Chikurin crowned winner of Tekken World Tour Finals 2019

Taking place at Kbank Siam Pic-Ganesha Theatre in Bangkok, Thailand, the Tekken World Tour Finals marks the yearly culmination of the game’s competitive scene — with 19 ranked players, and the winner of the last chance qualifier, competing for a $250,000 prize pool.

At the third annual tournament, Japanese player Chikurin managed to beat Korea’s Soo-hoon “Uslan” Lim with a 3-0 victory — earning the top prize of $50,000 and the coveted trophy.

Despite the clean sweep, it wasn’t an easy victory for Chikurin. After largely dominating in the first two games playing as Akuma, Uslan, playing as Kazumi, went two rounds up and looked on the verge of a comeback.

Uslan couldn’t quite keep up the pace, however, with Chikurin turning the tables back and managing to win three consecutive rounds to clinch the top prize.

It was a surprising final to begin with, with top ranked player Jae Min “Knee” Bae losing out to Chikurin in the winner’s semi-finals, while Uslan eliminated favourite Hoa “Anakin” Luu in the loser’s semi-final.

Chikurin's choice to play as Akuma, a character who is seen as overpowered in the community, was also a huge divisive surprise considering he hadn't played as him in the tournament up until that point.  

After the tournament wrapped, it was confirmed Tekken World Tour would be back for 2020, with the first leg of the circuit starting in April next year.

Elsewhere, Bandai Namco also unveiled two additional fighters which will be available in Tekken 7’s season 3 pass following the already announced Leroy Smith and Zafina. 

The first new arrival is sumo wrestler Ganryu, who previously featured in the original Tekken, Tekken 2, Tekken 5, Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag Tournament.

The other is an entirely new Tekken character Fahkumram, a Muay Thai champion who is covered in scars and seems to have been created by the military.

Both Leroy Smith and Ganryu will be released in winter 2019, while Fahkumram with a new stage will be released in Spring 2020. You can check out Fahkumram's trailer below.