RULES

STREET FIGHTER III 3rd STRIKE: Fight for the Future

EVO Japan 2025 Special Tournament

with The 19th Cooperation Cup (5on5)

About Cooperation Cup

Cooperation Cup is a large-scale 5-on5 team battle tournament organized by Game Newton and the STREET FIGHTER III 3rd Strike community.
The event was first held in 2002 at the "Beat-Tribe" arcade in Machida, Tokyo and alternated with "Game Newton" arcade in Itabashi, Tokyo with each subsequent year growing in scale. The tournament eventually garnered so much popularity that they outgrew the arcade game center venue.
In recent years the event has continued to make headlines and shifted their community to other venues including Hulic Hall in Asakusabashi, Tokyo in 2018. The event later joined in collaboration with DreamHack Japan in 2023 at Makuhari Messe.
This tournament has become the cornerstone of the 3rd Strike scene, attracting players throughout Japan but also from around the world.

Rules and Regulations

Version: Arcade cabinet "STREET FIGHTER III 3rd STRIKE: Fight for the Future"
The old board (Ver.990512) of "STREET FIGHTER III 3rd STRIKE: Fight for the Future" will be used.

Settings must remain at factory default except for the specified game settings.

Sanwa Denshi joysticks and buttons will be used.

Game cabinets will be one of the following SEGA models: ASTRO CITY, BLAST CITY, or NEW VERSUS CITY.
Maximum number of participants: 1500 (300 teams)
If the maximum number of participants is reached, you will not be able to register even if you have already purchased an admission ticket. Please ensure you check the registration status of your desired title before purchasing a ticket. After purchasing your ticket, register as soon as possible.
You can check the registration status here: start.gg
About Seeding Rights
In Japan's monthly 3-on3 tournament, "3rd MANIAX" held at Game Newton Oyama, particpants who have top placements are awarded ranking points. Those who rank high enough in the points ranking during the designated period are granted seeding benefits.
The qualified seeds will not be placed in the same league as other "3rd MANIAX" ranked seeds during the first round of group stage play.
NOTE: The number of participants eligible for the seeding benefit may vary depending on the total number of teams participating in the overall tournament.

Tournament Format

The tournament will consist of several waves: 1st ROUND, 2nd ROUND, PLAY-OFF A & B, and FINAL TOURNAMENT.
Note: The flow of the previous 18th tournament was as follows:
Each Wave progresses as follows;
1st ROUND:
Depending on the number of teams, either a round-robin format with three teams or an irregular tournament format with four teams will be used. The team that places 1st will advance to the 2nd Round, while the team that places 2nd will advance to Play-Off A.

2nd ROUND:
Teams that place 1st in the 1st Round will be randomly assigned to seven blocks, where they will compete in a single-elimination tournament using the 5-on-5 elimination format. The team that places 1st in each block will advance to the Final Tournament, while teams that place 2nd or lower will proceed to Play-Off B.

PLAY-OFF A:
Teams that placed 2nd in the 1st Round will compete in a 1-on-1 single-elimination tournament with one representative per team. Representatives cannot be changed during the tournament. Match pairings will be decided through a random draw. The winning team will advance to Play-Off B.

PLAY-OFF B:
Teams that placed 2nd or lower in the 2nd Round, along with the winning team from Play-Off A, will participate in either a 1-on-1 single-elimination tournament or a round-robin format with one representative per team. Representatives cannot be changed during the tournament. If there is a tie in the round-robin matches, tie-breakers will follow the rules of the 1st Round. Match pairings will be determined by a random draw, and the winning team will advance to the Final Tournament.

FINAL TOURNAMENT:
Eight teams, consisting of the seven 1st place teams from the 2nd Round and the winning team from Play-Off B, will compete in a single-elimination tournament using the 5-on-5 elimination-style format. The tournament bracket will be decided using the K-1 (Fortune Box) method, where teams draw numbers to select their positions in the bracket in order. The team advancing from Play-Off B will not participate in the draw and will have a fixed position in the bracket.
If teams have the same win-loss record in a round-robin format in each wave, a tie-breaking match will be conducted with one representative from each team, regardless of the total number of individual match victories.
If the tie persists after the representatives' match, another player will be selected from the remaining four team members to compete. This process will continue until all five players have participated, if necessary.
If the tie still remains after matches involving all five players, the outcome will be determined based on the total number of rounds won by the representatives during their matches.
For each wave, the final structure will be reviewed after the registration deadline, and adjustments may be made depending on the total number of participating teams.

Match Format

Both 5-on-5 matches and 1-on-1 representative matches will be conducted in a BO1 format.
The following rules must be applied regarding the characters selection:
Each team must use at least three different characters.

No more than two players on a team may use the same character.

Once a specific point determined by the tournament organizers is reached, character changes will not be allowed for the remainder of the tournament.
The following game settings will be used for all matches:
Matches will be conducted in "FREE PLAY" mode.

Each round will have a 99-second timer.

Stages will be automatically determined based on the characters selected by the players.

Banned character: Gill
Others
Bugs or exploits that cause the game to freeze are prohibited. If an unplayable situation occurs, the player responsible will forfeit the match.

Before the match, players will decide their play side through a game of rock-paper-scissors.

Players must declare their starting player to the judge before the match begins.

Any malfunction of levers or buttons must be reported immediately by raising a hand, and the game will be reset to its original state from that point. If no malfunction is found, the reporting player may face disqualification.

ENTRY