A brief guide to Red Bull Kumite 2025

Sixteen of the best Street Fighter 6 players from around the world will clash in Paris, France for the prestigious Red Bull Kumite tournament this weekend.

On April 5th and 6th, the top FGC pros will compete in a caged stage setup in a single-elimination format, creating fast-paced, high-intensity one-on-one fighting for the chance to win €50,000 (~$54,000). This is the 10th anniversary of this one-of-a-kind showdown, so expect passion and emotion throughout the weekend.

The Red Bull Kumite tourney begins with a Last Chance Qualifier on April 5th, featuring 256 hopefuls duking it out in a double-elimination bracket. The winner of the LCQ will qualify for the Red Bull Kumite main event.

The 256 fighters will be split into 16 pools. The three best players to survive the pools will compete in the Top 48, which is also a double-elimination.

The Play-In stage will follow later in the day, featuring a double-elimination tournament with eight pros who emerged as the top performers during the Red Bull Kumite World Qualifiers. The winner of the Play-In will qualify for the main event. Both the LCQ and Play-In matches will be best-of-three fights.

The main event begins on April 6th. There will be 16 pros present, including 14 invited participants and the winner of the LCQ and Play-In. These top fighters will compete in best-of-nine matches — the first pro to reach five wins will move on.

The Red Bull Kumite competitors are some of the best from around the world. These fighters include:

Fresh off a Capcom Cup win, Kakeru is a top player to watch at Red Bull Kumite 2025. It will be interesting to see if he whips out new character Mai Shiranui or if he will listen to his wife’s advice and stick to JP. He would be wise to do whatever makes him the most confident, because Big Bird and MenRD are two top players who could pounce on any sign of weakness.

Another interesting player to check out is Nyanpi, recognised as the world’s best female Street Fighter player. She hasn’t been as active in the FGC scene since the release of Street Fighter 6, but she has continued to impress the scene in online tournaments. This will be your chance to watch her play in a LAN tourney.

Red Bull Kumite will be live from Paris on April 5th and 6th, with the tournament being streamed from Red Bull Gaming’s Twitch and YouTube channels. The FGC is also invited to attend the event, with tickets currently on sale.

The stream will feature seasoned broadcast talent like RobTV, LI Joe, JWong as well as veteran pro player Hajime ‘Tokido’ Taniguchi and FGC staples like Ken Bogard. These talented and passionate experts will be providing commentary and insight throughout the tournament.