Talent Management · August 23, 2026
MenaRD wins the 7th TOPANGA CHAMPIONSHIP in Tokyo
The Dominican star finishes the seven-player Final Stage at 5-1 and becomes the first player from outside Japan to win a numbered TOPANGA Championship.
MenaRD is the champion of the 7th TOPANGA CHAMPIONSHIP.
Represented by Bandits Talent Management and listed by TOPANGA under Weibo Gaming, the Dominican star completed the offline Final Stage with a 5-1 set record on August 23. The three-day finale took place at TOKYO NODE HALL in Tokyo and brought seven players together in one of Street Fighter 6’s most demanding league formats.
MenaRD defeated Shigematsu 8-6, Higuchi 7-3, Ryukichi 7-0, Shuto 7-5 and Fuudo 8-6. His only loss came against Hibiki, 3-7.
The championship came down to TOPANGA’s published tiebreak rules. MenaRD and Higuchi each finished with five wins and one loss, but tied players in the Final Stage are separated first by their head-to-head result. MenaRD’s 7-3 victory over Higuchi therefore secured first place.
The 7th TOPANGA CHAMPIONSHIP rewarded consistency over a full season rather than a single bracket. Online qualifying began in May, while the main league ran from June 10 through August 23. The Beginning Stage placed 27 players into three nine-player round robins. The Advanced Stage reduced the field to 18 across two more groups, and seven players reached the offline Final Stage.
The final stage raised the stakes again: every player faced all six opponents in first-to-seven sets, with deuce extending a set as far as first-to-ten. MenaRD’s 5-1 run earned him the ¥10 million first prize from a ¥15 million total prize pool.
Across the complete tournament schedule, Bandits’ championship artwork records a 15-7 overall mark. The 5-1 figure refers specifically to the seven-player offline Final Stage that decided the title.
The result is also a first for the series. TOPANGA’s published archive of previous champions, corroborated by contemporary Japanese event coverage, identifies MenaRD as the first player from outside Japan to win a numbered TOPANGA Championship.
For MenaRD, the title adds another major international result built on the qualities this format rewards most: preparation, adaptation across long sets and the ability to close after every opponent has time to adjust.
Verified results
The record.
- 01Final Stage5-1
Five victories across six first-to-seven sets.
- 02Deciding tiebreak7-3 vs Higuchi
The head-to-head win separated two players with 5-1 records.
- 03Prize¥10 million
First place from a ¥15 million total prize pool.
- 04MilestoneFirst outside Japan
First player from outside Japan to win the numbered series.
Reporting notes
Sources behind the story.
The first-champion claim is limited to the numbered TOPANGA Championship series. Earlier TOPANGA-branded events included international participants, so this article does not claim MenaRD was the first foreign player to participate. Featured image created for Bandits Gaming from the championship artwork and event photograph published in Bandits Gaming’s August 23, 2026 Instagram carousel; no individual photographer credit was listed in the post.
