Following the conclusion of the LCQ last weekend, the ESports World Cup TEKKEN 8 main event is set to take place in Riyadh starting the 21st of August. 32 players will battle it out for the lion’s share of an eye-watering prize pool of $1 million, with the winner taking home $300,000.
28 of the 32 participants qualified through various affiliated TEKKEN 8 events held over the course of the year so far, while the remaining 4 slots were filled by the top 4 finishers of the LCQ.
Of the 32 players participating, 8 Pakistanis are also vying for the win, namely Arslan Ash, Atif Butt, The Jon, Usama Abbasi, Hafiz Tanveer, Bilal Ilyas, Farzeen and Sajawal. They’ll be sure to face some fierce challengers with big names like the Koreans Knee, Ulsan, Jeondding, Lowhigh, CherryBerryMango as well as Germany’s Sephiblack and Saudi hometown hero Raef set to partake in this titanic TEKKEN tussle as well.
The tournament will take place in 3 phases. In Phase 1, the 32 players will be split into 8 Double Elimination brackets, essentially 8 groups of 4. The top 2 from each group (meaning 16 players in total) will advance to Phase 2.
The 16 will be split into 4 groups of four once more, in a similar format to Phase 1. The top 2 from each group will then head to phase 3 where 8 players will battle it out in a single elimination bracket in a first to 5 format. The Winner will not only take home the majority of the prize pool but will also bring home a very unique trophy.
The ESports World Cup also brings with it a new and captivating trophy system. Every participant will be granted a golden key, which will represent them in the tournament. As each player is eliminated, their key will be crushed using a hydraulic press to symbolize their end in the tournament.
The person who wins the tournament will have the frame of their key installed in a publicly displayed sculpture in Riyadh, while the rest of their key will be inserted into the trophy which will be presented to them. Additionally, the crushed keys of the losing competitors will be encased in resin and serve as the base for the public sculpture, while the winner may select 3 crushed keys of beaten opponents to encase in his winning trophy as well.