KOF '98 joins SNK open
SNK World Championship 2026 added King of Fighters '98 as an open tournament alongside Art of Fighting 3, opening the event to classic KOF competitors (x.com). The move signals wider retro-title support in the season’s esports calendar and broadens competitive slots for grassroots players (x.com).
The King of Fighters ’98 circuit for SWC 2026 carries a dedicated $100,000 prize pool, increasing the event’s published total from $4,100,000 to $4,200,000. (eventhubs.com) SNK’s SWC 2026 season originally launched on January 29, 2026 at Frosty Faustings XVIII and was announced with a combined $4.1 million prize pool across qualifiers and finals. (snk-corp.co.jp) SNK’s season-wide point-ranking system converts every qualifying point into cash at a rate of 1 point = $1 USD, with leaderboard points used to determine many Grand Final qualification slots. (snkesports.com) The ranking matrix heavily weights top-tier events: winners of Legend-tier offline tournaments receive 8,000 points under SWC 2026’s structure (equivalent to $8,000 under the point-to-cash rule). (eventhubs.com) Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is listed with 32 Grand Final slots in SNK’s published materials, while the exact slot counts for THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV and SAMURAI SHODOWN remain listed as “TBA” in SNK’s season overview. (snkesports.com)
