Xiao Hai fights his way to the top of the EWC: Street Fighter 6 Tournament

The inaugural Esports World Cup: Street Fighter 6 tournament has crowned a new fighting game champion. Zeng “Xiao Hai” Zhuojun won it all in a 5-2 victory over Masaki “Kawano” Kawano in an intense final match.

Xiao Hai’s road to victory

Xiao Hai, considered by the majority of the fighting game community to be the best King of Fighters player of all time, has also competed at an elite level in Street Fighter since 2012. Despite being a decade older than fellow grand finalist Kawano, 35-year-old Xiao Hai looked as if he possessed accessibility to a whole new level of play.

Xiao Hai took first place in Group D with a 2-0 record, ultimately settling for finishing second to Ryukichi in the second round’s GSLB. In the Playoffs, however, Xiao Hai leveled up with each match. A 5-4 victory over Hikaru “Hikaru” Nakatani in the round of eight was followed by a 5-3 triumph over Tsunehiro "gachikun" Kanamori in the semifinals.

Xiao Hai only dropped two rounds to Kawano in the Grand Finals. Speaking of his win on social media, he said: "It's an amazing day. Finally I get the Sf6 world championship. EWC is the most important tournament that i have ever won. I have never cried because I won the championship, only this time, and more because I proved myself on the SF6. Thank you EWC."

SF6 prize pool at EWC

Xiao Hai’s 1st place finish at Esports World Cup: Street Fighter 6 had him take home $300,000 of the impressive $1,000,000 prize pool and also collected 1,000 EWC Club Points.

In the Club Point standings at EWC 2024, Xiao Hai has joined Alliance, Alpha 7 Esports, Selangor Red Giants, Smart Omega Esports, Crazy Raccoon, Wolves, XSET, Team BDS, and KPL Dream Team in a eleven-way tie for 6th place.