Top Street Fighter 6 player ChrisCCH rejects Esports World Cup qualification spot, citing concerns over “the event’s funding and management practices” by Saudi organizers.

As sportswashing becomes an increasingly powerful force in the esports space, one Street Fighter 6 pro player has come out and expressed his intent to avoid participating in the Saudi Arabia government-owned Esports World Cup through a lengthy social media statement.

Christopher Hancock (better known as ChrisCCH), an American Street Fighter 6 player represented by Flyquest, earned a spot at the Esports World Cup through his performance at the Street Fighter League World Finals earlier this year. While attending the event would surely lead to financial gain for the pro player, ChrisCCH took the time to announce his intentions as well as provide some additional context on his prior actions given the growing presence of Sportswashing ventures.

The post reads as follows: “I have decided to decline the EWC qualification spot that I earned through the SFL world finals. I gave this decision a lot of thought and ultimately decided that, due to the nature in which the event is funded and managed, I do not feel comfortable participating in it.

“I previously declined to participate in Gamers8 2023 and did not participate in any EWC qualifiers in 2024. I planned to do the same in 2025, but with the new CPT/EWC (Capcom Pro Tour / Esports World Cup) partnership, choosing not to participate in any EWC qualifiers would effectively mean retirement from competing. I find it regrettable that this event has become so deeply embedded in the FGC, but I have not yet made a decision on whether I will stop competing in events associated with it alltogether.

“Lastly, I want to say thank you to FlyQuest and my SFL teammates for an incredible season that brought me to this spot to begin with. While I stand by my decision, I apolagize to them and everyone who was looking forward to seeing me compete in EWC. I hope to see you all again in the future.”

It’s a lonely stance to take, in a space that sadly has embraced the EWC by and large. This statement has been met with support from those who share Chris’ concerns, including his peer and Evo 2024 winner Punk. However, others have been flippant in their dismissal of Chris’ decision.

For those unaware of what’s going on, the Esports World Cup is a massive esports event hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, making it government funded. It’s the latest in a spree of financial outreach by the country into global sports and entertainment, including Liv Golf, F1, Football, and – of course – the world of video games through esports and investment in video game companies such as Niantic, Scopely, and more.

The reason this should be cause for concern is that the Esports World Cup, alongside other sportswashing ventures, is an attempt to improve the global standing of the country in the wake of various human rights abuses. According to Amnesty International, the country has killed migrants, still applies the death penalty, and descriminates against women and women’s rights. According to Walk Free, Saudi Arabia ranks fourth on its global slavery index.

With this in mind you would think a boycot would be easy, however there are real financial and career consequences for fighting game professionals avoiding the Esports World Cup. As ChrisCCH mentioned, recently Capcom partnered with the Esports World Cup and has integrated many of the largest Capcom Pro Tour tournaments into the EWC ecosystem, including Evo Japan and Combo Breaker. To avoid these would be to cripple your own chances at being a Street Fighter pro.

As for finances, players are set to earn substantially more from competing at the EWC than in the vast majority of other tournaments. Just for showing up, ChrisCCH would have taken home at least $5,000, and potentially $300,000 for winning. For comparison, winning Street Fighter 6 at Evo (the largest fighting game tournament in the world) last year earned you roughly $21,000.

This stance that Chris has taken is a brave one, and one that is becoming increasingly hard to have as video game companies and tournaments continue to embrace the Esports World Cup despite ethical concerns. While others have come out publically such as Sajam and echoed such sentiments, and others have silently kept away from Saudi Arabian owned esports ventures, it’s becoming hard and harder to do so and stay in the space. Whether or not the FGC will stand behind him, tragically, is not a sure thing.