Matchups
| Akuma | Balrog (Boxer) | Blanka | Cammy | Chun-Li | Dan | Dhalsim | Eagle |
| E.Honda | Guile | Ken | Kyosuke | M.Bison (Dictator) | Maki | Morrigan | Rolento |
| Ryu | Sagat | Sakura | Vega (Claw) | Yun | Zangief |
| Athena | Benimaru | Chang | Geese | Haohmaru | Hibiki | Iori | Joe |
| Kim | King | Kyo | Mai | Nakoruru | Raiden | Rock | Rugal |
| Ryo | Todo | Yamazaki | Terry | Vice | Yuri |
Capcom Characters
Akuma
Balrog (Boxer)
Blanka
Cammy
Chun-Li
Dan
Should be a free matchup. Regardless of groove, Sagat basically owns Dan in any given situation. Considering it's the strongest character vs. the weakest character you can take a good guess that this matchup is not good for Dan.
The main tools you kind of have to look out for are Dan's Air Dan Kicks and his rather annoying 2LK and 2MK. Due to Sagat being a bigger body, Air Dan Kicks can strike at higher angles, which allows Dan to push some pressure, however, your basic anti-pressure can swat Dan away. Your Tiger Uppercut and 5HP are also great answers to Air Dan Kicks.
That's basically it for the matchup. Dan shouldn't be avenging his father anytime soon.
Dhalsim
Eagle
E. Honda
Guile
Ken
Kyosuke
M. Bison (Dictator)
Maki
Morrigan
Rolento
Ryu
Sagat
Another very common matchup. Due to the fact that Sagat is a very popular character amongst all CvS2 players, you may find yourself in Sagat mirrors way more than you'd want.
It can be a fun matchup, depending on the grooves it can either be a slow game of chess or an absolute slugfest.
vs. C-Sagat
If your neutral is better than your opponent's, you should win this matchup, whether you yourself are in C or K. Focus on trying to deal with Sagat's many pokes, as he has access to the same imposing neutral game as yours. Be mindful of Sagat's supers, as he can get it quickly and get in big damage. At two bars Sagat has access to very damaging level 2 cancels. Be mindful of this and don't do anything dumb to allow him to get this big damage. Don't play it scared, because you have the same threat level, but don't get too greedy either.
vs. K-Sagat
If you are also in K-Groove, this matchup becomes a matchup of many highs and lows. Punches thrown around, turns rapidly being taken, and supers all over the place.
In a K-Sagat vs. K-Sagat matchup, it pretty much boils down to who can open up first. Sagat's defense can get taken advantage of, as low hops can catch him lacking, but you yourself also lack defensive options. Abuse Sagat's low pokes with JDs and punish if he uses things like 2HP predictably. If the opposing Sagat ends up getting raged, which is inevitable, then try to wait it out. Don't let the other Sagat get pressure happy, and if you throw him, use the kick throw to stall the rage timer out even more. If you get rage, then you don't necessarily need a super, but it's good to be on offense to get the extra rage buff damage. You can't mindlessly pressure, even despite the defensive buff, because constantly getting swatted away is going to lose life lead and rage timer. Try to inch your way towards the opponent. If they end up doing something very punishable, or just do the wrong move, you can push offense and a super. You do have a lvl.3 Tiger Raid/j.HK mixup, so try to instill that as a threat to keep the opponent on their toes. Overall, this matchup can go either way, K-Groove's mechanics can turn the tides of the round at any moment, allowing for some very hype matchups, especially when a K-Sagat mirror is so common at any level of play.
As C-Sagat, K-Sagat holds a slight advantage and disadvantage at the same time. You lack the pressure, he lacks the defense. You have to play around that. K-Sagat's JDs can beat your buttons, and your defensive options can stop bad approaches and pressure. If he gets rage play is carefully. He's looking to get some quick offense to squeeze out a super. If you have bar, you can sit him down with supers, and while they might not be as damaging they can still stall out the timer and swindle the round momentum. If you have multiple bars, it can be good to have as level 2 super cancels can easily turn the round in your favor with the big damage, although he weary of the fact that the Tiger Raid lvl.2 cancel can get the opponent to build rage super quickly, so expect the threat of a level 3 once you do get that big damage in. The other Sagat may be looking to turn the round in his favor. All in all, while a very slight advantage to K-Sagat, it really boils down to C-Sagat neutral vs. K-Sagat pressure. It can go either way, as C-Sagat's frequent supers can be just as effective as K-Sagat's less frequent but super damaging level 3 supers.
Sakura
Vega (Claw)
Yun
Zangief
SNK Characters
Athena
Benimaru
Chang
Geese
Haohmaru
Hibiki
Can be a tricky matchup due to the fact that Hibiki can act as a defensive wall and use her superior range to keep you out. She can also make use of JDs or Parries to punish bad pokes.
The goal here is to maintain discipline and don't fall flat in neutral or against her rushdown.
C-Sagat
You want to stay grounded in this matchup. With no shorthop at your disposal, Hibiki mostly gets anti airs for free if you choose to approach through jumps. You have the superior buttons, but Hibiki can out range you. Stick to using quicker pokes, and use Sagat's roll when Hibiki least expects it. Landing a level 2 combo would almost certainly shift the momentum in your favor.
Because Hibiki has lower life and lower damage overall, even going blow for blow usually means Sagat is favored. Just don't get too rush down happy otherwise you might be at the mercy of Hibiki's counter or quicker pokes.
K-Sagat
Shorthops can both be good and bad in this matchup. If you choose to do it while Hibiki is still taking a defensive position she can anti air you. If you anticipate a poke like cr.LP/MP you can shorthop it and she will have no choice but to take it. JDs can turn some of her pokes into free punishes as well so keep that in mind.
Once you have rage, you have slightly more room for offense, Hibiki will try to keep you out so you can try offensively poking and then applying the 50/50 short hop vs. Raid mixup. This should be a simple matchup but not one where you'll dominate.
Iori
vs. C/A/N Iori
Why specifically C/A/N? Because those are grooves where Iori has access to a roll, which can be very dangerous if left unattended. Iori's roll is not only very quick, but it travels a very far distance. This is usually a very difficult thing to deal with at mid level. Not only that but having a roll means Iori has access to RC Rekka, one of the best pokes in the game. So how do you beat this?
As Sagat, your buttons alone make him an imposing wall, so Iori can't do much in terms of his regular buttons outside of st.HK and cr.HK. He has the better range though, so don't whiff anything big or you'll eat a sweep. This matchup is very reactionary, where you simply try to react to whatever Iori attempts. Play at a range where Iori's Rekka will whiff or where you can neutral jump it. This means that Iori has to either stick to his buttons or approach via a roll. Rarely will he dash as a mid range in C/A due to his dash being mediocre. If he chooses to run in, you can use your quicker anti pressure tools to keep him out.
st.LK is a really strong button in this situation as it generally beats any Iori button in neutral because it's too slow or has lower priority. It's also fast so you won't risk eating a punish unless it was a read. It's a good button to throw out every now and then when Iori isn't planning on approaching and instead sitting back and playing footsies.
If Iori chooses to roll in for pressure, then that's a free throw. Not only that but now you're back to your optimal space where Iori can't do anything crazy. This is where you stay disciplined and keep your distance. Do not stick out anything big. Iori can simply roll past it, like a cr.HP or st.MK. Jumping at times helps with bypassing RC Rekka, but keep in mind that Iori has access to things like a DP, so a more disciplined Iori will catch you for attempting to escape Rekka's range.
For the most part you're just reacting to Iori's Rekka and his roll. You'll do fine against him in neutral as your buttons should be better than his. Still a fairly even matchup.
vs. P/S/K Iori
It's basically the same thing but now you won't have to look out for the roll anymore. He will be playing a lot more footsies in this matchup so get ready to poke around. Look into the Strategy section to find out how to fight P/S/K and incorporate the information presented above into it.
Joe
Kim
King
Kyo
Mai
Nakoruru
Raiden
Rock
Rugal
Ryo
Todo
Yamazaki
Terry
Vice
Yuri Pretty easy for Sagat. Yuri is a gimmicky character, and her moves just hold no match to Sagat's power.
If she does a sweep, or a few low shorts and cancels into Raioken, you can dash or run under it and get a free hit. If she does it raw, you can potentially react and beat it with a j.HK. However, that's mostly dependent on distance. The point is that you can easily beat this move with little effort. If she's close, dash under, and if she's far, air to air. If you're in K-Groove, you can also just JD the fireball and get some free meter, but you may risk getting pressured more. However, due to Yuri's mediocre damage, you can afford to take a throw.
Don't get too greedy and begin to lessen your guard, her RC running slap hitgrab sometimes catches you off guard. Even without RC, there may be a time where you're mindlessly running or dashing forwards and fall victim to it. Just stay concentrated and that usually won't happen.
Her pokes can sometimes be a little annoying. Her st.LK reaches far and sometimes catches some pokes via a quicker startup. Just use your own st.LK, it usually does the trick. Crouch fierce won't hurt either. Her st.HK is similar to Sakura and Yamazaki. It's relatively safe, and can beat some good pokes. Generally it's the same situation, st.LK usually gets the job done. Just don't do it too much or she can counterpoke it. Playing neutral vs. Yuri isn't too hard once you begin to outrange her.
Overall an easy matchup, Yuri's gimmicks only take her so far, and they are very easily shut down by Sagat's powerful buttons.
