The level of competition here is supported by the general glory of winning a Capcom Cup and by the impressive prize money: $1,000,000 for the winner. However, the event is somewhat shadowed by a big controversy: around the pay-to-watch stream.
Capcom Cup 12 concludes a long, competitive journey of the Capcom Pro Tour 2025 circuit. We witnessed many amazing Street Fighter 6 (SF6) esports tournaments, as the best players in the world battled for qualification spots. Now, it’s time to enjoy the ultimate showdown!
The single-player competition is accompanied by the team-based Street Fighter League World Championship 2025. Three top teams from different regions treat the viewers to a big series of explosive fights.
As a cherry on top, the fighting games community (FGC) expects to receive a fresh announcement from Capcom — specifically about the Year 4 characters in SF6.
How to watch Capcom Cup 12: Pay to watch the final stream
This year, Capcom rolls out a controversial experiment in the broadcast of fighting games esports events. You need to buy a virtual ticket to watch the final part of Capcom Cup 12.
- Matches that happen from March 11 to March 12 are streamed on YouTube and Twitch for free.
- The live stream of the Top 16 to Final phase of Capcom Cup 12 is available with paid tickets via the SPWN website.
- The top 16 brackets are streamed in the Battle Hub within Street Fighter 6, for free. Reportedly, this option comes with no commentary.
- Re-stream of the final matches happens on March 29 for free on the official channels.
The community is not happy about this decision by Capcom, with quite a few people calling for a boycott of the paid stream to not motivate other tournament organizers to do the same.
Format and schedule of Capcom Cup 12
The event happens from March 11 to March 14. All the Capcom Cup 12 live streams start at 11 a.m. JST / 3 a.m CET / 10 p.m. ET (on the previous date).
- The first Group Stage features 12 groups with four players in each. Group winners advance to the top 16 playoffs. Runners-up have another chance in the second Group Stage.
- Four additional playoff spots go to group winners in the second stage: four groups with three players in each.
- The top 16 playoffs are single-elimination brackets. It’s the only tournament phase with first-to-five (Ft5) matches during Capcom Cup 12.
Group Stage 1: Seeding
The image below highlights player seeding in the initial groups.
The following players qualified for the top 16 at Capcom Cup 12 on Day 1.
- Blaz from Group A (Sagat)
- Fuudo from Group B (Ed)
- Big Bird from Group C (Rashid)
- Sahara from Group D (Ed)
- Dual Kevin from Group E (Rashid)
- Momochi from Group F (Ed)
- Vxbao from Group G (M. Bison, Ed)
- Leshar from Group H (Ed)
- Higuchi from Group I (Guile)
- Micky from Group J (Mai)
- Kilzyou from Group K (Mai)
- Itabashi Zangief from Group K (Zangief)
Phase 2: Last-chance groups
Here you’ll find information about the four groups in Phase 2 of Capcom Cup 12.
Players who compete in this tournament stage are runners-up in the initial groups.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|
| MenaRD (Blanka), 2-0 | kincho (Terry), 2-0 | Xerna (Mai), 2-0 | Chris Tatarian (Ken), 2-0 |
| Bravery (Cammy), 1-1 | shaka22 (Dhalsim), 1-1 | Ryukichi (Mai), 1-1 | lllRaihanlll (Elena), 1-1 |
| Juicyjoe (JP), 0-2 | YONANGEL (JP), 0-2 | NotPedro (Ken), 0-2 | JAK (Juri), 0-2 |
- MenaRD, kincho, Xerna, Chris Tatarian — these players qualified for the playoffs at Capcom Cup 12.
Capcom Cup 12 Playoffs: Brackets and results
The final brackets of Capcom Cup 12 leave the participants no second chance. One loss means elimination, but the matches are under an extended format.
Top 16 to top 8
| Round 1 | To the top 8 |
|---|---|
| Blaz 5:1 Chris Tatarian Sagat vs Ken | Blaz |
| Fuudo 5:2 Big Bird Ed vs Rashid | Fuudo |
| Sahara 5:0 Xerna Ed vs Mai | Sahara |
| Dual Kevin 5:1 Momochi Rashid vs Ed | Dual Kevin |
| Vxbao 5:4 kincho Mai vs Terry | Vxbao |
| Leshar 4:5 Higuchi Ed vs Guile | Higuchi |
| Micky 5:4 MenaRD Mai vs Blanka | Micky |
| Kilzyou 5:4 Itabashi Zangief Mai, Juri vs Zangief | Kilzyou |
Top 8
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Third-place final | Grand final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blaz 5:4 Fuudo Sagat vs Ed | Blaz 3:5 Sahara Sagat vs Ed | Sahara 5:1 Kilzyou Ed vs Mai, Cammy | |
| Sahara 5:3 Dual Kevin Ed vs Rashid | Blaz 5:3 Higuchi Sagat vs Guile | ||
| Vxbao 1:5 Higuchi M. Bison vs Guile | Higuchi 4:5 Kilzyou Guile vs Mai, Cammy | ||
| Micky 3:5 Kilzyou Mai, Cammy vs Mai |
- Sahara wins Capcom Cup 12!
On the way to this win, Sahar defeated Blaz, one of the fan favorites. Sahara played Ed throughout the tournament.
Street Fighter League World Championship 2025
This team-based tournament happened on March 15. The image below reveals the schedule and matchups.
The Japanese team REJECT won all four matches of the groups stage. Tokido, Fuudo, Leshar, and Daigo played against Bandits in the grand final and won the tournament.
Players to watch out for
Esports is always unpredictable, but we can still highlight a few top favorites at Capcom Cup 12.
- Blaz was a huge sensation at Capcom Cup 11, and he reached the top placements at other big SF6 esports events, like second place at Evo France 2025.
- Xiao Hai is one of the best fighting game players of all time, specifically in The King of Fighters. His successes in Street Fighter 6 are also amazing: he won the Esports World Cup in 2024 and 2025.
- MenaRD won Evo Japan 2025 and Evo Las Vegas 2025.
- Leshar is the winner of Combo Breaker 2025, CEO 2025, and Evo France 2025.
Alex joins Street Fighter 6 soon after Capcom Cup 12 on March 17 as the last character for Year 3.
Following the patterns of the official SF6 esports circuits, the next league, Capcom Pro Tour 2026, will be part of Evo Japan 2026 from May 1 to May 3.