It’s a great achievement for the young player, as this victory means qualifying for Capcom Cup 12! In the top 2, we have Blanka, and it’s not MenaRD.
This Street Fighter 6 (SF6) tournament was the biggest at Ultimate Fighting Arena 2025 (UFA 2025). Many top players attended this Premier qualifier of the Capcom Pro Tour 2025, grinding for standing points in the prestigious league.
Good 8 Squad | Sahara is a pretty new guy to the top SF6 esports scene. He is only 20, and in 2024, his tournament record featured mainly lower placements at Japanese locals. This year, Sahara attends international events, and now he wins SF6 UFA 2025.
On the way to the trophy: Sahara and SF6 elite at UFA 2025
Many extremely strong players couldn’t reach the top 8.
- Dual Kevin got eliminated by Armperor.
- Phenom was out after his loss to Blaz.
- EndingWalker eliminated Higuchi but then fell victim to Juicyjoe.
- Oil King, moke, Tokido, Itabashi Zangief, Punk, and others were out before the final brackets even started.
Knowing this gives a general understanding of the tournament level and Sahara’s achievement.
Sahara finished first in his group. Then he defeated KojiKOG and NoahTheProdigy to reach the top 8.
The final bracket opponents of Sahara at SF6 UFA 2025 were Nephew and kingsvega.
The match versus Nephew was rather tough. But then, Sahara defeated kingsvega twice: in the winners final and the grand final.
Ed and Blanka: Japanese standards and a wild pick
In the dimension of Street Fighter 6 characters, UFA 2025 demonstrated once again how strong Ed can be in the hands of Japanese players.
Earlier, we witnessed what Keita “Fuudo” Ai did with this character at Blink Respawn 2025. Still, Fuudo switched to Dee Jay back then.
Sahara played Ed throughout the entire tournament. You already know the result!
Another pick was rather unexpected. kingsvega, who is also from Japan, played Blanka. This character is widely considered low-tier, and usually only Saul Leonardo “MenaRD” Mena takes the Brazilian wild man to the top-tier tournaments.
However, kingsvega proved that Blanka can work beyond MenaRD matches! Sure, he lost to Sahara, but before that, kingsvega eliminated Blaz and defeated Dual Kevin, Juicyjoe, and Riddles.
Blaz delivers again
Another player worth mentioning is Derek Blaz, who attended SF6 UFA 2025 as well. He is an even younger guy, only 15. Still, the community knows him thanks to amazing performances at Capcom Cup 11 and the Street Fighter 6 Esports World Cup 2025.
Ultimate Fighting Arena 2025 did not bring Blaz his first big tournament win, but the player is in the top 3 again. It transitions from a surprising phenomenon to the level of consistency. Following Blaz in SF6 esports becomes even more interesting.
Only two Premier-tier qualifiers remain during the CPT 2025 season. The next one is Evo France 2025, happening from Oct. 10 to Oct. 12.
Sahara represent his organization, Good 8 Squad, in the team-based tournament SFL Pro-JP 2025. We should keep an eye on him at Capcom Cup 12 as well!
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