It’s time!

Spring is in the air and that means one thing in Street Fighter: Combo Breaker is finally here! Since its inception in 2015, Combo Breaker rose from the ashes of the now defunct ‘Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament’ to carry the torch for the Midwest FGC. It’s an event that masterfully balances all facets of the FGC from the professional competitors to amateurs, casuals, spectators and everything in between.

The magnitude this events carries cannot be overstated. Combo Breaker is one of the elite tournaments of the North American FGC, often ranked as a community favorite mentioned in the same breath as giants like the Evolution Championship Series (EVO) and Community Effort Orlando (CEO). After only its first year of operation, it earned a spot on the Capcom Pro Tour (CPT) as a Ranking event and then was upgraded to a Premiere in 2017. This meteoric rise wasn’t expected but is certainly deserved.

Due to its Premiere status, placing well through the split of Combo Breaker -> CEO -> EVO, can quite literally solidify your presence at the Capcom Cup finale. Combo Breaker is an important momentum builder and a perfect litmus test heading into the Summer blockbusters of CEO and EVO.

This weekend over 2,500 attendees will make the trek to America’s heartland to the MegaCenter located in St. Charles, Illinois. Combo Breaker hosts 19+ tournament games and lucrative professional circuits like the CPT and Tekken World Tour. The fun isn’t only for the professionals though — it also hosts a 24 hour on site arcade. There is something for everyone at Combo Breaker and while we can’t wait to have fun, Nemo and Takeuchi have their eye on the prize: to win Combo Breaker 2018!

Since the squad reveal in March of this year our players have been busy practicing and traveling the world to competing for those precious CPT points for their chance to qualify for the Capcom Cup at the end of the year. A quest only 31 players (plus last years champion MenaRD) will be able to complete.

Below we will take a look at the progress so far and what Combo Breaker has in store for our fighters.

Nemo

Information	CPT Ranks	CPT Results
Name: Nemo	Global Rank: 20th	3rd Fighters Spirit (Ranking)
Character: Urien	Regional Rank (Asia): 8th	5th Final Round (Premiere)

Combo Breaker Pool H3

If qualifications for Capcom Pro Tour ended today, Nemo would make it in, but we have a long road ahead and securing a high placing this weekend at Combo Breaker could all but seal Nemo’s presence at Capcom Cup.

Nemo is fortunate to not share his pool with any currently sponsored players but that doesn’t mean it will be easy. The top threat for Nemo in pool play will be the unsigned, but current ELEAGUE ‘The Challengers’ winner Commander Jesse who secured his spot in the $250,000 ELEAGUE Invitational later this year. Commander Jesse is a SoCal player often seen winning Wednesday Night Fights and is quite literally, one of the best Dhalsim players in the world.

We have full confidence that Nemo is prepared for the rarely used, extremely unique Dhalsim but getting through pools is only step one.

John Takeuchi

Information	CPT Ranks	CPT Results
Name: John Takeuchi	Global Rank: 32nd	7th Saigon Cup (Ranking)
Character: Rashid	Regional Rank (Asia): 18th	7th Brussels Challenge (Ranking)
		9th Stunfest (Premiere)
		25th Final Round (Premiere)

Combo Breaker Pool B1

Takeuchi finds himself on the cusp of qualifying if the tour ended today so he is eager to grab some very valuable points this weekend. While Nemo may have had better luck in pool draw, Takeuchi will still be the favorite in a pool of familiar faces.

Takeuchi shares his pool with FGC veterans Noel Brown and Flash, ESL King of Hill contestant ‘No Respect’, and ELEAGUE ‘The Challengers’ contestant RobTV. A healthy mix of proven veterans and rising stars will certainly lead to fireworks early.



While both players will have a gauntlet of challengers awaiting them at Combo Breaker this weekend, we are absolutely ecstatic to return to the event. We hope you will join us in cheering for our dynamic duo starting Friday, May 25th at 11:00a/1:00p/2:00p (PST/CDT/EST) through Sunday, May 27th. You can find a detailed schedule of the event here.