Ryukichi had to battle against Xiaohai and his own nerves but had basically won the set after this stunning round clutch

With a $1,000,000 prize pool on the line, the Esports World Cup 2024 for Street Fighter 6 has already been underway. During the event, FAV|Ryukichi had to face off against KSG|Xiaohai in an intense set.

Xiaohai was able to handily win the first match of the set against Ryukichi. In the final moments of this first match, Xiaohai was repeatedly able to use a throw loop since Ryukichi found himself trapped in a corner.

However, Xiaohai was able to stop himself in response to Ryukichi’s super art reversal. Needless to say, this first match painted the picture that Xiaohai was the dominant player here, but the set was actually far from over.

Of course, Ryukichi was immediately able to fire back by winning the next match of the set, tying the score 1-1. After this match was over, Ryukichi could be seen placing his hand over his heart in an attempt to keep his nerves in check.

Towards the end of the third game, both players had a round over one another, but things were looking bad for Ryukichi due to him being in Burnout without much life remaining. Xiaohai just kept chipping away at Ryukichi’s remaining life with fireballs.

Despite this intense situation, Ryukichi was able to stay patient enough while holding on to just enough life to survive. On the other hand, Xiaohai ended up going into Burnout himself while trying to finish the match up.

After Ryukichi’s Burnout state had ended, the pressure was suddenly on Xiaohai. It didn’t look like he had enough life to block even a single fireball, forcing a jump in, but Ryukichi was ready with an Overdrive Dragon Punch.

Despite how patient Ryukichi appeared with his gameplay, we get another glimpse of him putting his face in his hands in another attempt to calm his nerves. Even though Ryukichi still needed another round and one more match, Ryukichi’s victory here had been seemingly assured by this point based on how this round played out.