Cobra Kai season 6 is set to end the show by showcasing the Sekai Taikai tournament, and here are the different characters who could potentially win.
With Cobra Kai season 6 promising to center on the worldwide tournament of the Sekai Taikai, here is every character from the show who could potentially win the entire thing. Cobra Kai season 5 took a slight break from organized karate fights, instead showcasing the rising tension between Cobra Kai led by Terry Silver, and the hybrid dojo of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang led by Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. However, toward Cobra Kai season 5’s final episodes, the show teased the ultimate karate tournament, the Sekai Taikai.
The Sekai Taikai is the most prestigious karate tournament in the Karate Kid universe, allowing dojos from across the globe to compete. Silver planned to enroll Cobra Kai to spread his operation worldwide, though it is unclear what will become of this plan given his incarceration at the end of Cobra Kai season 5. Although, with John Kreese escaping prison, it is highly likely Cobra Kai makes a comeback. If this is the case, Cobra Kai season 6 will hopefully capitalize on these hints by taking all its major characters to fight in the Sekai Taikai, with many of the show’s fighters having the ability to win the tournament.
6. Robby Keene
Arguably one of the two most likely characters to win Cobra Kai season 6’s Sekai Taikai is Robby Keene. Robby is the son of Johnny Lawrence, and throughout Cobra Kai has learned from all the show’s major karate veterans. From beginning as a student of Miyagi-Do under Daniel LaRusso to transitioning to Cobra Kai under John Kreese’s tutelage, Robby has learned the ways of both light and dark in the Karate Kid universe. This was only furthered by what he learned from Terry Silver in Cobra Kai season 4 before his switch back to the good side, in which Johnny, Daniel, and Chozen Toguchi trained Robby together.
As a result, Robby has become one of the show’s more proficient fighters. Robby was the runner-up in both of the show’s All-Valley tournaments, yet has bested both winners – Miguel and Hawk – in other fights throughout the series. Similarly, Robby has been a conflicted character in Cobra Kai, constantly torn between what is right and wrong, which contributed to his losses. As of the end of Cobra Kai season 5, Robby is finally sure of what he wants in life, meaning his training from both sides of the coin could come together with his renewed focus to complete his arc by having him win the Sekai Taikai against Cobra Kai.
5. Miguel Diaz
Alongside Robby, the other most likely winner of the Sekai Taikai is Miguel Diaz. Miguel has been one of Cobra Kai’s most prominent younger characters, serving as the catalyst for Cobra Kai’s resurgence in the first season. As a result, Miguel won the first All-Valley tournament at the end of Cobra Kai season 1, beating Robby Keene in the finals. Despite his tragic injury in Cobra Kai season 2, Miguel has been shown to fight through this, regaining his confidence and abilities in a show of true character and heart.
Thanks to his immense karate skills, combined with the character shown to come back from his injury, Miguel is one of the best bets to win the Sekai Taikai. Like Robby, Miguel had the chance to win the All-Valley tournament of Cobra Kai season 4, were it not for his unfocused nature due to his need to find his real father. With Cobra Kai season 5 resolving this arc – and Miguel also training under Johnny, Daniel, Kreese, and Chozen – it is likely Miguel’s swansong would be to win the Sekai Taikai, in an elevated mirroring of his victory in Cobra Kai season 1, fittingly completing his arc for the series.
4. Samantha LaRusso
Throughout Cobra Kai, Robby and Miguel have been shown as the two most proficient male fighters in the show alongside Hawk. When concerning female fighters, Samantha “Sam” LaRusso has been portrayed as one of the most competent alongside Tory Nichols. Again benefiting from the duality of training under her father Daniel and Johnny Lawrence, Sam has been shown to thrive by balancing Miyago-Do and Johnny’s more intense Eagle Fang teachings. This was showcased in Cobra Kai season 4’s All-Valley tournament, in which Sam reached the finals against Tory.
Utilizing both methods, Sam would have likely defeated Tory were it not for Silver paying off the referee, proving she has the ability to win the Sekai Taikai. Sam’s main internal character conflicts have come from her relationships with Robby and Miguel, and post-traumatic stress/fear of Tory. Now that Sam and Miguel are back together and she and Tory have settled their differences by Cobra Kai season 5’s end, her karate abilities could take center stage without distraction from outside sources, resulting in her becoming the female champion of the Sekai Taikai and completing her arc.
3. Tory Nichols
Like Miguel and Robby have been shown as the two male leaders of Cobra Kai’s karate hierarchy, Tory and Sam have been the same for the show’s female combatants. Tory’s troubled upbringing and family life meant that she excelled in Cobra Kai, utilizing her anger to bolster her karate moves. This enabled her to reach the final of the All-Valley tournament in Cobra Kai season 4, becoming the female champion after beating Sam LaRusso. Despite the result being unfair due to the paid-off ref, Tory still could have beaten Sam in a fair fight as she has throughout the show in other seasons.
Like many other Cobra Kai students, Tory had a change of heart and defected, helping Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang to take down Silver and Cobra Kai. This led to Tory besting Cobra Kai’s most proficient teacher besides Terry Silver, Kim Da-eun. With Cobra Kai season 5 likely setting up Tory learning from Daniel in season 6, she could also be positioned as the female champion of the Sekai Taikai, likely prompting a more friendly rematch with Sam.
Tory being the winner of the Sekai Taikai would also serve as a good way to culminate her character. Tory has gone from an angry bully to a misunderstood teen, whose tragic home life has led her down many paths, including wrong ones like Cobra Kai. Overcoming this to defeat everyone and win the Sekai Taikai title would not only culminate her karate-based arc, but her personal one too which would simultaneously prove she could have won the All-Valley without Silver’s interference.
2. Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz
Besides Robby and Miguel, Eli/Hawk has been shown as one of Cobra Kai’s best male fighters. Similarly to Robby and Miguel, Hawk has learned the ways of Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do, which enabled him to reach the final of Cobra Kai season 4’s All-Valley tournament albeit with help from Miguel’s absence in the semi-final. Despite this, Hawk still defeated Robby in the final of the tournament by using Cobra Kai against him, proving his proficiency in karate. Similarly, Robby and Miguel decided themselves that Hawk should represent their dojo in the trials for the Sekai Taikai in Cobra Kai season 5.
While his fighting skills speak for themselves, Hawk winning the Sekai Taikai would complete his character arc too. Hawk has arguably undergone the biggest change in Cobra Kai, going from a quiet, shy nerdy kid to an overcompensating bully of Cobra Kai resulting in him severely injuring his best friend Demetri. He then redeemed himself for these acts, joining Miyagi-Do and winning the All-Valley against Cobra Kai. Being positioned as the Sekai Taikai representative of Miyagi-Do, therefore, positions him as the potential winner of the tournament, fully completing his redemption arc by winning on the world stage for Miyagi-Do after falling so low as part of Cobra Kai.
1. Kenny Payne
Throughout Cobra Kai’s first three seasons, the titular dojo’s main fighter has switched from Miguel to Hawk and then Robby before all three deserted the way of the fist. Since then, Cobra Kai seasons 4 and 5 introduced a new character to take the main stage at Cobra Kai: Kenny Payne. Kenny initially joined for the same reason as Miguel, Hawk, and Demetri: he was being bullied at school by none other than Anthony LaRusso. He began learning under Kreese and Silver, with Robby as his mentor, before going down a similarly dark path that Hawk did before him, becoming a bully himself.
This bolstered his karate skills, with Kenny becoming akin to Silver’s protégé in Cobra Kai season 5. This led to him single-handedly defeating other strong fighters like Kyler Park and even a Cobra Kai sensei in season 5 before being chosen by Silver to represent the male section of the dojo in the Sekai Taikai trials. Kenny then defeated Hawk using one of Silver’s techniques, proving himself to be one of the show’s best fighters.
Like the others on this list though, Kenny’s character arc would also benefit from winning the Sekai Taikai. Like Miguel, Robby, and Hawk before him, Kenny became disillusioned with Cobra Kai after Silver was exposed as a cheater, leaving the dojo as he needed some time for himself. If Kenny was to return in Cobra Kai season 6 to fight in the Sekai Taikai against Cobra Kai and win the tournament, his fighting arc and redemption arc would simultaneously be completed.
