Over the weekend, Chinese Tekken 8 player xiaochenchen (XCC) tore through the bracket at Thaiger Uppercut. To call this an unexpected result is an understatement. People know that the fighting game space is booming in China, but, fair or unfair, it is not treated with the same respect as in other countries. XCC had the potential to throw a brick wall at such misunderstandings, but was unable to do so. Due to Tekken World Tour rules, he was disqualified.
Did he cheat? Did he behave badly in front of other players? Not at all. Tekken World Tour ruleswhich apply to all events under its patronage, does not include China as one of the countries covered. Furthermore, it states that players from a country that is not directly mentioned cannot compete. It’s not the only country absent, but it means that no Chinese player – Tekken World Tour aspirations or not – can’t take part in many popular Tekken events.
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There are many essential questions surrounding this situation, so let’s discuss them one by one. First of all, why isn’t China included in the Tekken World Tour? Well, there is no official explanation why. We know that Tekken 8 there are no dedicated servers in Chinaand from a technical point of view it is not an officially supported country. As such, it’s possible that those responsible for writing the Tekken World Tour rules have just moved to officially supported regions and called it a day.
Some believe that the boundary between what countries can and cannot compete in the Tekken World Tour is a result of Bandai Namco’s political stance. While this may technically be the case (often what products are available in different countries is a result of actual politics, trade embargoes, government approval processes, etc.), I highly doubt a company like Bandai Namco would side with one another on international political issues. Tekken 8 is part of the esports World Cup despite all the sportswashing concerns, so it’s not like the company has been too concerned about geopolitical relations, human rights abuses, etc. in the past.
Perhaps more importantly, why is it circulating on the Internet at this time and why was XCC allowed into the tournament in the first place? Or rather: why did the disqualification last until the top eight finish? You have to understand that a disqualification at this point in the tournament is truly a disaster in terms of the integrity of the tournament. XCC eliminated some really good players on their way to the top eight, players who might otherwise have gone for those sweet points (and prize money) on the Tekken World Tour themselves. This causes a murky stain on the entire tournament ladder.
I feel sorry for the employees of Thaiger Uppercut, although here the entire blame falls on them. Ideally, they would have spotted XCC and other Chinese players at the gate before they even caught the plane. But there were 550 participants, which meant someone would have to manually check each player to see if they were from China or another country that wasn’t on the official Tekken World Tour country list. You register for the event on start.gg, We see that XCC has Shenyang, China as its home locationso there were all the red flags for breaking the rules.
Whether someone looked at his account or not, didn’t check his account registrations at all, or didn’t think it wouldn’t be a problem doesn’t ultimately matter. He shouldn’t be able to register at all, as harsh as that sounds. However, if you want to reap the benefits of being part of the Tekken World Tour, you also have to take into account the disadvantages.
This ultimately leads to the last essential question, which I think is the most essential. Why the hell does a country’s absence from the Tekken World Tour result in disqualification from events held under its patronage? This may sound strange in the context of the previous paragraph, but that’s it should this means that XCC would not be eligible for Tekken World Tour points and would not be able to participate in events organized by Bandai such as the TWT Finals, etc. As a rule, Chinese players with aspirations of greatness are not allowed to participate in them everyone the most essential event around the world. Despite a grassroots scene there and great players living there, they were cut off from the competitive world.
Other competitive games have had their own problems when it comes to players from banned regions. In Counter Strike, the entire scene opposed Russia at the beginning of the war in Ukraineleaving many excellent previously employed players in limbo and essentially without employment opportunities. Russian players (who could not go on stage and condemn Russia while their family remained in the country) had to choose between leaving the country to continue their career or hanging up their gloves and looking for another job. This is obviously a hard choice for Counter Strike players, but compare this scene to fighting games, where the average wins of a competitive player may as well be a bag of flour and a pat on the back, and it’s effortless to see a future where Chinese players simply don’t focus anymore on Tekken.
Some have asked for an Olympic-style approach where Chinese players can compete without their country’s flag on their backs, but honestly, this could all be fixed with one low paragraph added to the rules. Players from outside permitted countries can compete but cannot take home TWT points.
As it stands, the situation seems downright terrible. Thaiger Uppercut has been on the market for over 10 years. It is not owned by Bandai Namco, but since it is sponsored by Tekken World Tour, it has to play by its rules. Many people reminisce about the “good old days” when a player would travel to an international event on a whim and compete for $50, and there’s a reason they do it. While the world of competitive Tekken has become much more luxurious in recent years and prize pools have increased, this has resulted in developers and publishers being more practical, and an organic “world warrior” environment where a monster from anywhere could appear in the main countries of his country disappeared behind the door.
Right now, this means that players like XCC essentially cannot become world champions despite their personal skills, and China will be left in the murky. This, at least for me, is the core value that built the Tekken scene as we know it and has been pushed to the wayside. Bandai Namco released a statement stating that the rules may change as a result. I sincerely hope that is the case.
