This event concludes the first competitive season for FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves. There was a pretty long qualification period for The King of Fighters XV (KOF XV). Also, we can witness the resurrection of Samurai Shodown.
SNK Corporation creates absolutely great fighting games, unique and highly respected in the fighting games community (FGC). They are celebrated properly at SNK World Championship 2025! The event is part of DreamHack Atlanta.
When KOF XV was a fresh release, even Arslan Ash praised it, saying the game helps him get better at TEKKEN. FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves (CotW) was extremely hyped, to the level of making the competitors from Capcom excited about the series’ revival. Samurai Shodown is a very special take on the sub-genre of bloody fights, filled with traditional Japanese aesthetics.
With that being said, it is still hard not to notice that the SNK games are somewhat niche. They struggle to break the limits of their loyal player bases. It’s the feature of the FGC: most people have settled within their games and move out only for short explorations.
To step beyond this niche, SNK Corporation cleverly pushes the competitive aspect — in addition to supporting the content additions. SNK World Championship 2025 features a mind-blowing prize pool of $4,1 million! FATAL FURY CotW itself has $2,500,000. With the money from the Esports World Cup, it’s one of the most rewarding fighting games at the moment.
The qualification series attracted many exceptional competitors: even if some of them were on the verge of retirement. The World Championship 2025 Finals reveal the current state of the game and sets plans for the future. The event is also a spectacular fighting games esports show!
How to watch the SNK World Championship 2025 Finals: Stream
Schedule
The event goes on for three days, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1. This period includes the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) matches and the top 32 plus 16 brackets.
SNK World Championship 2025 also features Art of Fighting 3. It's a 2D fighter with 3D elements from 1996. The tournament is unlikely a big thing for the general community, but the fans of retro games can follow it on the official streams.
The detailed steam schedule of the SNK World Championship 2025 Finals is in the image below.
Tournament results at the SNK World Championship 2025 Finals
Similar to other big official finals, such as Capcom Cup and TEKKEN World Tour, this event features condensed competition for a limited number of participants. To be here, players had to win qualifying events, as there was no leaderboard for SNK World Championship 2025. A few people can advance from the LCQs, though.
Final standings
In this section, you’ll find the SNK World Championship 2025 results. The table below highlights the final standings.
Placement | FATAL FURY CotW | KOF XV | Samurai Shodown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | REJECT | Laggia | Comitê Games | Lauyagami | Masaton |
| 2nd | DetonatioN FocusMe | Go1 | Falcons | Xiaohai | Nishinoyu |
| 3rd | T1 | ZJZ | Clan Del Mal | Lokof | REJECT | SCORE |
| 4th | Falcons | Xiaohai | Justice Fighters | KAISER666 | Diablura Gaming | CIPHER |
| 5th–6th | Clan Del Mal | Lokof mi2ha4 | Crazy Racoon | Madkof Sanwa | M' | NICEBALL WATANABE SHACHOU |
| 7th–8th | Dany "El Maza" Falcons | ET | Sanwa | Syounen Falcons | mok | yuu Okkun |
| 9th–12th | Falcons | xyzzy Falcons | AbuOmar Vitality | CientifiKOF Amaterasu Gaming | KojiKOG | NAVI | DarkAngel REJECT | SCORE Lacid Clan Del Mal | RINO | Rance Iwayou XB Fighters | Maki Kanme | Tao |
| 13th–16th | Saishunkan Sol Kumamoto | Nemo Weibo | POONGKO Vitality | K-TOP Koopatj | PAKO Falcons | ET Juan KOF Nemesis | RocklandKyo | BBoySonicX SilvaGames | Didimokof Guppy Geeks Pro Gaming | K2 |
| 17th–24th | CAG Osaka | Fenritti NAVI | DarkAngel Falcons | Kindevu REJECT | SCORE Justice Fighters | KAISER666 Cyborg Falcons | Tamago | Nemesis | SharkUrien Koopatj Chino Funkey GetHypeZone | TheGio Pangma- ADN-KOF ViolentKain daybreak | - |
| 25th–32th | GetHypeZone | TheGio SilvaGames | Didimokof Falcons | mok Weibo | Diaphone MDJS E-Sport | FReZZer Dai Supernova | SoSickNASHFAN Crew EGOISM | Kousei | chawan Falcons | Tamago bubblan Comitê Games | PiterErn T1 | ZJZ Al Qadsiah | Wero Asamiya KoferoHonesto MDJS E-Sport | FReZZer | - |
Samurai Shodown
The announcement about having Samurai Shodown added to the SNK World Championship 2025 came in the middle of the season. It’s certainly a nice surprise! The game continues a legendary series and offers a unique take on bloody fights, very different from Mortal Kombat and the upcoming Invincible VS.
The biggest problem for Samurai Shodown was the unfortunate timing for its release. The 2019 reboot could not have a proper competitive presence due to the pandemic. This World Finals event may not be able to revive Samurai Shodown as a top esports, but the tournament certainly can bring some attention from the casual audience. The game is certainly worth diving in.
Winners semifinals | Winners finals | Grand final |
|---|---|---|
| NICEBALL 0:2 Masaton | Masaton 3:2 SCORE | Masaton 3:2 Nishinoyu |
| SCORE 2:0 WATANABE SHACHOU |
Losers Round 1 | Losers quarterfinals | Losers semifinal | Losers final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nishinoyu 2:0 yuu | NICEBALL 1:2 Nishinoyu | Nishinoyu 2:1 CIPHER | SCORE 0:3 Nishinoyu |
| CIPHER 2:0 Okkun | WATANABE SHACHOU 1:2 CIPHER |
Masaton wins the SNK World Championship 2025 for Samuirai Shodown!
The King of Fighters XV
There is no other game like The King of Fighters! The formula of having three consecutive characters is very different from popular tag-team fighters nowadays. Also, it requires more versatile skills than the traditional 1v1 games.
The King of Fighters XV was the only title at the previous official league, SNK World Championship 2023. Laggia won the event back then, but the player did not qualify for the current one.
As for the notable participants, it is certainly interesting to keep an eye on the following people.
- Xiaohai is arguably the best KOF player of all time. He won KOF XV Evo 2024.
- ViolentKain won Combo Breaker 2024.
- mok was in the top 3 of the previous Finals, and he finished 2nd at KOF XV Evo Japan 2025.
- E.T. won Evo Japan 2025 and Evo 2025 EVO 2025 Extended Lineup.
Winners semifinals | Winners finals | Grand final | Grand final reset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xiaohai 2:0 M' | Xiaohai 3:2 Lokof | Xiaohai 0:3 Lauyagami | Xiaohai 2:3 Lauyagami |
| Lokof 2:0 KAISER666 |
Losers Round 1 | Losers quarterfinals | Losers semifinal | Losers final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madkof 2:0 Syounen | KAISER666 2:0 Madkof | KAISER666 1:2 Lauyagami | Lokof 2:3 Lauyagami |
| Lauyagami 2:1 mok | M' 1:2 Lauyagami |
Lauyagami is the SNK World Championship 2025 winner for The King of Fighters XV!
FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves
Without a doubt, it’s the biggest game of SNK World Championship 2025. FATAL FURY is actually the reason why the circuit was stretched for two years.
The first qualifier happened soon after the game’s release — Xiaohai won Evo Japan 2025. Also, Xiaohai became the FATAL FURY champion at Evo France 2025.
The following season featured experiments with the competitive meta. Some characters clearly dominated the scene, but SNK added more fighters to make the tournament picks more diverse.
Eventually, we witnessed this as GO1 climbed to the top of FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves esports. To qualify for the SNK World Championship 2025 Final, the player won Combo Breaker 2025. GO1 became the Evo 2025 champion and also won the FATAL FURY EWC 2025.
Some other participants to keep an eye on are listed here.
- Yunwu won UFA 2025.
- Fenritti was really strong in the first half of the season. He won the Brussels Challenge Major Edition 2025.
- ET won VSFighting XIII, so this KOF legend competes in FATAL FURY, too.
- Kindevu could not win an event, but he was second in three top tournaments.
Laggia wins his second title
Winners semifinals | Winners finals | Grand final | Grand final reset |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZJZ 3:0 GO1 Hotaru vs Kain | ZJZ 1:3 Laggia Hotaru vs Hotaru | Laggia 1:3 GO1 Hotaru vs Marco | Laggia 3:1 GO1 Hotaru vs Marco |
| Xiaohai 2:3 Laggia Hotaru vs Hotaru |
Losers Round 1 | Losers quarterfinals | Losers semifinal | Losers final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lokof 3:0 ET Marco vs Hokutomaru | Xiaohai 3:2 Lokof Hotaru vs Marco | Xiaohai 2:3 GO1 Hotaru vs Marco | ZJZ 2:3 GO1 Hotaru vs Marco |
| mi2ha4 3:1 Dany "El Maza" Hotaru vs Billy | GO1 3:1 mi2ha4 Marco vs Hotaru |
Laggia is the FATAL FURY: CotW winner at the SNK World Championship 2025. It's the second title for the player, after the victory in 2023 for The King of Fighters XV.
The next circuit feels inevitable! SNK Corporation is expected to reveal details about the World Championship 2026 and possibly the next content season in FATAL FURY: CotW.
