The lack of Arslan Ash in "The Game Awards" eSports player of the year is a fucking embarassment and genuinely mindboggling

[Griselbrand]

So who were the others who were also nominated and why? Are they nominated for winning a lot or dominance in a particular game or some sort of comeback story? Because what Arslan Ash has done is pretty incredible. I only really follow SFV anymore but I am aware of all the other talent in the other fighting game communities and watching him come up was really special.

 

[ApeEscaper]

Wait what. I don't follow the game awards but I was sure if there is one easily deserved person to be expectedly on that list is Arslan Ash. What are they thinking

 

[ACellarDoor]

First thing i looked for in the eSports player category. It was amazing performance from him.

 

[LiK]

Like it's pronounced in English but you'd have to be an english speaker to think anything differently of it. It's far from the only South Asian name/term that people prefer not to use when going abroad.

Some South Asian names are just kinda chuckle worthy like Abeer or Hambal but some can be downright harmful for your career/personal life like Sukhdeep so people tend to change them or use a short hand.

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Ah, thanks for the explanation.

 

[Mesoian]

Yup, Arslan's story is super interesting and one of the most captivating ones in the FGC.

And no one talks about it because there's no money in the fgc.

 

[Deleted member 8468]

I don't remotely keep up with esports but I know who this guy is. Awesome story.

 

[Kingpin Rogers]

Maybe we can all tweet at Geoff Keighley to try and get this wrong righted. Or do you think it is too late?

**edit** Just tweeted him to do my part.

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It's probably too late but hopefully he'll at least acknowledge it and explain why he was snubbed. Next year needs to be better.

 

[Kain-Nosgoth]

Damn, what a shame, he deserves it! Never heard of him before because i don't follow the fighting scene that much (especially not tekken), but what he did was incredible

 

[Playsage]

It's probably too late but hopefully he'll at least acknowledge it and explain why he was snubbed. Next year needs to be better.

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I'm not sure the snub is on him if the E-sports nominations are handled the same way as any other category.

Journalists probably weren't aware of his feat which didn't go viral like the DBFZ Evo Grand Finals' sides switch

 

[Mani]

As a Pakistani, I can tell you from experience that the value of our passport is practically nothing. You're not allowed in a lot of countries without having a student or work VISA (and work VISAs are very rare unless you already have experience abroad).

So for him to be able to initially travel to Japan really could've been a once in a lifetime opportunity in regards to VISA issues.

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The value of Pakistani passport is less than nothing. It's an active hindrance that sustains its existence even after the stamp of visa gets plastered inside. I have European residency but my Pakistani passport still causes a fuss every single time I have to travel inside Europe.
It's a stigma that rears its head as soon as a Pakistani passport gets seen at border patrol and it's a weird disheartening feeling every time.

 

[Deleted member 5621]

His likes are Chicken Curry and doesn't like Sake. Sounds like typical Pakistani. There's a pretty sizeable Pakistani diaspora in Brazil. What's the problem even if he was Pakistani? How did Khushnood Butt come to be, they could have just kept Marco? Lol, time for the SNK-Gods to answer questions.

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IIRC, he lived in Japan to learn the kyokugen karate, which would explain the likes and dislikes. He only came back to Brazil after attaining a black belt. His favorite musical genre is "samba" because of course =P

FWIW, isn't "Zarina" (the Colombian from KOFXIV) a Pakistani name too?

 

[Kung Fucius]

I love Arslan Ash and his story. The only story I can think of that comes close is Seok Dong-Min's.

There WAS a time when people didn't know that Koreans were good at Tekken yet. In the year 2000, there was the Tekken Tag Tournament World tourney at Wonderpark with Japanese players coming to play against the Americans and one unknown Korean player. Everyone thought that the U.S. or the Japanese were going to win with. Seok-Dong Min plays Lei and Hwoarang and shows off movement techniques (Ha-Ha stepping with Lei and Box-Stepping with Hwoarang) that no one in America had seen. The Americans gave him the nickname "Crazy Legs". In the finals, he decides to make a statement and switches out his Lei (his best character!) with Baek so that he can win with Baek/Hwoarang - The Korean team. He didn't play Mishima characters, but before he left he showed the Americans how to wave dash which was something we hadn't seen before.

And he wasn't even the best player from Korea! Not even close to it. He won the Title of Tekken World Champion (and a TTT Arcade machine) and he wasn't even the Korean Champion.

 

[VariantX]

This omission just tells me they really don't pay much attention if any at all to fighting games and the various communities surrounding them. I don't even play tekken and know what a huge deal this is. This omission is baffling.

 

[HStallion]

The TGAs are more akin to the MTV Movie Awards than say the Oscars so this kind of stuff isn't surprising.

 

[lucebuce]

FWIW, isn't "Zarina" (the Colombian from KOFXIV) a Pakistani name too?

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It's a Persian name so yeah, it can be found in Pakistan but it's also not uncommon to see it in any region with Persian influences like South Asia and Central Asia.

 

[Dreamboum]

I love Arslan Ash and his story. The only story I can think of that comes close is Seok Dong-Min's.

There WAS a time when people didn't know that Koreans were good at Tekken yet. In the year 2000, there was the Tekken Tag Tournament World tourney at Wonderpark with Japanese players coming to play against the Americans and one unknown Korean player. Everyone thought that the U.S. or the Japanese were going to win with. Seok-Dong Min plays Lei and Hwoarang and shows off movement techniques (Ha-Ha stepping with Lei and Box-Stepping with Hwoarang) that no one in America had seen. The Americans gave him the nickname "Crazy Legs". In the finals, he decides to make a statement and switches out his Lei (his best character!) with Baek so that he can win with Baek/Hwoarang - The Korean team. He didn't play Mishima characters, but before he left he showed the Americans how to wave dash which was something we hadn't seen before.

And he wasn't even the best player from Korea! Not even close to it. He won the Title of Tekken World Champion (and a TTT Arcade machine) and he wasn't even the Korean Champion.

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That's a great story. Thank you for sharing

 

[Mr Spasiba]

I think the esport industry and gaming press as a whole cares very little about fighting games to be honest.

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Yea, it sucks but is very unsurprising. Sonicfox was able to break through last year primarily due to how loud and public they are, that's not a knock against them at all or an implication that it wasn't deserved, but a quiet guy from Pakistan doesn't give the same oomph for the masses I suppose

 

[Mudo]

1. This is a fucking disgrace WTF! I'd love to hear an explanation from Geoff on the snub...

2. Arslan Ash is one of the coolest most badass names I have EVER seen.

 

[awake4ages]

It's honestly probably just a direct result of fighting games somehow continuously remaining at the bottom of the esports food chain. I remember hearing about Tekken payouts for the world tour being really low last year and that's pretty much par for the course with FGs. Smash is equally as bad considering how much draw it has, but that's mostly because Nintendo doesn't contribute a damn thing to the comp. scene. Even Street Fighter, which is arguably the most paid fighting game as an esport, is a mere drop in the bucket compared to LOL, DOTA etc.

So for the most part, the people concerning themselves with creating nominations for this esports category probably aren't even so much thinking about Tekken for a second. SonicFox last year was somewhat of an outlier to be honest.

 

[ArjanN]

People yelling at the Game Awards for this: I'm pretty sure it works like the other awards, in that it's voted on a by bunch of outlets, so in practice someone playing, say, Fortnite or CS:GO or League of Legends is just going to be more likely to be nominated, because the fighting game audience is smaller.

Similar to how if you had awards for who is the best real life athlete, the best Lacrosse player is pretty much never going to get nominated over a top player in, say football or basketball just because fewer people are paying attention to the sport, the players are less famous etc.

 

[NoirSuede]

It's honestly probably just a direct result of fighting games somehow continuously remaining at the bottom of the esports food chain. I remember hearing about Tekken payouts for the world tour being really low last year and that's pretty much par for the course with FGs. Smash is equally as bad considering how much draw it has, but that's mostly because Nintendo doesn't contribute a damn thing to the comp. scene. Even Street Fighter, which is arguably the most paid fighting game as an esport, is a mere drop in the bucket compared to LOL, DOTA etc.

So for the most part, the people concerning themselves with creating nominations for this esports category probably aren't even so much thinking about Tekken for a second. SonicFox last year was somewhat of an outlier to be honest.

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Don't forget that SonicFox has a lot of clout outside the FGC especially after he went out of the closet

 

[ArjanN]

Don't forget that SonicFox has a lot of clout outside the FGC especially after he went out of the closet

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Yeah, i think SonicFox just happened to stand out more in general.

Overall fighting game players clearly have a highter hill to climb to win something like this.

 

[ToTheMoon]

Didn't know his story until this thread, but he sounds amazing.

 

[Gxgear]

TGA is just a PR event for the industry and should be treated as such. The esports/creators categories have always been poorly researched by various outlets, and reacting to TGA specifically just lends it more credence. The focus should be on Arslan Ash.

 

[Fahdi]

It's a Persian name so yeah, it can be found in Pakistan but it's also not uncommon to see it in any region with Persian influences like South Asia and Central Asia.

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Mah man here understands. Our national language is Urdu. Comprises of 40% Farsi. Wassup bruh!

That's actually really cool dude. It's amazing how the scene has been there for a long time, people like Spaghetti Rip have been talking about it, but it just never had the chance to blow up internationally till now

And yeah The perception towards eSports is really bad in many places. It's nice to see people like Arslan help turn it around in Pakistan(been seeing mainstream Pakistani news outlets pick up on his story).

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I've been talking about Pakistani Tekken since TZ days since I frequented the CCC alot. Lol, ironically I used to play with the best in Canada and called them plebs in front of the Pakistani scene. They're all buddies so no offense was taken.

I used to tell people we were on par with Koreans back in the day but people laughed at me on the forum. I was a lone warrior stuck in my convictions *cough sniff cough* /dramatics.

Who has the last laugh now! *clap-trap HA-HAAAA*

Also, here's a picture from the airport when he arrived. There was a small welcome party of mostly friends, family, siblings and his mom. But I won't share those cause they might be private to him.

Instead we have from left to right:
Bilal (Bryan Player), I don't know, Arslan and Imran or Mo (DJ Player). Both players have also now won international tournaments. This is Arslan's main crew or best buds.

 

[elenarie]

Hey, Starcraft's a black hole of recognition too. Been for a while.

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Yeap. Especially with foreigners winning big over the last two years.

 

[Deleted member 1102]

The FGC as a whole got robbed in the TGAs this year. The only mention of anything FG related was EVO getting a nomination. Not a single FG player was nominated for anything but hey we got a bunch of Overwatch/LoL/CSGO players and coaches with nominations.

 

[HellBlazer]

TGA's esports stuff is a joke. Last year, the lack of nomination for StarCraft's Serral after all he has accomplished was simply ridiculous. And now this year, I don't even follow the FGC at all and I still know who Arslan Ash is, so it seems like a huge omission.

 

[NoirSuede]

TGA's esports stuff is a joke. Last year, the lack of nomination for StarCraft's Serral after all he has accomplished was simply ridiculous. And now this year, I don't even follow the FGC at all and I still know who Arslan Ash is, so it seems like a huge omission.

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Ironically last year StarCraft got snubbed for SonicFox, a FGC guy

 

[Lausebub]

Fighting and strategy games are sadly just not big enough to get a lot of recognnition at these awards.
And trying to play Aoe2 De multiplayer i can see why :D

 

[Fahdi]

The value of Pakistani passport is less than nothing. It's an active hindrance that sustains its existence even after the stamp of visa gets plastered inside. I have European residency but my Pakistani passport still causes a fuss every single time I have to travel inside Europe.
It's a stigma that rears its head as soon as a Pakistani passport gets seen at border patrol and it's a weird disheartening feeling every time.

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Let's hope. Imran Khan changes that stigma.

IIRC, he lived in Japan to learn the kyokugen karate, which would explain the likes and dislikes. He only came back to Brazil after attaining a black belt. His favorite musical genre is "samba" because of course =P

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Interesting, on the Wikia page I see that some kind of controversy has been listed in regards to his use in the future. Whatever the fuck that means XD. Thanks for the info anyway. Would love to have an SNK rep clarify things.

 

[astro]

I don't follow FGC stuff much, but watched both of his wins and read all about him.

Really shit he hasn't been given a nomination.

What kind of feats did those nominated achieve?

 

[Menx64]

MKleo and Ash are missing. The esports section of the game awards seems more geared towards FPSs in general and big teams.
SonicFox winning was awesome, but I bet it will be an exception.

Folks from Pakistan coming out of nowhere and dominating the Tekken scene like it's a new anime arc has been my favorite story this year.

Arslan Ash was just the harbinger for the Pakistan Tekken community and it rules

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haha, I had a good chuckle with that one.

 

[KITPUNK]

Shocked to hear hes not even a nomination. I don't really follow the Tekken scene but man, even I know of Arslan Ash. His story and performance was incredible and is a big deal to the FGC.

 

[Mani]

Let's hope. Imran Khan changes that stigma.

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Yeah, Khan's actions so far have been very reaffirming so I'm hopefully looking forward!

 

[HK-47]

Reminds me when ZeRo was on a win streak and didnt get recognized.

Whoever nominates for the game awards just has bad/limited taste.

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Leo has dominated Ultimate and gets nothing.

 

[Deleted member 5621]

It's a Persian name so yeah, it can be found in Pakistan but it's also not uncommon to see it in any region with Persian influences like South Asia and Central Asia.

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I see, thanks for clarifying!

Interesting, on the Wikia page I see that some kind of controversy has been listed in regards to his use in the future. Whatever the fuck that means XD. Thanks for the info anyway. Would love to have an SNK rep clarify things.

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I would love for them to compromise and having him be of pakistani heritage and called Marcos Butt or Marcos Khushnood because I can't stand brazilian characters having spanish names/surnames (not that that isn't a thing, but it reinforces the stigma Brazil speaks spanish). 2016 and SNK hits me with brazilian called Bandeiras, just make him from another latin country or go with an actual portuguese name pls.
At least "Laura" got it right and not some english sounding name like "Sean" or "Eddy" (also "Gordo" literally means "fat". Eddy Fat. Great typical brazilian name).

 

[Professor Beef]

Bet they made sure they have a seat reserved for boogie tho.

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*two seats

 

[Fachasaurus]

Thanks for linking those videos in the OP. His story is legit amazing.

Hopefully there is enough time for bhaiyya to get the recognition he deserves. Ameen.

 

[Aswitch]

Totally agree. The lack of overall FGC representation(with the exception of EVO for that one event award) is a bit weird. It's obviously a big part of gaming to the point where it does deserve recognition just as much as the other games which seems to be more favored.

 

[QuixoticNeutral]

Hey, Starcraft's a black hole of recognition too. Been for a while.

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Yeap. Especially with foreigners winning big over the last two years.

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TGA's esports stuff is a joke. Last year, the lack of nomination for StarCraft's Serral after all he has accomplished was simply ridiculous. And now this year, I don't even follow the FGC at all and I still know who Arslan Ash is, so it seems like a huge omission.

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Came in here to say this as well. Reading this immediately reminded me of how they completely slept on Serral's story in 2018, not only as an individual performance of twenty-year significance but as a force in the rejuvenation of the game. TGA's recognition of this field is so obviously a token category to appear plugged into this whole aspect of the industry, it would honestly be less embarrassing if they didn't have it at all.

 

[Deleted member 18161]

Great story. Thanks for posting.

Such a shame he wasn't nominated.

 

[DoubleTake]

I love Arslan Ash and his story. The only story I can think of that comes close is Seok Dong-Min's.

There WAS a time when people didn't know that Koreans were good at Tekken yet. In the year 2000, there was the Tekken Tag Tournament World tourney at Wonderpark with Japanese players coming to play against the Americans and one unknown Korean player. Everyone thought that the U.S. or the Japanese were going to win with. Seok-Dong Min plays Lei and Hwoarang and shows off movement techniques (Ha-Ha stepping with Lei and Box-Stepping with Hwoarang) that no one in America had seen. The Americans gave him the nickname "Crazy Legs". In the finals, he decides to make a statement and switches out his Lei (his best character!) with Baek so that he can win with Baek/Hwoarang - The Korean team. He didn't play Mishima characters, but before he left he showed the Americans how to wave dash which was something we hadn't seen before.

And he wasn't even the best player from Korea! Not even close to it. He won the Title of Tekken World Champion (and a TTT Arcade machine) and he wasn't even the Korean Champion.

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That's some awesome lore.

 

[Dyle]

Another reason TGA is only good as a 3 hour commercial. The total lack of any FGC recognition is ridiculously myopic and Arslan's accomplishment deserves recognition far beyond any of the other nominees. They really need to totally overhaul the esports awards, they don't represent the full breadth of the community and really contribute to the perception that the awards are a popularity contest more than a veritable award show

 

[NoirSuede]

Another reason TGA is only good as a 3 hour commercial. The total lack of any FGC recognition is ridiculously myopic and Arslan's accomplishment deserves recognition far beyond any of the other nominees. They really need to totally overhaul the esports awards, they don't represent the full breadth of the community and really contribute to the perception that the awards are a popularity contest more than a veritable award show

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the bigger problem with the TGA is that you'd have to be mad to even consider Jump Force of all games to be good enough for a nomination of anything

 

[ZiggyPalffyLA]

No mkleo either.

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This seems like the biggest snub, especially for a game nominated for GOTY. I don't follow competitive Smash at all (in fact I actively avoid it) but even I know who this guy is.

 

[Slim]

It's kinda crazy how they snubbed the guy who came outta nowhere and won Evo + Evo japan.

 

[Professor Beef]

It's kinda crazy how they snubbed the guy who came outta nowhere and won Evo + Evo japan.

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it's not crazy at all when you realize that geoff keighley doesn't care about games that don't involve kojima and/or aren't mainstream hits

 

[Deleted member 364]

Fighting games continue to be the best and most overlooked genre in mainstream western games coverage.

 

[Sheng Long]

Yes, it's a shame since FGC stuff always gets overlooked. Everyone wants that pew pew money games only.

 

[Slim]

it's not crazy at all when you realize that geoff keighley doesn't care about games that don't involve kojima and/or aren't mainstream hits

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Yeah, there's no love for fighting games these days.