'I Don’t Think That It's Up to Mena to Achieve That' — Daigo Umehara Says Street Fighter 6 'GOAT' Has Yet to Emerge

While Daigo Umehara isn’t dissatisfied with the current state of Street Fighter 6, he says the game’s “random” style makes it difficult to determine the best player in modern tournament settings. Evo 2026 is in the books, with Saul ‘MenaRD’ Mena once again claiming victory on the biggest stage in all of fighting games. It’s hard to argue against his current status as the most dominant Street Fighter 6 player, with two Capcom Cup championships and four Evo victories to his name… but Daigo Umehara isn’t sure a true ‘GOAT’ of the game has yet been crowned. We got the chance to sit down with ‘The Beast’ of fighting games during Sunday finals, who revealed his surprising take on the divisive nature of Street Fighter 6’s balance as it stands at the tail end of Season 3. Right now, the Western fighting game community (FGC) is vocally outspoken regarding Street Fighter 6’s Drive Rush mechanic, arguing that the tool is too overpowered and hard to ‘check’ even at the best of times — something that left players even more disappointed after Capcom told us they have no plans to make any gameplay changes at present. This was news to Daigo, who admitted that although the game is ‘random,’ he sees