With a brand-new game hitting esports events, it’s a perfect time to look for the best Street Fighter players. There are tons of advantages to knowing the top players, you know who to watch for tournaments, who to look at for patches to see how the meta has changed, and they can give you an edge in Street Fighter betting. Determining the top pro Street Fighter players can be tricky though, especially with 6 being such a new release.
The top players for a brand-new game can always be tricky to pin down. Looking at early results across tournaments though, there are ten great players who really stand out. These are the ten best Street Fighter players.
Best Street Fighter Players
Below you can find a table indicating the best Street Fighter players at the moment:
| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| #1 | MenaRD |
| #2 | Nephew |
| #3 | Punk |
| #4 | Big Bird |
| #5 | Shine |
| #6 | Akainu |
| #7 | Kakeru |
| #8 | Caba |
| #9 | iDom |
| #10 | Sticky Fingers |
Below we break down each of the best players in the game.
10. Sticky Fingers
Sticky Fingers is a lesser-known player than some others on the best Street Fighter players list, but he’s already started to make a mark on the game. He came in 4th at the CEO Street Fighter 6 Major. This already puts him on the map and he’s a major contender for the Capcom Pro Tour this year.
9. iDom
iDom is one of the best Street Fighter players of all time with his win at the Capcom Cup. So far in SF 6, doesn’t have any major wins to his name but he’s placed great at quite a few tournaments. iDom isn’t just one of the best Street Fighter players of all time, he’s also skilled in other games. While he wouldn’t make the list of the best Tekken players, he’s achieved good things in Marvel V Capcom, Guilty Gear and FighterZ. Turning his full attention to Street Fighter 6 though, things look promising.
Before EVO 2023, iDom has already picked up a 5-6th place finish at CEO, 10th at Kumite, and another 5-6 at the Intel Plays Invitational. These are all three of the major tournaments so far and he’s safely been in the top 10. Unlike some of the others in his list with Major wins under them already, iDom has been showing up to pretty much everything. He might have a bright future rising up the list of the top Street Fighter players if he keeps it up
8. Caba
Caba is another player who has ranked well at the first Major, coming 5-6 at CEO. On top of that though, he has a second-place finish at another tournament which puts him above the others mentioned so far as the best pro Street Fighter players. Caba took 2nd place at Impact Protocol. This was a much smaller tournament which didn’t feature the very best players, but it’s still an impressive set of results this early in the game’s lifespan.
7. Kakeru
Kakeru is one of the best Japanese Street Fighter players, at least at this early stage for competition. He most notably went into the Red Bull Kumite tournament after a 1st place finish at the Last Chance qualifier. At the tournament itself, he wasn’t quite as lucky but definitely earned his spot. He ended up coming in 3-4th, which are two amazing results for his only two Street Fighter 6 tournaments.
He’s definitely an international player to watch at upcoming tournaments.
6. Akainu
Akainu is another high-level player who had already achieved some big finishes in the first month of Street Fighter 6. He’s a French player who also took part in Red Bull Kumite and very nearly went home with the crown, just coming in 2nd.
While it might not have quite been a win, his performance at the tournament marks him out as one of the top Street Fighter players.
5. Shine
Shine is a longer-serving pro Street Fighter player who has been at the top of the game since launch. He’s already managed to rack up 2 second-place finishes in the limited number of tournaments. He got that slot at the Intel Plays Invitational, but also at a DreamHack Dallas tournament for the game. He didn’t fare quite as strong at CEO, only coming in 9-12, but these other two wins definitely recognise the player as one of the best active right now.
He’s had strong results in other fighting games too like Street Fighter V and Guilty Gear. As a Street Fighter 6 player though, he’s risen to the very top of the game in the early weeks.
4. Big Bird
Big Bird is a player who has already taken a win at a major tournament, easily making him one of the best Street Fighter players.
He took first place at Red Bull Kumite, a big achievement even this early in the game. Prior to this, he won a smaller tournament, the Slash N Dash Emirates Showdown. These wins are enough to mark Big Bird as one of the very top Street Fighter 6 players. The tournaments might not have featured some high-level players, but he’s easily one of the very best currently playing.
3. Punk
Punk is a longer-standing Street Fighter player who had a highly decorated career back in Street Fighter V, where he won eight Capcom Pro Tour events, 2nd at EVO, and was a runner-up at the Capcom Cup 2019. In Street Fighter 6, he’s wasted no time in stepping up to the top tier of Street Fighter 6.
Punk has taken first place at Impact Protocol 2023, a smaller tournament but still impressive. Along with winning the ICFC North America Summer #3 and #1. He also took 3rd at both CEO and Intel Plays 2023 Invitational. With all this behind him, he’s clearly a contender for being the best Street Fighter player of all time with SF 6.
2. Nephew
The runner-up in our early list of the best Street Fighter 6 players is Nephew.
He’s a player who has already taken some big wins, like 2nd at CEO and 4th at the Intel Plays Invitational. He beat out Punk for his finish at CEO, but spots 3 and 2 on the top Street Fighter players do feel fairly close so far into the game. Either of them is a contender for taking the number 1 spot.
1. MenaRD
The very top fighter out of the best Street Fighter players of all time for at least the early part of the game has to be MenaRD. The two-time Capcom Cup winner has gotten off to an amazing start in the game. He won CEO 2023, the only Major he’s competed in so far. He was unable to attend Red Bull Kumite thanks to some visa problems but did show up for the Intel Plays 2023 Invitational, which he also won.
With these early results he’s an easy pick for the best Street Fighter 6 player. Heading into EVO there are a lot of eyes on MenaRD, he could definitely turn two Capcom Cup wins into three with Street Fighter 6. Something that would pretty much be the biggest achievement for modern pro Street Fighter players.
Those are the top pro Street Fighter players right now, but it’s still early. A lot of the big names at the moment are the players who have been committed to Street Fighter for a long time. With the popularity of 6 and bigger prize pools, we’re sure to see new talent emerge and make it onto this list, maybe even including some female Street Fighter players in the future!
Street Fighter Best Players FAQs
Who is currently the best Street Fighter player?
The best Street Fighter 6 player at the moment is likely MenaRD. He’s taken pretty much every event he’s played in so far and looks head and shoulders above the competition. We’ll have to see how things go at EVO 2023 though, as it’s still early days for Street Fighter 6. He’s definitely one of the best Street Fighter players currently active though.
Who is the best Street Fighter V player in the world?
- 2016 – NuckleDu
- 2017 – MenaRD
- 2018 – gachikun
- 2019 – iDom
- 2020 – MenaRD
With two wins behind him, MenaRD might be the best Street Fighter 6 player. However, it really depends on when you want to look at the game.
