Street Fighter League: World Championship 2024 took place in the Ryogoku Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan on March 10th. Here the Champions from SFL US, Europe and Japan competed for the title of SFL World Champion in front of a large, energetic crowd. Representing their regions was Punk’s Team FLYQUEST from the US, Phenom’s NINJAS IN PYJAMAS from Europe, and Gachikun’s GOOD 8 SQUAD. Only one of these teams would earn the title of SFL World Champions, and the bragging rights that come along with it.
Up for grabs was a $150,000 prize pool with $80,000 going to the winner, $40,000 to second place and $30,000 to third place. As if the accolades and the prize money were not enough, the members of the winning team would also earn qualifying spots to Capcom Cup XII next year.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STRUCTURE
The SFL World Championship 2024 consisted of two stages: a Group Stage and a Final Stage. The Group Stage was a round robin format with each team playing two matches, with one match as the home team and one as the away team. The scoring format for each Team Battle was the same as the regular season. The teams were ranked first by wins and losses with the tiebreakers being, in order, points, battles won, and finally rounds won.
The Final Stage was a first to 70 points with teams swapping home and away teams after each set. There were no tiebreaker matches.
Below was the schedule for the Group Stage.
TEAM MATCH 1: NINJAS IN PYJAMAS (HOME) vs GOOD 8 SQUAD (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Gachikun (Rashid), 2) Pugera (Juri), 3) Kawano (Akuma)
The first match in the Group Phase was NINJAS in PYJAMAS as the home team against GOOD 8 SQUAD. GOOD 8 SQUAD came away with a impressive 40-0 win, but it was not as easy as the score might suggest. Every match was very close and went to the maximum number of games. GOOD 8 SQUAD could not have asked for a better start. NINJAS IN PYJAMAS, although they did not come away with any points, put up a tremendous effort in this highly competitive Team Battle. Any one of the matches could have easily have gone their way.
Gachikun with his Rashid was the first in GOOD 8 SQUAD’s away team order and Phenom stepped in with his Cammy, setting up a battle of the team captains. Phenom played patiently and won the first game, but Gachikun got the upper hand in the second game and would go on to win the next two games to finish 2-1.
The second set was between Big Bird’s Rashid against Pugera’s Juri. Pugera would win a close first game with a clutch OD reversal. Big Bird started the second game strong with a perfect first round. Pugera made the last two rounds competitive but Big Bird would win game two. The last game was a wild slugout, but when it was over Pugera took a 2-1 win.
NINJAS IN PYJAMAS needed a win in the anchor position to stay alive and Kawano’s Akuma was up next in the player order. AngryBird stepped in to turn the situation around as he did time and time again over his SFL career. AngryBird elected to use Akuma, setting up a mirror-match. The set did not go well for AngryBird at first, with Kawano winning the first two games in four straight rounds. AngryBird took a pause, as well as some advice from his team, and went in with renewed vigor to win the next two games to tie the score. In the final game Kawano would win the first round by intercepting a jumping AngryBird with a Dragon Punch after an intense fireball scramble. In the second round Kawano would win with a perfect, which was an appropriate ending to a 40-0 performance by his team.
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Gachikun | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Rashid | defeated | Phenom | NINJAS IN PYJAMAS | Cammy | 2-1 |
| 2 | Pugera | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Juri | defeated | Big Bird | NINJAS IN PYJAMAS | Rashid | 2-1 |
| 3 | Kawano | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Akuma | defeated | AngryBird | NINJAS IN PYJAMAS | Akuma | 3-2 |
| 4 | – | – | – | defeated | – | – | – | – |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Break |
| HOME | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AWAY | 40 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 0 |
MATCH 2: GOOD8SQUAD (HOME) vs FLYQUEST (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Psycho (Kimberly), 2) Shine (Kimberly), 3) Punk (Cammy)
GOOD 8 SQUAD, still warm from their shutout win over NINJAS IN PYJAMAS, was now the home team as they faced FLYQUEST. After earning a perfect 40-0 score in their first Team Battle, GOOD 8 SQUAD only needed one win to put themselves in the Finals. As you would expect from a World Championship, even this was not an easy task.
FLYQUEST’s team order was led by double Kimberlys, played by Psycho then by Shine, with Punk and his Cammy in the anchor position. Kawano, still fresh from his win over AngryBird, faced Psycho to lead off this Team Battle. This was a highly competitive set with two close games, with a few reads being the difference between winning and losing. Kawano was also effective with anti-airs, resulting in a more grounded set. Kawano would win 2-0, giving GOOD 8 SQUAD the win they needed at the beginning, albeit after a tough fight. Kawano would turn out to be instrumental to GOOD 8 SQUAD’s fortunes at this event, first here to get his team past the Group Stage and again in the Finals.
From this point FLYQUEST was able to close out and win their sets, albeit by slim margins. YHC-Mochi with his Dhalsim went in against Shine’s Kimberly in the next set. YHC-Mochi would win the first game easily, keeping Shine at a distance and giving him precious few opportunities to start any offense. YHC-Mochi would win a strong first round in game two, but after that Shine would go on offense. Shine managed to get in close consistently and keep up the pressure. He would win the next two games in four straight rounds to earn a 2-1 victory for FLYQUEST and hand GOOD 8 SQUAD their first loss.
Punk was waiting in the anchor position with his Cammy and GOOD 8 SQUAD decided to put Pugera’s Juri against him. Punk would easily win the first game and what followed was a back-and-forth set that would go to the last round of the last game. Punk would win the set 3-2 to give FLYQUEST the 30-0 victory in the Team Battle.
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Kawano | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Akuma | defeated | Psycho | FLYQUEST | Kimberly | 2-0 |
| 2 | Shine | FLYQUEST | Kimberly | defeated | YHC-Mochi | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Dhalsim | 2-1 |
| 3 | Punk | FLYQUEST | Cammy | defeated | Pugera | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Juri | 3-2 |
| 4 | – | – | – | defeated | – | – | – | – |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Break |
| HOME | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AWAY | 30 | 0 | 10 | 20 | 0 |
MATCH 3: FLYQUEST (HOME) vs NINJAS IN PYJAMAS (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Phenom (Cammy), 2) Big Bird (Rashid), 3) AngryBird (Ken)
NINJAS IN PYJAMAS was in a difficult position in this final Team Battle of the Group Stage. Their shutout loss against GOOD 8 SQUAD meant they needed to win every set to give them a chance at making the Finals. As the away team their player order would be identical to their first Team Battle, with the only difference being AngryBird changing characters from Akuma to Ken in the anchor position.
The first set of the Team Battle was ChrisCCH using Terry against Phenom’s Cammy. Phenom won this set easily 2-0 in four quick rounds. Phenom stuffed every attempt by ChrisCCH to get offense going and kept him on the back foot from start to finish.
Up next it was Shine using Kimberly against Big Bird’s Rashid. Big Bird had the momentum in the first round and looked the same in the second until Shine landed a clutch Critical Art that allowed him to go on to steal the round. After that round Shine took the initiative and did not let go, effectively using overheads to open up Big Bird’s defense. Shine would cruise to a 2-0 win.
The final set was Punk’s Cammy against AngryBird’s Ken. AngryBird at times played patiently, remaining still and waiting for Punk to present an opportunity, and at times switched to the aggressive play Ken is known for. AngryBird won the first two games. At this point Punk made the shocking decision to switch to Kimberly. He would win the next game, but AngryBird quickly adapted and won the final game to close out the set 3-1. NINJAS IN PYJAMAS won the Team Battle 30-10 but Big Bird’s loss to Shine in the second set put them out of contention for the Finals.
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Phenom | NINJAS IN PYJAMAS | Cammy | defeated | ChrisCCH | FLYQUEST | Terry | 2-0 |
| 2 | Shine | FLYQUEST | Kimberly | defeated | Big Bird | NINJAS IN PYJAMAS | Rashid | 2-0 |
| 3 | AngryBird | NINJAS IN PYJAMAS | Ken | defeated | Punk | FLYQUEST | Cammy, Kimberly | 3-1 |
| 4 | – | – | – | defeated | – | – | – | – |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Break |
| HOME | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AWAY | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
GROUP STAGE RESULTS:
All three teams ended the Group Stage with a 1-1 win/loss record, so the tiebreaker was points scored. GOOD 8 SQUAD with 50 points and FLYQUEST with 40 points moved on to the Finals. GOOD 8 SQUAD earned the most points, so they started the Final Stage as the home team.
FINAL STAGE: GOOD 8 SQUAD vs FLYQUEST
It was time for the Finals between Japan’s GOOD 8 SQUAD and the US’ FLYQUEST, and it will surely be one that will be remembered for a long time. It started to look like an easy victory for FLYQUEST until two breathtaking sets by Kawano, the first one to keep his team alive and the second to secure the victory, resulted in a stunning reversal of fortunes. This Team Battle was fiercely contested from beginning to end. Of the three full sets that were needed to determine the winner, only two matches did not require the maximum number of games.
FLYQUEST defeated GOOD 8 SQUAD 30-10 in the Group Stage and the first half of this Team Battle looked to follow suit. Kawano started the first set with his Akuma against Psycho’s Kimberly with the latter winning 2-1. Gachikun with his Rashid answered back in the second match winning 2-0 against Kimberly, this time used by Shine. In the anchor position Pugera’s Juri faced Punk’s Cammy. This was a very close match, but Punk was able to land multiple throws to help give him a 3-2 win.
The second set started out in FLYQUEST’s favor with Psycho’s Kimberly getting a narrow win over Gachikun 2-1. In the next match ChrisCCH would finally get his chance to shine with an electrifying win with his Ed over Pugera’s Jury 2-1. At this point FLYQUEST had a 50-10 lead over GOOD 8 SQUAD and only needed 20 points to win. The anchor match of the second set was up next, and if FLYQUEST won that match they would be SFL World Champions.
It was here that Kawano, with all the pressure on his shoulders and facing Punk’s formidable Cammy, pulled off a remarkable victory that changed the trajectory of this Team Battle. Kawano would win the first game in two rounds with the first being a perfect round. He would win the second game in two straight rounds as well. All the momentum was with Kawano, who seemed to be on another level. Kawano stuffed almost every Dive Kick Punk’s Cammy tried to throw out with anti-airs and he used Akuma’s fireballs to control the space to his front. Punk would win his first and only round in the beginning of the third game, but Kawano answered back with another perfect round and would go on to win the last to complete a crushing 3-0 victory.
In the third and final set FLYQUEST was the away team, and they revealed an all-Kimberly lineup, led by Psycho followed by Shine and with Punk as anchor. In this third epic set every single match went to final game, final round. Pugera’s Juri scored a 2-1 win over Psycho’s Kimberly in the first match followed by Gachikun winning 2-1 over Shine.
Once again it was Kawano’s Akuma against Punk in the anchor position, only this time Punk was using Kimberly. With the score in the Team Battle now tied at 50-50, the winner of this match would be World Champion. Punk would strike first and with a vengeance, dominating Kawano in the first game with double-perfect rounds. Kawano would start to adapt but Punk would still win game two. With his back against the wall Kawano would mount a comeback, clawing his way to winning the next two games to tie it up. The match would go to the final game, final round and Kawano would get Punk into the corner and land four straight throws to win the final round with a perfect. It was an astounding comeback for Kawano in this match and for GOOD 8 SQUAD in the Team Battle.
SET 1: GOOD 8 SQUAD (HOME) vs FLYQUEST (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Psycho (Kimberly), 2) Shine (Kimberly), 3) Punk (Cammy)
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Psycho | FLYQUEST | Kimberly | defeated | Kawano | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Akuma | 2-1 |
| 2 | Gachikun | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Rashid | defeated | Shine | FLYQUEST | Kimberly | 2-0 |
| 3 | Punk | FLYQUEST | Cammy | defeated | Pugera | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Juri | 3-2 |
SET 2: FLYQUEST (HOME) vs GOOD 8 SQUAD (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Gachikun (Rashid), 2) Pugera (Juri), 3) Kawano (Akuma)
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Psycho | FLYQUEST | Kimberly | defeated | Gachikun | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Rashid | 2-1 |
| 2 | ChrisCCH | FLYQUEST | Ed | defeated | Pugera | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Juri | 2-1 |
| 3 | Kawano | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Akuma | defeated | Punk | FLYQUEST | Cammy | 3-0 |
SET 3: GOOD 8 SQUAD (HOME) vs FLYQUEST (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Psycho (Kimberly), Shine (Kimberly), Punk (Kimberly)
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Pugera | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Juri | defeated | Psycho | FLYQUEST | Kimberly | 2-1 |
| 2 | Gachikun | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Rashid | defeated | Shine | FLYQUEST | Kimberly | 2-1 |
| 3 | Kawano | GOOD 8 SQUAD | Akuma | defeated | Punk | FLYQUEST | Kimberly | 3-2 |
| SCORE | TOTAL | S1: 1st | S1: 2nd | S1: 3rd | S2: 1st | S2: 2nd | S2: 3rd | S3: 1st | S3: 2nd | S3: 3rd |
| GOOD 8 SQUAD | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| FLYQUEST | 0 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
CONGRATULATIONS TO GOOD 8 SQUAD!
This was a truly remarkable SFL World Championship and all three teams deserve praise for great performances and for creating an event worthy of its competitors. Congratulations to Japan’s GOOD 8 SQUAD, who faced challenges and managed to overcome them with tenacity, on becoming the 2024 SFL World Champions!