For some reason, I thought Kyo Kusanagi was KOF's most popular character, but Google just proved me otherwise.

I don't know squat about SNK, so maybe it was because I played Capcom vs. SNK 2 back in the day and he was the one facing off against Ryu in the intro. Also, I remember this poll:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/4481-which-of-these-rivalries-would-you-most-like-to-see-in-the

The more you know...