MenaRD wins third Evo championship after dominating Street Fighter 6 Top 8

Saul Leonardo ‘MenaRD’ Mena II has been crowned the Street Fighter 6 champion at Evo 2025.

The massive fighting game event wrapped up over the weekend with a late-night Street Fighter 6 Top 8 that was packed with action from the best players in the world. In the end, MenaRD rose to claim victory and $16,932.

MenaRD is now a three-time Evo champion after winning Evo 2025, Evo Japan 2025 and Evo Japan 2024. Adding that to his two Capcom Cup championship titles and MenaRD is one of the top Street Fighter 6 players in the world right now.

“People’s dreams have no end,” MenaRD wrote on X (formerly Twitter) after the victory.

It’s a fitting statement from the pro player who competes with the goal of supporting the Dominican Republic’s Street Fighter community. He has often told the press how the Dominican Republic’s Street Fighter scene has a small dojo and lacks the financial means to grow its presence and attract newer players.

But with MenaRD’s continued support, the Dominican Republic’s Street Fighter scene is growing.

He once told Red Bull: “I feel that I am who I am because of my community. Since they helped me have a better life, I will do my best to build a better community so the future generation can have it easier in the path of being a pro gamer.

“It’s my second family. [They have] always been super supportive when I represent, and super competitive when playing locally. I love my community.”

The Top 8 for Street Fighter 6 at Evo 2025 was stacked. It started with Kakeru, Fuudo, MenaRD and Phenom on the Winners side and Leshar, Xiaohai, Micky and Angrybird on the Losers. However, nobody was a match for MenaRD and his Blanka.

MenaRD breezed through the Winners side, with a 3-1 victory against Phenom and then a 3-0 win against Kakeru, who then had to fight through Losers to get the chance to try and take MenaRD down once more. But there’s a reason he’s called ‘The Last Boss’ in Japan.

Throughout the tournament, it didn’t really look like anyone could compete against MenaRD — he was fighting on another level. This continued into the Grand Final match, which saw MenaRD read almost every incoming attack, punish with intensity and dance artfully in neutral. Kakeru couldn’t keep up with MenaRD’s relentless aggression and quick reflexes.

Here are the final results of the Street Fighter 6 Top 8 at Evo 2025:

MenaRD is already qualified for the Capcom Cup 12 for his results at Premier tournaments, so his recent victory didn’t change much for him in that sense. Kakeru is also qualified for winning Capcom Cup 11 last year. The two will face each once more at the massive tournament, which has $1m on the line for the winner.