The new Street Fighter 6 champion is fifteen years old. Jaime “Craime” Bustos took the Esports World Cup 2026 title at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. He walked away with $250,000, a seat at Capcom Cup 13, and 1,000 Club Championship points for Team Falcons. Arab News reports he is the youngest EWC winner yet, at 15 years, two months and 25 days. The tournament’s own write-up is more careful, calling him one of the youngest in its history.
Either way, the headline number is startling. So is the run that produced it, because the bracket gave him no easy path at all.
How the Street Fighter 6 champion got there
Craime dropped a single game in the entire group stage. Then the bracket handed him the two most decorated players in the field, one after the other.
In the quarterfinals he beat Saul Leonardo “MenaRD” Mena II, who won EVO 2026, by five games to three. In the semifinals he removed Eisuke “Yamaguchi” Yamaguchi, the EVO Japan 2026 winner. That is two major champions inside an afternoon.
The grand final went to Hibiki, and it started badly for the teenager. He lost the opening game. After that he simply did not stop, closing it out 5-2. Hibiki was the oldest player in the top eight at thirty. Moreover, he had arrived the hard way, as one of only five players out of 269 to survive the last chance qualifier. We covered that qualifier here: Street Fighter 6 EWC Last Chance Players Beat the Stars.
Craime kept his reaction short. “I’m very, very happy for my win, and I can’t wait to go back to Chile,” he said. “This isn’t just me; this is everyone who comes in and helps me.”
He is not the only fifteen year old on that podium
However, this is the part most reports skipped, and it changes what the result means.
Third place also went to a fifteen year old, so Craime was not even the only one. Hinao beat Yamaguchi in the bronze match, taking Sagat into Yamaguchi’s Mai across a best-of-nine, and collected $70,000. He only debuted last year, and REJECT only promoted him to their main roster in May 2026.
Go back twelve months and the pattern gets stranger. Last year’s Street Fighter 6 runner-up at the same event was Derek “Blaz” Blaz, another Chilean, who was also fifteen at the time. Asked what Chile is doing right, Craime offered a one-liner: “You know, in Chile, there’s the power.”
So two of this year’s top three were fifteen. The same age also produced a finalist a year ago. Fighting games have a reputation for rewarding veterans who have logged decades on a stick. This weekend, the oldest man in the top eight lost the final to someone who made his competitive debut in 2024, aged twelve.
What it does to the club race
Team Falcons finished Saturday on top of the Club Championship standings. This was their first tournament win of EWC 2026, and they are chasing a third straight club crown as two-time defending champions.
Twelve tournaments remain, and eight of those have yet to run. So the lead looks real but far from settled. For another EWC result from the same circuit, see Team Vitality Beat NAVI to Win MWI 2026 Grand Final at Esports World Cup.
Frequently asked questions
How much did he win? $250,000, plus qualification for Capcom Cup 13 and 1,000 club points for his team.
Who did he beat on the way? EVO 2026 winner MenaRD in the quarterfinals, EVO Japan 2026 winner Yamaguchi in the semifinals, then Hibiki 5-2 in the final.
Is he really the youngest ever? Arab News says yes at 15 years, two months and 25 days. The event’s own announcement only says one of the youngest, so treat the record claim as reported rather than official.
Where was it played? Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, as part of the Esports World Cup 2026.
Full brackets and standings sit on the tournament’s official competition page, and the full match report is on Arab News.
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