Street Fighter V regional rivalry between North America and Europe heats up

Publication date of the original Japanese article: 2021-11-20 11:26 (JST)
Translated by. Nick Mosier

Ever since the League of Legends rivalry heated up, NA vs. EU has almost turned into a meme that’s spread through all of eSports at this point. And now that wave has extended to the fighting game scene, where what started as some trash talk might lead to a Street Fighter V (SFV) grudge match that even has the attention of Capcom.

What started this recent uproar was a tweet from Punk who is regarded as the strongest Street Fighter V player in North America. Punk tweeted, “EU has to be the only scene in the FGC when they win they just start talking a lot about being the best,” and followed up the provocative tweet with, “If EU is so nice the community can pick one player fundraise 10k I’ll put up my own 10k and I’ll gladly go to EU and collect my paycheck.”

Hurricane, a SFV player from the United Kingdom responded by saying it wasn’t about any individual player, but the strength of the regional scene as a whole. Hurricane made things a little more interesting by adding, “Now if you want to make it spicy, you can also send ANY other American player except you to face me for 10k.”

Punk showed no signs of backing down by tagging iDom, another strong North American player to take Hurricane up on the offer. And with this exchange, the SFV scenes in NA and EU were totally swept up in conversation about which region reigns supreme. The idea eventually came about for a 10 vs 10 round robin to determine which region really is the strongest.

As the debate raged on, Punk showed no signs of stopping the trash talk and said, “I am backing my COUNTRY 10V10 We wash EU not just EU we wash Japan also any region USA is for sure the best Region.” Punk then began putting together a list of who they would select in what looked like the beginnings of organizing the grudge match.

Of course, Hurricane and the European side showed no signs of backing down. Even Capcom’s official Twitter account caught wind of the back and forth and expressed their interest.

Japan, who suddenly found themselves thrown into the mix, couldn’t just stay quiet, with potential Team Japan roster selections being offered up. Japan is a region with some real heavy hitters, so players couldn’t turn a blind eye to Punk’s Tweet.

This looks to be a two-sided event between North America and Europe, though. Putting together a three-sided showdown with Japan in the mix could be tricky. But with Capcom showing interest, there seems to be a real possibility this 10 vs 10 grudge match could become a reality. With the NA and EU rivalry being what it is at this point, this grudge match could be bigger than some major tournaments.

This isn’t the first time Punk has made a relatively provocatory tweet. Other North Americans like SonicFox, a Dragon Ball FighterZ player, and Leffen, a Super Smash Bros. Melee player, are also known for being highly skilled and getting the scene fired up with their tweets.

In Japan,  these kinds of proclamations can get criticized for behavior not befitting of a pro, but that isn’t the case overseas.  Being able to turn these kinds of brush ups into potential events shows a difference between the community in Asia and in the West.

Or perhaps it’s an example of the fighting game community, which has had its share of verbal disputes and unsanctioned skirmishes, moving toward settling things directly. Either way, we sure hope to see a regional matchup between North America and Europe.