Shakil “Shakz” Ghazi (right) triumphed over Nathanael “Confz” Asubonteng (left) in the Red Bull Kumite qualifier yesterday (July 15th).
The event took place at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London, which saw more than 25 top UK Street Fighter V players come together to compete for a place in the latter stages of the tournament.
Shakz took the winning KO with a last second cross-under. He will now go on to represent the UK in the Last Chance Qualifier in Paris on November 10th, the night before the grand finals in the Kumite cage. There’s more details on the Kumite finals in our post from earlier this month.
As well as top players such as Packz and Hurricane, leading commentators F-Word and Logan Sama were also in attendance providing commentary and analysis of the day’s events.
Shakz usually plays for Fnatic and Confz for EnvyUs, but both were not wearing their jerseys on the weekend, perhaps due to org commitments/contracts with other tournaments.
“I’ve been looking forward to this tournament and to secure my place in Paris feels amazing. I know the competition will be tough against the best in the world – my training starts tomorrow.”
Shakz
In progressing, Shakz has also won the trip to Paris and a luxury Noblechairs EPIC gaming chair.
The Last Chance Qualifier will see Shakz pitted against 256 of the best Street Fighter players from around the world, battling it out for a top spot in the grand final against the pros, taking place on November 11th.
“I’ve been looking forward to this tournament and to secure my place in Paris feels amazing,” Shakz said. “I know the competition will be tough against the best in the world – my training starts tomorrow.”
Red Bull Kumite returns for its fourth edition following three tournaments. Kumite is unique within the competitive fighting game scene, with the grand final taking part in a cage in Paris, and with a focus on player rivalries and backstories.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
