LATAM is the Strongest Region in Street Fighter 6, and It’s Because They’re Hungrier Than You

I got the chance to speak with 2Game’s talent backstage in the aftermath of their monumental achievement, where I asked the obvious question: Why is Latin America so good in Street Fighter right now?

“I mean, we don’t take anything for granted,” the team’s coach told me. “That’s why. We don’t have as many opportunities as anyone else, and that’s why we’ve got to do whatever we can in any possible way to make sure we play at the highest level, no matter what. That’s why we’re doing everything we can with any opportunity. Lugabo, for example — this is the third time he’s played offline, and he’s already that good. It shows we have a lot of hidden talent in Latin America since forever, at least for the past 15 years, but many of them don’t have the opportunity to travel. So what you’re seeing right now is what happens when we get the chance.”

At 17 years old, Blaz’s achievements remind me fondly of Victor ‘Punk’ Woodley’s first breakout into the scene back in the early days of Street Fighter V. Now more than ever, Street Fighter 6 seems geared toward a generation of younger competitors — but for Blaz, it isn’t one’s age or ‘young man reactions’ that matter.

“What’s important for Blaz is not about age, but specifically about knowledge, experience, and how much you can get from playing,” his coach said, translating on Blaz’s behalf.

Of course, I had to ask him about that standout set against NoahTheProdigy, which has since gone viral within the fighting game community and sparked inevitable comparisons to Daigo ‘TheBeast’ Umehara.

“I came into the Noah match thinking it was going to be a little bit easy, but I was a little bit surprised by how Noah played,” Blaz explained. “He played a lot more focused on pressure, and it caught me off guard, but one of the things that you need to be able to do at these levels is to never surrender. So I did just that.”

For now, 2Game is going home to continue their training in preparation for the Street Fighter League World Championships at Capcom Cup next year. I have to wonder how Blaz will fare as an individual player at this tournament; wildly, it makes me consider the very real possibility that he could win both Capcom Cup and Street Fighter League under 2Game’s banner. We’ll just have to wait and see, but it seems that Blaz’s skills are only growing stronger by the day. And if his latest performance is anything to go by, it’s looking more likely than ever that fighting game fans are in for one hell of a treat.

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.