Pro Street Fighter 6 player Kakeru walked away from Capcom Cup 11 with the trophy and $1 million richer. The JP main could've had a different outcome, as he revealed he was considering using Mai Shiranui during some matches, with his wife convincing Kakeru to discard the idea.
The 27-year-old went on a tear during this year's Capcom Cup, only losing a set to fellow Japanese player Tokido during the group stage. He'd go on to beat the likes of Dual Kevin, NoahTheProdigy, Leshar, and 15-year-old sensation Blaz, trumping him during both winner's quarters and grand finals.
Despite being the most recent (and very popular) DLC, Mai Shiranui was barely seen at the Ryogoku Kokugikan. Only a few players picked her up as a counter pick character to lackluster results, such as Nephew, OilKing, and Xiaohai.
Kakeru, who recently returned to JP as his main character following some buffs, could be seen regularly playing the SNK rep, hinting at her being a pocket pick he could use for certain matchups.
click to enlargeIn a post-grand finals interview translated by EventHubs, Kakeru was asked why he didn't play Mai after spending so much time with her — in Street Fighter 6 ranked that is.
"I wanted to use Mai and that's actually the reason me and my wife were fighting. In the end, we decided together 'JP is going to work better,' so I decided to stick with JP only for the event."
It seems Kakeru's wife wanted him to stick to being a good boy, as one Masahiro Sakurai once said. Or rather, inspired by the timeless quote of Sanford Kelly, she convinced him to "pick a top tier" and take home that $1 million bag.
In any case, Capcom Cup 11 was an exciting celebration of Street Fighter 6 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan arena. So much so, that the company already confirmed they'll be returning to the venue next year.
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