Yo everyone — I went back through some older posts of mine, and I can't get over how sick this SF6 angle was even then. This isn't just a "cool moment" in esports; it's literally one of those high-stakes tournament decisions that makes fighting games so compelling to watch live. Here is the full story behind MenaRD — Mitchell Saltzman — switching off his main in the finals, and honestly I wish more people had this conversation when Street Fighter 6 first dropped because it touches on something really interesting about how top competitors handle pressure.
Mitchell has been playing Zangief for years, so everyone knew exactly what to expect going into the Grand Finals: a familiar character against a known opponent in one of the highest-stakes matches possible. Then out he pulls Chun-Li — a character he'd never used competitively before! The crowd reaction alone was legendary; you could almost feel the collective gasp from thousands of people watching the broadcast. And this isn't his first championship, either — he won SF6 at Evo twice already, so what we're seeing is not an inexperienced player making an emotional call but a veteran who has studied past tournament results and made a deliberate choice based on evidence rather than instinct.
His own words paint the clearest picture: "I was playing off confidence." That wasn't a whim; he told IGN it's something he did in his last couple of tournaments, and both times it worked out for him. He essentially bet on himself — knowing that if this failed he would lose to an opponent who had prepared against Zangief but not Chun-Li, yet betting that the chaos factor would give him a winning edge. And looking back at how many Street Fighters have been won by making bold calls like this adds another layer of respect for his confidence. It's one of those decisions where you can see exactly what he risked and exactly why it makes the esport so worth watching, even if you aren't deeply familiar with each character kit.
Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/why-the-back-to-back-street-fighter-6-evo-champion-menard-switched-off-his-main-in-the-finals
Mitchell has been playing Zangief for years, so everyone knew exactly what to expect going into the Grand Finals: a familiar character against a known opponent in one of the highest-stakes matches possible. Then out he pulls Chun-Li — a character he'd never used competitively before! The crowd reaction alone was legendary; you could almost feel the collective gasp from thousands of people watching the broadcast. And this isn't his first championship, either — he won SF6 at Evo twice already, so what we're seeing is not an inexperienced player making an emotional call but a veteran who has studied past tournament results and made a deliberate choice based on evidence rather than instinct.
His own words paint the clearest picture: "I was playing off confidence." That wasn't a whim; he told IGN it's something he did in his last couple of tournaments, and both times it worked out for him. He essentially bet on himself — knowing that if this failed he would lose to an opponent who had prepared against Zangief but not Chun-Li, yet betting that the chaos factor would give him a winning edge. And looking back at how many Street Fighters have been won by making bold calls like this adds another layer of respect for his confidence. It's one of those decisions where you can see exactly what he risked and exactly why it makes the esport so worth watching, even if you aren't deeply familiar with each character kit.
Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/why-the-back-to-back-street-fighter-6-evo-champion-menard-switched-off-his-main-in-the-finals