Final player list revealed for Red Bull Kumite 2017, some overlaps with ELeague SFV Invitational
Red Bull has revealed the full list of Street Fighter V pros invited to Red Bull Kumite 2017.
Defending Kumite champ Lee “Infiltration” Seon-woo, Daigo Umehara, and Kanamori “Gachikun” Tsunehiro were announced Monday, joining previously announced players Masato “Bonchan” Takahashi, Eduardo “PR Balrog” Perez, Arman “Phenom” Hanjani, Naoki “Nemo” Nemoto, Nathan “Mister Crimson” Massol, DC “Infexious” Coleman, Arubi “RB” Kao, Lee “Xyzzy” Hanbyeol, Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi, Olivier “Luffy” Hay, and Zeng “Xiao Hai” Zhuojun.
Of the 14 players invited, seven are also committed to ELeague’s $250,000 Street Fighter V Invitational, which is set to begin later this month. If any of those seven players qualify for the ELeague finals, that could make for an interesting travel weekend because it takes place the Friday before Red Bull Kumite and Capcom Pro Tour 2017 Premier Event Combo Breaker.
As is customary for Red Bull Kumite, the top two players from a 256-player open qualifier will earn the right to compete in the final event, rounding out the brackets to 16 players total.
Since its inception, Red Bull Kumite has been one of the most exciting invitational events in Street Fighter. In its first year, Bonchan shocked the world by beating Tokido, who trash-talked Bonchan’s inability to win the big one after a string of second-place finishes.
Last year, Tokido was much more humble as he fell to Infiltration for the third time in almost a month. The two met in grand finals at Final Round and NorCal Regionals prior to Red Bull Kumite and would go on to face each other again at CEO 2016, with Tokido finally earning a victory against his early Street Fighter V demon.
Red Bull Kumite 2017 should prove to be equally exciting as previous years with a balanced roster of top and up-and-coming players. Gachikun isn’t a household name but he is considered one of the top Rashid players in Japan. He recently made it to the second stage of Topanga League, a high-profile Japanese tournament series.
Phenom, Mister Crimson, Luffy, and Infexious are the top Europeans invited to the event. Both Luffy and Phenom have sat atop the Street Fighter food chain in Europe for some time, but Mister Crimson and Infexious have an opportunity to showcase their abilities with their buffed up Season 2 Laura and Zangief, respectively.
Nemo won Topanga League after making the switch from Vega to Urien; it will be interesting to see what kind of progress he and his opponents make by the time Red Bull Kumite rolls around.
In related news, Red Bull recently announced its Street Fighter V amateur tournament circuit Proving Grounds is returning. It will feature two seasons, an all-new format, and host tournaments in more cities, with winners being sent to Evo 2017 and Red Bull Battle Grounds.
Michael Martin wants to check attending Red Bull Kumite off his bucket list some day. Follow him on Twitter @Bizarro_Mike.
