CPT Europe West #2 Served Us the Unpredictability We Deserve

When I had a look at the pools entering into the CPT Europe #2 competition, I honestly had no idea who would come out on top. I had an idea of who the favorites were, but I couldn't for the life of me come up with a winner. Well, as it turned out, DC 'Infexious' Coleman emerged as the winner, but it wasn't an easy road. Not only that, but some of the favorites fell out way before we expected. A common feature of the CPT 2020 online has been the defeat of many traditional heavyweights introducing us to some of the newer talents in Street Fighter 5. Infexious was able to win thanks to his expert knowledge of Zeku, and hopefully, his Capcom Cup qualification will go some way in making up for the disappointment of not making the Street Fighter League due to travel restrictions.

Below are some of the things that stood out for me in this tournament.

Upsets

As mentioned earlier, the Europe West #2 competition was filled with upsets. First off, we were hit with the news that Takamura, the winner of the first Europe West competition who entered this one to do some gatekeeping, didn't even make it to the top 16. Similarly, Momi, another player that people will know from his impressive performances, also didn't make it to the top 16. Even more shocking was the news that both Problem X and Luffy were in the losers' bracket. Furthermore, they were put there by relative newcomers, Mopuulapo, and Kilzyou, which was pretty remarkable. Problem X would drop out first after losing to Luffy, and Luffy didn't last much longer losing to Spanish FANG user VegaPatch. This was quite surprising as it initially looked like Problem X and Luffy would go all the way. We were treated to another upset when Hurricane, the hero of the EU streak patrol, was dispensed with by eventual finalist, Mr. Crimson. Hurricane endured a torrid day in the top 16 but was able to stumble into the top 8; unfortunately, he couldn't progress any further.

Mopuulapo and Kilzyou

I had never heard of either of the players before this tournament, and it was so amazing to discover that Kilzyou is a Pro Evolution Soccer player. The way he handled his Karin was like a seasoned pro, and while he didn't get too far, he showed enough to warrant a second look. On the other side, Mopuulapo was competing in his first CPT tournament, and to finish the tournament in 4th place was a remarkable achievement. With the help of a really intimidating Balrog, Mopuulapo sent Problem X to losers' before defeating Kilzyou and Shivs. His aggressive style of play left little room for his opponents to do anything, and this was evident in his win against Shivs' Laura, which was dominant and belied his relative inexperience. On top of that, Mopuulapo only lost to the winner Infexious, and finalist Mr. Crimson, so that should tell you something about his pedigree.

Infexious

Mildom Beast's Infexious was the deserved winner of this tournament. While he was unable to make it to the SLF, he gave us a glimpse of what we will be missing in this CPT. His expert use of Zeku was a joy to behold, and even when he picked someone else (he used Ken against Gunslinga's Zeku), his nous was very impressive. He even got a congratulatory tweet from Daigo Umehara to go along with the prestige of making it to the Capcom Cup 2020.

Just as with all the other tournaments so far, the latest CPT was a lot of fun, and with the Central American leg coming up next, we still have quite a bit of intense Street Fighter action to look forward to.