$100,000 Grand Prize Virtua Fighter Open Championship Is Now In Full Swing

SEGA announced on March 14 that Chicago’s Combo Breaker 2025 is the first tournament to be part of the Virtua Fighter Open Championship. The Open Championship will have a grand prize of $100,000.

The Virtua Fighter Open Championship was announced at a Virtua Fighter Direct in December 2024. It’s a tournament that aims to bring the best Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. players in the world and put them in a bracket to see who’s the best of the best. Combo Breaker 2025 is going to be the first qualifier tournament in the Open Championship.

Additionally, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O is also chosen for the lineup at EVO Japan 2025. It is unclear whether that tournament will be a qualifier for the Open Championship. The Open Championship’s venue and date is also undetermined.

This format isn’t new in fighting games, the recently finished Capcom Cup XI used the same method. Players will enter a tournament that is part of the Capcom Pro Tour and whoever wins that tournament will be invited to Capcom Cup. Capcom Cup also has online qualifiers which doesn’t seem to be the case for Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. is a remaster of Virtua Fighter 5 for Steam, this is the version of the game that will be played in the tournament. PlayStation 4 consoles already had the remaster as early as June 2021. As of writing, there are around 150 players on Steam with a 24-hour peak of more than 300. The announcement of the qualifier is expected to increase these numbers.