Recently the Dominican Saúl “MenaRD” Mena returned to put his name at the top of the competitive world of Street Fighter VI this time after being crowned champion at the EVO Las Vegas 2025, the most prestigious fighting tournament in the planet.
With this victory he becomes the first player in history to win an EVO Japan and an EVO Las Vegas, this in the same year within the Street Fighter VI era, a milestone that undoubtedly consolidates him as one of the greatest of all time.
MenaRD: A perfect journey to the title
MenaRD’s performance at EVO 2025 was flawless in all senses, leaving the name of Republica Dominicana at the top of everything. In an event that brought together over 4200 participants from all over the world, the Dominican did not lose a single set. His path to the Top 8 was filled with big names: He defeated JAC, Moe, Kusanagi, Dual Kevin, Phenom and Torimeshi, always showing absolute dominance in each round.
In the Winners Final he faced the Japanese Kakeru, a master with the character JP but was not able to beat Mena with his characteristic Blanka. The Caribbean crushed imposing himself with a clear 3 – 0, and although Kakeru had his revenge by beating Micky, the result was the same, 3 – 0 making it so that MenaRD could close a perfect tournament.
A victory with a historical weight
After his triumph in EVO Las Vegas 2025 MenaRD marks a before and after in his career. With this milestone completes the list of most important titles in the professional circuit of Street Fighter VI achieving two crowns of Capcom Cup, two consecutive championships in EVO Japan (2024 and 2025), the Red Bull Kumite 2024 and the Street Fighter League World Championship 2023 by teams. The only piece that was missing was the EVO Las Vegas and now he has achieved this title.
In addition to this, MenaRD has entered a very exclusive group, with this, he has become the third non-Asian player to win an EVO Street Fighter in Las Vegas, following the steps of the French Luffy in 2014 with Street Fighter IV and the American Punk in 2024 with Street Fighter VI.
After lifting the trophy, MenaRD dedicated his victory to the entire fighting games community: “I don’t want people to see what MenaRD did today; I want them to see what everyone did. Being part of this show is the greatest privilege of my life, and acting in front of all of you confirms that we are doing something beautiful”.
Final ranking of the Top 8 of Street Fighter VI at EVO 2025
MenaRD – Dominican Republic
Kakeru – Japan
Micky – Hong Kong
Phenom – Norway
Fuudo – Japan
Xiaohai – China
Leshar – South Korea
AngryBird – United Arab Emirates