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Arslan Ash has made Tekken 7 history winning EVO Japan and EVO back to back, a video chronicles his struggle to even participate in those competitions

Dreamboum

Dreamboum

Member
Oct 28, 2017
22,847


Arslan Ash has won EVO Japan with no food, no money, no sleep, with the customs constantly running him over forcing him to travel for three days for a simple Pakistan Lahore -> Japan Fukuoka flight. He was about to not make it to EVO Japan, he ended up making it the minute his pool started.

Despite these conditions he took it all and won EVO Japan, beating the best players in the world over and over again.

Today, after a fierce competition involving 1880+ players, he won EVO too, in one of the most stacked competition in the world.



9 months ago, he was a nobody except for those in the know of the Pakistani scene. Now he cemented himself as the strongest player in the world. This is unheard of.

The Pakistani scene has been housing some incredible players and there is a future out there where we could not have heard about it ever. Now they're known as the new sanctuary of Tekken. Chikurin, a top player who went to Pakistan to check out the scene and train against them has even been beaten in a first to 10 sets by several players. A 16-year old player had won the tournament there


Standings: https://twitter.com/chikurintut/status/1155489117368737793


Definitely check out and follow the players on twitter, they deserve the support and they deserve to be known:

ArslanAsh: https://twitter.com/ArslanAsh95
AwaisHoney: https://twitter.com/awaishoney94
 
KillLaCam

KillLaCam

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,383
Seoul
Pakistan was the true Land of Tekken this whole time, not Korea. I can't wait to see how it'll be when more players from there are able to travel
 
OP
OP
Dreamboum

Dreamboum

Member
Oct 28, 2017
22,847
Also a huge thanks to SherryJenix and her Fight Pass, who helped Arslan get a visa for the USA



It's a program designed to help players go through the visa process to attend tournaments. Arslan could potentially have not made it if it wasn't for this program
 

Hutchie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,604
Arslan should be automatically invited to twt finals after winning both evos in the same year
 

Deleted member 36578

Dec 21, 2017
26,561
Simply amazing player and story. I love when unknown players just show up and bring the heat.
 
mxbison

mxbison

Banned
Jan 14, 2019
2,148
thanks for spoiling. you might want to change the title to "congrats to the winner of tekken 7" or something.
 
DarkLordMalik

DarkLordMalik

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,625
Happy to see a Pakistani recognized at the global stage. Tekken has always been big here. Street Fighter is close second.
 
Sim

Sim

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,871
i've been up since 4 am so i ended up falling asleep during tekken. bummer i missed this. good shit to arslan, though.
 
thezboson

thezboson

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,250
Knee going to Pakistan to learn Tekken, lol. What an amazing story. I love how everyone just embraced his skills and wanted to learn from him, what a great community.

I think I need to boot up T7 again.
 
Musubi

Musubi

Unshakable Resolve - Prophet of Truth
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
23,611
Nice to see another country besides Korea or Japan take Tekken for once.
 
Handicapped Duck

Handicapped Duck

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Avenger
May 20, 2018
13,661
Ponds
Everyone needs to see the documentary first and then the Top 8 finals, really cements how much work Arslan Ash put into making it this far. Tekken (between it, Soul Calibur and Smash from what I watched) was the highlight for me, Arslan played out of his mind. Well deserved win and I can't wait to see him next year at EVO and potentially other newcomers from the Pakistan scene.
 
Techno

Techno

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
6,409
Watching the finals now, the man is a beast! so glad he destroyed them all, stay salty Korean players.
 
gitrektali

gitrektali

Member
Feb 22, 2018
3,187
The fighting game scene, in general, is quite big here. Know tons of amazing players, and SF was played almost religiously during the SF4 era. I'm always finding awesome local Mortal Kombat 11 players now and glad it's getting attention as well.
 

Manbig

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,305
We have had this dude from Pakistan in the NYC scene for a while now. He went by the name Rampage during the Tekken 6 days and used to be one of the few in the area that could compete with Fighting GM and Fab at the locals during those days when they were at their peek. He gave us the heads up about how strong the scene is over there, but they just never got that exposure until now. It's a great timing for it too since Tekken 7 is pretty much the most viewer friendly Tekken of all time.
 
Rice Eater

Rice Eater

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,814
User warned: inappropriate language
It's funny, in the arcade days it was often said how everything was a mystery. Nobody really knew who was the best but everyone thought their best guy was the real best. Stuff like this wasn't supposed to happen anymore. We're supposed to know who's the best and a unknown is never supposed to win. Maybe they make it far and impress a lot of people, but not win.

But here we are. Arslan won EVO Japan, came back to prove that he isn't a fluke and the Pakistani scene was secretly the best the whole time and not South Korea. When was the last time the "real" best player or scene was unknown to everyone like this in modern times?

My background is Street Fighter and I just can't imagine the equivalent happening in that game. Same probably goes for players of many other games regardless of genre.

MOD EDIT: inappropriate language removed
 
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CenaToon

CenaToon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,275
User warned: inappropriate language
Is Arslan the best Pakistani player of Tekken 7? (i mean yes he is now lol, but i mean in local scene, i read some tweets that he is not even the best Tekken 7 player there)

It's really amazing how Pakistan secretly has amazing players like that. That makes you think what other countries has "secret gems" like Arslan that doesnt have the resources to compete in big tournaments.

MOD EDIT: imappropriate language removed
 
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Rendering...

Rendering...

Member
Oct 30, 2017
19,089
It's awesome to see the Tekken community enriched by a player like Arslan from a formerly overlooked region. Tekken is in great shape right now. My favorite fighting game series is flourishing, thanks in no small part to the influx of fantastic competition from around the world.
 
OP
OP
Dreamboum

Dreamboum

Member
Oct 28, 2017
22,847
Valentus said:
Is Arslan the best Pakistani player of Tekken 7? (i mean yes he is now lol, but i mean in local scene, i read some tweets that he is not even the best Tekken 7 player there)

It's really amazing how Pakistan secretly has amazing players like that. That makes you think what other countries has "secret gems" like Arslan that doesnt have the resources to compete in big tournaments.
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Apparently he is by all accounts the best player in the country. They really sent their best.
 
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Menx64

Menx64

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,774
Rice Eater said:
It's funny, in the arcade days it was often said how everything was a mystery. Nobody really knew who was the best but everyone thought their best guy was the real best. Stuff like this wasn't supposed to happen anymore. We're supposed to know who's the best and a unknown is never supposed to win. Maybe they make it far and impress a lot of people, but not win.

But here we are. Arslan won EVO Japan, came back to prove that he isn't a fluke and the Paki scene was secretly the best the whole time and not South Korea. When was the last time the "real" best player or scene was unknown to everyone like this in modern times?

My background is Street Fighter and I just can't imagine the equivalent happening in that game. Same probably goes for players of many other games regardless of genre.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I would only guess LatinAmerica for KoF. That game was bigger than any other fighting game in existance. Arcades were always full of people playing it.
 
pooptest

pooptest

Member
Oct 27, 2017
618
I don't normally watch Tekken too often, but did this year's Top 8. Wow, this dude is amazing.

Congrats to him and his hopefully continued success!

I'll be sure to watch the documentary.
 
ElBoxy

ElBoxy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,125
Major respects to Sherry for getting that Visa program started. It's gonna be exciting to see where Arslan's FGC career goes.
mxbison said:
thanks for spoiling. you might want to change the title to "congrats to the winner of tekken 7" or something.
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k4mon said:
Thanks for spoiling the outcome for all the people in the EU who wanted to watch it when they get up.

Congrats to Arslan.
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Nobody does spoilers for sporting events. That is not a thing and it shouldn't apply here.
 
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jamesandy

jamesandy

Member
Jul 17, 2019
220
It's funny after watching Aslan's victory I can clearly recall tekken scene to be big even 15 years back in Pakistan. There was this kid that won against my cousin around 15 games in a row. That kid barely was 10 years old . Iam not even sure how the hell he managed to watch the screen considering his small stature. Kid was lethal with king. My cousin was left red faced . He wasted alot of money on those tokens hehe.
 
DoubleTake

DoubleTake

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,529
Rice Eater said:
It's funny, in the arcade days it was often said how everything was a mystery. Nobody really knew who was the best but everyone thought their best guy was the real best. Stuff like this wasn't supposed to happen anymore. We're supposed to know who's the best and a unknown is never supposed to win. Maybe they make it far and impress a lot of people, but not win.

But here we are. Arslan won EVO Japan, came back to prove that he isn't a fluke and the Paki scene was secretly the best the whole time and not South Korea. When was the last time the "real" best player or scene was unknown to everyone like this in modern times?

My background is Street Fighter and I just can't imagine the equivalent happening in that game. Same probably goes for players of many other games regardless of genre.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Seriously. This is basically unheard of in this day and age. People have thought South Korea was the Mecca of Tekken for years now.

The TWT Finals are going to be so incredibly interesting and the lead up to them as well. No doubt we're going to see more and more Korean's traveling out to Pakistan to practice.
 
The Stig

The Stig

Member
Oct 25, 2017
712
It really is the coolest shit to know that a region has flourished basically entirely removed from the rest of the community before bursting onto the scene and bodying everyone. Knowing the struggle it was for him to make it just makes it all the more sweet. What a monster.
 
Black_Stride

Black_Stride

Avenger
Oct 28, 2017
7,387
Rice Eater said:
It's funny, in the arcade days it was often said how everything was a mystery. Nobody really knew who was the best but everyone thought their best guy was the real best. Stuff like this wasn't supposed to happen anymore. We're supposed to know who's the best and a unknown is never supposed to win. Maybe they make it far and impress a lot of people, but not win.

But here we are. Arslan won EVO Japan, came back to prove that he isn't a fluke and the Paki scene was secretly the best the whole time and not South Korea. When was the last time the "real" best player or scene was unknown to everyone like this in modern times?

My background is Street Fighter and I just can't imagine the equivalent happening in that game. Same probably goes for players of many other games regardless of genre.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


I know people will laugh at me today about this but hopefully something like this happens for us soon.

Africa and specifically SADC (Southern Africa) and Mortal Kombat.

Its a game most SADC people grew up with, classic MK on "retro" consoles is still being played by people at smaller meets.
I wouldnt be shocked if there is a hidden god in SADC for Mortal Kombat, the cost barrier to entry causes some problems....but "pirate arcades" are common in my part of the world so im excited that some ISPs and other investors are starting to take gaming seriously in the region.
I actually want to start promoting more eSports in the region, because just online has the ping disadvantage, but when you are sitting with the player same console....ping and network are no excuse.
Lets see how MK in the next few years go.

P.S: By pirate arcade I mean an arcade but its actually home consoles inside not actual arcade cabinets....yes i know its bad, but its cheaper for us africans when a person gets a bunch of consoles a bunch of copies of the game, a good internet connection and lets people play on them.
A PS4/XB1 costs most young adults 1 or 2 months salary so expecting everyone to own the console and the game isnt really feasible....but the talent is there.
 
Rice Eater

Rice Eater

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,814
Menx64 said:
I would only guess LatinAmerica for KoF. That game was bigger than any other fighting game in existance. Arcades were always full of people playing it.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Latin America is not a unknown region. They don't have huge events like other parts of the world, but many LA countries put on streamed events and their best players are out there performing. Everyone always talks about how Mexico and LA countries love KOF so it wouldn't surprise anyone of they did really good or dominated the next KOF game.

The equivalent of something like this happening again is if someone from Africa or a country with no known players like Mongolia lit it up.
 

Slacker247

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,063
Congratulations. Was a great Top 8. Super good watch. Dude is just a beast.

Hopefully more Pakistani players and others globally can get opportunities to participate as well.

FYI "Paki" is probably not the best term to use, as caution. Especially if you aren't one. Better to avoid it.
 
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Jahranimo

Jahranimo

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,002
This was my favorite Evo win of the weekend.

I just knew when Arslan bowed to the crowd after he won that he definitely had a story on his journey to EVO. That's legendary stuff right there, fighting games are dope af.
 
GamerJM

GamerJM

Member
Nov 8, 2017
15,608
Black_Stride said:
I know people will laugh at me today about this but hopefully something like this happens for us soon.

Africa and specifically SADC (Southern Africa) and Mortal Kombat.

Its a game most SADC people grew up with, classic MK on "retro" consoles is still being played by people at smaller meets.
I wouldnt be shocked if there is a hidden god in SADC for Mortal Kombat, the cost barrier to entry causes some problems....but "pirate arcades" are common in my part of the world so im excited that some ISPs and other investors are starting to take gaming seriously in the region.
I actually want to start promoting more eSports in the region, because just online has the ping disadvantage, but when you are sitting with the player same console....ping and network are no excuse.
Lets see how MK in the next few years go.

P.S: By pirate arcade I mean an arcade but its actually home consoles inside not actual arcade cabinets....yes i know its bad, but its cheaper for us africans when a person gets a bunch of consoles a bunch of copies of the game, a good internet connection and lets people play on them.
A PS4/XB1 costs most young adults 1 or 2 months salary so expecting everyone to own the console and the game isnt really feasible....but the talent is there.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I'm confused, there's nothing illegal about charging other people to play on a console as if it's an arcade machine lol. Are the copies of the games pirated copies?
 
Strelok

Strelok

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,265
Karnaca, Serkonos
Rice Eater said:
Latin America is not a unknown region. They don't have huge events like other parts of the world, but many LA countries put on streamed events and their best players are out there performing. Everyone always talks about how Mexico and LA countries love KOF so it wouldn't surprise anyone of they did really good or dominated the next KOF game.

The equivalent of something like this happening again is if someone from Africa or a country with no known players like Mongolia lit it up.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
KoF is pretty big in Africa too, wouldn't surprise me if some unknown dude won an international tournament
 
Menx64

Menx64

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,774
Rice Eater said:
Latin America is not a unknown region. They don't have huge events like other parts of the world, but many LA countries put on streamed events and their best players are out there performing. Everyone always talks about how Mexico and LA countries love KOF so it wouldn't surprise anyone of they did really good or dominated the next KOF game.

The equivalent of something like this happening again is if someone from Africa or a country with no known players like Mongolia lit it up.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Mexico is not the only country in Latam. Central America has 50+ million people, and so does Colombia, Argentina... We are a 600+ millon region after all.
 
Rice Eater

Rice Eater

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,814
Menx64 said:
Mexico is not the only country in Latam. Central America has 50+ million people, and so does Colombia, Argentina... We are a 600+ millon region after all.
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I didn't say that or mean it that way. When I wrote "LA" that was short for "Latin America". But I did mention Mexico because when I read or heard about KOF back in the day, a lot of the people telling the stories only told of Mexico or put emphasis on them. So that's why I mentioned them specifically.
 
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