Adon
Medium Kick trivializes this match-up. Just medium kick anytime Adon thinks of going for a jump attack. Adon like almost everyone has a loop on you but it is extremely difficult to pull off. Tiger shot should ONLY be used if Adon isn't jump attacking and is attempting to get in with his own medium or heavy kick. Even then medium kick ruins that plan to though. If you just respond to everything with medium kick you will probably win with ease.
Birdie
Behold your rival, this absolute monster is the only thing Sagat fears. That being said the feeling is mutual. If birdie lands one light kick you probably lose. However, as Sagat you have plenty of tools to make sure that never happens. Medium kick being the greatest threat, stuffs both jump-in and walk-ins.
If the Birdie finds his way-in though your best option is heavy-kick. Birdie has a very hard time spacing himself properly and heavy kick can often force side-swap shenanigens. This is not even close to 100% reliable though, and even if you do get out birdie may be able to respond in time. In other words keep birdie out.
If the Birdie decides to go for headbutt a lot in neutral, punish with Neutral Tiger Knee( aka "The Guillotine") and cut this chickens head off.
Eagle
Similar story to Birdie however noticibly more in your favor. If Eagle hits a Jab you are thouroughly cooked as his loop is far harder to get out of. However, Eagle will have a much harder time starting this loop as his approach game is pretty bad. If fullscreen tiger shot is free even on block. At mid screen, if the eagle blocks this is what you should do. The eagle should jump in and try to start his jab loop. However the timing is really tight which is why you should attempt to light kick the second Eagle lands. DO NOT light kick eagle in the air or he may just get a free jab loop due to air hitstun and knockback being height dependent. If you successfuly launch go for tiger shot as the eagle will have buffered a jab and will likely be free, their by ending the round on the spot.
In fact I highly recommend you probe Eagle mains you are unfamiliar with to see if they can punish tiger shot successfully or not, as if they can't punish Tiger Shot at mid-far screen you can just repeat what was said above until end of set. Even if they can it can be a decent mix up option.
If the Eagle is good at punishing tiger shot you now have to play some high risk neutral. Spin can also shred if you get too close. If you are in spin range go for light-kick and if they are out of light kick range you should be out of spin range and can punish with either tiger shot or knee.
Overall winning match-up but definitely respect Eagle.
Geki
If you find your self in this match-up the other player is either new or attempting an old meme. This match-up is pretty good for Sagat in the modern meta. Your plan is to tiger knee on round start and continue to tiger knee until round end. If you somehow got hit(screwed up) and Geki obtained life lead, you probably lose. Geki can teleport stall Sagat and I will talk about your options in this situation further down. He however has no options to deal with tiger knee on round start and back jumping isn't very helpful either.
If you find Geki always back jumps(as he probably should) you can also go for tiger shot on round start. Unless your already in a comfortable lead and are memeing this is not recommended. As it will fail against
-You Screwed Up Okay the Geki is now going to hold back for the rest of the match and there is almost nothing you can do about it. However, it was discovered that Geki's teleport block doesn't respond well to tiger shot it as it often forces him out of corner. You can then attempt to side swap him, either by trying to guess where he ends up or using heavy kick around where he ends up to jank the game even further and maybe hit him regaining life lead and probably winning the game. This your best shot good luck.
Gen
You look at the tier list and you think. This'll be easy. But, Gen actually has some decent counter play against Sagat. If he hits a jump attack he can loop you, and his Heavy Kick is decent at contesting your neutral options. However, your still very much in the driver's seat. Medium Kick contests Heavy Kick and Heavy Kick is somewhat punishable with Tiger Shot, but if then Gen is good be careful throwing out Tiger shot.
Overall, you should still win this match-up consistently if you just respect Gen's jump attack and poke him properly.
Lee
Lee's loop move is his lunge-punch. However, lunge punch is very easy for Sagat to stuff as it only hits after landing. Use Knee and medium kick liberally in this match-up and you should be okay.
Joe
Neutral, and specifically round start, may be a challenge against Joe. If you're up-close against him, it's a gamble whether you come out unscathed or not. MK is a good move to go under his high hitting normals, but his gut punch is a strong move in the matchup. Gut Punch and his MK are good anti-air normals, so don't use Forward Jump Attacks often (unless you know what you're doing). Joe's Forward Jump Attack is very fast and is a valid opener versus Retsu, but he does have a few preemptive tools against it. Neutral Jump Attack beats it clean, and both MP and HK can catch Joe while he's jumping forward. Your win condition is to force Joe to the corner because he can't do anything against HK spam once his back is to the corner.
Mike
A fascinating yet simple match-up. You and Mike loop each other, so the match is pretty volatile. Knee beats kneedash and crouch punch. low kick trades with crouch punch. Tiger Shot destroys standing punch.
So basically you have to condition mike into either Knee dashing too much or standing punch too much and punish accordingly. The match up is certainly Sagat favored as most are, but is far from unlosable as Mike only needs to hit three times to KO. You loop Mike hard with Knee and light kick. Just be sure to watch how he launches so that you can follow up appropriately.
Medium Kick is actually far less useful than usual as Mike can kneedash under the late hit and loop you to death.
Retsu
Very Easy match up.
Mash buttons, your opponent made a mistake. Don't walk into corner otherwise go nuts.
Sagat
Once believed to be a simple Tiger Shot fest this match-up has evolved dramatically. Tiger Shot on round start is a massive gambit as if the other Sagat blocks you lose, as such it has fallen out of favor as the common round start. Usually both players play some intense footsies and poke before one hits and wins. You reliably loop your self with knee. Who ever blocks tiger shot wins, therefore the matches often veers toward a close quarters standoff. Player psychology is extremely important to this match-up, as who ever can read better will win. Very volatile, Good luck.
Ken
Ken has no loop on you. However, DP will do monstrous damage if it hit's right. Your best bets are to either bait Hadoken and punish with tiger shot or jump it and light kick ken to death. Most Ken's have a very hard time DPing out of hitstun so once you land a hit they usually just die. Basically just wait for an opening and pounce. Also, don't bother blocking Hadoken as unlike your fireball it has basically no end lag. Tiger shot is difficult to punish though.
You will draw more in this match up than most but that's fine because you will usually be the one forcing the draw. Basically, if a Hadoken is coming and you don't have the time to react just tiger shot, because of the way the game works you will both hit.
Overall this match up is pretty Sagat favored as the Ken can't easily deal with you at range and Hadoken is a big risk for him. Also, your light kick easily punishes DP just don't let Hadoken hit you too much and don't get too close to DP range and you should win.
As a small aside if Ken successfully hits you with Tatsumaki he will automatically win however this is very risky and you will probably punish it on accident.
