Bandai Namco bans a regional TEKKEN 8 champion

There were two main ways to qualify for the TEKKEN World Tour 2024 Finals. Players could compete in the international TWT events to reach the top 20 on the global leaderboard.

Or, the competitors could participate in the regional tournaments and try to earn one spot for the local champion. While the general list of the TWT 2024 Finals participants has already been formed, a controversy in one of the regions shook the situation a bit.

The official account of Bandai Namco Esports shared a statement about banning a regional champion. The information is scarce in that post, and we add all the details here.

The official statement about this ban only declares the consequences for the player. 

The player is ILIAS, who is apparently based in the Netherlands but has Moroccan roots. For the TEKKEN World Tour 2024, he decided to compete in Morocco, which is part of the official region of North & East Africa. According to the rule, ILIAS had to register and play in his primary region, West Europe.

ILIAS did not hide behind the curtains. The player shared his explanation even before the official statement. 

Also, ILIAS added some details in other posts. He shares his regrets about taking such steps.

The TEKKEN 8 community has been somewhat divided in judgments over this situation. Some people think it’s not fair to take away a pretty real competitive achievement — the player participated in Moroccan events and earned his #1 fairly.

Previously, Bandai Namco banned a Chinese player from the TWT Master event at TGU 2024 because this region is not part of the circuit. That happened in the middle of the tournament.

Other people point to substantial difficulty gaps between different competitive regions. Considering how tough the TEKKEN 8 competition is in Korea or Pakistan, it would be easier for players from such regions to register in a different environment and still get their Finals qualification. But it would be unfair — for the local players first of all.

During the Capcom Pro Tour 2023 (CPT 2023) series, an official circuit for Street Fighter 6, ILIAS participated in two online events: both for the Europe West region. He finished 17th-24th in one and 7th-8th in second.

Some replies on socials note the honesty of ILIAS about this situation.

ILIAS is a young player, and he may have a good future in competitive TEKKEN — of course, after the ban is over. In the late TEKKEN 7 era, he got a few top 8 placements in tier 3 tournaments. With TEKKEN 8, ILIAS tried his strength in some tier 2 and tier 1 events.

The Finals event for the TEKKEN World Tour 2024 happens from Dec. 5 to Dec. 8 in Tokyo, Japan. For all TEKKEN 8 news and updates, stick around on esports.gg.