iDom beats Punk to win Capcom Cup 2019 with incredible comeback

Taking place at the Novo Theatre in Los Angeles, the Capcom Cup sees the top 32 Street Fighter players compete for a top prize of $250,000.  

US player iDom, who was entering the tournament for the first time, managed to overcome the odds in the final against Victor “Punk” Woodley – the top ranked player on the official leaderboards who scored the highest total points in Capcom Pro Tour history.  

It was a dramatic final too. Punk was relentless starting out; choosing to play as Cammy against iDom’s Laura and aggressively taking a 2-0 lead relatively easily.  

By the third set, iDom had adapted his play to Punk’s Cammy and won his first game of the match. Punk switched to Karin in a bid to seal the deal, although it didn’t quite go his way – with iDom preventing Punk’s combos to take the second game.  

Incredibly, iDom managed to reset the bracket by taking the next match too. He seemed to have found his stride in the round following, playing defensively against Punk’s attacks to take the next round 2-0.  

While Punk managed to secure a game in the final round, it wasn’t enough. IDom pulled out Poison at the last minute against Karin, which proved to be the winning trick to securing the trophy 3-1.  

IDom, who is unsponsored, walked away with $250,000, the trophy and a guaranteed place at the Capcom Cup 2020. As the runner-up, Punk wins $50,000.  

The tournament attracted some controversy however, with Punk pinning his loss on lag issues which seemed to be a reoccurring issue among players throughout.  

Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono issued a statement following the tournament, promising to take on board the feedback from players and viewers.  

Taking to Twitter, Yoshinoro wrote: “Thanks to fans and players for exciting Capcom Cup 2019! We heard feedback and want to apologize for issues like not streaming LCQ and some losers bracket for Top 32, as well as other operational issues that affected players.  

“I promise we will work hard to improve for next year.” 

Following the tournament, Capcom also announced the upcoming Street Fighter V: Champion Edition will add new character Seth – who first appeared as the antagonist in Street Fighter IV.  

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition releases on 14 February 2020.