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Esports
Street Fighter League: How Street Fighter esports is evolving
Street Fighter esports goes far beyond Evo. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025-26 league.
Since its launch in 2019, the Street Fighter League has carved out a unique niche in the world of esports. After spreading from Japan to the US and Europe, this exclusive pro gaming league brings thrilling team-based action to the world’s most influential fighting game franchise. Over the six years this competitive league has run, some huge stars have emerged alongside the graduation from Street Fighter V to Street Fighter 6. If you’re curious about this league and fancy dipping your toes into its waters, we’ve put together this handy guide with everything you need to know.
01
What is the Street Fighter League?
The Street Fighter League is a competitive championship comprised of three regions: SFL Pro-JP (Japan), SFL Pro-US and SFL Pro-EU. Each team is comprised of four players who were chosen either by popular vote or by qualifying through online tournaments. The Japanese, US and EU leagues begin at different times, but converge in the Street Fighter League World Championship in March.
02
What is the format for Street Fighter League?
Street Fighter League matches are fought in 1v1 duels
© Capcom/Steam Store
Each region has the same format: round-robin league play. Every team faces every other team, with matches following a ‘first-to-2’ format in individual player duels. Points are earned for wins, which allow teams to climb the leaderboard. In Japan, the ‘Order Select’ system applies, which means that player orders are submitted blind. In the US and EU leagues, teams can decide on the player order on a match-by-match basis.
The top teams from each region advance to the Playoffs stage, determining the competitors for the SFL World Championship. The matches are fought in a double-elimination or single-elimination bracket.
Two teams from each region advance to the SFL World Championship, traditionally held in Street Fighter's home country, Japan. In 2024, the World Championship consisted of two stages: a Group Stage and a Final Stage. We're still waiting to see if there will be changes for the 2025-26 season. It was stressful," RobTV tells us of the qualifier. "The seeding was random, and I just so happened to get one of the hardest routes. Dan' Mhike2stronk' Li and I went through hell to make the Grand Finals. I'm proud that I was able to win the tournament and earn the first qualifying spot in the League."
03
What happened in Street Fighter League 2024?
The seventh season of the Street Fighter Pro-US League was dominated by FlyQuest, made up of Victor ‘Punk’ Woodley, Christopher ‘ChrisCCH’ Hancock, Shawn ‘Psycho’ Williams and Sean ‘Shine’ Simpson. With eight wins and two losses, they topped the leaderboard, pipping Bandits and Cloud9 to the post, who got six wins each.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Ninjas in Pyjamas ruled the roost, winning the league with 10 wins and zero losses. The team, composed of Amjad 'AngryBird' Alshalabi, Adel 'Big Bird' Anouche, Arman 'Phenom' Hanjani and Vegard 'Veggey' Kopangen Bugge, narrowly defeated Team Aegis in the Grand Final. The draft process was nothing less than gruesome. Team captains chose two players to face off against each other in a first-to-one format, giving players a single chance to showcase their skills and impress their potential captain.
Adel 'BigBird' Anouche on stage at Red Bull Kumite
© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool
The Pro-JP league was split into two divisions: Division S and Division F. Good8 Squad led the pack in Division S, while REJECT emerged on top in Division F. Ultimately, the combined forces of Tsunehiro ‘gachikun’ Kanamori, Yu ‘Pugera’ Tobinaga, Masaki ‘Kawano’ Kawano and Sahara were too much for REJECT to overcome, and Good8 Squad took the win in the Grand Final.
The 2024 World Championship was a hard-fought tournament, held at the historic Ryogoku Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo. The three regional champions battled it out in a round-robin group stage, which culminated in a final clash between Japan’s Good8 Squad and the US’s FlyQuest. The US team gained an early lead with a win by Punk over Pugera. The second round was a different story, however, as Punk was humbled by Kawano with a 3-0 victory. With both teams holding two sets, it came down to a final set where the two teams traded rounds, bringing things to a final showdown between Punk and Kawano. Kawano secured a clutch victory with Akuma, defeating Punk’s Kimberly and sealing the trophy for the Japanese champions.
04
What’s next for the Street Fighter League?
The original SFL region, Japan, is about to commence its eighth season on August 29, which will run until January 31, 2026. This season will feature 12 teams who will compete in 4-on-4 matches, all hoping to win a share of the ¥15m (around $101.6k USD) prize pool.
Meanwhile, across the Pacific, the US League is shaping up to be another exciting chapter in this fighting saga. Starting in Fall 2025, the league will feature a roster of seven teams – FlyQuest, KuaiShou Gaming, Shopify Rebellion, Bandits, Team Falcons, Red Rooster and 2GAME Esports.
MenaRD getting into the zone
© Todd Owyoung/Red Bull Content Pool
Finally, the Pro-EU 2025 season is also gearing up for an Autumn launch, featuring six elite teams – Wolves Esports, Team Aegis, Goliath Gaming, Solary, MOUZ and Ninjas in Pyjamas. I think that if the SFL is successful in terms of ratings and reviews, then there'll be more tournaments in the future that also apply the team format," he says on the matter. "I think it's a good thing to do, as long as you also have a league consisting of the traditional 1v1 format."
How do I watch Street Fighter League?
Street Fighter League is available to watch in weekly episodes during the season. You can catch fights from all three leagues with English commentary on the Capcom Fighters YouTube channel. You can also watch the live broadcasts on the Capcom Fighters Twitch channel. You can expect new episodes to drop on Thursday and Friday evenings.
