Red Bull Kumite South Africa will bring together 16 of the best Street Fighter competitors to battle live for the bragging rights of winning the first major Street Fighter 6 tournament. 15 players will be invited directly, with one additional player qualifying through a Last Chance Qualifier. This year’s event will be held across the 1st and 2nd of July, with the main stage being an enclosed cage where opponents will be locked in until a victor is found! 1,000 fans can attend the LAN finals, which will be streamed live directly from the University of Pretoria.

Red Bull Hit the Streets 2022 champion Jabhi “JabhiM” Mabuza commented, “Red Bull Kumite coming to South Africa is MASSIVE! For years, Africans couldn’t travel to showcase their skills to the world due to visa issues and money; now the world is coming to us. Our local players will be very happy to play in an internal tournament for the very first time with international commentary. I am very excited to see how my brothers and sisters react to the news and to see their faces when they play in the tournament at the last chance qualifiers.”

The players who will be participating in the standout tournament will be announced in the coming weeks. There will be 15 direct invitees, with the 16^th player qualifying through a Last Chance Qualifier. Prospective players can sign up for their chance to participate in Red Bull Kumite South Africa here.

Fans from all over the world can attend the live finals at the University of Pretoria Sports Centre to see some of the biggest names in the fighting game community come together to battle. Tickets will be on sale from 17:00 on the 12th of May and can be purchased at Computicket.  

Originally held in Paris from 2015 to 2018, the prestigious competition was moved to Japan in 2019 as a nod to ‘the spiritual home to Street Fighter’. In 2021, Red Bull Kumite took place in London and Las Vegas before arriving in South Africa in 2023.

This event has joined forces with industry-leading partners to bring the very best hardware to competitors. Red Bull Kumite South Africa welcomes AGON by AOC, the global leaders in gaming monitors, as Official Monitor Partners for this event, bringing exceptional visual clarity with ultra-high resolution rates to competitors.

Watch the Red Bull Kumite South Africa event live on July 1 and July 2 on Twitch and YouTube.

After a tyre-screeching final battle between Eddie Rasta and King Katra, that captivated a global online audience, King Katra walked away as the 2020 champion. Check out the Image Gallery from this adrenaline packed event below.

The contestants all had three minutes to wow spectators and judges with their best tyre-slaying skills. They used the stage to earn the respect of the masses and establish themselves as true street spinning royalty.

The competition consisted of 4 rounds – the first, a seeding round where the judges scored each spinner on driving skills and showmanship. In the subsequent rounds, the judges were joined by the voice of the crowd in deciding the spinning champion.

The road to the final was an exciting one for the two spinners: Kayla topped the first round, while Veejaro had the crowd screaming for more. After an outstanding event with the smell of burning rubber in the air, screeching tyres, and car-spinning manoeuvres it was the legendary Veejaro who came on top.

This year, Spring will not only come with the typical gradual rise of temperatures, but the heat will further intensify as Red Bull Shay’ iMoto hits Joburg. 16 of Mzansi’s high-profile spinners from various parts of South Africa, will go head-to-head in a battle to be crowned the first-ever champion.

The event takes place on 19 October from 6pm, at Wheelz n Smoke Arena. Participants will have to capture the hearts and minds of the judges and the crowd by exhibiting their best tyre-slaying skills. They’ll have to use the stage to earn the respect of the community and establish themselves as true street royalty.

Judges include respected industry spinners and opinion leaders Magesh Ndaba, Jeff James, Shahiem Bell and Sparky Hendricks.

Round one will be a seeding round where the judges will score each spinner on driver skill and showmanship. But from round two, once the cream has risen to the top, the judges will be joined by the voice of the crowd in deciding the spinning champion. Tickets to the event are available from Computicket.

Lee-Shane secured the chance to compete for a life-changing opportunity when he proved to be a phenomenal street dancer, with unmatched improvisational skills, reining victorious and outmatching 15 other dancers from various regions across South Africa. The regional qualifiers took place in Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg which culminated in the Red Bull Dance Your Style national finals at Johannesburg’s Newtown Music Factory (former Baseline), this past Saturday. Check out our favourite scenes from the event below.

Winner, Lee Shane poses for a portrait at Red Bull Dance Your Style at Newtown Music Factory, Johannesburg, South Africa on August 3, 2019

How to enter:

Join-in the conversation, comment below telling us which artist is billed to perform at the Red Bull Beat Battle

Terms and Conditions:

• Entries are handled through the Disqus comment widget below only. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win.
• Contest is open to all residents of South Africa, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), we really do love all of you.
• Winners will be chosen randomly. One  (1) winner will receive two (2) tickets to the Red Bull Beat Battle. This doesn’t include transportation, accommodation, etc.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond twelve (12)  hours of being contacted, otherwise, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email or Facebook login.
• We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
• Entries can be submitted until November 20th at 08h00 AM CAT. Good luck!