Esports illustrated

One of the "worst" characters in Street Fighter won Combo Breaker 2024

El Chakotay proved that tiers mean nothing & other results at this year's CB.

Norris Howard

Image: Capcom (Edit: @sleepy_scrub)

Combo Breaker, one of the biggest FGC tournaments in the land, reached it's culmination on Sunday in with a ton of exciting sets and new champions being crowned in multiple games. If you didn't get a chance to see, here's a quick glance at all the action that took place just outside of Chicago.

The First SF6 Bracket At CB Doesn't Disappoint

Shockingly, this was the first time that Street Fighter 6 got a bracket at Combo Breaker and its first champion was quite unlikely. Despite having heavy hitters from all over the country, it was ElChakotay and his Lily that would be victorious. The win is notable because Lily has been known to be one of the weaker characters in the game. However, she's also one that's benefitted the most from SF6's most recent Balance Patch which was less than a week old when the tournament began. Had the Street Fighter community not voted to play on the most recent patch, it's likely that ElChakotay might not have won this tournament.

The SF6 bracket was also a parade of regional talent for the Midwest of the US. ElChakotay, Dual Kevin, and JAK, all hailed from the Great Lakes and put on for the home team at CB by making it to Top 8. In addition to local faces running the table, the Top 8 was represented by 7 different characters as well, meaning that the new patch might see SF6 in an even more healthy and balanced state by the time CEO and EVO roll around.

Tekken 8 Begins With A New Champion

Unlike Street Fighter, Tekken 8 was a run of the usual suspects at CB this year. While T8 may be a new game, it was obvious that the old guard weren't going anywhere. Many of the top players from T7 like Knee, Rangchu, JeonDDing and Farzeen all made it to the Top 8. However, in the grand finals, it was AK from the Philippines, looking for his first major title against Arslan Ash, the best Tekken player alive.

AK had the benefit of coming from the winner's side of the bracket and had some buffer room, but he didn't need it. Even though, the match came down to the final round of the final game, Arslan Ash couldn't find a way around AK's counter play and couldn't reset the bracket. Not only was it a long time coming for AK, but this means that Tekken 8 starts its tournament life with a new top dog in North American majors.

Other Results

1. Mortal Kombat 1

1st: RBT/T7G Nicolas (Chile)
2nd: SonicFox (USA)
3rd: NinjaKilla_212 (USA)

2. Guilty Gear: Strive


1st: Tempest_NYC (USA)
2nd: Zando (Israel)
3rd: UMISHO (USA)

3. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising


1st: Zippy (USA)
2nd: BEPaw (USA)
3rd: Aarondamac (USA)

4. Skullgirls World Championship 2024


1st: SonicFox (USA)
2nd: dekillsage (USA)
3rd: Nope.avi (USA)

5. Street Fighter 3: Third Strike


1st: Bubbles (USA)
2nd: Beesu (USA)
3rd: patty got bandz (USA)

6. Smash Ultimate


1st: Onin (USA)
2nd: Atreus (USA)
3rd: MVD (USA)

7. Smash Melee


1st:Hungrybox (USA)
2nd: Magi (USA)
3rd: Essy (USA)

8. Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes]


1st: BigBlack(USA)
2nd: knotts (USA)
3rd: $TANG (Canada)

9. Killer Instinct


1st: SonicDolphin117 (USA)
2nd: Valoraxe (UK)
3rd: @WheelsFGC (USA)

10. King Of Fighters XV


1st: ViolentKain (Mexico)
2nd: Wero Asamiya (Mexico)
3rd: Koopa (Mexico)

For a list of every result, from every bracket at Combo Breaker 2024, check the official Start.gg here.

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Norris Howard

NORRIS HOWARD

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