RED DUNES prevailed in a dramatic Grand Finals over GTW to win the EMEAA Final. After finishing the regular season as the second seed, they entered the Playoffs in the Semi Final, where they defeated YESPORTS and advanced to overcome GTW for the title. Previously known as Ninjas in Pyjamas, the team rebranded as RED DUNES while retaining the same roster. The victory marks the team’s third consecutive Finals win and sends them once again to the SFL World Championship at Capcom Cup 13 in Tokyo, Japan next year.
The EMEAA Finals took place on Saturday, October 24 at MCM Comic Con London at ExCeL London. Four of the six teams from the regular season advanced to the Playoffs and competed for a $100,000 prize pool: $60,000 for first place, $30,000 for second place, and $10,000 for third place. GTW finished first in the standings and advanced directly to Grand Finals. Second place RED DUNES entered in the Semi Final, while third place MVS and fourth place YESPORTS began in the Quarter Finals.
EMEAA FINALS FORMAT
The EMEAA Finals consisted of three stages starting with the two bottom seeds, MVS and YESPORTS, facing off in the Quarter Finals. The winning team moved on to the Semi Final to take on second seed RED DUNES. The winner of the Semi Final advanced to the Grand Finals to face number one seed GTW.
All three stages were played in the same team match format used in the regular season with the following changes. The winner of the team match is the first team to reach 50 points in the Quarter and Semi Final and 70 points in the Grand Finals. The points structure for each set is the same as the regular season, but there is no tiebreaker. After each set the teams switch home and away team positions and compete until one team earns enough points to win. The other change is that all four players need to be in the rotation to play. If a player does not play in the first set they must be in the rotation for the second set.
QUARTER FINALS: MVS (HOME) vs YESPORTS (AWAY)
YESPORTS defeated MVS 50-30 in the Quarter Finals after building a 30-10 lead in the first set. Chris Wong’s Luke opened with a 2-1 victory over Mister Crimson’s C.Viper, winning the final round of the final game. MVS responded when NL’s Luke defeated Rainpro’s Guile 2-1 in another match that went to the very last round. In the anchor match, HotDog29’s Alex won three straight tough games over Leshar’s Luke to prevail 3-0, giving YESPORTS a 20 point advantage.
In the second set MVS mounted a comeback, winning the first two matches to tie the score. NL’s Luke pulled out a close win over Keekuma’s Yasmine 2-1 followed by Leshar’s Luke winning a rematch against HotDog29’s Alex 2-0. With the score now tied 20-20, the winner would be decided in the anchor match. Rainpro and his Guile faced Kilzyou’s Mai and it was a tense, back-and-forth set. Rainpro made several calculations that resulted in losing crucial rounds, and the match would go to the final round of the final game. Rainpro finished that round with a perfect, winning the match 3-2 and the team match 50-30 for YESPORTS.
SET 1: MVS (HOME) vs YESPORTS (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Chris Wong (Luke), 2) Rainpro (Guile), HotDog29 (Alex)Away
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Chris Wong | YESPORTS | Luke | defeated | Mister Crimson | MVS | C.Viper | 2-1 |
| 2 | NL | MVS | Luke | defeated | Rainpro | YESPORTS | Guile | 2-1 |
| 3 | HotDog29 | YESPORTS | Alex | defeated | Leshar | MVS | Luke | 3-0 |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| HOME | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| AWAY | 30 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
SET 2: YESPORTS (HOME) vs MVS (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) NL (Luke), 2) Leshar (Luke), 3) Kilzyou (Mai)
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | NL | MVS | Luke | defeated | Keekuma | YESPORTS | Yasmine | 2-1 |
| 2 | Leshar | MVS | Luke | defeated | HotDog29 | YESPORTS | Alex | 2-0 |
| 3 | Rainpro | YESPORTS | Guile | defeated | Kilzyou | MVS | Mai | 3-2 |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| HOME | 50 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| AWAY | 30 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
SEMI FINAL: RED DUNES (HOME) vs YESPORTS (AWAY)
In the Semi Final, YESPORTS faced the awaiting RED DUNES, who prevailed 60-20 and sent YESPORTS home in third place. Chris Wong, who scored all 20 of YESPORTS’ points during this team match, opened the first set with a razor-thin 2-1 victory with his Luke over Phenom’s Cammy. The match reached the final round with both players on low health. Phenom landed a jump-in that could have secured the win, but he failed to follow up, allowing Chris Wong to capitalize and win 2-1. Juicy Joe’s JP then defeated Keekuma, who played Yasmine and Chun-Li, 2-1. In the anchor match, Big Bird’s C.Viper beat HotDog29’s Alex 3-1 to give RED DUNES a 30-10 lead.
Chris Wong’s Luke opened the second set and once again defeated Phenom’s Cammy 2-1. In the following match, AngryBird’s Ryu earned a close 2-1 win over Rainpro’s Guile. The anchor match featured a rematch between Big Bird’s C.Viper and HotDog29’s Alex. After losing the first game with Alex, HotDog29 switched to M.Bison. Big Bird won decisively again, prompting HotDog29 to switch back to Alex. Big Bird controlled the match from beginning to end and completed a 3-0 victory. RED DUNES advanced to face GTW in the Grand Finals.
SET 1: RED DUNES (HOME) vs YESPORTS (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Chris Wong (Luke), 2) Keekuma (Yasmine), 3) HotDog29 (Alex)
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Chris Wong | YESPORTS | Luke | defeated | Phenom | RED DUNES | Cammy | 2-1 |
| 2 | Juicy Joe | RED DUNES | JP | defeated | Keekuma | YESPORTS | Yasmine, Chun-Li | 2-1 |
| 3 | Big Bird | RED DUNES | C.Viper | defeated | HotDog29 | YESPORTS | Alex | 3-1 |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| HOME | 30 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
| AWAY | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
SET 2: YESPORTS (HOME) vs RED DUNES (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Phenom (Cammy), 2) AngryBird (Ryu), 3) Big Bird (C.Viper)
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Chris Wong | YESPORTS | Luke | defeated | Phenom | RED DUNES | Cammy | 2-1 |
| 2 | AngryBird | RED DUNES | Ryu | defeated | Rainpro | YESPORTS | Guile | 2-1 |
| 3 | Big Bird | RED DUNES | C.Viper | defeated | HotDog29 | YESPORTS | Alex, M.Bison | 3-0 |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| HOME | 20 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| AWAY | 60 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
GRAND FINALS: GTW (HOME) vs RED DUNES (AWAY)
RED DUNES and GTW faced each other in Grand Finals. GTW took an early 20-point lead in the first set, but RED DUNES went on a winning streak to overcome the deficit and turn it into a 40-point lead at the end of the second set. In the third set RED DUNES would earn the final 10 points to secure the 70-30 victory over GTW.
GTW was off to a strong start in the first set, with Xian’s Kimberly winning 2-1 over Phenom’s Cammy in a close match that went to the very last round. Hope’s A.K.I. followed that up by earning another 10 points for GTW with a 2-1 win over AngryBird’s Ryu. At this point, Big Bird’s C.Viper earned a clutch 3-2 win over Zhen’s M.Bison after an intense, back-and-forth match, kicking off a RED DUNES series of wins.
RED DUNES won every match in the second set. AngryBird’s Akuma opened with a 2-0 win over Xian’s Kimberly, after which Juicy Joe’s JP defeated Bravery’s Cammy 2-1. Big Bird’s C.Viper and Zhen’s M.Bison got a rematch in the anchor position and once again it was a close match that went to the final round of the final game. Big Bird won 3-2, giving RED DUNES a 60-20 lead after the second set.
With only 10 points needed to secure the win for RED DUNES, the pressure was on GTW. Xian’s Kimberly won the first match for GTW against Phenom’s Cammy 2-1, keeping their hopes alive. In the next match, AngryBird’s Akuma prevailed 2-1 over Zhen’s M.Bison, giving RED DUNES the Grand Finals victory.
SET 1: GTW (HOME) vs RED DUNES (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Phenom (Cammy), 2) AngryBird (Ryu), 3) Big Bird (C.Viper)
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Xian | GTW | Kimberly | defeated | Phenom | RED DUNES | Cammy | 2-1 |
| 2 | Hope | GTW | A.K.I. | defeated | AngryBird | RED DUNES | Ryu | 2-1 |
| 3 | Big Bird | RED DUNES | C.Viper | defeated | Zhen | GTW | M.Bison | 3-2 |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| HOME | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| AWAY | 20 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
SET 2: RED DUNES (HOME) vs GTW (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Xian (Kimberly), 2) Bravery (Cammy), 3) Zhen (M.Bison)
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | AngryBird | RED DUNES | Akuma | defeated | Xian | GTW | Kimberly | 2-0 |
| 2 | Juicy Joe | RED DUNES | JP | defeated | Bravery | GTW | Cammy | 2-1 |
| 3 | Big Bird | RED DUNES | C.Viper | defeated | Zhen | GTW | M.Bison | 3-2 |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| HOME | 60 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| AWAY | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SET 3: GTW (HOME) vs RED DUNES (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Phenom (Cammy), 2) AngryBird (Akuma), 3) Big Bird (C.Viper)
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Xian | GTW | Kimberly | defeated | Phenom | RED DUNES | Cammy | 2-1 |
| 2 | AngryBird | RED DUNES | Akuma | defeated | Zhen | GTW | M.Bison | 2-1 |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| HOME | 30 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| AWAY | 70 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
TUNE IN FOR THE STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE WORLD FINALS!
Be sure to tune in to the Street Fighter League World Championship, which will take place in Tokyo, Japan on March 12th and 14th!
