CEO 2025 Recap: Top Winners, Tournament Highlights, and EWC Qualifiers

Sagar Mankar
Jun 22, 2025
3 min read

The Community Effort Orlando (CEO) 2025 tournament took place from June 13 to 15 in Orlando, Florida, drawing over 4,000 participants across 19 official titles and several side events. The three-day competition was not just a showcase of top-tier talent in the fighting game scene—it also served as a critical qualifier for prestigious global circuits like the Esports World Cup (EWC) and Capcom Cup 12.

Here’s a quick look at the key titles and their standout winners:

Key Game Titles and Winners

Street Fighter 6 (SF6)

Winner: Shin "Leshar" Moon-sup
Details: Leshar took the win at the Premier-tier Capcom Pro Tour event, locking in his Capcom Cup 12 invite. Since he was already qualified, that golden ticket went to runner-up NL. EWC 2025 spots were also up for grabs, landing with Zhen and Craime—two top 8 players who weren’t yet qualified. Leshar made a strategic switch to Terry in the grand finals after using Mai Shiranui and Ed earlier in the tournament, which featured a hefty 839 entrants.

Tekken 8 (T8)

Winner: ATIF (Team Falcons)
Details: ATIF delivered a dominant performance with Anna, securing the Master-tier Tekken World Tour win. With 639 players in the bracket, competition was fierce. Since ATIF, ULSAN, Arslan Ash, and Farzeen were already EWC-bound, four qualification spots were passed down to other top 8 players—including Tibetano, who clinched it in a tiebreaker.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (CotW)

Winner: Xiaohai
Details: Xiaohai ruled the SNK World Championship 2025 qualifier with a Billy-led top 8 and beat Nemo 3-1 in the finals. Already having a global finals spot, his EWC 2025 qualification was passed down to Nemo, KojiKOG, and ET. The event pulled in 465 participants.

Guilty Gear Strive

Winner: Kshuewhatdamoo
Details: Kshuewhatdamoo picked up a big W at this Gold+ tier Arc World Tour event, earning 200 points toward the standings. The tournament also put the spotlight on the newly introduced character Unika, fresh off the heels of Combo Breaker 2025.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (GBVSR)

Winner: Zane
Details: Zane impressed with Grimnir, winning the Gold+ tier Arc World Tour event and racking up 200 points. A solid 212 players turned out for this one.

Brawlhalla

1v1 Winner: lores
2v2 Winners: lores and Kyna
Details: Brawlhalla’s Spring Royale event saw lores shine in both solo and duo brackets. With strong showings from North and South America in the top 4, the scene was vibrant and competitive.

Mortal Kombat 1 (MK1)

Winner: Onlinecale213
Details: Onlinecale213 emerged victorious in this Kombatant-tier Pro Kompetition event, picking up 210 points. With 139 players, it wasn’t the biggest tournament of the weekend, but still packed plenty of action.

Super Smash Bros. Melee (SSBM)

Winner: Hungrybox
Details: Hungrybox was in top form, using Johnny to beat Leffen 3-0 in both winners’ and grand finals. A total of 186 players competed in this classic title.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (SSBU)

Winner: Onin
Details: Onin made a huge comeback from the losers’ bracket, defeating ApolloKage with a dominating 6-0 run in the finals. Along the way, he took down top players like Kola, Jahzz0, and Myran. The event had 372 entrants.

Rivals 2

Winner: Sophilo
Details: Sophilo came out on top using Zetterburn, edging out CakeAssault in a tight game four. He also bested Marlon, Kero, and CheesyPotato in a stacked bracket of 147 players.

Capcom vs. SNK 2

Winner: Coates|Bas
Details: Using an A-Groove team of Yamazaki, M. Bison, and Blanka, Coates|Bas won a nail-biter 2-1 against Justin Wong in grand finals after dropping the first set.

Side Events and Legacy Support

CEO 2025 also held side events for classic titles like Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, and, of course, more Smash Melee. These side tournaments added to the overall flavor of the event, blending nostalgia with competitive spirit.