Zeng Zhuojun (popularly known as "Xiao Hai") of China's KuaiShow Gaming defeated Masaki Kawano of Japan's Good 8 Squad 5-2 in the Street Fighter 6 final at the first Esports World Cup (EWC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday.

Zeng is widely considered one of the greatest fighting game players, after winning a long list of championships in both Street Fighter and King of Fighters since 2007.

At 35, a relatively unfriendly age for esports participants, Zeng was the only Chinese player in the Street Fighter 6 quarterfinals, which included six Japanese competitors. He beat the trio of Hikaru Nakatani of EVA:e, Tsunehiro Kanamori (popularly known as "Gachikun") of Red Bull eSports and Kawano in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final, respectively, to take the throne.

"I started to play video games when I was six," Zeng told reporters after the victory. "My game ID 'Xiao Hai' means 'little kid' in Chinese. I'm 35 now. Many said I'm too old to win, but today, I proved I can still do it."

The prize money for the Street Fighter 6 winner at the EWC is $300,000. Although the purse is not as high as the $1 million offered at the Capcom Cup X in Los Angeles, California, in February, the latter allotted berths for players from certain countries and regions to promote the games.

By contrast, the EWC only allowed the best-performing players to qualify, making its competitions comparatively tougher.