Street Fighter 6's US$2m prize pool a move 'to a nice direction', says Singapore's Xian
With a top prize of US$1 million, the esports pro said he would consider retiring and investing if he won, though "win first, then think".
The winner of Capcom Cup X, the final event in the Street Fighter's Capcom Pro Tour (CPT) 2023, will take home a hefty unheard of (for the genre) US$1 million, a move which Singapore esports pro Kun 'Xian' Ho said was a 'nice direction'.
For comparison, previous CPT tournaments offered prize pools ranging from US$5,000 to US$380,000 with winners taking home at most US$300,000.
"I think it's a good split, even the third place will get you six digits, so there's more to fight for. It's moving towards a nice direction," said Xian in an interview with Yahoo Southeast Asia.
Xian, Singapore's Street Fighter champ, added that unlike other games such as League of Legends or Dota 2, fighting games have a much smaller audience, and will take time to reach the "higher end of esports."
Even in the world’s largest fighting game tournament, the now Sony-owned Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the highest prize pool was just US$69,510 for Street Fighter V in 2019.
However, most fighting game players still aim to be the EVO champion because of the bragging rights.
Xian might 'retire' if he won the top prize
If he does win, Xian honestly hasn't given it much thought, yet.
"If I do win the US$1 million prize, I'll probably invest the money and retire — maybe buy a house and a car. Honestly, I haven't really thought about it yet. Win first, then think, I guess."
"My lifestyle wouldn't change, cos that's just me. I think it may actually make you work a lot less harder when it comes to trying to win tournaments as you may become complacent and you also feel like creating less content," added Xian.
"I think it depends on the individual, and maybe it sounds weird, but it sounds like I shouldn't win in this case," he joked.
Known for his dedication for mastering an off-meta character in Street Fighter IV, Xian has won multiple tournaments, the biggest being 2013's Evo Championship Series by beating one of the best Japanese players in the world, Hajime "Tokido" Taniguchi.
He followed that up with more wins, as well as a second place finish at Capcom Cup 2013.
More recently, Xian has dominated the Capcom Pro Tour's Southeast Asia tournaments, as well as coming in a respectable seventh at the 2022's Global Esports Tour in Ridyah.
Even if he doesn't take home the top prize, Xian still plans to continue his esports career well into his 40s.
Unlike other games where peak esports performance is usually below the 30s, fighting game pros have been known to play even when they are over 40.
Take for example, the most famous Street Fighter player of all time, Daigo "The Beast" Umehara. He's 41-year-old this year, and still competing even as of last year. Naoto "Sako", another 43-year-old well-known Japanese Street Fighter player, recently played at Evo Japan 2023, too.
"I don't think reflexes matter as much for Street Fighter or fighting games, because you know, the experience and stuff matters more. Because if that's not the case, then there won't be older players in fighting games," said 32-year-old Xian.
"In other games, when you hit a certain age, even at 28, you're almost retired."
Xian on Street Fighter 6 and advice for new players
But Xian is looking forward to an influx of new players once Street Fighter VI launches.
The new game will support a variety of equipment, from the standard arcade sticks to keyboards to leverless controllers. But more importantly, multi-region online play, allowing the different pro players around the world to play each other – unlike the region-locked SFV – will make the new game shine.
"You can just be a loner and play at home. Last time, I would say you can never improve without coming out to play with the good players, because you can only play with the limited online, but now, you can play with Japan, you can play with the strongest regions such as China and Japan. You can just play at home alone without a community and you can still get better," said Xian.
If the thought of winning a US$1 million playing a fighting game sounds like a career plan, Xian does have advice for aspiring pros.
"My advice for Singaporeans will always be to have a back up, because only after having a backup plan can you feel free to go ahead to chase your passion. And if things don’t work out you know you have a safety net behind you to fall on."
Capcom's Street Fighter 6 releases on June 2, 2023, while the 2023 season of the Capcom Pro Tour will start in summer and conclude next year.
Aloysius Low is an ex-CNET editor with more than 15 years of experience. He's really into cats and is currently reviewing products at canbuyornot.com
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