The Evo Awards 2026 ceremony happened just last night. Some of the highlights of the event included character reveals for Invincible Vs and Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game (as well as the announcement of Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game’s release date).
Towards the very end of the ceremony, there was one more announcement that got everyone talking. The long-awaited Kemonomichi first-to-10 between WBG|MenaRD and BST|Daigo Umehara will be taking place on April 29, 2026.
MenaRD issued this challenge to Daigo in a heartfelt Tweet back in February 2025. During the trailer, MenaRD read what he wrote over a year prior.
Hello,
I hope you have been well. I want to confess that I firmly believe you are the best ever at preparing for long sets in Street Fighter. Your incredible record has proven just how impossibly strong you become when you prepare for a player.
It would be the greatest honor of…
— WBG MenaRD🇩🇴(最強) (@_MenaRD__) February 13, 2025
The idea is that both players would be exclusively preparing for one another in the latest Street Fighter entry (Street Fighter 6 in this case) over the course of several months. We often see the performance of both players involved with this Kemonomichi FT10 since they tend to get so invested at learning each other’s habits.
Daigo himself has quite the history with the Kemonomichi FT10 exhibition as he’s already beaten Tokido, Infiltration and Xian in the format. Given preparation time, Daigo is considered to be undefeated.
Of course, MenaRD took the fighting game scene by storm ever since his unbelievable run at Capcom Cup 2017. To this day, MenaRD is the only two-time champion of the Capcom Cup as he also won in 2023.
This will truly be an unforgettable match up. Check it all out below:
The Beast vs The Bull.
The long-awaited FT10 between @daigothebeast and @_MenaRD__ is going down at Evo Legends Live on April 29, 2026.
Stay tuned for more details. #EvoAwards pic.twitter.com/vLEURYXVwG
— Evo (@Evo) March 29, 2026
整った舞台
交差する2つの伝説
獣道10先
続報、近日公開#RCWIN #Evo pic.twitter.com/rTkv80sF4f
— REJECT (@RC_REJECT) March 29, 2026