Muhammad Zubair Becomes Tekken 8 Champion at Esports World Cup in Paris

By Nazish Talati

 

Pakistan’s Muhammad Zubair emerged victorious in the Tekken 8 championship at the Esports World Cup (EWC) in Paris on Saturday, becoming the new World Champion of the popular fighting game.

Zubair achieved a clean victory over South Korea’s LowHigh in the grand final of the tournament held from Aug 5-8, after having just scraped through during the early stages.

“He came out of nowhere and took the crown!” EWC posted on social media following the player’s triumph.

In Friday’s second group stage, Zubair decisively defeated another Pakistani eSports icon and Tekken star — Lahore-born  Arslan “Ash” Siddique  — before once again beating the eight-time Evolution Championship Series (Evo) winner in a thrilling 5-4 semifinal on Saturday. Arslan is one of Pakistan’s most prominent esports figures and one of the leading names in the global fighting game community.

Advancing into the grand final, Zubair faced off against LowHigh in a decisively less close game, sweeping his opponent with a 5-0 victory.

The newly-crowned World Champion was awarded a cash prize of $250,000.

Ash, meanwhile, settled for fourth place after losing the decider to Australia’s Yagami.

In June, he had won the 2026 Evo series in Las Vegas, considered the world’s largest fighting game tournament, with his fourth consecutive title.

Tekken  is a world-renowned video game with a massive following. Other ongoing and completed tournaments at the EWC include Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Counter Strike 2, Dota 2, League of Legends, Street Fighter, and Valorant. - Dawn