By Sagar V. Mankar Chinese player Xiao Hai emerged victorious in the Street Fighter 6 tournament at the Esports World Cup 2024, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this Sunday.
The event featured 32 top players from around the world, and 35-year-old Xiao Hai proved his dominance by defeating Kawano 5-2 in the grand final.
The tournament saw intense competition, with many well-known players, such as Punk and Tokido, being eliminated early.
By Sunday, the top 8 players faced off in first-to-5 matches, culminating in the thrilling grand final between Xiao Hai and Kawano.
Xiao Hai, using M. Bison, secured the title by overcoming Kawano’s Akuma with a convincing performance.
Xiao Hai’s Road to Victory
Widely regarded as the best King of Fighters player, Xiao Hai has also been a top contender in Street Fighter since 2012.
Despite being 35 years old, a decade older than his grand final opponent Kawano, Xiao Hai demonstrated incredible skill and composure.
Xiao Hai dominated Group D with a 2-0 record, but after a second-place finish to Ryukichi in the second round’s group stage, he truly came alive in the playoffs.
In the round of eight (quarterfinal), Xiao Hai narrowly defeated Hikaru “Hikaru” Nakatani 5-4, and then he took down Tsunehiro “gachikun” Kanamori 5-3 in the semifinals.
In the grand finals, Xiao Hai only dropped two rounds to Kawano, securing his place at the top.
Prize Distribution for Street Fighter 6 at EWC 2024
Xiao Hai’s victory earned him a staggering $300,000 from the $1,000,000 prize pool, along with 1,000 EWC Club Points.
- 1st place: $300,000 – Xiao Hai
- 2nd place: $140,000 – Kawano
- 3rd-4th place: $75,000 – Tachikawa and gachikun
- 5th-8th place: $45,000 – Higuchi, AngryBird, Ryukichi, and Hikaru
- 9th-12th place: $20,000
- 13th-16th place: $12,500
- 17th-24th place: $7,500
- 25th-32nd place: $5,000
Tournament Structure
The tournament followed a three-phase structure. In the first phase, players competed in double-elimination groups, with matches played in a best-of-three format. The top performers moved on to the second phase, which followed the same structure.
The final phase featured the top eight players in single-elimination, best-of-five matches.
Viewership Stats
The Street Fighter 6 event at EWC 2024 was a hit with fans, peaking at 154,175 viewers during the final match.
The tournament drew a total viewership of 2.2 million, with an average of 93,000 viewers over 24 hours of airtime, according to Esports Charts.
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