Capcom has delivered some fantastic news, which will undoubtedly delight every single person who is part of the Street Fighter franchise and community. A New Challengers Tournament will take place, and it has a very peculiar format. Nephew, iDom, Brian F, and Saint Cola, the four captains, will each train a team of creators at different skill levels. They will seek to clarify what power really means in the context of fighting games. Thus, the official stream at 4 pm on November 7 will be on their channel.
The tourney could be regarded as an event where the pros train the noobs—the pros are the streamers of the next round. However, this is not a new concept, and the Twitter users have been the first to point this out—Japan has been doing the same with events like Crazy Raccoon Cup for quite some time, and the comparisons with the Sajam Slam came along as well. For those who do not know, Sajam is a commentator in the fighting game community (FGC) who set up his own coaching tournament series after Capcom supposedly rejected it. Now Capcom is doing just the opposite, launching a similar version … very aptly timed.
Community reactions have been varied; some are excited, while others are skeptical, especially regarding Saint Cola. One player tweeted, “it is a pleasure to see Saint Cola finally getting his chance for one of these, he is super nice and does a lot of work.” Sounds like that is the general mood—people are looking forward to less-popular creators getting their chance.
Then again, the question remains whether the current events are merely a copy of Sajam’s scheme. One commenter said, “the Sajam slam format was used by reject fight night, and I believe Sajam even said he was okay with other companies running such events.” The other way of looking at things was, “He consistently presented the Slam, but no publisher was willing to support him. In fact, now that he has proved it is worthy, such events will be more probable.” To put it simply, Sajam demonstrated the viability of the concept, and now the big guys are coming in.
Not only captains but also the coaching staff has a rich diversity. There is nephew who is insane when it comes to his Luke. iDom, the very dangerous Laura expert, always keeps us on the edge of our seats. A user commented very simply and directly, “Brian F is back!” along with a hype GIF. And Saint Cola, who is probably the least likely yet the most random choice that everyone wants to hear about.
Besides, the FGC-style chaos is always present in the replies. A user started whining about Modern controls in ranked matches at once: “How about you guys announce that Modern controls wont be on Rank?… Getting tired of fighting them…” Classic FGC—no sooner is a tournament announcement made than balance issues are raised.
The format is certainly the best for creating content. Just imagine the scenario where you pick streamers who are not tournament-level players, then you pair them with pro coaches and see how much they can improve. It is like those cooking competitions where home cooks are mentored by professional chefs but with more fireballs and DP motions.
Moreover, this is not only about competition—growing and learning are the key terms here. “To find the true meaning of strength” is how the tournament organizers expressed it, which sounds philosophically deep for a fighting game competition. However, if you think about it, it does make sense. Strength in fighting games is not just winning—players have to show their skill through improvement, adaptation, and mental toughness.
Nonetheless, some of the gamers raised an accessibility issue regarding the event. A user asked, “Will Capcom-approved creators be allowed in this? Or the teams are already formed?” A suggestion was made: “They should continue to do this throughout the year. It is a great promotion for the game. In fact, I would like to be a part of a team as a competitor not just a creator.” Thus, the demand for making this more inclusive to a broader range of players is quite obvious.
Moreover, the timing could not be better—November will introduce gamers to something new and exciting right at the time when the fall tournaments are ramping up. Additionally, with Street Fighter 6 still a hot topic among gamers, such events can significantly help in maintaining the community’s engagement with the major competitions and interaction among the players.
What a bonus that such activities are gradually becoming common in the FGC alongside streamers coaching the top players. The whole “pro coaches mentoring content creators” format has really caught the viewers’ attention and they find it very entertaining. They get to see the coaches and their teams interacting; some moments could be hilarious while others might be heartwarming.
The FGC can always use fresh air in its tournament scene. To quote one of the players, “Such tournaments are always more fun than the Majors these days.” It is the team spirit and coaching factor that sets it apart and gives it that new feeling as compared to the traditional bracket play.
It is still uncertain whether this will become a regular affair or just another single-instance fun activity. However, given the positive feedback and the success of similar formats in different areas, it is quite probable that we will see more coaching-style tournaments in the future. Moreover, to be frank, the more avenues we have for enjoying fighting games, the merrier!
Thus, the date of November 7 should be marked on the calendar of every fan. The creators’ advancement, the professional captains’ instruction, and the inevitable laugh-out-loud moments when someone unintentionally messes up a combo at the most crucial moment, are just some of the reasons this is going to be a great period for the Street Fighter community. PlayStation and Xbox players can also look forward to the action.
