ISLAMABAD: Pakistan lifted yet another coveted gaming trophy on Sunday when it fended off a serious challenge from South Korea by beating the country 3-2 to win the prestigious TEKKEN 7 Nations Cup in Riyadh. 

Organized by the Saudi Esports Federation live from Boulevard Riyadh City, the TEKKEN 7 Nations Cup featured 16 national teams from around the world. The four-day tournament, which ran from July 6-9, allowed gamers to choose from a roster of over 40 characters to fight and progress through the competition to claim their share of an impressive $1 million prize pool.

TEKKEN 7 ranks among the most popular instalments in gaming franchise history and is one of the top 10 best-selling fighting games ever. Pakistan’s team, comprising Arslan Siddique aka “Arslan Ash,” Imran Khan and Atif Butt, bagged the coveted trophy in the final before a packed venue on Sunday. 

After beating South Korea, the trio lifted the trophy amid loud chants of “Pakistan” from an impassioned crowd at the venue. 

“Alhamdulillah, I am feeling very blessed, very good,” Khan said after the victory. “Saudi people are very amazing. I don’t know how we won but I think it’s because of our mothers’ prayers that were behind us, that’s why we won.”

Pakistan reached the final of the tournament by beating the United Kingdom 2-1 on Saturday. Earlier, the South Asian country defeated South Africa, Japan and Saudi Arabia in the group stages of the tournament to qualify for the semifinals. 

Pakistani players have been dominating global Tekken competitions of late. In April, Siddique won the global Tekken 7 competition at the Evolution Championship Series (EVO) Japan 2023, bagging the prize at the largest game fighting competition in the world. 

He currently has three EVO titles under his belt. In February 2019, Siddique won the Tekken 7 competition held in Japan and later during the same year, won the Tekken 7 EVO in Las Vegas to become the first unified EVO champion.