A brief guide to Capcom Cup 11, Street Fighter’s biggest event of the year

Lea Maas
Capcom Cup 11 key graphic
Image credit: Capcom Cup 11

With the Capcom Cup 11 kicking off next month, Street Fighter 6’s Capcom Pro Tour 2024 is heading into its final stages.

From March 5th-8th, Capcom Cup 11 will see 48 players compete at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan for its $1m (~£790,000) prize pool. Here is everything you need to know about Street Fighter 6’s biggest event of the year,

Capcom Cup 11 format explained

Similar to last year’s iteration, Capcom Cup 11 will consist of a Group Stage followed by a double-elimination bracket to determine its champion.

First, participants will be randomly divided into eight groups. Throughout three days, they will play best-of-three (BO3) round-robin matches within their groups. The top two emerging players in each group will qualify for the Top 16 Finals.

On the final day of the event, the top placing athletes from each group will start on the Winner’s side (upper bracket), while the 2nd place players will commence on the Loser’s side (lower bracket). Players who lose on the Winner’s bracket will descend to the Loser’s side and are only eliminated from the competition after losing a match on the Loser’s side.

Participants will play BO5 matches throughout the bracket until the tournament’s winner emerges.

How to watch Capcom Cup 11

Capcom Cup 11 schedule
Image credit: Capcom Cup 11

The Capcom Cup will be broadcast on the event’s official YouTube and Twitch channels, with each match day starting at 12 pm JST (3 am GMT).

This year’s event will run alongside the Street Fighter League: World Championship 2024. Held at the same location, the World Championship takes place on March 9th between 11 am and 6 pm JST.

Fans can keep track of both event schedules and access on-site ticket sales via the dedicated website.

Players to watch

Among the 48 total participants of the Capcom Cup 11, ten have qualified through Premier Tier Tournaments, such as the Evolution (Evo) Championship Series 2024. The remaining athletes emerged from the World Warrior Circuits within their region.

Fans will closely follow Dominican player Saul Leonardo ‘MenaRD’ Mena, who is already a two-time Capcom Cup champion, with victories in 2017 and 2023. This season, the fighting game veteran has also won Evo: Japan 2024.

Despite a relatively even playing field among the world’s best Street Fighter athletes, some individuals have consistently performed during the 2024 competitive calendar. For instance, American FlyQuest team member Victor ‘Punk’ Woodley has won several high-tier events this season, including Evo 2024 and DreamHack Atlanta 2024.

The full list of Capcom Cup competitors can be found on esports database Liquipedia.

Lea is a business student with too many interests and too little time. Covering esports stories for more than 2 years, she is deeply invested in DEI matters, promoting mental health awareness and everything VALORANT.