Daigo: SF6's "random" design makes it impossible to crown a true GOAT

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While Daigo Umehara isn’t dissatisfied with the current state of Street Fighter 6, he says the game’s “random” style makes it difficult to determine the best player in modern tournament settings.

Evo 2026 is in the books, with Saul ‘MenaRD’ Mena once again claiming victory on the biggest stage in all of fighting games. It’s hard to argue against his current status as the most dominant Street Fighter 6 player, with two Capcom Cup championships and four Evo victories to his name… but Daigo Umehara isn’t sure a true ‘GOAT’ of the game has yet been crowned.

We got the chance to sit down with ‘The Beast’ of fighting games during Sunday finals, who revealed his surprising take on the divisive nature of Street Fighter 6’s balance as it stands at the tail end of Season 3.

Right now, the Western fighting game community (FGC) is vocally outspoken regarding Street Fighter 6’s Drive Rush mechanic, arguing that the tool is too overpowered and hard to ‘check’ even at the best of times — something that left players even more disappointed after Capcom told us they have no plans to make any gameplay changes at present.

This was news to Daigo, who admitted that although the game is ‘random,’ he sees both the positive and negative sides of this particular coin, specifically where tournaments are concerned.

“The random elements in the gameplay that exist now are doing a good job of bringing in new players, so I’m not against that,” he told us. “I’m not at all dissatisfied with this idea that [Capcom] aren’t going to make major changes [to Street Fighter 6]. The only thing is, I feel like, with the way this game works, it's hard for an absolute best player to emerge, so you end up with this sort of fluctuation in who's doing the best at any given time. I would like to see an absolute champion emerge, and I would like for the events to facilitate that.”

When we brought up the popular sentiment that MenaRD is largely considered the GOAT of Street Fighter 6, Daigo wasn’t in total agreement, despite acknowledging his standout performance in the game’s pro circuit.

“Even at Evo right now, he's obviously doing really well, but I want it to go even further than that,” he mused. “I don’t think that it's up to Mena to achieve that. It's more about the rules of the events.”

"[Mena] is obviously doing really well, but I want it to go even further than that."

Daigo Says SF6 Tournaments Would Benefit From Longer Sets

After asking him for clarification, Daigo said that the rules for tournaments within the Capcom Pro Tour restrict gameplay to such a degree that it doesn’t allow players enough time to truly get a feel for their opponents — something that came as no surprise from someone famous for his legendary ‘First to 10’ sets.

Right now, the Capcom Pro Tour dictates a ‘First to Three’ (or Best of Five) format for matches within Top 8 brackets, while games prior to that use a ‘First to Two’ (or Best of Three) format. For Daigo, this simply isn’t enough time to get a grip on the battle, and he’d much prefer a ‘First to Five’ format for preliminary sets, instead.

“Currently, tournaments are formatted in this ‘First to Two’ structure, which is very casual-leaning, and it's the same thing as what you would get in ranked matches when you play online,” he explained. “Everybody already knows that there's no way to win consistently in that format, even in ranked when you play online. But I also understand that this casual format is what brings in lots of players. It’s not something I oppose inherently, but I think for more important events like Capcom Cup, they should switch to a ‘First to Three’ structure or longer.

“With these bigger events like Capcom Cup, because they're once a year, it would be better to go longer, like start at ‘First to Five’ in the qualifiers and then go up to ‘First to Seven’ or something. But the problem is, there’s a limit on how long these events can be, so it doesn’t seem feasible. But if we’re just talking ideally, maybe have the event itself last more like a week or ten days long, just because it’s only once a year. If I were a younger player and really set on winning that prize with money, the current rules would be kind of a bummer.”

MenaRD "Split" on Daigo's Comments About the Hunt For Street Fighter 6 'GOAT'

We got the chance to speak with Mena following his resounding victory at Evo 2026, where we asked him about his thoughts on Daigo’s sentiments regarding the current CPT tournament structure and whether or not it’s truly possible to crown a ‘GOAT’ in these conditions.

“There’s a side of me that would agree,” he admitted. “Of course, I want the most amount of skill to dictate every championship, and as players, I feel like it’s inevitable to feel that way. At the same time, if you think about the product itself and how boring it could become to a lot of people [if that structure were in place], I’m not sure if it’s the right step [to take]. I’m a little bit split on that. I think for the product itself, if we want people to watch Street Fighter, we need to have a quick format that people can enjoy. But as a player, of course, I want not ‘First to Seven’ matches, but ‘First to 200.’”

For now, Capcom at least believes that Street Fighter 6 is in a solid spot, and MenaRD’s prowess isn’t showing any signs of stopping anytime soon. It remains to be seen if Yasmine’s addition to the game will change up the meta in a meaningful way, or if Mena and his Blanka will continue to ravage the competition going into the rest of the competitive season.

Todd Gutierrez, Natalia Martinez / Red Bull Content Pool

Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze .