‘Together, Pakistan strongest’: Trio makes Tekken history with Nations Cup win in Saudi Arabia

LAHORE: After years of gaining prestige and fame for individual accolades and performances, a team of top Tekken players from Pakistan have won an international trophy together in Riyadh – and it’s taken years of hard work getting there.

The final standings at the Nations Cup in Riyadh last week, the first country-based Tekken tournament, showed Pakistan at the top, unbeaten, and the rest of the world looking on in awe. The event, called Gamers8, was organized by the Saudi Esports Federation, bringing together 16 national teams from all over the world.

South Korea finished second, Japan third and the United States fourth. Team Pakistan received a cool $500,000 prize money for finishing first.

But this was not the first time Pakistan has reached the apex of professional Tekken. Arslan ‘Ash’ Siddique, considered one of the best players in the world, won the Evo Japan Championships in 2019 and 2023, and the Evo World Championship in 2019. Atif Butt won the Tekken World Tour in 2022, and Imran Khan, who finished the Riyadh tournament without losing a single match, came second at the Evo World Championship in 2022.

But the trio’s triumph has been years in the making, ever since Siddique started a boot camp to practice with, and train, other players in Lahore, after his first international win in 2019.

“It started as a small dream,” he told Arab News in a phone interview on Thursday. “Now after all the bootcamps, all the practice, we’ve finally done it, we’ve proven Pakistan has the strongest Tekken community in the world.”

The $500,000 prize money was something even a veteran champion like Siddique hadn’t experienced before.

“This is not the first time I’ve played in Riyadh, but this the biggest tournament I’ve ever