Today’s TOPANGA TV had some juicy news for TOPANGA LEAGUE fans. On the show, TOPANGA representative director Toyota announced the invitees for the upcoming TOPANGA LEAGUE 5 (B), along with other key details for the Ultra Street Fighter IV league competition. Taking part in this year’s B League are returning veterans like RZR|Fuudo and MCZ|Mago, along with new faces and rising stars like FGC|Pepeday, aiai, and Matsuri.
Schedule
This season’s B League officially kicks off on September 4 and will run for ten days. Prior to the start of the season, an online qualifier will be held on August 23 to determine the final two players.
| B League Online Qualifier* | ||
| Aug. 23 (Sun.) | ||
| B League | ||
| Sep. 4 (Fri.) | Sep. 5 (Sat.) | Sep. 6 (Sun.) |
| Sep. 11 (Fri.) | Sep. 12 (Sat.) | Sep. 13 (Sun.) |
| Sep. 21 (Mon.) | Sep. 22 (Tue.) | Sep. 23 (Wed.) |
| A-B League Replacement Match Playoff | ||
| Oct. 4 (Sun.) | ||
*Viewable free of charge.
Rules & Format
While previous B League events consisted of 16 players, this year’s bumps that number up to 20. Players will broken into two blocks of ten, determined by drawing after the completion of the online qualifier. To prevent repeated matchups, players using the same character will be separated into different blocks.
The remaining rules are the same as previous years. B League will be played online in best-of-5 game matches. Players are ranked by win-loss record, or in the case of a tie, by game win-loss difference, followed by head-to-head matchup results.
Players
Below are the invited players of TOPANGA LEAGUE 5 (B). Included in the list of participants are A Leaguers who were demoted last season, losers of the replacement matches, higher placers from last season’s B League, champions of each TOPANGA RANKING BATTLE 2015 region, and other players showing exceptional performances and skill in the past year. Chun-Li specialist Matsuri joins as the first female player in TOPANGA League history.
For the invited players, character selection will be announced before the upcoming online qualifier on August 23. Winners of the online qualifier will use the same character used in the qualifier. For those unfamiliar with certain players, we have an included a list of likely character selections.
| Player | Character |
| RZR|Fuudo | Fei Long |
| FGC|Pugera | Ibuki |
| YBK|SANTAROU | Sagat |
| YBK|Dashio | Seth |
| NINOMAE | Rose |
| NISHIKIN | Blanka |
| Sasaki | Cody |
| FGC|Pepeday | El Fuerte |
| Kawaguchi | Rose |
| MCZ|Mago | Yang |
| Misse | Makoto |
| Gachi-kun | Sagat |
| Matsuri | Chun-Li |
| aiai | Juri |
| YBK|Shiro | Abel |
| MDR | Rufus |
| -6 | Poison |
| Hagejin | Zangief |
| Online Qualifier 1 Winner | |
| Online Qualifier 2 Winner | |
Prizes
With the increase in players comes an increase in prize money. The top three placers for each block will be awarded a cash prize.
| Placement | Prize |
| First Place of each Block |
100,000 Yen (~805 USD) |
| Second Place of each Block |
50,000 Yen (~405 USD) |
| Third Place of each Block |
30,000 Yen (~240 USD) |
Broadcast & Pricing Information
As always, TOPANGA LEAGUE 5 will be streamed on Niconico Live as a pay-per-view series of broadcasts. Purchasing a season ticket for each League will allow viewers to watch the entirety of that league, or in the case of the A-B ticket, all 22 days of TOPANGA LEAGUE 5. One Niconico point is the equivalent of one Japanese yen.
| Ticket | Price |
| B League Season Ticket (10 Days) |
2000 Niconico points (~16.15 USD) |
| A League Season Ticket (12 Days) |
3500 Niconico points (~28.25 USD) |
| B-A League Season Ticket (22 Days) |
5000 Niconico points (~40.35 USD) |
Be sure to watch the online qualifier on August 23 (viewable free of charge) and look forward to the start of B League on September 4.
Source: TOPANGA TV