Red Bull Kumite New York, the latest in the recurring Street Fighter tournament series, is set to take place this weekend.
The two-day event will take place at Brooklyn’s Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse on March 16th and 17th 2024. It promises ‘a rich and immersive storyline’ for this year’s tournament, with fans playing witness to the villainous Battle King’s scheme to rule the underground world of Street Fighter, with only one hero set to emerge victorious.
Confirming the final players who complete the exciting lineup, Red Bull Kumite New York features notable talent such as French competitor Valentin “Valmaster” Petit and the 2023 EVO JP Champion, Lin “Oil King” Li-wei.
Since January, fierce competition has also been unfolding on local battlefields, with numerous contenders vying for the last two coveted spots in the Grand Final.
Last year’s champion Adel “Big Bird” Anouche will be returning to the iconic cage to defend his title in the Street Fighter showdown. Players from Japan, Italy, USA, Canada, and France have also been competing for the final play-in spots and will be in with a chance to overthrow the pros.
Red Bull Kumite New York kicks off with the Play-In on March 16th, featuring a double-elimination, first-to-three tournament between the eight players who have come from World Qualifiers. The winner will then qualify for the Main Event on March 17th.
The Main Event is a single-elimination tournament featuring 16 players, including 14 that have been directly invited, and winners of the Last Chance Qualifier and Play-In. The bracket draw will take place at the opening ceremony, preceding the action kicking off from round one all the way to the Grand Final, all played in a first-to-five format (BO9).
Red Bull Kumite New York is joined by three partners for 2024 including AOC as the Official Monitor Partner, PlayStation as the Official Console Partner and accessories manufacturer Victrix.
In late 2021, UK player ProblemX won Red Bull Kumite Las Vegas.
Red Bull Kumite New York players
Confirmed players for Red Bull Kumite 2024 are as follows:
- Victor “Punk” Woodley (USA)
- Saul Leonardo “MenaRD” Mena II (Dominican Republic)
- Tsunehiro “Gachikun” Kanamori (Japan)
- Adel “Big Bird” Anouche (United Arab Emirates)
- Wong “Chris Wong” Yuk-cheung (Hong Kong)
- Derek “iDom” Ruffin (USA)
- Hibiki The Beast (Japan)
- Masato “Bonchan” Takahashi (Japan)
- Lin “Oil King” Li-wei (Taiwan)
- Valentin “Valmaster” Petit (France)
- Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi (Japan)
- Du “NuckleDu” Dang (United States)
- Shin “Leshar” Moon-sup (South Korea)
- Rob “Broski” Livingston (United Kingdom)
Play-in competitors vying for a spot in the grand final include:
- USA: Noah “NoahTheProdigy” Solis
- USA: Sean “Shine” Simpson
- USA: Alan “Nephew” Sun
- USA: Stephen “Space Boy” Agyemang
- France: Nathan “Mister Crimson” Massol
- Italy: Andrea “Garnet” Parlangeli
- Japan: Ryukichi
- Canada: Kuang “Zhen“
Red Bull Kumite New York broadcast talent
The event’s commentary team includes renowned players Joe “LI Joe” Ciaramelli and host Rob “RobTV” Burney, who will join forces to guide viewers through the matches.
The commentary lineup also includes Michael “Yipes” Mendoza, reporter Zhi Liang Chew, Femi “F-Word” Adeboye, Logan Sama, and Samantha “Persia” Hancock, all returning for another year to provide insight and analysis.
Watch Red Bull Kumite New York live on March 16 and March 17 via the Red Bull Twitch channel and Red Bull Gaming YouTube channel
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.
