Gaming
Esports
These were the 10 top moments as Big Bird shows Red Bull Kumite who's boss
The 10th edition of Red Bull Kumite took place where it all began: Paris, France. Here are the top moments that emerged from a weekend of Street Fighter skirmishes in the Maison de la Mutualité.
Two days of fighting fury have culminated and the dust has settled across Paris, France. Red Bull Kumite 2025's main event of underdogs versus legends was a clash for the ages, as battles raged and reputations were earned in Street Fighter 6.
This year's edition of Red Bull Kumite headed back to where it all began: Paris, all to celebrate 10 complete editions of the prestigious competition. Viewers from all over the globe, and a live audience in the Maison de la Mutualité, were witness to a showcase of Street Fighter 6 masterclasses, where just one player emerged from the Red Bull Kumite cage ultimately victorious.
Here are the defining moments of Red Bull Kumite 2025:
Watch a full replay
Red Bull Kumite Grand Final livestream
Eight Street Fighter legends face off against eight underdogs in the Red Bull Kumite cage in Paris, France.
01
Last chance
Akainu's LCQ win marked his return to the Red Bull Kumite cage
© Baptiste Fauchille/Red Bull Content Pool
Before the Main Event could get underway, one final slot was for the taking. A total of 256 entrants took part in a double elimination bracket to see who would go the distance. The pools whittled down throughout the course of the day, until the final 16 were ready for the masses to witness.
Frenchman Christ 'Akainu' Onema took the home advantage to heart, taking down Andrea 'Garnet' Parlangeli in the upper bracket semi-final, before trading blows and rounds with Renato 'DidimoKOF' Pereira in the Upper Bracket Final. A 3-2 finish would then see the Frenchman take on Belgium's S4ltyKiD in the Grand Final, where both competitors were keen to make it to the Main Event. That final slot would go to Akainu, however, in a solid and swift 3-1 series that saw the Guile main seal his seat in the main event. Could he go one better than his overall runner-up position at Red Bull Kumite 2023?
02
The Beast, tamed
Noah 'NoahTheProdigy' Solis has had a solid start to his year by landing a Top 8 finish at Capcom Cup 11, and was no doubt looking to make an impression during Red Bull Kumite 2025. The 22-year-old underdog would instead have to settle for taking down one of the most legendary Street Fighter players of all time – and that's no mean feat.
Daigo 'The Beast' Umehara hardly needs an introduction, with a career spanning over two decades with six EVO Championships under his belt, the fearsome warrior still casts a long shadow, and his Akuma prowess is something to be feared.
However, NoahTheProdigy traded sets back and forth with the Beast, with the Luke main gaining a 3-1 advantage before Daigo tilted the battle 3-4 with what looked like momentum on his side. NoahTheProdigy sealed the deal, however, and put the Beast back in the cage by claiming the final set, and headed towards the quarter-finals.
03
Maihem
Kilzyou made a dent with the latest addition to the Street Fighter roster
© Stephanie Lindgren/Red Bull Content Pool
Fatal Fury and King of Fighters guest character Mai has only been out in the game for less than a few months, but the pros are already putting her to the test, and she's shaking up the meta. So much so that Team Legend's Zeng 'Xiaohai' Zhuojun and Team Underdog's Kilyan 'Kilzyou' Faucheux Round 1 match-up was a complete Mai mirror match, as each side traded blows and victories until only one Mai was left standing.
As each side took rounds off each other, the score was a dead heat at 3-3, but it was Kilzyou who would take the seventh match, and he used that momentum to seal the deal 3-5. The Frenchman celebrated on home soil and headed onwards to the quarter-finals.
04
Keep calm and carry on
The Japanese legend known only as Kakeru kept the heat rolling at a boiling point in his Round 1 match-up against Brazil's Antônio 'Zangief_bolado' Diniz. Their hotly contested match started strong in Kakeru's favour, with the first two rounds going to the Capcom Cup 11 winner, yet it was the Brazilian who turned the heat up further, taking three rounds in a row to make the cage surely uncomfortable.
Yet, Kakeru kept cool even under the insurmountable pressure, and tipped the scales back in his favour by clawing back a 2-3 deficit to even the scores, before rolling over Zangief_bolado in three straight matches to book his place in the quarter-finals.
05
Perfection for gachikun
The legendary Tsunehiro 'gachikun' Kanamori is no doubt a veteran on the scene, with the Japanese pro helping to put Rashid on the map for high-level play since the days of Street Fighter V. He's shown his strength with numerous displays of power over the years, including his second-place finish at Red Bull Kumite 2017, which included solid wins over Xiaohai and Hajime 'Tokido' Taniguchi, and his Capcom Cup 2018 upper bracket run that culminated in a win.
Higuchi made his way in through the Play-In tournament
© Stephanie Lindgren/Red Bull Content Pool
gachikun put on a show during his Red Bull Kumite 2025 run, kicking things off in style in Round 1 with a 5-2 finish over fellow countryman and Play-In winner, Kojiro 'Higuchi' Higuchi. While the first round went to Higuchi's Guile, gachikun cranked things up, and put four 2-0 displays on the board before ending the seventh round with a crowd-pleasing perfect, locking in his place in the quarter-finals.
06
EndingWalker flies the flag for Team Underdog
18-year-old British wunderkind Samuel 'EndingWalker' Arm made a splash at this year's Red Bull Kumite. The Mouz-signed pro has already made a name for himself in the scene since he took the top prize at Ultimate Fighting Arena 2022 at the age of 16, and he even almost made it to the main event at Red Bull Kumite 2023, placing second in the Last Chance Qualifier, only losing to eventual semi-finalist Kakeru.
For Red Bull Kumite 2025, EndingWalker was one of six invitees rocking the Team Underdog banner, and kicked off his first match-up against fellow Mouz pro and Brit, Benjamin 'Problem X' Simon with a strong 5-2 showing. Problem X's M. Bison was clearly no problem for the 18-year-old, as he advanced to the quarter-finals.
07
The million dollar man
EndingWalker's quarter-final match-up looked like a battle of David vs Goliath proportions on paper. Kakeru took the top prize at Capcom Cup 11, and walked away with the trophy and a cool $1,000,000 USD just last month. The Japanese pro also knocked EndingWalker out of Red Bull Kumite 2023's Last Chance Qualifier, right at the final, almost as if Kakeru was his own personal demon.
With the cards stacked up, EndingWalker had nothing to lose, right? He went about vanquishing his demons right from the gate, breaking open the cage with two straight victories. Kakeru and his JP responded with a decisive 2-0 match, but EndingWalker's Ryu returned the favour by cranking the scorecard up to 4-1.
Kakeru did not want to go down without a fight and the Japanese pro took the bout to 4-3 with two successive, solid 2-0 victories. Yet, with the semi-finals within touching distance, the British player pulled out a convincing winning 2-0 match to a deafening crowd, as he paved the way to the semi-finals as the last underdog standing.
08
Last underdog standing
Could Bonchan go all the way?
© Stephanie Lindgren/Red Bull Content Pool
Seasoned pro Masato 'Bonchan' Takahashi was the next opponent standing in EndingWalker's way, with the Akuma pro already locking in decisive wins against Akainu and fellow countryman, gachikun. Bonchan lifted the inaugural Red Bull Kumite trophy in 2015 – could he do it again?
EndingWalker would set the scene, however, as he took the first two matches and let the Japanese pro know he meant business. Bonchan responded, however, with three straight rounds in a row in his favour, with the last of the three a clean 0-2 sweep.
EndingWalker replied in kind, equalising the scorecard 3-3 with an impressive 2-0 sweep, before closing the door on Bonchan with two successive wins. A 5-3 scorecard paved the way to the Grand Final, where the young underdog could ultimately forge his own legend.
09
An early grand final?
With one Red Bull Kumite win under his belt already, could Adel 'Big Bird' Anouche make it two? The legend's path to the Grand Finals met with plenty of resistance, with battles against France's Maivine 'Kusanagi' Touitou and Kilzyou setting the scene for Big Bird's deadly Rashid play.
But it was his match-up with Saul 'MenaRD' Mena in the semi-finals that would represent a potential immovable object in his quest for Red Bull Kumite glory. The only two-time Capcom Cup champion to date, EVO Japan 2024 champion and Red Bull Kumite 2024 winner, MenaRD was no doubt looking to add another victory in the cage to his impressive trophy cabinet, and possibly represented the biggest mountain for the Rashid main to conquer – this battle between the last two Red Bull Kumite champions was no doubt a grand final come early to the audience.
Big Bird set the scene with a clean win over MenaRD's M. Bison, that the Dominican pro would respond to in kind. Both pros would trade rounds, culminating in a 3-3 stalemate that would then see MenaRD break out Blanka to switch things up. Big Bird didn't let the character change faze him, as he took the seventh round before he delivered a decisive sweep in the eighth to lock in his grand final appearance.
10
A Grand Final for the ages
Legend vs. underdog. Big Bird vs EndingWalker. Who would walk out of the cage as the Red Bull Kumite winner?
Eight rounds went back and forth between the two finalists, as EndingWalker kicked off the proceedings with a 0-2 opening. Big Bird followed up with his Rashid in kind with a 2-0 slugfest, before EndingWalker pushed the score up 1-2 in his favour with a clean third round match. Big Bird bumped up the scorecard to 3-2 with back-to back wins, before EndingWalker took the sixth round in a close-fought match. Big Bird took the seventh, and it was down to the wire for EndingWalker to respond if he had a chance of turning the tide.
Big Bird took out a solid chunk of EndingWalker's health bar to start things off, but the Briton responded with a well-timed shoryuken and combo to bring his rival's Rashid down to size. Both players quickly opted into cautious play, mixing up jabs and heavy blows before Big Bird seized the opportunity to cross-up and punish an opening before breaking out a super art to leave EndingWalker with but a sliver of health. And before he could respond, Big Bird ended the round, and took the trophy, with a decisive low kick.
I hope you all enjoyed the show, it's one of my favourite events. I'm happy to have won it – again!
"I hope you all enjoyed the show, it's one of my favourite events," says Big Bird following his win. "I'm happy to have won it – again!"
"I feel amazing to be honest, because lately, I haven't been confident in my gameplay, and I feel like I was lacking a lot – especially during my performance at Capcom Cup," he says. "My motivation was slowly going away, and I was losing a lot of confidence."
"This win has brought back a lot of confidence, and I'm very excited to take it to new heights," says Big Bird.
Big Bird is your Red Bull Kumite 2025 champion
© Stephanie Lindgren/Red Bull Content Pool
That's a wrap for Red Bull Kumite 2025 from Paris, France. What was your favourite moment of the event?
