The Road Ahead: A Capcom Pro Tour Recap

The Capcom Pro Tour is one of the most grueling, diverse and competitive culminations of worldwide talent in all of esports. Comprised of 66 unique events spanning nearly all corners of the globe, it’s not only a testament to the players' skills in-game but their ability to navigate the world and perform in any timezone, under any condition.

Of those 66 events, 42 are categorized as “Ranking”, 17 are “Premiere” and there is one special distinction not shared with any others, which is simply called Evolution. The difference between distinctions is nothing more than point values for placements, and as a professional Street Fighter player, nothing is more valuable than Capcom Pro Tour (CPT) points.



While the points vary between event types, when you review the participants, it’s hard to make a distinction from event to event. Whether it's a small, Regional Ranking event in Mexico, or a Premiere in Singapore, if points are on the line, sponsored world class players will make the trek for a shot to improve their CPT standing.

Only 32 players can qualify for the Capcom Cup, the yearly conclusion of the Street Fighter V pro tour that boasts the largest prize pool in the FGC — $250,000 before crowdfunding. Of the 32 finalist, 1 is invited: The Capcom Cup winner from the previous year. 4 punch their ticket by winning a regional final (Asia, NA, LATAM, EU), 26 through point accumulation and 1 final contestant through a one shot tournament the day before Capcom Cup — the last chance qualifier (LCQ). Our very own Liquid`Nemo is familiar with the LCQ as he swooped in with a brilliant performance at last year to qualify in the final hour.

Thankfully, this year Nemo is sitting pretty having all but locked his spot at Capcom Cup thanks to his consistent performances, while John Takeuchi is still fighting for his chance at the prestige and the cash.

John Takeuchi

CPT RANK: 37th
POINTS: 356

CPT Results

• 9th EGX
  
• 17th SCR
  
• 13th Dreamhack Montreal
  
• 17th Final Fighters China
  
• 33rd TWFighter Major
  
• 65th EVO
  
• 7th VSFighting
  
• 7th Sonic Boom
  
• 33rd CEO
  
• 7th CPT Online Asia East 1
  
• 9th Stunfest 2018
  
• 7th Saigon Cup
  
• 7th Brussels Challenge
  
• 25th Final Round

It’s hard to fathom that with the results young John Takeuchi has produced, he finds himself sitting outside qualification. With back to back top 8 performances and a total of 5 to his name this season, he’s currently just out of reach at 37th. Certainly not where he wants to be, but quite successful for his ‘rookie’ season, Takeuchi took a moment to reflect on his first year as a pro player.



1 Point Curse

Ranking events have a controversial scoring rubric. Many fans and players think Capcom vastly undersells these events and we can see that reflected in the scoring structure. For instance, you get 1 point for a 7th/8th place finish for a CPT Ranking event. John placed top 8 at 4 ranking events this year for a grand total of… 4 points. On a tour where 551 points puts you into qualification ‘today’, 4 top 8s for 4 points just isn’t doing anyone any favors.

To illustrate how ridiculously difficult these Ranking events can be, look no further than Saigon Cup, where Takeuchi fought hard for his single point. Takeuchi shared top 8 with: NL, Fuudo, Bonchan, Big Bird, Itabashi, and Xian. Players who are Premiere winners, EVO winners or some of the most recognizable names in the game. Players such as GamerBee, Haitani, Poongko, StormKubo, Fujimura, Humanbomb, Oilking, Jiewa and Gaichikun, a murderer's row of talented, professional players rounded out top 16 and for their efforts, 0 points.

The rules are the rules and we make no excuses. A few near misses at Premiere events and an underwhelming EVO have put John Takeuchi on the outside looking in, but the door isn’t locked.

Nemo

CPT RANK: 22nd
POINTS: 730

CPT Results

• 4th CPT Online ASIA East 2
  
• 3rd TGS
  
• 13th Final Fighters China
  
• 17th Esports Festival Hong Kong
  
• 7th TWFighter Major
  
• 65th EVO
  
• 65th CEO
  
• 4th Combo Breaker
  
• 3rd Fighters Spirit South Korea
  
• 5th Final Round

Compared to last year, Nemo is enjoying a relatively stress free end of the season. However, that lack of urgency has its drawbacks.



Nemo is sitting comfortably within qualification for the Capcom Cup finals happening December 12-14th in Las Vegas, Nevada. While Nemo is not a mathematical lock, the series of impractical events that would lead to Nemo being knocked out of qualification is hard to imagine. From winning the last chance qualifier in 2017, to having room to breathe in 2018, the consummate professional has performed brilliantly.

This year Nemo was able to qualify* despite not traveling nearly as often as his contemporaries and while holding down a full time job at Square-Enix. A testament to Nemo’s cerebral play and ability to prepare. Nemo picks his spots and the results show for it, with 4 Premiere Top 8 appearances, and 6 Top 8 placements in 10 total events. That level of consistency is hard to match. Of course, like John, Nemo had a disappointing EVO which left points on the table but his overall consistent placings at high stakes Premiere events has all but solidified his participation in the finale.

With Nemo's strength in preparation, it’s a good look heading into the Capcom Cup final. In each event Nemo has taken time off to prepare for this season, all but EVO has turned up roses. Most recently Nemo skipped multiple events to focus on the Japan Cup Premiere at Tokyo Game Show and had his best performance of the year, narrowly losing and taking home 3rd place at the extremely competitive event that boasted the largest CPT prize pool of the year at $90,000. With his ability to prepare and without the stress of ‘needing’ any more points, we can only imagine the creative play and new characters he’s eager to show off at Capcom Cup.

Looking Forward, Choose Your Destiny!

As mentioned, John Takeuchi is down, but not out. With only 8 events remaining (4 Premieres and 4 Ranking) there are certainly enough points up for grabs to move him into qualification but because of overlaps in event scheduling and tournament rule sets he only has 5 events that he can compete in and he’s prepared with a fresh mindset.



SEAM 2018 Premiere - Singapore 10/13/18 - 10/14/18

Southeast Asian Major 2018 is the next big stop on the Capcom Pro Tour. It will also plays host to the Asia Regional Finals. Unfortunately, as John isn’t ranked in the top 8 for Asia, he won’t be participating in the regional finals, but he will be in attendance for the Premiere event. At his current point standing he could qualify with just this event alone if he can pull out a masterful performance.

John's Target: 4th or better

With a 4th place finish at SEAM, Takeuchi would slide just inside the bubble. He's currently 154 points outside of qualification and a 4th place finish would award 160 points. Certainly not enough to be confident but at least it puts him over the hump. A win at SEAM would guarantee his participation at Capcom Cup — fingers crossed.

East Coast Throwdown, New Jersey, USA / Jam Festival 2018 - Brazil 10-19-18-10-21-18

From Singapore, Takeuchi will have to decide between visiting the most hardcore, metal infused Capcom event at East Coast Throwdown, who partners with Roadrunner Records to offer a unique tournament experience or head down to South America for Jam Festival 2018 in Brazil.

Both of these events are Ranking events so even with a win, Takeuchi would be just short of the current qualification goal. A Ranking event only rewards 150 points for first, which puts him 4 points out of contention as of today's leaderboard.

Depending on the performances Takeuchi is able to muster at SEAM and ECT/Jam Fest, there are 3 more Premieres before the Capcom Cup finale:

Canada Cup, Toronto, ON Canada 10-26-18
Latin America Regional Finals, Sao Paulo, Brazil 11-2-18
North American Regional Finals, Washington DC, USA 11-17-18

A glance at this turbulent schedule shows that we aren’t exaggerating about the grueling nature of the Capcom Pro Tour. In just a month’s time,Takeuchi will bounce from Singapore to New Jersey or Brazil then Canada, Brazil and Washington DC. We’re hoping he has a stellar performances prior to this schedule to solidify his placement without needing to go through such a gauntlet.

If worse comes to worst, perhaps Nemo can share his secret strats with the young rookie about how to win the last chance qualifier. One tournament, the day before Capcom Cup finals, winner takes all — shouldn’t be too hard, right?



Please be sure to lend our fighters your energy as they look to SEAM2018 this weekend to secure their spots in the Capcom Cup final. SEAM2018 will be broadcast live on twitch.tv/capcomfighters, starting October 12th.