December’s Capcom Cup 2018 marked a major first for Street Fighter pro Masato ‘Bonchan’ Takahashi . In fact, it was the very first time the player had ever made it to the Top 8 bracket for the game’s final competition of the season. Hot on the heels of Red Bull Kumite in Paris, and kicking off just after the last-chance qualifier, the Capcom Cup was rife with intense competition.

With the likes of number one seed Hajime ‘Tokido’ Taniguchi, grappling specialist Hiromiki ‘Itabashi Zangief’ Kumada, and team-mate Kanamori 'Gachikun' Tsunehiro , the competition was incredibly stacked, and looked like it could have gone anyone’s way. With the 2018 season now wrapped up, and the Capcom Cup concluded, we spoke to Bonchan at the big event to get his thoughts on his performance and where he sees the future of Street Fighter going.

Looking out for the LCQ

Saturday’s Top 32 bracket was preceded by the open-entry last-chance qualifier, which saw a slew of nail-biting battles in its own right. In a fight between one of the West Coast’s strongest Dhalsims and Victor ‘Punk’ Woodley’s sponsored player, Bryan ‘Dankadillas’ Teran faced off against Chia-Chen ‘ZJZ’ Tseng to secure the final spot among the already qualified competitors. ZJZ’s Menat ended up taking the win in a dominating set against his opponent (which you can see below) – a development that Bonchan had predicted beforehand.

As Bonchan had lost to the Taiwanese player twice at Tokyo Game Show in September, he felt that ZJZ was a strong contender to take the LCQ – which he ended up winning, thanks in part to Punk’s sponsorship. “[Punk] really thought that was a good pick,” Bonchan tells us of the sponsorship. “He really had an eye to pick a player. He’s been watching the tournaments, and if he’s sponsoring [ZJZ], then he thinks [he] can beat him, so it was a really clever choice.”

Brother vs brother

Bonchan went on to compete in the Top 32 the following day, beating out Naoto Sako and Chris Tatarian to secure a spot in Sunday’s Top 8 bracket. As fate would have it, Bonchan was set to face off against his fellow team-mate, Gachikun, who he chose to fight using Nash. Although Nash was considered relatively low-tier at the time of their battle, Bonchan felt the counterpick was his best option against Gachikun’s Rashid – which Gachikun agreed with in our separate interview .

“Honestly, that was the best choice for me out of the characters I use,” Bonchan explains. “People might think Nash was weak and had a disadvantage against Rashid, but I really think Nash beat Rashid – big time.”

The two faced off in a close set (catch it above), which Gachikun took 3-2, setting up Bonchan to fight Xian in the Loser’s bracket. “In that match, I spent too much time on Karin,” Bonchan tells us of the battle. “I had several characters that I needed to train, so I thought my weaknesses really showed in that match. If I were a Nash main and had only played Nash, then I would have won.”

I’ll show you the divide in our class

Rather than stick with Charlie, the Last Nash opted for Karin instead, facing off with Xian’s Ibuki in an intense showdown between schoolgirl ninja and heir to the Kanzuki estate. While Bonchan got an early 2-1 lead, Xian quickly brought it back, ultimately taking the set in a close 3-2 run, which you can relive below.

Bonchan admitted that he wasn’t a huge fan of Ibuki’s V-Trigger II, which Xian utilised throughout their set. “Do you want me to say cheap?,” Bonchan tells us when asked for his opinion about the mechanic. “Out of all the V-Triggers, Menat’s V-Trigger is ridiculous, but for Ibuki’s V-Trigger, it’s based upon V-Skill; it’s strong, but it’s not too crazy.”

How dare you challenge the king?

Bonchan decided against using Sagat in the Cup – just as he had in the Paris Kumite, despite stating that he would use the Muay Thai King exclusively throughout the tournament. His reasoning for the choice was based upon character matchups; if he faced off against Guile or M. Bison, Bonchan would decide against Sagat.

“I really wanted to show off Sagat, so I’ve been training with him,” Bonchan tells us. “Out of all the 15 opponents I’d have to face, M. Bison and Guile were the only characters I would not play Sagat against. I thought, ‘What are the odds?’ I really thought I would bring Sagat, unless I would meet M. Bison or Guile, and that’s what I drew – I drew Daigo [Umehara] first round, and then Problem X.”

For fans wondering if Bonchan will use Sagat going forward into Season 4, don’t worry; his answer was a decisive, “Yes.” (However, the player has since considered using M. Bison in tournament, thanks to the huge damage buff received in the Season 4 patch.)

Bonchan plans on using Sagat for Season 4 © Capcom

With Season 3 in the archives and Season 4 currently underway, Bonchan has major predictions for Street Fighter V’s future. The player referenced Street Fighter IV’s lifetime when quizzed on the subject, noting that after year four, developers began to take player considerations in mind.

“I understand how hard it is to balance a game, because you can’t just listen to the pro gamers,” Bonchan explains. “It’s a product that needs to be sold, so it needs to be enjoyable to everybody, not just the top-tier players. I started playing Street Fighter in the SFIV era, and I’ve seen it as well; SFIV was not balanced so well, and everyone was complaining. From year 4 on, they listened to the players and made it into a more balanced game, so going into Season 4, they’ve got the deal, and they’ve accumulated all the feedback.”

Bonchan sees hopeful changes for SFV’s future © Jason Halayko / Red Bull Content Pool

As for his performance in the Cup, Bonchan was frustrated – but also felt that he could have taken the entire competition, looking back on the Top 8 bracket. “This is the first time I made it to the Capcom Cup Top 8,” Bonchan explains. “But, looking at all the players that are left, I really think I could have won this whole thing. In that way, I’m like, ‘Stupid you!’”