Red Bull Kumite
Maison de la Mutualité, Paris, France | April 5-6, 2025
Since it started in 2015, Red Bull Kumite has become a highly respected tournament within the fighting game community and proven itself valuable to the ecosystem of fighting games. Though heavily focused on the Street Fighter franchise, Red Bull Kumite has also embraced fighting games Guilty Gear -Strive- and Tekken 7 in recent years as it has strived to showcase the best players in the fighting game community.
13 min
History of Kumite – part 1
Dive into the history of Red Bull Kumite and discover what sets it apart from other FGC tournaments.
Fans and pro players in the space point to events that create an incredible atmosphere full of passion and drama. The first four tournaments took place in Paris at Salle Wagram theatre but has since moved to locations around the world in Tokyo, Las Vegas, London and Pretoria in South Africa. In 2024, Red Bull Kumite took place in Brooklyn, New York.
19 min
History of Kumite – part 2
Dive deeper into the history of Red Bull Kumite as the event went international and new champions emerged.
Take a look back at each previous edition of Red Bull Kumite.
01
Red Bull Kumite 2024
Game: Street Fighter 6
With the world's top Street Fighter 6 players duking it out in a best of nine matches format, all eyes were on Brooklyn's Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse to see who would come out on top of the single-elimination tournament. And after a lot of intense action, that player was MenaRD, a two-time Capcom Cup champion from the Dominican Republic.
Fans bore witness to a clinical dismantling of NuckleDu's Guile, as MenaRD was almost flawless in using Blanca to tear apart his opponent in a perfect 5-0 victory. In one of the most dominant Red Bull Kumite final match-ups, MenaRD’s focus never wavered as he dominated one of the game's most iconic players round-by-round.
MenaRD is the Red Bull Kumite 2024 champion
© Todd Owyoung/Red Bull Content Pool
02
Red Bull Kumite 2023
Game: Street Fighter 6
The Red Bull Kumite tournament for 2023 involved some of the world's best fighting players battling each other on the new Street Fighter 6 game. An elite selection of pros gathered in Pretoria, South Africa, for the epic brawl. In a stacked competition with some serious talent, it was Algerian/Emirati player Adel ‘Big Bird’ Anouche who emerged as the 2023 Red Bull Kumite champion after beating Christ ‘Akainu’ Onema in the final match-up.
Big Bird is your Red Bull Kumite 2023 champion
© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool
03
Red Bull Kumite 2021 – Las Vegas
Game: Tekken 7
The Las Vegas edition of Red Bull Kumite 2021, saw tournaments played across three games, the first being Bandai Namco's Tekken 7. In this single-elimination competition, Japanese player Genki 'Gen' Kumisaka defeated South Korean Bae 'Knee' Jae-Min to secure the top spot.
Red Bull Kumite 2021 headed to Las Vegas
© Marv Watson/Red Bull Content Pool
Game: Guilty Gear -Strive-
The anime-inspired fighter Guilty Gear -Strive- also made an appearance at the Las Vegas edition of Red Bull Kumite. The title went to Japan's Masaya 'GOBOU' Shiratori, who took down the USA's Tyler 'Diaphone' Kusich in a dominant 5-2 bout.
Game: Street Fighter V
The Street Fighter V competition saw British player Benjamin 'Problem X' Simon face Sim 'NL' Gun in the final. The Brit cane out on top defeating BL by 5-3 in the final.
14 min
Highlights from Las Vegas
Watch highlights from the invitational, which featured Street Fighter V, Tekken 7 and Guilty Gear -Strive-.
04
Red Bull Kumite 2021 – London
Game: Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
The second of 2021's two tournaments was held in London and it saw France's Nathan 'Mister Crimson' Massol reign supreme in Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. Mister Crimson met rising USA star Derek 'iDom' Ruffin for an intense duel in the grand final, which went to a full nine rounds.
Mister Crimson raised the trophy in London
© Joe Brady/Red Bull Content Pool
05
Red Bull Kumite 2019
Game: Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition
In 2019, Red Bull Kumite was held in the heart of gaming itself – Tokyo, Japan. Atsushi ‘Fujimura’ Fujimura followed up his 2018 Red Bull Kumite win with a second Kumite title. Fujimura took on Britain's DC 'Infexious' Coleman in the grand final and ran out the winner, with the series finishing 3-2.
Fujimura emerged victorious again
© Suguru Saito/Red Bull Content Pool
06
Red Bull Kumite 2018
Game: Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition
Red Bull Kumite 2018 would be the last time Paris hosted the competition after a four-year run at the Salle Wagram theatre. Japan's Atsushi ‘Fujimura’ Fujimura won out over rising star and Evo 2018 champ Benjamin ‘Problem X’ Simon in the grand final.
07
Red Bull Kumite 2017
Game: Street Fighter V
Naoki ‘Nemo’ Nemoto dispatched his Japanese rival Tsunehiro ‘Gachikun’ Kanamori by winning six games in a row in the grand final in Paris. His win was by no means pre-ordained, however; in fact, the final served as a form of revenge after Gachikun pummelled Nemo into the lower bracket early on in the tournament.
Nemo found glory in 2017
© Teddy Morellec/Red Bull Content Pool
08
Red Bull Kumite 2016
Game: Street Fighter V
With a brand new game in the series launched just two months beforehand, Red Bull Kumite 2016 marked something of a transition year, as players old and new got used to the ins and outs of Street Fighter V. It was Seon-woo ‘Infiltration’ Lee who clinched the championship eliminating returning finalist Hajime ‘Tokido’ Taniguchi in the grand finals.
Infiltration took the 2016 trophy
© William K/Red Bull Content Pool
09
Red Bull Kumite 2015
Game: Ultra Street Fighter IV
No one quite knew what to expect from the first-ever Red Bull Kumite. With its grandiose setting – the 400-year-old Salle Wagram theatre in Paris – and an invitational format. The thrilling grand final was settled by a boss vs boss matchup as friends and training partners Hajime ‘Tokido’ Taniguchi’s Akuma faced off against Masato ‘Bonchan’ Takahashi's Sagat. Bonchan beat out Tokido lifting the inaugural Red Bull Kumite trophy.
Bonchan took the inaugural Red Bull Kumite trophy
© Katya Mokolo/Red Bull Content Pool