers – with the dancing NPC in the background making an already epic moment even more memorable.
As the tournament was nearing its end, pro player Phiffe seemed to be on-track for an underdog victory as he battled fellow fighter Rebelo, who eventually took third place honors, in a Nash vs Nash contest. Rebelo then switched to Guile, but to no avail as Phiffe’s Nash was too strong to overcome as can be seen below with the final hit.
Heading into the final match between Phiffe and Chi-Rithy, the humorous casters explained that as Phiffe came from the redemption bracket and Chi-Rithy from the winner’s bracket, a three game win for Chi-Rithy would seal the deal. The Montreal pro did not disappoint as he swept Phiffe, who still walked home for $4,000 dollars, in a 3-0 contest that ended with an epic perfect K.O. to become WorldGaming’s Street Fighter V Champion. The crowd put their favourites to the side and congratulated the winner with a raucous applause as Phiffe took the loss honorably.
Tournaments like this one are important and healthy not only for the respective communities surrounding each game but also the wider appeal our industry has. It’s healthy for our young and growing medium, specifically in a Canadian context, and shows a level of dedication conventions or press conferences cannot achieve. WorldGaming’s Street Fighter V tournament was a joy to behold and renewed my love for competition and gaming at large. In the words of Chi-Rithy, “We are all born to play. We are all street fighters!”
A breakdown of the winners:
1st: Henri Oung/Chirithy (Montreal)
Prize: $10,000
2nd: Van Nguyen/Phife_Dawg (Ancaster)
Prize: $4,000
3rd: Matthew Rebelo/Empr Rebelo Ul (Wildcard entry)
Prize: $1,500