Two group stages and a best-of-nine final

The Street Fighter 6 format at the Esports World Cup has an unusual shape: four groups of eight in double elimination, the top four from each into a second group stage, and only then a single-elimination playoff bracket that ends in a best-of-nine Grand Final.

Less lottery, more attrition

A normal bracket lets you win a tournament off four good sets. Not here. Before you touch the playoffs you have to survive two group stages, and that changes the profile of the player who comes out on top: a devastating plan A isn't enough, you have to withstand half the bracket studying it for two days.

The best-of-nine Grand Final pushes in the same direction. In a first-to-three you can steal a set on a lucky read and a couple of runs; in a first-to-five, whoever is behind has real time to adjust. It's the format that least favours the player who only does one thing very well, and most rewards patient Guile play and mid-set character adaptations.

Put another way: it's hard to win this by accident. And for a tournament with a million dollars on it, that is exactly what should happen.