Image credit: Marv Watson / Red Bull Content Pool
UK Street Fighter V player Benjamin ‘ProblemX’ Simon beat a host of talent from around the world to emerge victorious as the greatest player at Red Bull Kumite in Las Vegas.
He turned around a 0-3 deficit to win the final of Red Bull Kumite Las Vegas 5-3 against South Korean player NL.
ProblemX, representing Mouz, took home the top prize of $6,500 after putting in a stellar performance in the famous Kumite cage in Vegas.
You can see the winning moment here, with ProblemX playing as his trademark M. Bison:
ProblemX topped his group (C), picking up two wins and one loss, before progressing to the playoffs. There, he beat US players Punk 3-0 and iDom 4-2 before facing NL in the final, and showing courage, determination and consistency to turn around a 0-3 deficit to win 5-3.
ProblemX has been one of the UK’s greatest Street Fighter players in recent years, and has a history of performing well under pressure on the stage – ProblemX also won EVO three years ago and DreamHack London back in 2015.
UK FGC (fighting game community) commentator and analyst heaped praise on ProblemX after his win, saying he was ‘beyond proud’ to see ProblemX lift the trophy.
“Persevering through all of the online madness to bag yet another prestigious offline major for the trophy cabinet,” he said. “Wish I could be there to say this next sentence on the mic out loud: Ladies and gentlemen, your Red Bull Kumite USA champion… Purrrobuuulem Exuahhh!”
ProblemX was one of three tournament winners at Red Bull Kumite in Las Vegas on the weekend, the others being Japanese players Gen (Tekken 7) and Gobou (Guilty Gear Strive).
Our winner kept it simple with his victory tweet.
The UK has its own boss in Street Fighter V – and his name is ProblemX.
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.
