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Breaking down Final Round, the first stop on the 2019 Capcom Pro Tour
As Final Round approaches, so does the 2019 Capcom Pro Tour. Following the conclusion of Evo Japan, and a slew of new DLC, this event could bring SFV fans the announcements they’ve been waiting for.
March has arrived and we're about to see the first stop of this year's Capcom Pro Tour, and some tantalising Street Fighter V action. Final Round throws down in Atlanta, USA on March 15, signalling the start of a brand new CPT season, nearly a month after the nail-biting action of Evo Japan.
With Yusuke Momochi taking the Eastern Evo crown with ice queen Kolin, and Victor 'Punk' Woodley securing the preceding Frosty Faustings with Karin, this season could see the comeback of Street Fighter V's most celebrated pros so far. Let’s dive in to what to expect at the first stop on the CPT.
Erupting at Evo Japan
As expected, Evo Japan saw some of the best of SFV's worldwide competition, as well as a variety of character picks. Keita 'Fuudo' Ai's choice of Birdie over Mika saw a unique matchup in the Grand Finals, where he fought against Momochi's Kolin from the Losers' bracket in a close set of matches.
Fuudo made a strong showing in the Final, starting off by taking the first game with a massive punish after activating his V-Trigger. While Momochi took a game shortly after, Fuudo went on to reset the bracket when time had nearly run out, thanks to another well-timed punish. However, Fuudo's victory wasn't to be: Momochi ended up taking the second Grand Finals set in a strong 3–1 showing, giving fans hope that the celebrated pro has regained his mojo for the upcoming season.
Momochi wasn't the only surprise showing at Evo Japan, after using a combination of Zeku and Kolin to win the Grand Finals. Two Necalli players, Koichiro 'jyobin' Matsumoto and Masahiro 'Machabo' Tominaga alsomade waves in the competition, as well as Birdie main Junichi 'Crusher' Tanabe. Even more surprising was REC's Punk, who took fourth place in the Top 8 after losing to Fuudo in the Losers' Semi-finals.
Frosty Faustings' fierce fighters
Punk himself took Frosty Faustings less than a month prior, and even used a considerably lower-tier character in the process. Punk won his first match in Faustings' Top 8 bracket, against Ibuki player Johnny 'Bananajin' In, using Ryu, taking out his opponent in a convincing 2–0 run that you can see below. Punk admitted that Ryu received significant buffs in the Season 4 patch, and even claimed to like Ryu's chances against Ibuki, despite his infamous destitution in SFV's previous seasons.
In keeping with his unexpected character choices, Punk went on to pull out Nash at Evo Japan, ahead of his Top 8 run, in which he opted for his faithful main, Karin – with whom he also took Frosty Faustings.
Punk went up against the likes of Brian 'F' Foster, Jonathan 'JB' Bautista, and Elchakotay Andrich to win Faustings, while his Evo Japan run saw fights against UYU's Li-Wei 'Oil King' Lin, Necalli main Jyobin and Fuudo to win the Top 4 spot.
Have the mighty fallen?
While both Momochi and Punk pulled out all the stops ahead of the official 2019 CPT, there's no telling who'll end up starting the season strongly. Hajime 'Tokido' Taniguchi, arguably one of SFV's most consistently top players, was knocked out in 25th place at Evo Japan, which was a massive shock to fans across the globe. 2018 Capcom Cup runner-up, Hiromiki 'Itabashi Zangief' Kumada, was also tied for 33rd, despite his strong performance with Abigail in December.
Kage is SFV’s latest fighter, and is the incarnation of the Dark Hadou
© Capcom
Also noteworthy are SFV's Season 4 changes, which shook up the character roster by significantly nerfing some of the Season 3 top-tiers, while giving lower-tier fighters some much-needed buffs. Third Strike classic Alex was among those who received a boost, as well as Shadaloo boss M. Bison and Ryu, while characters like Cammy, Menat, and Rashid saw major nerfs.
Alongside the new season came new character Kage, whom fighting game historian James Chen predicted would be a popular pick in tournament settings. However, given Kage's relatively new place in the roster, it doesn't look like players are rushing to choose Evil Ryu's latest incarnation just yet.
Hints from a new stage
In addition to SFV's Season 4 update came the announcement of the 2019 CPT format, which introduced a new 'Super Premier' event tier. As such, three events in the Tour are now elevated to Evo's status, and reward a whopping 1,000 points to the first place player, marking a unique turn of events that could have top fighters fiending for these massive wins.
The 2019 Pro Tour likewise places more Premier events outside of the continental United States, giving more players and local scenes important exposure, which could result in a major showing from previously unknown fighters, to boot.
The latest CPT stage teases some of Final Fight's classic characters
© Capcom
That's not all. On February 25, Capcom released a new set of DLC, which included the new Ring of Justice stage. Several fan-favorite characters can be spotted cheering on the action in what appears to be Final Fight's Metro City, including mayor Mike Haggar, Sodom, Rolento, and even Andre the Giant-inspired wrestler Hugo.
Although Capcom has yet to make a solid announcement concerning any upcoming characters in SFV's Season 4 roster, fans have been chomping at the bit for new content. Thanks to the official 2019 CPT stage, speculation is running rampant, with some data miners even discovering a raw character model for Sodom in the game's PC files. Although nothing is certain, Final Round is sure to bring explosive battles between the game's top players, and, hopefully, a few new characters along the way. Stay tuned.
