It's an absolutely huge weekend for Tekken 8, as the World Tour Finals in Malmo, Sweden, will crown the world's best player. But before the Final Tournament, Bandai Namco will reveal the future of Tekken 8. I suspect we'll also get a new character reveal to keep the weekend's high levels of hype going.
The four top players, according to the Global Leaderboard: Arslan Ash, Mulgold, Atif, and Farzeen, get to pass the initial stages and go right to the twenty-person final stage. Ash and Atif have put Pakistan at the top of the Tekken world, placing first and second at EVO 2025. Ash now boasts six EVO titles across Tekken 7 and 8, and is unquestionably one of the best fighting game players in the world today
After 19 of the final 20 have been decided, a special Last Chance qualifier will decide the final member. That's an open qualifier, so anybody who has been eliminated can jump right back into the fray for another shot at glory. Will the final player be an established vet, or will we see a brand new legend in the making?
Tekken's next season will be the first without producer and director Katsuhiro Hirada, who retired in December 2025. With Tekken reaching its 30 anniversary (Wait, what?) he felt now was a fitting time to move on to the next journey in his life. I and millions of Tekken fans the world over wish this legend an enjoyable retirement. If he's confident Tekken is in good hands, so am I.