It's that time of year again. Street Fighter 6's official team league, "Street Fighter League: Pro-JP 2025" (hereinafter referred to as "SFL: Pro-JP 2025"), will start on August 29, 2025 (Friday). For the fifth consecutive year, TAIYO HOLDINGS CO., LTD. will be the top partner, and the total prize money will be 15 million yen! Here is a report from the joint interview held prior to the opening of "SFL: Pro-JP 2025"! This time, we will interview "Good 8 Squad".
Interview with Good 8 Squad!
- Gachi-kun: (Record in 2024) 55% win rate / 80 points gained
- Kawano: (Record in 2024) 44% win rate / 50 points gained
- Pugela: (Record in 2024) 83% win rate / 80 points gained
- Sahara: First appearance
- What characters do you plan to use and what are your impressions of the new members?
Pugela: The character I plan to use is M.Bison. My impression of Sahara is exactly what I envisioned: a young man who is dedicated to the game.
Gachikun: I will be playing Rashid. I started working with Sahara in the playoffs last year, and at the time I had the impression that he was shy and cautious. Now he is not like that at all. He is giving me advice on how to play in the league together, so I feel that he is playing the game straight and confident.
Kawano: I would like to use Gouki and Ingrid. I was expecting Sahara to have a hard time at first, but he has been getting good results in recent tournaments, so I think he is very promising.
- What character do you plan to use and what is your impression of the Good 8 Squad?
Sahara: I'm thinking of playing as Ed. My impression of the Good 8 Squad is that they practice so much that I wonder "when are they taking a break? I have the impression that the Good 8 Squad practices so much that I wonder when they are taking a break. The amount of practice is just amazing.
- With the rule change from last season, "SFL: Pro-JP 2025" is going to be a tournament where the overall strength of the four players will be tested.
Gachi-kun: In last season's Grand Final, the Good 8 Squad was Mochi-san, and the REJECT team didn't have Torimeishi-san. I think it is a necessary part to win, but there were many fans who wanted to see Mochi and Torimeshi, and during the preliminary rounds of the league, there were many people who said, "I want to support this player, but he is not available. I think it can't be helped, but this year that is no longer the case, and everyone has to work hard. I think we have a better strategy in terms of leadership than we had last season.
- What are the strong points of Good 8 Squad?
Gachi-kun: We have won two league championships and two world championships, and that experience is a strength that other teams don't have. This season, we have new, young players such as Takagi, Aderii, Kobayan, and 2BASSA-kun, as well as Sahara. Among them, I think that having such players is a big advantage because they have been getting good results.
- What is your impression of Division S?
Pugela: Crazy Raccoon is a team that we didn't play last season, so I'm personally looking forward to playing them. Victrix FAV gaming is in the same division as us, and we have a lot of the guys that I have been practicing with since the start of "Sto6", such as Moke, Ryukichi, and Fujimura-san. Last year, I simply cheered for them because they were my good friends on the other side, but this year, I am looking forward to the fierce competition.
Gachi-kun: Saishunkan Sol Nemo from Kumamoto said he was going to play Zangi for Rasheed, and I thought it was meaningless because we were not in the same division, but now we are in the same division, so I will crush him. Especially Kobayan. I will do my best to win.
Kawano: There are so many different characters... I think it will be difficult to counter them.... I don't think there is any difference in strength between S and F... I will do my best.
- Do you feel that you will do your best no matter who comes?
Kawano: I'll do my best no matter who comes.
- How about you, Mr. Sahara?
Sahara: I am interested in Crazy Raccoon. I like Bong-san, but I think there's a good chance we'll play each other, so I'm happy to play against him on the big stage.
Kawano: What, I heard a rumor that you will beat Bong-san with 10-0?
Sahara: No, no, no...well, if I'm lucky (laughs).
