A trophy for ants? Capcom Cup winner’s prize a bit smaller than expected

The dark secret learned by every kid in the 1990's is that the big prize is a lie. The winner of the Publisher's Clearing House doesn't get to keep the big check. That kid who won GUTS on Nickelodeon? Just a cheap hunk of plastic and not actually a slime-green meteorite. The real-life Simpsons house given away by FOX? So shoddily made that the winner outright refused to accept. And, as it turns out, we can add the 2023 Capcom Cup trophy won by Saul Leonardo "MenaRD" Mena II to that list.

The two-time Capcom Cup champ expressed his displeasure with a prize meant to showcase the biggest moment of his career. Instead he got the fighting game equivalent of the trophy your local bowling alley gives away for its couples league.

This year's Capcom Cup was the final one in the Street Fighter V era, so it was as much a going away celebration as it was the biggest tournament of the year. MenaRD plowed through the competition on his way to his second Capcom Cup trophy in SFV. This included impressive wins over the upstart UK teen EndingWalker and dark horse Chinese player "Zhen" Kuang.

At the end, Mena hoisted high the Capcom Cup trophy--shining and beautiful, a true beacon for all to see. And when he got home the trophy that awaited him was... not so impressive.

What is that, a trophy for ants? MenaRD took to Twitter with a photo of his "prize," along with voicing his displeasure in the award given to him by Capcom. As it turns out, he did not get to keep the glittering prize that he held above his head in victory as confetti rained down. "After looking at it for long enough i've decided this is not going to my trophy stand," the champ said on Twitter.'

"This does not represent my biggest accomplishment." Hard to disagree.

Other FGC champions shared in Mena's disappointment, ranging from agreement to pointing out the trophies from other games. One truly outstanding prize in comparison was the Tekken World Tour Finals title, as delightfully outlandish as Harada-San himself.

So, what happened? Did the original get lost in transit? Did Ryu accidentally smash it in a bonus stage? The most likely answer is that the OG trophy is sitting comfortably at Capcom HQ, never to be seen by anyone but faceless executives.

Keep in mind: This isn't MenaRD being ungrateful. Rightfully, you expect a year-long league and weeklong tournament to have an appropriate prize. With any luck someone at Capcom will see this, be rightfully embarrassed, and give the king his true crown.

Whoever said "size isn't everything" must never have won a video game tournament.

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