Capcom Pro Tour China: A Fascinating Look Into An Underrepresented Scene

I'm hardly an encyclopedia of Street Fighter V players, but I can probably mention the top players for most regions. The exception so far has been China—until now. The CPT tournament that took place in China over the weekend was an interesting one as it introduced fans to members of the FGC they had probably never met before. We got to watch some amazing Street Fighter V action, and it was so good to watch players that are of the highest quality that we had never really seen.

This has been the beauty of the CPT online tournaments, it has given a spotlight to underrepresented communities, and after watching a truck tonne of CPT, I am now familiar with so many more fighters, some of which have been a delight to watch.

The Chinese CPT generated such interest because it is the first-ever being held in the region, and they got only one spot for the Capcom Cup, which is less than some of the other large regions that had two spots. However, this is quite fair as China, though monumentally huge, is one country. So, getting a Capcom cup spot is a big deal.

The other thing that is so amazing about the CPT this year has been the sense of jeopardy that it has added to proceedings. Because it's a tournament where only the winner gets anything out of the competition, we have seen a lot of big fish miss out. With only two tournaments left, things are really heating up, and with the Chinese CPT, we have a few names to add to the 'we thought they'd qualify for sure but didn't.'

For example, Xiao Hai, one of the most popular players from the region, made it into top 16 in the losers' bracket only to lose out to Ben Whisper. Even more, striking was how he lost, failing to pick up a game against his opponent. Another huge player that was expected to go further but lost out was Wei Li, who was soundly defeated by Shuai 3-0.

VXBao

Yanxin 'VXBao' Luo was easily the most entertaining bit of the entire tournament. While we saw a lot of games end in total wipeout for the victor, we were treated to some prime entertainment by Bao. Not only did he show up to the tournament with a bevy of characters, which he used to clear out his opponents before losing to Jiewa, but he gave some of the most hilarious quotes before games. The quotes players give before games have generally been used to thank supporters, express gratitude for the position attained, or to state that they would do their best. But, VXBao used his very differently, simply writing 'Urien needs a 3-frame jab and command throw,' which was funny and unique. Despite his slightly petulant tone, VXBao is an amazing player with an aggressive style that doesn't give the opponent any room to do anything.

Elation for Jiewa

Jiewa turned out to be the winner of the tournament. He has been a stalwart in the scene, traveling extensively for tournaments and always ready to play the game. His win was incredible as it felt well-deserved after all the sacrifices he had put into the game. Not only was his win satisfactory, but it was also insanely dominant. The moment Jiewa made it to the top 16, he didn't lose a single game, tearing through his opponents and recording 2-0 and 3-0 results with relative ease. He didn't break a sweat for the Grand final either as he defeated VXBao 3-0, making it the easiest final I have witnessed in the CPT so far. While this might not have made for spectacular viewing, it did highlight the sheer quality that Jiewa possesses to be able to win so easily.

Jiewa is the 17th entrant into the Capcom Cup set to take place next year with only the Australian and NA West legs left to play to give us 19 qualifiers with the last slot reserved for a fan choice. I don't know about you, but I am quite excited for the Capcom Cup as the thought of all these champions clashing is so fascinating. Here's hoping for a great Australian leg!