China's Zeng 'Xiao Hai' Zhuojun wins Street Fighter 6 title at EWC

<img src='https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-08-13/China-s-Zeng-Xiao-Hai-Zhuojun-wins-Street-Fighter-6-title-at-EWC-1w1LvXnXavu/img/2f45034178d5426ea4d6109c687d131c/2f45034178d5426ea4d6109c687d131c.png' alt='Zeng "Xiao Hai" Zhuojun of China's KuaiShow Gaming wins the Street Fighter 6 title at the first Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, August 12, 2024. /Zeng's X account'

Zeng “Xiao Hai” Zhuojun of China’s KuaiShow Gaming defeated Masaki “Kawano” Kawano of Japan’s Good 8 Squad 5-2 in the Street Fighter 6 final at the first Esports World Cup (EWC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, on Monday.

Zeng has been considered as one of the greatest fighting game players after winning a long list of championships in both Street Fighter and King of Fighters from 2007.

At 35, a relatively unfriendly age for esports participants, Zeng was the only Chinese player in the Street Fighter 6 quarterfinals in which there were six Japanese players. He beat three of them, Hikaru “Hikaru” Nakatani of EVA:e, Tsunehiro “gachikun” Kanamori of Red Bull eSports and Kawano in the last eight, semifinals and final respectively to take the throne.

“I began to play video games since I was six,” Zeng told reporters after the victory. “My game ID ‘Xiao Hai’ means ‘little kid’ in Chinese. I’m 35 now. Many said I’m too old to win, but today, I proved I can still do it.”

The prize money for the Street Fighter 6 champion at the EWC is $300,000. Though the number is not as high as the $1 million at the Capcom Cup X in Los Angeles, California, in February, the latter saved berths for players from certain countries and regions to promote the game. By contrast, EWC only allowed the best-performing players to qualify, making its competitions tougher.