The preventing recreation group is hailing Saul Leonardo “MenaRD” Mena II as one of many best Avenue Fighter gamers in historical past after successful Evo 2025, the most important preventing recreation event on this planet.
This victory alone isn’t inspiring followers to place him on their ‘Mt. Rushmore’ of preventing recreation GOATs, although; Mena can also be the one Avenue Fighter professional to have received two Capcom Cup championships, an insane feat that hadn’t been achieved within the decade because it started in 2013.
Article continues after advert
On prime of that, he received Evo Japan twice in back-to-back victories in 2024 – 2025 in opposition to Japanese execs Ryukichi and Kakeru, the latter of whom can also be a former Capcom Cup champion. The 2 met as soon as once more on the principle stage at Evo Las Vegas 2025, one 12 months after Mena’s victory on Kakeru’s residence turf — and it was a massacre.
However earlier than these gamers digitally duked it out on Sunday night time, we acquired the prospect to sit down down with Mena and decide his mind about his mindset going into the event, having simply received Evo Japan just a few months prior.
Article continues after advert
Article continues after advert
MenaRD is being thought-about one of many best preventing recreation gamers on this planet following his Evo 2025 victory in opposition to Kakeru.
To MenaRD, mindset is extra necessary than any opponent
After watching his electrifying efficiency on Sunday night time, you wouldn’t have believed this was the identical participant. Mena was calm, considerate, and composed, telling us that he was merely ‘taking issues as they arrive’ moderately than getting too emotionally invested in his outcomes.
“ My mindset is simply protecting the entire outdoors issues — you already know, my physique, the entire issues that might come up, my household — every little thing is ready [and taken care of],” he instructed us.
Article continues after advert
“I’ve every little thing set so I can have peace of thoughts, and I can concentrate on the event, and check out to bear in mind something that may take away my focus. That means, I can play for hours on Saturday and attempt to have that high quality gameplay that I want.
“I believe it’s extra necessary than making an attempt to fret about, ‘Oh, this particular participant, what’s he gonna do?’ You need to beat all people, mainly.”
Article continues after advert
Article continues after advert
BigBird says being ‘zen’ is the easiest way to method Avenue Fighter 6
Mena wasn’t alone in his pondering. Final 12 months’s Evo runner-up, BigBird, expressed related sentiments about this 12 months’s event.
“ To be trustworthy, recently my mindset with getting into tournaments hasn’t actually been, ‘Oh, I gotta follow exhausting subsequent event, or I gotta work on this and that. My mindset recently has been going to the event and ensuring I’m ready, clearly, however moving into with the mindset that, ‘Okay, I’m gonna do my greatest. If it really works, okay, I’m going on, subsequent. If it doesn’t work, GGs, we go to the following event,” he defined.”
Article continues after advert
“I believe what you’re in command of is mainly ensuring you’re simply ready, however no matter goes on within the event or within the set, I do really feel such as you don’t have 100% management over it. You possibly can win, you may lose, clearly, however ultimately it would come right down to a really split-second resolution or a fortunate guess, and I don’t suppose you have to be unhappy about it.”
Article continues after advert
Purple Bull Content material Pool: Todd GutierrezEach BigBird and MenaRD shared related sentiments relating to their mindsets going into Evo 2025.
The composure behind MenaRD’s electrifying Evo showdown
Mena’s moderately zen disposition appeared to shift as he labored his means via the bracket. He more and more grew to become extra intense because the weekend wore on, lastly importing a video of himself shadowboxing as a warm-up to the Sunday finals.
Article continues after advert
And on Sunday night time, he confronted Kakeru within the Winners’ Closing by throwing his backpack to the bottom and staring him down, UFC weigh-in type. It was a callback to their previous Grand Finals match at Evo Japan 2024, and a transparent signal that Mena was amped up and devoted to successful his first Evo Las Vegas victory.
Purple Bull Content material Pool: Todd GutierrezMenaRD and Kakeru carried out a callback to their earlier Grand Finals set from Evo Japan 2024 with a fierce staredown.
After tossing Kakeru into the Losers’ bracket, Mena secured his spot within the Grand Closing. Kakeru climbed his means again up, taking out upstart Hong Kong professional Mickey to as soon as once more meet Mena within the final battle of the night time — and Mena swept.
Article continues after advert
It was as if Mena have been a shark that smelled blood within the water. His efficiency was aggressive, surgical, and precise. In a 3-0 sweep, the Dominican professional secured the Evo Vegas 2025 championship… however did his mindset keep the identical?
Article continues after advert
We requested him this query on the post-match press convention, the place the beaming champ fortunately admitted that, though he seemed fired-up on the surface, he was calm and composed inside.
“I attempted to keep up that mindset as a lot as I might,” he answered. “In Winners’ Finals, once I stared down Kakeru, that had me fairly fired up. However then, the Grand Finals was simply the technical side of, ‘I’ve three extra matches than you. I’m in a position to take extra dangers. You might have all this stress. It’s very tough for him to be in that place and I took benefit of it.
Article continues after advert
“Inside, I used to be very quiet, very impartial and simply ready for the win to rejoice.”
This is only one of some issues which have aided Mena in his battle to the highest. On prime of protecting a relaxed mindset, Mena instructed us that he needed to put the sport earlier than virtually every little thing in his life to get the place he’s at this time.
Article continues after advert
“The one factor that I see all of us [pros] have in widespread is that we’re not essentially prepared to sacrifice every little thing, however mainly put the sport over every little thing. It’s the principle precedence in all of our lives. I see lots of people that they’ve the expertise, they perceive Avenue Fighter, but it surely’s not the top of the world in the event that they lose.
Article continues after advert
It’s a superb factor in life, but it surely’s a nasty factor for competitors, ’trigger it must be that critical. You’re gonna battle individuals that each one they do is play Avenue Fighter all day and take into consideration Avenue Fighter all day, so it’s important to make the sport your precedence.”
Mena is now aiming to be a champion of all 4 Evo occasions, ultimately taking Evo France and Evo Singapore. For now, he’s recovering from his large victory and setting his sights on the following main — however his efficiency at Evo Las Vegas 2025 received’t quickly be forgotten, having securely cemented him within the preventing recreation corridor of legends in gamers’ hearts.
Article continues after advert
Article continues after advert
