Street Fighter 6 pro Samuel ‘MenaRD’ Mena has won Evo Japan 2025, making him a two-time Evo champion.
Evo Japan 2025 held a record-breaking Street Fighter 6 tournament from May 9th to May 11th, featuring all of the world’s best competitors.
MenaRD defeated nearly 7,200 fighters and was one of only three non-Japanese players to make it to the Top 8. The first place finish won him $12,000 (~£9,000).
MenaRD Continues to Dominate Street Fighter 6 Scene
MenaRD was one of the players to watch going into Evo Japan 2025, a top player from the Dominican Republic with a passion for building up his home country’s fighting game community. In a post-match interview, MenaRD said the key to staying on top is to ‘always believe in yourself’.
MenaRD didn’t drop a single set during his incredible Evo run despite playing a few different characters throughout the tournament. This includes Zangief and M. Bison, which surprised some fans. However, he brought back his main, Blanka, in the Grand Final fight against Ryukichi, a nail-biting 3-1 series with a few close matches but no major upsets.
“It will be a long time before I return to Japan, so I want to leave this message behind. I was able to win because I have been practising here more than anywhere else for the past year,” MenaRD tweeted in Japanese after the victory.
“I am truly grateful to all the players who play with me. If there is anything I can do to help the players or the community, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Best of luck to all athletes and organisers in the next SFL and WW events.”
The FGC flooded him with support, including a lot of Japanese fans that said they had cheered for him throughout the tournament, praising him for being the ‘best player’ in the scene.
This massive win qualifies MenaRD for the Capcom Championship and the Esports World Cup, two Street Fighter 6 tournaments with a $1m (~£758,200) on the line.
MenaRD is a two-time Evo champion after winning Evo Japan in 2024 and 2025, as well as a two-time Capcom Cup champion, winning in 2017 and 2023. He also won CEO 2023 when Street Fighter 6 was first released and won the first SFL World Championship for the game. MenaRD placed fourth at Red Bull Kumite earlier this year.
