'It's my goal to be the top player': Red Bull Kumite's Oil King talks Street Fighter 6, Modern controls, goals, and more (Exclusive)

Lin "Oil King" is one of the great Street Fighter 6 players coming out of Taiwan right now. He's one of the many participating in the Red Bull Kumite South Africa major. A former EVO champion (2023), he's recognized as one of the greats in the game, no matter what character he plays. However, some of our audio came out poor, so parts of this interview were clipped out.

We spoke about how he feels about Modern controls, how he feels about the Red Bull Kumite South Africa, and what makes Street Fighter 6 great, according to him. It was an incredible tournament, where Oil King ultimately took third, with his powerful Manon and Chun-Li.

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Oil King talks Street Fighter 6, Red Bull Kumite South Africa, and more

Q. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! First off, how are you feeling about your chances? (or How do you feel about your performance, depending on when asked)

Oil King: I’m pretty sure, because you know this game is only one month old. So maybe I can win if I’m lucky. It’s gonna be challenging, but no matter what I believe, me and all the players, we’ll do our best to make it a good show for the whole world.

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Q. Players around the world are talking about Modern controls in Street Fighter 6. How is your local scene treating this new way to play the game?

Oil King: I think Modern controls can provide something, but it's hard to play with both. If you want to play with them, you can just play that style. The inputs are too different as in Modern controls, you lose some buttons - like the one-button supers. Your gameplay will be different than with Classic controls.

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Q. As a former EVO Japan winner, you’ve played a number of the best players that Street Fighter has to offer. How are you preparing for this particular tournament?

Oil King: I believe in Street Fighter 5, I’m the World Cup player. So my first goal is to try to be the top Street Fighter 6 player as soon as possible. I’m not just preparing for the event, I’m training every day, being harder on myself to become tougher, to be the top player like I did in Street Fighter 5.

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Q. How do you feel about Street Fighter 6, when it comes to gameplay? Is it an improvement from SF5?

Oil King: Oh, it’s improved a lot. I will say it’s a very, very good game. Viewers like to watch it, and this makes the community grow bigger and bigger.

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Q. Are there any characters that you feel are really standout, overpowered?

Oil King: There are some characters like Kuri, JP, Ken, or Luke that are maybe stronger. So far, it’s balanced, though there are some that are stronger than others. Though, Street Fighter 6 will always have balance patches, so I think it will be fine.

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Lin is an incredible fighting game player from Taiwan. You can find him representing Red Bull eSports and Twisted Minds across Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch.