Mister Crimson Takes Home A Stunning Red Bull Kumite Victory
Red Bull Kumite 2021 kicked off last weekend, with players from around the world fighting for the title of world-class Street Fighter V player. Players flew to London from as far as Japan to attend this event, which is the first of its kind since 2020. With in-person events starting up again, many players are excited for the return of live and LAN tournaments.
Street Fighter V's community is no different. After a year of training and battling online, players were excited for the opportunity to participate in a physical event. The Street Fighter V and fighting games communities as a whole were excited for the event, as it marked a return to live competitions.
Online tournaments don't have the same feel as live events, which is why the gaming community were so hyped about this year's Red Bull Kumite. In-person events are only just starting to kick off in London, which is why people were thrilled that Street Fighter V was one of the first games to feature a live tournament in over a year. With large-scale tournaments, such as the Fortnite World Cup, shuttered for at least another six months, all eyes were on this event.
Red Bull Kumite 2021 spanned two full days, with sixteen players battling it out for a chance at the prestigious title of Street Fighter V World Champion. The tournament's first day featured an invitational Guilty Gear Strive tournament, where players tested their might in the upcoming fighting game. Twelve players battled for the championship title, which was decided in six fast-paced rounds of action-packed gameplay.
The second day of the tournament was even more intense. This part of the tournament was the day everyone in the fighting community had been anticipating. On May 23, sixteen prolific Street Fighter V players worldwide battled for their chance to bring home the first prize. Since the world was tuning into the event, there was a lot of pressure on players to perform.
Players such as Masato "Bonchan" Takahashi, Hajime "Tokido" Taniguchi, Oliver "Luffy" Hay, Claude "Hurricane" Eric Diboti, and Nathan "Mister Crimson" Massol battled it out in a series of electrifying matches.
There were a lot of talented players participating in the Red Bull Kumite. These players were each world-class in their own right, bringing their fighting games expertise and tournament prowess to the 2021 Red Bull Kumite. Luffy, for example, had won an EVO tournament in 2014. Bonchan had done the same in 2019, winning EVO and a slew of other tournaments. The 2021 Red Bull Kumite seemed stacked on all sides. Many viewers didn't know who would come out on top.
As the day wore on, however, many people began to take notice of Mister Crimson. Mister Crimson had dominated throughout the tournament, performing well without giving his strategies away too much. This tactic came in handy during the last round, where he was able to Vshift his way to a stellar victory. During his final match against Derek "iDom" Ruffin, Mister Crimson was able to quickly counter his opponent's every move. At the end of the match, Mister Crimson saw a clever opening, which carried him to his inevitable victory.
Mister Crimson's performance took the gaming world by storm. The French esports community was extremely excited about the win, as Red Bull Kumite was originally located in Paris. From 2015 - 2018, the event had been exclusively in Paris. 2019 and 2020 were the first two years the event took place in other countries, which was surprising to many fans of fighting games.
Mister Crimson was celebrated by fans of the fighting game and fans of French esports in general. His victory was big, especially for the Red Bull Kumite's home country. Many players were stunned that he used Dhalsim to carry him through the majority of the tournament. Dhalsim is a character that is known by the Street Fighter community to be difficult to master. Many players don't use him as their main for this reason, as he is a challenging character to map out when first starting.
Despite Dhalsim being difficult to control for new players, he is a very strong character for players that choose to master him. Many Street Fighter V players regard Dhalsim as one of the strongest in the game, which is why it is so surprising that a player with Dhalsim as their main took home the Red Bull Kumite 2021 title.
Click to enlargeAside from using Dhalsim as his main, Mister Crimson has another unique quality that made him stand out in the competition. Mister Crimson is a boxer, which has helped him tremendously in his Street Fighter career. Boxing taught Mister Crimson the discipline he needed to learn Dhalsim and master Street Fighter V. By possessing knowledge of fighting in real life, Mister Crimson was able to dominate at the Red Bull Kumite 2021.
The Red Bull Kumite 2021 has brought physical tournaments back into the public consciousness. It kicked off live esports with a stunning victory from Mister Crimson, which pitted him against fifteen other world-class players. The tournament brought life back into the fighting game community after over a year of online-only tournaments.
This tournament signifies much more than just a Street Fighter V victory. It shows that the fighting games community is stronger than ever. Players have been practising hard for their chance to dominate in the tournament sphere, giving their all to this title. Mister Crimson's victory shows that Street Fighter V players are ready to return to live events, and they have the training to prove it.
Images via Red Bull | Capcom
