January 13, 2021
Q1 Fighting game events in or around Tokyo
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Seems like I've gotten into the habit of tracking FGC offline events in the Tokyo area. This isn't a comprehensive list, but feel free to contact me if you want me to add anything. You also should try TopTier.gg which tracks fighting game locals around the world.
Very generally:
- eXeFIELD Akiba (Map) is a venue in the UDX Building in Akihabara. Wednesday nights are generally fighting game nights, and Thursday they do Soul Calibur now. Friday evenings you get a beer ticket with entry and can get beer with that.
- On Tuesdays there is a DBFZ, Tekken7, and Soul Calibur event run by Jiyuna and MajinObama at Red Bull Gaming Sphere, Map. It is actually officially sponsored as well!
- On Thursdays there is usually a SFV event at Red Bull Gaming Sphere, Map or sometimes BeasTV's Jikoken TV with Fuudo. These haven't happened during Corona though.
- Studio Sky (Map) announced on 2018-09-14 that they will be an open esports space, but haven't been doing anything during Corona.
- Shot Bar Lucy has different events on different days, and usually on Friday night is an all-night event featuring various games (Map), Calendar.
- The Plaza Capcom at Kichijoji (Map) has the Capcom eSPORTS Club which has free SFV setups, and often runs events.
- Game Bar Cross-up in Umeda, Osaka (Map) usually does SFV on Tuesday, Guilty Gear and BlazBlue on Wednesday, and KOF14 on Thursday.
- Game Bar Bridge, in Tachikawa, usually runs some fighting game stuff. Their schedule is pinned to the gbbtachikawa profile.
- Check Gaijin Gaming Brothers for information about Smash related events in Japan. I add Tokyo based events to my list, but they track events all over Japan with English information.
- Syogepi-events has a Google Calendar of his events. He often runs platinum and under begginer friendly events. They have an English based guide to participating in their events.
The arcade scene is vibrant, and you are likely to find competition at any arcade, but some are more well known than others. You might want to check out
- Mikado Arcade, Map Takadanobaba
- Taito Station Shinjuku East Exit, Map
- Various arcades in Akihabara, Club Sega, Hey!
- Various shops in Akihabara like the retro game store Super Potato, Map
- Play Spot Big One 2nd, Map. Out in Chiba, but good place for 3rd Strike or Melty Blood. (Thanks Arlieth!)
- Game Newton, Map. Lots of ST setups.
If you are comfortable with Japanese, Kakuge-checker.com has a comprehensive list of offline, online, and other events going around all over Japan. I don't know how he/they/she does it.
Due to concerns around COVID-19, most large recurring events have been cancelled until further notice. Be careful out there.
Kakuge-checker.com has a list of online events, if you are interested in those.
| Date | Game | Event | Location | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooperation Cup | ||||
| Cooperation Cup | ||||
| 2021-01-09 Sat. | SFV | Aim the CHUBAR -Light- qual1 | Online (Mildom) | 17:00 -. 64 player single elimination. The Wave Gaming runs eSports events and is based out of Okinawa. |
| 2021-01-16 Sat. | GBVS / Shadowverse / Secret | Takaoka Esports Cup | Online (TBD) | 10:00 - 16:00 for GBVS, 32 person cap, ~ $2500 prize pool. 10:00 - 18:00 for Shadowverse, ~$2500 prize pool, limited to people in the Hokushinetsu region, 64 person cap. Takaoka ePark is an eSports facility in Toyama-ken, Takaoka city. These are both season 1, and there will be 4 events in the season. There is a "secret" game (title not announced) with an ~ $5000 prize pool too. |
| 2021-01-16 Sat. | SFV | CAPCON eSPORTS CLUB Ranking Battle | Online (YouTube) | 15:00 -. Women's tournament from 15:00, and an open tournament from 17:00. |
| 2021-01-16 Sat. | DBFZ | Go-1 Baby only tournament | Online (Mildom) | 15:00 -. 128 player double elimination FT2 (WF, LF, GF FT3) each team needs to have at least one Baby, the other characters are free. Only for JP residents (Sorry Tyrant, Damascus!) Bracket on Tonamel. |
| 2021-01-16 Sat. | SFV | 3rd REDEE On-line Cup | Online (YouTube) | 13:00 -. 128 player single elimination. Brackets on Tonamel. I don't know much about REDEE Gaming, they say they are the largest eSports Facility in Japan with their Osaka shop. |
| 2021-01-16 Sat. | SFV | Aim the CHUBAR -Light- qual2 | Online (Mildom) | 17:00 -. 64 player single elimination. The Wave Gaming runs eSports events and is based out of Okinawa. |
| 2021-01-17 Sun. | DBFZ 2on2 | Go-1 Cup | Online (Mildom) | 15:00 -. Double elimination 64 team 2on2. Japan residents only (sorry Tyrant, Damascus!) Brackets at Tonamel. |
| 2021-01-17 Sun. | SFV | FAV Cup Mini | Online (YouTube) | ??? TBD, but should be in the afternoon sometime. These are always great events - Itabashi Zangief had a run where he won six in a row - only recently stopped in the last one by Higuchi. |
| 2021-01-18 Mon. | SFV | Welcome to all Rookies! | Online (Capcom Fighters JP) | 20:00 -. A new series of online ranking battles for JP Rookies. No further details announced yet. There should be content aimed at beginners including lessons by pro players and other stuff. |
| 2021-01-20 Wed. | Tekken7 | Intercontinental Fight Club Asia | Online (Twitch) | 20:00 -. Your man Majin Obama is out there saving the Tekken Asia Scene with the ten/0 peeps. |
| 2021-01-21 Thu. | SFV | JikokenTV Diamond and Under | Online (Twitch) | 21:00 -. Fuudo hosts tournaments as part of his JikokenTV series. This is for Diamond and Under. |
| 2021-01-23 Sat. | SFV | CAPCON eSPORTS CLUB Ranking Battle | Online (YouTube) | 15:00 -. Women's tournament from 15:00, and an open tournament from 17:00. |
| 2021-01-23 Sat. | SFV | Aim the CHUBAR -Light- Finals | Online (Mildom) | 17:00 -. Top 8 from the two previous qualifiers. ~$300 for the winner, and $200 for 2nd place. The Wave Gaming runs eSports events and is based out of Okinawa. |
| 2021-01-23 Sat. | BBTAG | King of Giant Festival | Online (Mildom) | 14:00 -. Double elimination, 128 player cap. Brackets. |
| 2021-01-23 Sat. | SFV | CAPCON eSPORTS CLUB Ranking Battle | Online (YouTube) | 15:00 -. Women's tournament from 15:00, and an open tournament from 17:00. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-01-25 Mon. | SFV | Welcome to all Rookies! | Online (Capcom Fighters JP) | 20:00 -. A new series of online ranking battles for JP Rookies. No further details announced yet. There should be content aimed at beginners including lessons by pro players and other stuff. |
| 2021-01-25 Mon. | SFV Pocky | Pocky KO Grand Championship | Online (Twitch) | 15:00 -. The people who submitted Pocky KO entries get a chance to face off against RobTV to decide the Worldwide Pocky KO Champion! |
| 2021-01-26 Tue. | DBFZ | Fighting Tuesday DBFZ | Online (Twitch) | 20:00 -. Double Elimination. Sign up by 19:00 day of. Check out the discord. The largest weekly DBFZ tournament in the world is back and online? |
| 2021-01-27 Wed. | Tekken7 | Intercontinental Fight Club Asia | Online (Twitch) | 20:00 -. Your man Majin Obama is out there saving the Tekken Asia Scene with the ten/0 peeps. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-01-27 Wed. | UNIcl-r | Shot Bar Lucy UNIcl-r online | Online (YouTube) | 19:00 -. 23:00. 4 separate rooms (beginner, intermediate, advanced, all levels). Join their discord server. Please be able to communicate in Japanese since that is what everyone will be using. |
| 2021-01-30 Sat. | SFV | Street Fighter League Pro JP Finals | Online (Pay per view Zaiko) | 12:00 -. The Street Fighter League Pro:JP 2020 finals will be streamed on a pay per view service live, and then 2021-02-06 will stream on Twitch/YouTube/Mildom/Periscope for free. I've got my ticket (about $10) so I'll watch it live. |
| 2021-01-30 Sat. | SFV | A Bread-Maker's Bread Tournament | Online (YouTube) | 21:00 -. 32 player single elimination. Winner get bread. Go get that bread! |
| 2021-01-30 Sat. | GBVS / Shadowverse / Secret | Takaoka Esports Cup | Online (TBD) | 10:00 -. 16:00 for GBVS, 32 person cap, ~ $2500 prize pool. 10:00 - 18:00 for Shadowverse, ~$2500 prize pool, limited to people in the Hokushinetsu region, 64 person cap. Takaoka ePark is an eSports facility in Toyama-ken, Takaoka city. These are both season 1, and there will be 4 events in the season. There is a "secret" game (title not announced) with an ~ $5000 prize pool too. |
| 2021-01-31 Sat. | SFV | CAPCON eSPORTS CLUB Ranking Battle | Online (YouTube) | 15:00 -. Women's tournament from 15:00, and an open tournament from 17:00. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-01-31 Sat. | SFV | Yoshimoto Gaming G-Tune Cup | Online (Mildom) | 13:00 -. The G-Tune cups have good prizes (a G-Tune EM-Z Gaming PC), and high participation. Nanai is on commentary with Haitani and Kawano. Sign up here if you are comfortable with Japanese. |
| 2021-02-03 Wed. | Tekken7 | Intercontinental Fight Club Asia | Online (Twitch) | 20:00 -. Your man Majin Obama is out there saving the Tekken Asia Scene with the ten/0 peeps. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-02-05 Fri. | SFV 2on2 | Feb. Aim the Chubar -Kizuna- 1st Qual. | Online (Mildom) | 20:00 -. 32 teams max. Top 4 teams will advance to the finals. There is a total prize pool of about $1,000 USD (100,000 JPY so a bit less, but whatever.) |
| 2021-02-06 Sat. | SFV | Street Fighter League Pro JP Finals | Online (Twitch, YouTube) | 12:00 -. Free re-stream. The Street Fighter League Pro:JP 2020 finals will be streamed on a pay per view service live, and then 2021-02-06 will stream on Twitch/YouTube/Mildom/Periscope for free. I've got my ticket (about $10) so I'll watch it live. |
| 2021-02-10 Wed. | Tekken7 | Intercontinental Fight Club Asia | Online (Twitch) | 20:00 -. Your man Majin Obama is out there saving the Tekken Asia Scene with the ten/0 peeps. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-02-11 Thu. | SFV | Hokkaidou eSports Assoc. Hokkaidou Cup | Online (YouTube) | 15:00 -. 32 person cap single elimination tournament. Itabashi Zangief will be there as a special guest. There are bunch of other games, Winning 11, Puyo Puyo, Shadowverse, Fortnight, LoL, etc. |
| 2021-02-12 Fri. | SFV 2on2 | Feb. Aim the Chubar -Kizuna- 2nd Qual. | Online (Mildom) | 20:00 -. 32 teams max. Top 4 teams will advance to the finals. There is a total prize pool of about $1,000 USD (100,000 JPY so a bit less, but whatever.) |
| 2021-02-12 Fri. | SFV | Mago Presents: Santaro Chun vs. AXIS Shuto Urien FT10 | Online (OpenRec probably) | 20:00 -. FT10 going down Friday night arranged by Mago, between the truculent instigator Santarou (Chun) vs. AXIZ Shuto (Urien.) Great video, Santarou is really calling Shuto out (I'm on a completely different level than you) - Shuto talks about not getting respect. If Santarou loses Mago says he'll have to shave his head on the spot. Shuto's pride as a pro is on the line (no info on whether he'd have to go full @ViciousFGC on a loss.) |
| 2021-02-13 Sat. | SFV | 4th REDEE On-line Cup | Online (YouTube) | 13:00 -. 128 player single elimination. Brackets on Tonamel. I don't know much about REDEE Gaming, they say they are the largest eSports Facility in Japan with their Osaka shop. |
| 2021-02-13 Sat. | Tekken7 2on2 Steam | CELLPRO CUP Online | Online (?) | 11:00 -. 64 team double elimination open tournament, 150,000 JPY Prize pool (~$15k USD) for top 3 ($10,000, $400, $100). |
| 2021-02-13 Sat. | SFV | 10th iXA SFV Cup | Online (Mildom) | 13:00 -. 64 person cap single elimination tournament. Enter on this google form by Feb 12th, free to enter, but please understand Japanese and join the discord server. Prizes for the Top 8 finishers. |
| 2021-02-13 Sat. | SFV | CAPCON eSPORTS CLUB Ranking Battle | Online (YouTube) | 17:00 -. No women's tournament this time, just an open tournament from 17:00. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-02-14 Sun. | SFV | Beast Cup Gekokujo (Underdogs) | Online (Mildom) | 10:00 -. 21:00. A beginner focused tournament, team 7 on 7, with a Gekokujo rule (underdog overthrowing a higher leader) to make things more interesting. Broadcast from Red Bull Gaming Sphere Tokyo, PS4 or PC version, single elimination. Must be under 6500 League Points as a single entry, or under 3500 LP if you enter as a group of 2 or more, or if you have 5 people only under 5500 points and the organizers will provide 2 more people. Beast Cup Underdog rule. A special rule that lets you come back even from four losses down. If you have 4 losses at the start of the 5th or 6th match, there is an Extra Round (EX). The last person to win on the underdog team plays, and the person from the winning team in the round after the last win for the losers plays. Regardless of the outcome of the EX round, the final 6th and 7th rounds take place. If the underdog team wins all three of the EX, 6th and 7th battles, they get a come-from-behind victory and win! |
| 2021-02-17 Wed. | Tekken7 | Intercontinental Fight Club Asia | Online (Twitch) | 20:00 -. Your man Majin Obama is out there saving the Tekken Asia Scene with the ten/0 peeps. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-02-19 Fri. | SFV 2on2 | Feb. Aim the Chubar -Kizuna- 3rd Qual. | Online (Mildom) | 20:00 -. 32 teams max. Top 4 teams will advance to the finals. There is a total prize pool of about $1,000 USD (100,000 JPY so a bit less, but whatever.) |
| 2021-02-19 Fri. | Guilty Gear Strive | Strive beta tournament | Online (Twitch) | 22:00 -. 40 player Swiss tournament. Kuni says he wants to see a lot of different Strive players, so he's hosting a tournament. Tonamel Brackets. |
| 2021-02-20 Sat. | SFV | CAPCON eSPORTS CLUB Ranking Battle | Online (YouTube) | 17:00 -. No women's tournament this time, just an open tournament from 17:00. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-02-21 Sun. | SFV | CPT 2020 Season Finale | Online (Twitch, YouTube) | 09:00 -. First day of the CPT Season Finale. Note that this is JP time. |
| 2021-02-22 Mon. | SFV | CPT 2020 Season Finale | Online (Twitch, YouTube) | 09:00 -. First day of the CPT Season Finale. Note that this is JP time. |
| 2021-02-24 Wed. | Tekken7 | Intercontinental Fight Club Asia | Online (Twitch) | 20:00 -. Your man Majin Obama is out there saving the Tekken Asia Scene with the ten/0 peeps. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-02-26 Fri. | SFV | MOF Cup | Online (Twitch) | 21:00 -. 16 person double elim tournament, ~$100 Amazon Japan gift card to the winner. Nyanpi is the President of MOF Gaming, and a Grand Master high school student. |
| 2021-02-27 Sat. | SFV | Dogura Cup | Online (Mildom) | 11:00 -. 128 player double elimination tournament. Cash payouts to top 4 (50,000JPY, 20,000JPY, 10,000JPY, 5,000JPY) and Cyclops eSports goods for 4-8. Entry and brackes at tonamel. |
| 2021-02-27 Sat. | SFV | 5th REDEE Online Cup | Online (YouTube) | 13:00 -. 128 player Ultra Silver (LP 3999) and under double elimination SFV tournament. Brackets and registration on tonamel. |
| 2021-02-27 Sat. | SFV 2on2 | Feb. Aim the Chubar -Kizuna- Finals | Online (Mildom) | 19:00 -. 12 teams finals. 60,000 JPY for 1st, 30,000 for 2nd, 10,000 for 3rd place. |
| 2021-02-27 Sat. | SFV | CAPCON eSPORTS CLUB Ranking Battle | Online (YouTube) | 17:00 -. No women's tournament this time, just an open tournament from 17:00. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-02-27 Sat. | DBFZ | Acqua Cup | Online (Mildom) | 19:00 -. 128 player double elim tournament. Brackets on tonamel. Organized by Acqua. |
| 2021-02-28 Sun. | Tekken7 | Dogura's Tekken7 Tournament | Online (Mildom) | 11:00 -. 128 player double elimination tournament. Cash payouts to top 4 (50,000JPY, 20,000JPY, 10,000JPY, 5,000JPY) and Cyclops eSports goods for 4-8. Entry and brackes at tonamel. |
| 2021-03-03 Wed. | Tekken7 | Intercontinental Fight Club Asia | Online (Twitch) | 20:00 -. Your man Majin Obama is out there saving the Tekken Asia Scene with the ten/0 peeps. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-03-10 Wed. | Tekken7 | Intercontinental Fight Club Asia | Online (Twitch) | 20:00 -. Asia Exhibitions. Your man Majin Obama is out there saving the Tekken Asia Scene with the ten/0 peeps. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-03-13 Sat. | SFV 3on3 | Tokyo Online Party 4 | Online (Mildom) | 11:00 -. Details at the Shinobism website. This is one in a series of Tokyo Offline Parties that Shinobism has run, and they are always fun. Watch out for my team of Myself, BrolysApprentice, and KaliburVS. We might even win once or twice. Should be some fun teams with top talent. |
| 2021-03-13 Sat. | SFV Eleven locked | Locust Cup Eleven locked tournament | Online (YouTube) | 20:00 -. FT2 single elimination Eleven only tournament. |
| 2021-03-14 Sun. | MvCI | MvCI Samurai FT10 series | Online (Twitch) | 19:00 - 22:00. FT10 between various JP top level MvCI players. 19:00 - 20:30 Ororo-n vs Shyakure-zei, 20:30 - 22:00 Guillotine vs. Hurricane. |
| 2021-03-14 Sun. | Skullgirls PC | 8th PC Skullgirls tournament | Online (Twitch) | 21:00 -. How about some JP Skullgirls on PC? |
| 2021-03-17 Wed. | Tekken7 | Intercontinental Fight Club Asia | Online (Twitch) | 20:00 -. Asia Finals. Your man Majin Obama is out there saving the Tekken Asia Scene with the ten/0 peeps. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-03-20 Sat. | GBVS | Takaoka e-Sports Cup | Offline (Twitch, YouTube, OpenRec) | 13:00 - 16:00. Takes place at the Takaoka eSports facility. 1st gets 150,000 JPY, 2nd 70,000 JPY, 3rd 30,000 JPY. The field is gamera, Xeph, AMTRS Score, TNT Rookies, Tako., Tororo, SANWA M', and the Japan Shark Film Society. |
| 2021-03-20 Sat. | SFV | Beast Cup -18U- | Online (Mildom) | 16:00 - 21:30. Single elimination FT2 tournament for people 18 and under. The Beast Cup events are always big and fun. This should be interesting to see up and coming SFV young talent. |
| 2021-03-20 Sat. | Grappler Roundtable | Grappler Roundtable | Online (Mildom) | 20:00 -. Koji KOG runs a roundtable of Grappler Pioneers. FAB (Guilty Gear Potempkin God), Kichipa-mu (Zangief / Abigail phenomenau), and Hayao (SF3 Hugo Lord) talk about Grapplers and stuff. I'll try to take some notes. |
| 2021-03-21 Sun. | SFV 2on2 | Team UTAGE Online Olympia #4 | Online (Twitch) | 11:00 -. Team UTAGE SFV 2on2 tournament. Enter by midnight 3/16. Celina is involved, so it is sure to be fun, and maybe somehow spooky. |
| 2021-03-21 Sun. | SFV / Puyo Puyo eSports | eXe Cup | Online (Twitch, YouTube)) | 12:00 - 21:00. Single elimination online tournament for working professionals (no students, no pro gamers.) Tournament entry via eXeLAB (ios, android) enter by 3/17. eXe Cup is being run by NTTe-Sports, an e-Sports focused subsidiary of NTT. NTT is Japan's largest telecommunications company. This is the first time I've seen NTTe-Sports directly run a tournament, so it is a big step. |
| 2021-03-21 Sun. | SFV | CAPCON eSPORTS CLUB Ranking Battle | Online (YouTube) | 13:00 -. Women's tournament from 13:00, open tournament from 17:00. Smash.gg. |
| 2021-03-21 Sun. | SFV | The WAVE Gaming Japan vs. Taiwan #2 Qualifier | Online (Mildom) | 14:00 -. 64 person double elimination tournament to selet the final member for the Japan vs. Taiwan event on the 28th. 4 invited Japanese members (Bon-chan, Itazan, Tokido, Mago) plus the winner of this tournament face off against 5 (TBA?) Taiwanese members. |
| 2021-03-21 Sun. | MvCI | MvCI Samurai FT10 series | Online (Twitch) | 19:00 - 22:00. FT10 between various JP top level MvCI players. 19:00 - 20:30 Akaheru vs. IMMCH, 20:30 - 22:00 Bonchyu vs Ororo-n. |
| 2021-03-28 Sun. | MvCI | MvCI Samurai FT10 series | Online (Twitch) | 17:30 - 22:00. FT10 between various JP top level MvCI players. 17:30 - 19:00 IMMCH vs. Guillotine, 19:00 - 20:30 Hurricane vs. Akaheru, 20:30 - 22:00 Shakure-zei vs. Bonchyu. |
| 2021-03-28 Sun. | SFV | The WAVE Gaming Japan vs. Taiwan #2 | Online (Mildom) | TBD. Japan vs. Taiwan, 4 invited Japanese members (Bon-chan, Itazan, Tokido, Mago) plus the winner of a tournament face off against 5 (TBA?) Taiwanese members. |