Street Fighter V action was on the proverbial fighting menu this past weekend as the Capcom Pro Tour took a stop in the Nordic/Baltic region to host an all-important qualifer for next year's Capcom Cup VIII. Over 50 players from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden competed in the online premier event's opening round on Saturday, setting up a Sunday showdown.
With four players competing in the winner's bracket for the semis and finals, the remaining players competed in the Loser's Bracket with the prevailing player facing the finals winner in the Grand Final for the right to earn a berth in the biggest Street Fighter V tournament in 2022.
The Winner's Final brought together two remarkable competitors -- 00|Phenom from Norway and Sweden's Rikemansbarnet. Based on his past season's performance playing Karin, Phenom was the favored fighter going into match-up against Rikemansbarnet's choice of Menat. And it looked like conventional wisdom would carry the day when 00|Phenom took the finals in 3 straight games.
But Street Fighter V has a habit of taking what you think you know about match-ups and throwing it out the window.
As the loser, Rikemansbarnet dropped to the loser's final where he prevailed against Finland's LoHii and thus earned a rematch with 00|Phenom for the Grand Finals.
Rikemansbarnet clearly spent time regrouping, as he re-emerged with Menat in true fighting form, stymying any hope of a second sweep by taking the first game. Phenom followed up by elevating his Karin gameplay and taking the next two games to be firmly in the driver's seat. However, Rikemansbarnet wasn't to be outdone. With the two competitors pushing each other to the edge, Rikemansbarnet got the upper hand by winning the next two games, winning 3 -2 and forcing a grand finals reset.
For the reset, 00|Phenom surprised the field when he switched out Karin for the hulking Necalli, rolling the dice that despite not playing him consistently in recent years his selection would force Rikemansbarnet to throw out his Menat playbook.
The change-up seemed to have the desired result as 00|Phenom put on a commanding display and took the first game, but Rikemansbarnet regained his rhythm and took the next two. On the brink, 00|Phenom made a Hail Mary play by bringing out Cammy, but it wasn't enough as Rikemansbarnet prevailed 3 games to 1. In doing so, Sweden will be represented in the Capcom Cup VIII where players will compete for the ultimate prize.
Next stop on the Capcom Pro tour is a third trip to Japan for a set of online qualifers for the Asia region on October 30.
To catch more Capcom Pro Tour action, head over to CapcomFighters on Twitch and Youtube.
