Every fighting game has eras defined by specific players, those who just dominate the competition in that title over an extended period of time. Since 2019, Street Fighter V has been in the era of iDom.
Derek "iDom" Ruffin is familiar with dominating, as his name suggests, with ten first-place finishes in the SFV last year, as well as two of the game's finest matches during his Evo 2022 run.
iDom has been a force in SFV since he joined the sport in 2017 and finished the year with a Capcom Cup championship in Hollywood. Now, after more than three years of delays, he will defend the championship in Capcom Cup IX in February. 14-19.
This will be the largest Street Fighter tournament in years, but it will also be the last true Major for SFV ahead of Street Fighter 6's release in June. iDom spoke with Dot Esports about his defending his belt, the legacy of the team, and early impressions of SF6 from a competitive perspective.
iDom: It's always fun to play in front of a lot of people at Capcom Cup events. The last big event I attended was Evo [2022], and the reaction in that crowd was incredible.
When it comes to Street Fighter, Capcom Cup and Evo, it's always nice to play in front of those crowds, and I'm excited to compete against the greatest players in the world. This one is a bit different because it was a regional system rather than just a lot of Japanese, American, or European players. And a lot more regions means a lot more variety in the player and the gameplay.
I think I've had a really good end to Street Fighter V. I've been playing really good towards the end of the game so I want to showcase my talents.
I want to demonstrate that I'm still one of the best Street Fighter V players out there and then continue to build momentum from my participation in Street Fighter 6. I'm a very slow learner when a new game comes out. I certainly improve when a game is released.
I feel like my preparation has been excellent. There are a lot of talented players in the northeast region, and a whole bunch of great players like Ed, Luke, Ibuki, and Cody. So I feel like I'm in top shape because all of the players around me are really strong and some play those strong characters.
You can only be as good as the players you play. To be honest, I'm feeling fantastic.
The least excited is probably Luke, because he is insanely powerful right now and is a terror with how many excellent players use him. I'm most interested in seeing the players who are well-known for playing unique characters like Ed, [and] we have a lot of Ken players, so I'm excited to see how they perform against the Luke army.
Related: New Street Fighter 6 content will not be highlighted at the Capcom Cup.
I just want to put this on the record because I want to get my run back against LI Joe. We played when I had no clue how to play the game, and that was my first time playing it. I want that run back, but the game is fairly enjoyable in the end.
I think the game will be fantastic once it is released. It's like a completely different pace from Street Fighter V and all of the other Street Fighter games. I'm really interested in seeing how players react to it and how they'll alter strategies once it's released.
I like a lot of the things they are doing with the movement, and I think that will be very important at the core of the gameplay. I like Drive Rush and Drive Break, but I'm somewhat concerned about Drive Impact, but you know, maybe those concerns will dissipate as the game becomes more fleshed out and people understand it better.
It appears that players will have an excellent grasp of what to do with these new features, even from what I've seen online and from Capcom running a few of those tournaments once the beta was over.
I'm super excited. I know a lot of people view that as a honeymoon phase where everyone is so excited and no one knows what's going on. So it's really hype and you get to see things you've never seen before practically every day because the game is still new.
I've always been interested in new information, but I do believe games are at their peak when everyone knows what they're doing, like when a game is fully fleshed out.
Even though the game is so old right now, a lot of players are playing Luke and have already locked in strategies, but I think that's pretty hype to see. Everyone is already using the best stuff and knows how to optimize those strategies and combos.
I'm going to miss V-Trigger for being honest. It was a great mechanic, and you could totally diversify your playstyle around it.
I'm so excited for this. I like a lot of the online tournaments and I play Strive, so I know a lot of the online capabilities of the game are really good. I can play practically any area in the United States and even farther without having to deal with too many issues.
I believe that online is a great platform for the competitive community, but I believe that people should still come out to their locals and participate in offline events. I do believe there is a genuine passion there that cannot be matched on the internet, but it is also crucial to have good netcode and other things.
My advice would be to just do it. I remember in 2012 when I went to my first local for Marvel vs. Capcom 3, I had a great time because I got to sit down and play a lot of casuals with strong players while we were just hanging out. It really helps you improve and improve at the game.
Going to locals is way better than just doing it online. Playing online and making friends there is fantastic, but meeting them in person is still far superior.
I always believe that the more fighting games you've played throughout your life, the more advantages you have over people who have just focused on one game or series, because you can see things from many angles.
You may, as a Street Fighter, look at something in a certain way different from a Granblue or Guilty Gear player, or whatever it may be. Personally, I think I have a decent outlook and am optimistic about the different viewpoints I take on playing any game.
After years of silence, Street Fighter's free mobile game is finally coming to the West.
I want to do a lot of things with the game with all of the weird mini-games like that one where they smash the barrel back at each other, and the competitive content for tournaments is going to be fantastic. SF6 is just one big avenue because there are so many new characters to showcase to people. It's a fresh start.
I'm all for it. I'll enter because I like seeing things like that.
Because I am so excited for them and have been doing something similar before, I'm pretty sure I can juggle all of the games I want to try.
I can't wait for SF6 and I really like Guilty Gear Strive, and Marvel 3 is the first game I've ever really started playing at that level of enjoyment. I'm also excited for Granblue [Fantasy Versus: Rising], and then there's games like Diablo 4 coming out as well.
I need to find a way to make time for all of these games that are coming up.