The Tekken franchise has given way to the rise of some incredible players over the past 25 years. And through these two and a half decades, some fantastic tournaments happened. For instance, the Tekken World Tour which in 2019 had a prize pool of a quarter of a million dollars. Or the Tekken Team takedown ELEAGUE in 2018 with one hundred thousand dollars in the line.
But this is not about the tournaments themselves. But about the players. And although there will be a lot of similarities with players’ rankings themselves, such as DashFight’s very own ranking of the best Tekken 7 players, this is not a measure of how skilful they are, but how much dough they’ve been kneading over the years.
1. Jae-Min “Knee” Bae
The South Korean two-time EVO champion in 2013is undoubtedly going to make an appearance in this list. Although those championships were for previous entries in the Tekken franchise. As for Tekken 7, he has a lot of success stories. Like winning EVO Japan in 2018 and Combo Breaker 2019. Though the enviable title of Tekken World Champion has been alluding him for three years and counting. Coming 3rd in both 2018 and 2019. Still, he has been estimated to have earned over $175000 from Tekken 7 alone.
2. Byeong Mun “Qudans” Son
Qudans history with Tekken is extensive. From him playing casually at a young age to his breathtaking wins in the mid-2000s. To his retirement due to hand fatigue and eventual comeback after serving in the military and going to university. Nowadays he is competing regularly in the Tekken 7 scene and still gets some fantastic wins. Like in Tekken World Tour 2017 and the True Gaming invitational in 2019. All in all, Qudans earnings in Tekken 7 are thought to be around $110000.
3. Yuta “Chikurin” Take
One of only two Japanese players that crack the top 10 on this list. Chikurin’s main claim to glory is his Tekken World Champion title in 2019 and a fourth-place finish in EVO Japan 2019. Not to downplay his grind, of course, As he has played Tekken 7 at a high level pretty much since release. His estimated winnings sit around the $99000 mark.
4. Daichi “Nobi” Nakayama
And here is the other Japanese player! Nobi started his Tekken 7 career the moment the game was released in 2015. And with a rocking start at that. Winning EVO 2015 and then The King of Iron Fist that same year. A more recent win was at the Tokaigi Game Party in 2018. His winnings put him pretty close to Chikurin at $98000.
5. Kim “JDCR” Hyunjin
If this list was made in 2017 and about the best players in the world. Well, JDCR would be at the very top of that list. He is undoubtedly the most prolific player in recent years, and 2017 was a master craft of his. In that whole year, he never finished below 3rd. Taking home wins at Combo Breaker and EVO. Along with runner-ups in the Tekken World Tour Korea and third-place finishes for the World tour APAC and Finals. His estimated earnings place him at $86000.
6. Soo-hoon “Ulsan” Lim
Ulsan’s claim to fame is his second-place finish at the Tekken World Tour 2019. He began his journey already in the lower bracket and had to face the one and only Knee before squaring off versus Chikurin. Since then he has gotten a fourth-place finish in EVO Japan this year and is poised to continue grinding great results. At the moment he is estimated to have made over $73000 from his tournament results.
7. Hoa “Anakin” Luu
There are only two players in this top 10 that are not from South Korea or Japan. Furthermore, at around $62000 estimated earnings, you could argue they share 7th place. But we are choosing Anakin to lead the spot thanks to his incredible 3rd place finish at EVO 2019. Made sweeter when looking back at his previous performance. 2016, 33st-48th place. 2017 5th-6th place. 2018 9th-12th. And finally, 2019 cracking the top 3.
8. Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique
We did say there were two international players here. Arslan is from Pakistan, and if you know anything about King of Fighters then you should be familiar with his exploits there. He picked up Tekken 7 through 2018 and opened up 2019 with a boom by winning EVO Japan in February and EVO proper in August. His earnings also round $62000.
9. Seong-ho “Chanel” Kang
Although rarely a winner, Chanel has put in the hours to get where he is now. A multitude of second-place finishes adorns his career. in 2016 with The King of the Iron Fist. 2017 with the Tokyo Tekken Masters. 2018 EVO Japan and Tekken Grand Battle. And just last year Community Effort Orlando and the biggest prize he has ever gotten, the True Gaming Invitational. These years of work has netted him somewhere north of $53000.
10 . Sun-woong “LowHigh” Yoon
Finishing off the list is LowHigh. Someone who was part of the Tekken 7 competitive scene from the very start. Eventually winning EVO 2018. Surprisingly, none of his achievements gave him a prize of over $10000, but with various top 10 finishes, he has managed to build up a bounty booty of the years of just over $50000.
Article Supplied
