At the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ), which ended on the morning of February 14, 19-year-old Zhen (aka Rou, Murameat) from Chinese mainland defeated Japan's top pitching character player Kichipa 3-1 in the finals and successfully advanced to the 9th Capcom Cup!
The LCQ officially kicked off at 4 a.m. Beijing time on February 13 and lasted for two days. On the first match day, Zhen met EVO 2018 champion Problem X in the group winner final.
After arriving at the match point first, Zhen was overturned by Problem X's Alex to make it 1-1. The two sides then played in the final game and fought to the double match point. In the end, Zhen played calmly and advanced to the round of 16 as the winner.
As early as the 2021 Chinese mainland qualifiers, Zhen shouted Problem X from the air, hoping that Problem X would teach him the role of M. Bison.
They meet 2 years later in the LCQ arena, but instead of choosing Byson for the Civil War, Problem X chooses to use Alex. Problem X was ultimately defeated by the young player's Byson. Now, Zhen's pre-match declaration in 2021 is quite interesting.
On the second matchday, the round of 16 to the final, Zhen met Europe's top Oro player Broski in the first round. Hong Kong's top player Hotdog29 said in a live broadcast before the game that although Byson did not lose to Euro in the situation, Broski's Euro proficiency is high, and with Problem X to sparring him, Zhen wants to defeat Broski has a certain difficulty.
But in fact, Zhen did not panic when facing Broski, and Broski did not have many opportunities to show the scariest side of Euro. After the two sides were 1-1, Zhen played two consecutive small games in the third game to advance to the top 8 winners' bracket.
After solving Problem X and Broski in quick succession in the group stage and 16-8, the winning scales seemed to start tilting in Zhen's favor. The tournament started in the round of 8 for BO5, and Zhen met Capcom Cup 2018 champion Gachikun in the round of 8 opener.
From this one, the score is no longer chasing me like before, but there is a one-sided crush. Zhen beat Gachikun and Japan's strongest Urien player Shuto into the loser's bracket by a score of 3-1, quietly waiting for his challenger in the finals.
In the final finals, Kichipa struggled to make it from the losers' bracket. Kichipa switched to Zangief after using Alex in the first game to no avail, scoring 1 point. But Sangieff's miracle didn't last, and Zhen then won two consecutive games to win easily and qualify for the Capcom Cup.
Due to the format reform of the 2022 season, a number of high-profile players failed to qualify for the promotion, resulting in the difficulty of this LCQ being hellish.
Well-known players such as Xian, Tokido, and Gachikun were eliminated in this LCQ. And Zhen stood out from more than 200 contestants, which is not easy.
The 19-year-old's composure in the race made his journey to victory even more legendary.
With Zhen's promotion, three of the best young players in the Street Fighter Division of BLG Esports Club, who are also the strongest in Chinese mainland, will gather on the Capcom Cup main stage to compete for higher rankings and even championships!
The three youngsters born in Gen Z will represent Chinese mainland in the Capcom Cup, the crowning hall of the Street Fighter series. Each of their next matches will add a strong mark to the history of Chinese fighting games, and will also bring another impact to the world fighting game circle!
The Capcom Cup will officially start on February 15 at 4 a.m. Beijing time! Vxbao, DCQ, Zhen are in Groups C, F, and G, respectively.
The group stage lasts for three days, with a single round robin of BO3, and the top 2 players will be awarded a place to advance to the round of 16.
DCQ will also represent UYU in the Street Fighter League World Championship 2022 on February 18, Beijing time, competing with two representative teams in Japan and Europe for the final championship.
Although fighting games are niche, we still don't give up, we still love, work hard and continue to invest. I hope that the results will live up to the love and dedication of this group of young people, and I hope that they can achieve their ideal results in the Capcom Cup!