On October 11, the French EVO, highly anticipated by the fighting game community, concluded its final battles in beautiful Nice. Chinese legend Xiao Hai defeated Japanese player mok with two clean 3-0 victories in the "The King of Fighters XV" Winners' Final and Grand Final, lifting the EVO championship trophy for the ninth time—a world-class fighting game tournament. He remained undefeated throughout the entire event; in the Grand Final, opponent mok didn't even get to see Xiao Hai's anchor character, Isla, before being swept away.
At the same time, Chinese player Yunwu, who won the US UFA "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves" championship last year and recently claimed victory at the Casablanca Fighting Championship, also achieved a commendable third-place finish in this event.
If you have been following the Chinese fighting game community in recent years, you will surely notice a trend. This community, once regarded as a "Dead Game" gathering place for "old timers," has burst forth with astonishing vitality in recent years. Legendary player Xiao Hai has returned to his peak, not only winning two EWC "Street Fighter 6" championships consecutively but also securing three SNK fighting game EVO titles within 2026 alone, once again demonstrating unparalleled dominance.
Following in the footsteps of pioneer Xiao Hai, the next generation has also stepped up. In addition to UFA champion Yunwu mentioned earlier, Naiwang, who specializes in "City of the Wolves," has been particularly impressive this year. At EWC 2026's "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves" event, Naiwang, who was not widely favored before the tournament, fought his way into the third stage, achieving the best result for a Chinese player at this year's EWC.
Meanwhile, the influence of the fighting game community is gradually expanding—it's not just about topping search trends when national players achieve results. Fighting game clips, fan creations, and short videos are continuously penetrating the public consciousness. Many outsiders who watch these clips will comment with phrases like "Bao Bao Hui" or "Hug Hug Hui." Major peripheral brands have also begun to notice the growing influence of fighting games and are launching collaborative products with fighting game players.
Looking at the thriving fighting game community today, new players might find it hard to imagine that just a few years ago, this circle was in a state of decline. Due to the decline of arcades and poor internet connectivity, domestic players struggled to access the latest fighting game titles, leading to a generational gap. Meanwhile, due to the lagging development of the fighting esports industry, veteran experts lacked resources to participate in overseas major tournaments, and new-generation talents had no high-level matches to hone their skills...
With difficult circumstances and a lack of successors, that period could be described as the "darkest hour" for the Chinese fighting game community.
Fortunately, even in such difficult circumstances, Chinese players passionate about fighting games did not give up. Many professional players, including Xiao Hai, persisted on the front lines, accepting prize money far inferior to that of other esports genres and subsidizing their careers through sponsored tournaments. Clubs like Gangtouwa and Bodongquan also supported players as much as possible during these adverse times, organizing various events that helped the Chinese fighting game community survive its most difficult period.
After that, the rest is history—the Chinese fighting game community hit rock bottom and bounced back, successfully seizing the opportunity presented by the resurgence of fighting game popularity from late 2023 onwards, bringing fighting games back into the public eye. Today, the Chinese fighting game community has made significant progress in terms of player base, player skill, and industry support, truly rising like a phoenix from the ashes.
Among these, the return of various large-scale fighting game tournaments best represents the comprehensive progress of the Chinese fighting game community.
Hosting a large-scale event first requires a massive player base to provide enough local experts to fill the participant slots. It also needs attractive prizes, such as substantial prize money and tickets to high-level tournaments, to draw non-local experts. These competitors from home and abroad form the foundation of the event's prestige. Additionally, venue facilities, staff configuration, and a reasonable schedule are crucial, collectively constituting the soft power of a major tournament.
Globally, regions that can simultaneously meet these conditions to host large-scale events are few and far between. However, once established, such events greatly enhance the region's overall strength. The best way to improve player skill is to compete in major tournaments and spar with opponents from stronger regions. Hosting such events locally naturally provides more opportunities for improvement at a lower cost.
During the low point of Chinese fighting games, such large-scale events were out of the question. But now, these major tournaments are blossoming everywhere across the country.
These large-scale events naturally include the "SNK Championship Series" (hereinafter referred to as "SCS") organized officially by SNK. Having been held for three consecutive years with expanding scale and optimized schedules and formats, this tournament is currently one of the most representative, mature, and prestigious large-scale events in China.
Its claim to having the highest prestige stems partly from its prize pool and super tournament ticket distribution, which are the highest in China and above first-tier levels internationally. The total prize pool for SCS 2026 reaches 1 million RMB, with the "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves" Grand Final champion alone taking home 300,000 RMB—three times the amount for the same event at France's EVO.
Regarding super tournament tickets, SCS 2026 will distribute a total of two SWC (SNK World Championship) tickets for "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves," two SWC tickets for "The King of Fighters XV," one EWC (Esports World Cup) ticket for "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves," and one ENC (Esports Nations Cup) ticket for the same project.
Both the SWC and EWC are high-specification tournaments with prize pools exceeding one million dollars. The SWC's total prize pool reaches a staggering $4.2 million, with the "City of the Wolves" champion alone taking home $1.5 million. The fact that SCS can produce such a large number of tickets to these prestigious events speaks volumes about its prestige.
It is precisely under the dual attraction of super tournament tickets and substantial prize money that SCS 2026 has attracted a large number of strong domestic and international players. Top players familiar to fighting game fans, such as Xiao Hai, Xiaobao, GO1, Fenliqi, and Sanqiao, are all on the SCS 2026 participant list.
On the other hand, the "soft power" of SCS 2026 should not be underestimated. In terms of format, schedule, and venue configuration, SCS 2026 has achieved a fairly advanced level.
SCS 2026 consists of two sub-stages and an offline Grand Final. Each stage comprises online weekly tournaments, an offline Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ), and an offline regional final. Taking "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves" as an example, players who perform well in the weekly tournaments advance directly to the offline regional final, while others enter the offline LCQ to decide the final two qualifying spots. Players who reach the top six in the offline regional final qualify for the Grand Final, with stage champions receiving EWC and ENC tickets respectively.
This long-term format allows SCS 2026 to consistently deliver high-level matches to players. The distribution of tickets in sub-stages and direct qualification to the finals ensure that players give their all in competition.
Meanwhile, SCS 2026 has aligned its format with international advanced standards. In recent years, super tournaments like EWC have generally adopted long-set formats, testing players' ability to adjust strategies on the fly and their resilience in major competitions. This poses a significant challenge for players accustomed to short sets.
In response, SCS timely adjusted its format. The current SCS offline tournaments adopt a double-elimination bracket throughout, with the Winners' Finals, Losers' Finals, and Grand Finals of its offline regional events using a BO7 (first to four) format. This allows players to adapt to the long sets of super tournaments in advance and provides the audience with more complex, dynamic, and exciting matches.
Currently, the first two stages of SCS 2026 have concluded. M', the two-time defending SCS champion in "The King of Fighters XV," and Naiwang, a core member of the Chinese national team, won the regional championships for "The King of Fighters XV" and "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves" respectively in Guangzhou. The EWC ticket for "City of the Wolves" was secured by Chinese player Lancer, helping him advance to a million-dollar prize pool tournament for the first time.
The Stage 2 Final was held at the ChinaJoy venue in Shanghai. Amidst the roaring cheers of the crowd, Sanqiao mi2ha4, often known for his "Gun of Kindness" in finals, returned from the loser's bracket hell. After a grueling seven-game series that led to a bracket reset, he maintained his momentum and defeated Nemo from SS Kumamoto Club 4-0 to win the "City of the Wolves" title, breaking the "runner-up curse." The "The King of Fighters XV" championship was taken by Chinese player XingChen, who, along with runner-up Chawan and third-place MadKOF, advanced to the SCS Grand Final.
On the other side, in the ENC qualification battle, Naiwang also defeated rising star Xiaocai 4-2 to secure his spot in the ENC.
Thus, the SCS 2026 schedule has reached its final decisive moment. On the upcoming October 16–18, SCS 2026, having gone through two major stages, will welcome its ultimate battle in Chengdu.
The participant list for this Chengdu Final is star-studded. In addition to players who placed in the offline tournaments, top-tier competitors like Xiao Hai and GO1 have returned from the hellish Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ). A total of 16 "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves" players and 8 "The King of Fighters XV" players will compete here for champion prizes of 300,000 + 120,000 RMB, as well as up to four tickets to SWC 2026 in Stockholm, Sweden.
With so many top experts gathered together, sparks are bound to fly and exciting matches are guaranteed. Let's take the Chinese players in the "City of the Wolves" category as an example.
This year, player Naiwang is in high spirits. After achieving the best result for a Chinese player at EWC 2026, he secured an ENC ticket in the SCS Shanghai side event. Whether he can strike while the iron is hot and lock in an SWC ticket is certainly a major highlight. It's also worth watching whether superstar Xiao Hai's long-term practice against Karate Man will bear fruit and if he can smoothly overcome his initial struggles with the new version. Youngster Xiaocai is about to face his first SCS Final; if he secures a ticket, it will be his second million-dollar prize pool tournament within a year of his debut. Meanwhile, the trickster VxBao might have secretly practiced new characters we never imagined, ready to catch opponents off guard...
They will face top-tier powerhouses from home and abroad—GO1, mok, mi2ha4... These are legendary players who have ranked highly or even won championships and runner-up positions in top tournaments like EWC and SWC. Among them, the rivalry between GO1 and Xiao Hai has persisted since the game's release, with their matchups consistently representing the highest competitive level of "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves."
Therefore, everyone can view SCS 2026 as a high-specification precursor to SWC 2026. Players engage in serious matches here to identify and fix weaknesses, while audiences get a sneak peek at the highest level of fighting game competition.
If you, like me, are eager to enjoy high-level matches and witness the allocation of multiple tickets to million-dollar prize pool tournaments, feel free to visit the Chengdu CH8 Lushu Performance Center from October 16 to 18, or tune into the official SNK live stream to enjoy this top-tier event, currently the highest-specification tournament in China.