A photo of Tsunehiro ‘Gachikun’ Kanamori sitting down.
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Gachikun readies for Round Two of the Capcom Pro Tour Online 2020

As the final spot for the Asia East portion of the Capcom Pro Tour looms in the distance, Gachikun is preparing. We caught up with the Street Fighter star to see how he's getting ready for the battle.
Written by Ryan Collins
4 min readPublished on
This year, the difficulty of qualifying for the Street Fighter V Capcom Pro Tour 2020 has been drastically heightened. Instead of vying for points on a leaderboard, it’s shooting for that one spot each tournament has. The talent pool that appeared for the first Asia East bracket was no surprise, as dozens of top level fighters and local favourites slugged it out for the throne. Upsets happened all the way through and ultimately it was Daigo ‘The Beast’ Umehara who emerged the winner.
It’s not over for the region though, as a final opening remains and the way he sees it, Japanese Street Fighter star Tsunehiro ‘Gachikun’ Kanamori looks poised to take it.
Victory won’t be a simple matter, but he’s unfazed by the difficulty. “The number of competitions being less this year feels tough," Gachikun said. "However, if you think of it that way, my performance won't improve, so I'll try not to think of it and still challenge all competitors.”
Beyond the fierce competition, Gachikun feels like the winds of Rashid aren’t as strong in this season of the game. “As for now, Rashid isn't at the top, but I have a feeling he's just below,” he says, recognising his perception might be warped due to the need to better himself with the windy warrior.
“There are a few which my character is weak against, however, Rashid has many combos and is practical in many situations. The more the player skill improves, the more possibility there is to rank him higher. In that way, Rashid is an interesting character to play with. The condition now is so-so.”
To acclimate himself to the new changes to his character, Gachikun’s practice routes have morphed to focus on the defensive side of things and specifics in all match-ups he might face. “Training hasn’t changed much, but made sure to practice detailed guards and techniques,” he mentions, also finding ways to stay focused during lab sessions. “Also by writing down many things I managed to maintain my motivation.”
Gachikun isn’t just training himself – he’s leveling up the Japanese Street Fighter scene along the way. His 'Beat the Pro' series is an online tournament with a twist. “The player who wins the online qualifier has a concept match with me,” he says, noting that anyone can join in the action.
“Participant rank is broad and players who can't normally participate in tournaments can participate as well as the strong local players, which made the event have a high level of play. Also I was involved in the event as a commentary which was different than the usual.”
The professional player is going to need all the practice and preparation he can get, as the player base for Street Fighter V continues to increase in skill every day. “Nowadays there are many young players and everyone is strong. When you take a look at players other than youth, Kenpi, and Youshikibi who plays Cammy, are the players that I feel are strong,” he says, the latter who reached seventh in the first Asia East tournament. “They're local players, however [they] are strong enough to become pro. If they have enough experience, they can become active.”
I definitely want to win against Ryusei, who I lost two times in the last competition
Though Gachikun is prepared to face off against anyone who approaches the sticks, there is one rematch he’s truly hungry for. “I definitely want to win against Ryusei, who I lost two times in the last competition,” he says, not sleeping on the rest of the powerful players waiting in the ranks. “Everyone else is also very strong, so I have a strong mind to beat them all.”
Besides competing, he’s still a fan of Street Fighter V at heart and is looking forward to what Capcom brings to the table in terms of updates. Rose, Dan, Oro, and guest addition Akira have already been announced, but there’s one final slot left. Gachikun’s pick is slightly unconventional compared to the usual suspects. “Personally, I hope it’s Rolento,” he says.

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Tsunehiro ‘Gachikun’ Kanamori

One of the world's truly elite Street Fighter players, Japan's Tsunehiro ‘Gachikun’ Kanamori has won a staggering array of titles.

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