This is a fantastic win for the young player, securing their spot in Capcom Cup 12! The final two players were Blanka, and surprisingly, not MenaRD.
The Street Fighter 6 tournament was the main event at Ultimate Fighting Arena 2025. Top players competed in this important qualifying event for the 2025 Capcom Pro Tour, earning points to improve their ranking in the league.
Good 8 Squad’s Sahara is a rising star in the Street Fighter 6 esports world. At just 20 years old, he primarily competed in local Japanese tournaments in 2024, where he didn’t consistently place high. However, 2025 has seen Sahara compete on the international stage, culminating in a victory at SF6 UFA 2025.
On the way to the trophy: Sahara and SF6 elite at UFA 2025
Many extremely strong players couldn’t reach the top 8.
- Dual Kevin got eliminated by Armperor
- Phenom was out after his loss to Blaz
- EndingWalker eliminated Higuchi but then fell victim to Juicyjoe
- Oil King, moke, Tokido, Itabashi Zangief, Punk, and others were out before the final brackets even started.
Knowing this gives a general understanding of the tournament level and Sahara’s achievement.
Sahara finished first in his group. Then he defeated KojiKOG and NoahTheProdigy to reach the top 8.
The final bracket opponents of Sahara at SF6 UFA 2025 were Nephew and kingsvega.
The match against Nephew was challenging. However, Sahara went on to win against kingsvega twice – first in the winners’ final and then again in the grand final.
Ed and Blanka: Japanese standards and a wild pick
At the UFA 2025 tournament, Japanese players showed off Ed’s impressive potential in Street Fighter 6, proving once again how effective he can be when played at a high level.
We previously saw Keita “Fuudo” Ai play this character at Blink Respawn 2025, though he used Dee Jay in that tournament.
Sahara played Ed throughout the entire tournament. You already know the result!
A surprising choice came from Kingsvega, a Japanese player who selected Blanka. Blanka isn’t generally considered a strong character, and typically only Saul Leonardo “MenaRD” Mena uses him in major competitions.
Kingsvega showed that Blanka is a viable character even outside of matches against MenaRD. Although Kingsvega ultimately lost to Sahara, they had a strong run beforehand, defeating Blaz, Dual Kevin, Juicyjoe, and Riddles.
Blaz delivers again
Derek Blaz is another promising player to watch. At just 15 years old, he’s incredibly young, but he’s already made a name for himself with impressive showings at Capcom Cup 11 and the Street Fighter 6 Esports World Cup 2025. He also competed at SF6 UFA 2025.
Although Blaz didn’t win the Ultimate Fighting Arena 2025 tournament, he’s once again among the top three players. He’s moving beyond being a surprising newcomer and proving he’s a consistently strong competitor, making it even more exciting to follow his progress in Street Fighter 6 esports.
With the CPT 2025 season winding down, only two Premier qualifiers are left. The next one is Evo France 2025, taking place from October 10th to 12th.
Sahara competes for Good 8 Squad in the SFL Pro-JP 2025 team tournament. It will also be interesting to see how he performs at Capcom Cup 12!
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2025-09-15 19:11