Top 5 Dark Horse Picks

5. iDom

An absolute killer from the New York FGC, iDom is known for having the deadliest Laura on the planet – a character so scary that iDom’s opponents in the North American Street Fighter League banned her for the entirety of the season despite the fact that she’s far from top-tier (#FreeLaura).

Despite not being able to play his main in the NA SFL, iDom did benefit from the experience overall as he ended up picking up Poison as a secondary character. We’ve seen him break her out in a couple of tournament matches, and it looks very promising.

iDom is still searching for his first premier tournament championship, and Poison may just be the solution to help him overcome Laura’s glaring weaknesses in a tournament setting.

4. AngryBird

His fellow compatriot from the UAE (the other Bird that plays Rashid) might outrank him in terms of achievements and CPT leaderboard placing. However, this superb Zeku player is the one we have our eye on as a dark horse pick for this year’s Capcom Cup finals.

Known for his explosive comebacks and underdog victories over some of the best players in the world in major international tournaments, AngryBird has the kind of clutch, giant-killing playstyle that is going to be an absolute joy to watch at a high stakes competition filled with top players like the Capcom Cup.

3. Kichipa-mu

The Capcom Cup finals bracket is of course going to be filled to the brim with the best Street Fighter players in the world, but somehow, this young Zangief player from Japan manages to be the scariest one out of all of them.

Every good player exerts a certain level of presence and intimidation when they play, but when Kichipa-mu is walking towards his opponent with just 30% of his health left, he’s downright terrifying.

He’s still trying to make a name for himself among the undisputed best players in the world, but Kichipa-mu is well on his way, and the 2019 Capcom Cup might just be his big break.

2. Problem X

It might seem strange to have last year’s EVO champion as a dark horse pick, but that’s just the kind of position that Problem X has been in for most of his career.

His skills are never in doubt, but the fact that he’s from the UK results in him often getting overlooked by fans as a top contender in favour of players from Japan and the US.

We’re willing to bet that the vast majority of people who will be watching the Capcom Cup won’t have Problem X ranked as their top contender to win the championship, and so here he is as a dark horse pick. Don’t sleep on the man.

1. Hotdog29

Two Dictator players as our top dark horse picks? Absolutely.

All the Asian fans who are in the know are well aware of Hotdog29’s greatness as he has been among the top competitors in the Asia region for a couple of years now, but he still isn’t quite as well known among the international FGC audience. That might have changed a little after his victory at the NA regional finals open premier tournament, but his status still remains as a dark horse candidate.

MenaRD winning the 2017 Capcom Cup was a massive upset. Gachikun winning the 2018 Capcom Cup wasn’t quite as massive, but he could also have been considered a dark horse candidate for that year.

Hotdog29 is playing at a level just as high as anyone else on the planet right now with everything to fight for, and fortune could very well be on his side for Capcom Cup 2019.

And there you have our top 5 contenders and top 5 dark horse picks for the 2019 Capcom Cup finals. Of course, the competition is going to be so intense, someone completely unexpected might end up winning the entire thing – such is the beauty of fighting games. Not to mention that we still have yet to see who will win the last chance qualifier that’s happening the day before the Capcom Cup finals.

Watch the action unfold live on the 13th-15th December!

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