The thrillingly-named Super Battle Opera (a.k.a. “Tougeki, the 5th Arcadia Cup Tournament”) is Japans de facto national fighting game championships. It should come as no surprise that the birthplace of the modern fighting game is also home to many of the greatest players in the world (including Ohnuki, Kurahashi, and the now-infamous Daigo Umehara), and so the competition is always fierce.
The Super Battle Opera competitors (“SBO”) are mostly Japanese nationals that qualify in arcades across the country, but the event also reserves spots for select teams of foreign players. This U.S. players have a long history of close combat with a number of high-profile Japanese players at international competitions like EVO, and as a result, SBO has granted multiple U.S. teams entry into the tournament. This years U.S. teams are being chosen at arcades in Providence, RI, Houston, TX, and Los Angeles, CA.
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