Pakistani gamer Arslan “Ash” Siddique once again emerged victorious at the Tekken 7 competition, this time at EVO Japan 2023 after beating South Korea’s Meo-Il in the final leg, winning 3-0 with Zafina against Geese Howard.
This marks the Lahore-based player’s third EVO title, following his victories at the Evolution Championship Series in the United States and the Tekken 7 tournament in Japan in 2019. He also finished third in the EVO 2022 Tekken 7 competition.
In the tournament’s final round, on Sunday, Siddique played as Zafina and easily defeated Meo-Il, who was using Geese Howard, with a 3-0 score. Later, Tekken series game director and chief producer Katsuhiro Harada awarded cash and other prizes to the top three winners, including Siddique and third-placed Rangchu from South Korea.
Siddique was named the ESPN Esports Best Player of the Year in 2019 after becoming the first-ever unified EVO champion by winning both EVO and EVO Japan in the same year.
His latest triumph at EVO Japan 2023 reinforces his reputation as one of the world’s top Tekken players. Fans of the popular fighting game will undoubtedly be eager to see what he has in store for his next tournament appearance.
Another Pakistani, Atif Butt, won “King of the Iron Fist” award and emerged victorious in the Tekken World Tour 2022 video game tournament in Amsterdam in February. Butt is a member of Ash’s team, Ashes Gaming, which aims to promote and discover new esports talents in Pakistan.
About EVO
EVO is considered the world’s biggest fighting game tournament, where players from around the world come together to compete in Las Vegas. EVO Japan is another world championship with the same spirit as the main EVO tournament.