TEKKEN 8’s first Master+ event has concluded, and Yuta "Chikurin" Take is the champion! Read on to learn more about his run, the event itself, and other highlights to conclude the premier.
Chikurin is the First EVO Champion for This Era of Tekken
Japan Prevails Against the Stacked Competition
With a total of 1,247 entrants, the event was populated with representatives from different regions of the world showcasing their Tekken prowess to the fullest. Upsets were plentiful, Cinderella runs were had, and the majority of the Tekken cast were showcased leading up to the end of the tournament.
One came out the winner, however, with THY’s Yuta "Chikurin" Take defeating DRX’s Yoon "LowHigh" Sun-Woong in the grand finals. Let’s not forget the other strong competitors who were also in the final six, like DRX’s Park "Infested" Byung-Ho and Kang "Chanel" Seong-Ho as well as Shoji "Double" Takakubo and Park "Mangja" Geon-Ho.
While multiple regions came into EVO Japan 2024, it was Japan and Korea that stood at the top, with two players representing the former and four for the latter. In terms of character usage, there was a healthy amount of variety among the top six competitors, with only one repeat character being Marshall Law.
The characters used were Lili, Dragunov, Alisa, Nina, and Law. Interestingly, LowHigh used Steve for one game during the grand finals but promptly switched back to Dragunov after losing. Additionally, Chanel also switched to Zafina during his Losers Finals match against his teammate LowHigh, but switched back to Alisa after losing.
Here are some highlights from the top six matches:
Tekken 8 Tournament Highlights
Mangja Comes Up Clutch Despite Infested’s Massive Combo
Mangja Proves to Everyone That Law is Slept On
Chanel Cuts Up the Competition to Move On
LowHigh Gets His Ticket to Grand Finals
Chikurin Wins EVO Japan 2024
Upsets and Cinderella Runs Were Plenty
Of course, it wouldn't be even more entertaining if there were no underdogs that came to play. Benjamin "Yagami" Torngdee got 9th, showcasing his skill using one of Tekken 8’s newcomers, Reina. He came in and took out many notable players like Bae "Knee" Min-Jae, Lim "Ulsan" Soo-hoon, PINYA, and piyohiko.
He ultimately lost to NASR's Sayed "Tekken Master" Hashim who was also having a cinderella run of his own, taking 7th place using the capoeira specialist, Eddy Gordo, where he lost to Chanel and Mangja to take him out of the tournament. Additionally, Team VITALITY's new signing, Jeon "Jeondding" Sang-Hyeon also took 7th place using Eddy, where he was eliminated by Double in a rematch.
Top 4 Goes to Riyadh for Esports World Cup in July
Additionally, Chikurin, LowHigh, Chanel, and Mangja are automatically qualified to join the Esports World Cup to be held in Riyadh as announced by the tournament’s official Twitter (X) account. This tournament, while not included in the Tekken World Tour, will promise a huge prize pool as a reward. Esports organizations are looking to sign more Tekken players to compete in this prestigious tournament to lock their slots, and with Mangja currently being a free agent, you can expect him to be signed soon as well.
Speaking of which, there have been more signings by high-profile esports organizations that are presumably entering the tournament as well. Team Liquid recently signed one of the most prominent "Mishima" players of all-time who is also a previous EVO and Tekken World Tour champion with Son "Qudans" Byeong-Mun. Another recent signing was made by Falcons Esports signing previous Tekken 7 EVO champion with Choi "Saint" Jin-Woo who’s known for playing Jack and Ganryu.
The Future of Tekken 8 Looks Brighter Than Ever
With the variety of character mastery shown in the tournament, it’s safe to say that the future of Tekken 8 is brighter than ever. They were able to avoid the previous disaster of EVO Japan 2020, which was plagued by, historically, the game’s worst character balance to date. Tons of players were able to showcase their skills and specific techniques with their characters. It seems to prove that the game’s balance isn’t as bad as the community makes it out to be, as the tournament’s top 50 players played more than half the game’s roster.
Of course, it’s disheartening to point out that there were still some characters that were not showcased for the top 50, but it’s good to see that the cast was well-represented during the event. With Lidia coming and more DLC to look forward to this year, Tekken 8 is shaping up to be one of the best fighting games of all time.
