“I’d like to take my revenge”: Daigo quitting streaming to return to SF6 esports full time

Red Bull Kumite 2025 ended up being an intense weekend of top tier Street Fighter 6 play, but the FGC noticed that veteran fighter Daigo Umehara fell behind.

This past weekend, Adel ‘BigBird’ Anouche won his second Red Bull Kumite, beating the invited blend of veterans and newcomers. While there were plenty of incredible performances, fans were disappointed to see Daigo miss the Top 8. Now, the Street Fighter 6 legend is looking to make some changes to his career in hopes of rising up again.

Daigo is a long-time Street Fighter 6 pro, but at nearly 44 years old, he appeared to be losing his competitive edge. Instead, Daigo has been streaming a lot recently rather than grinding the pro scene.

However, it seems that Daigo’s 9th place finish at Red Bull Kumite 2025 may have ignited a fire within him.

During a post-event interview, Daigo stated that his loss to Noah ‘NoahTheProdigy’ Solis was a wakeup call: “Well actually I felt that his counterattack response and movement speed was really fast and hard to deal with, but… […]

“I will quit streaming and return to Street Fighter 6 as a sport and compete seriously once more, so with a bit of time I’d like to take my revenge against Noah.”

Despite his recent streaming focus, Daigo is considered one of the best Street Fighter players out there thanks to his past Evo Championship Series wins and dominance during earlier Street Fighter games. He is currently the Guinness World Record holder for ‘most successful player in major Street Fighter tournaments.’

Recently, top fighter Saul Leonardo ‘MenaRD‘ Mena II challenged Daigo to an old-school first-to-10 battle. This long-form style of competition is right up Daigo’s alley, having beat Hajime ‘Tokido‘ Taniguchi to tears in a first-to-10 during Street Fighter 5. Daigo responded to MenaRD’s challenge on stream, stating that he would be up for the head-to-head competition.

Now, with a focus on Street Fighter 6 esports instead of casual streams, the new generation of FGC pros should be scared of Daigo’s return to form.