Tekken 8 at the Esports World Cup (EWC) is already set to be a total bloodbath. The group assignments have all but ensured that exciting matches will be shown at every turn, but it was inevitable given the extreme level of talent playing at the event.
Not everyone is built to win a Tekken contest this stacked and this high stakes. These are the top 10 players set to make a deep run in Riyadh.
Esports World Cup Tekken 8 Power Rankings
10. qudans
Full disclosure: Son “qudans” Byeong-mun is my favorite pro gamer of all time. Even as someone that lived through the heyday of StarCraft: Brood War and StarCraft II, none have inspired me to really get good at video games quite like he has. I’ve been watching this guy play Tekken since 2006 or 2007, so forgive me for my biases in this regard. I know what qudans is capable of, especially with his signature Devil Jin — but unfortunately, the character is just a shell of his former self in Tekken 8.
He has since switched to Heihachi, whom he used to get to the grand final of the SOOP Tekken League (STL) just a few weeks ago. He did switch back to Devil Jin for the championship match, but that was definitely more of a one-off than a reliable indication of the character’s strength in Season 2. He might not be relying much on Devil Jin. But it might be enough to make the top 16 and keeps him in the Esports World Cup Tekken 8 power rankings.
9. Rangchu
The two-time Tekken World Tour (TWT) champion, Jeong “Rangchu” Hyeon-ho is as entertaining as Tekken players come. He played Panda back in Tekken 7, and now that both Kuma and Panda are much, much stronger characters in Tekken 8, we see him using both on and off at the highest level.
You would think that these two characters are just running gags, and you’d be right — if this were any other Tekken game from the past. Kuma and Panda are very viable in this game. No one is more cognizant of that than Rangchu himself. His results lately have been a bit up and down. But if he can channel his TWT Finals-winning form, he could be on for a big run. A more unconventional but strong choice for Esports World Cup Tekken 8 Power Rankings.
8. Tibetano
Tibetano might not be in the usual list of worldbeaters in the Tekken 8 scene. But there’s two things important things to consider. One, he won at The MIXUP against the next player on this list, and two, he plays Asuka.
Look who we found arriving for Media Day 🤩 @Tibetanotk starts his #EWC Tekken journey TOMORROW! pic.twitter.com/2DHfJNwjvZ
— Gaimin Gladiators Esports ⚔️ (@GaiminEsportsGG) August 12, 2025
That tournament win in Lyon, France had to have been a huge confidence booster for him. Plus, Asuka being one of the strongest characters in the game right now. Put those two factors together, as well as a very respectable top 12 finish at Evo last week, and you’ve got a pretty strong case for a deep run for Tibetano at Tekken 8 at the Esports World Cup.
7. Ulsan
Here we have the reigning, defending Tekken 8 champion at the Esports World Cup. Although he no longer has Bob and Kazumi to rely on like he did in Tekken 7, where he was undeniably one of the best South Korean players, Lim “Ulsan” Soo-hoon still has what it takes to hang with the top dogs in this new game and make the Esports World Cup Tekken 8 Power Rankings.
After all, he placed second at CEO and placed first at Chain Shift 2025, both of which were played just two months ago. Things have changed balance-wise since then, however. His top 48 finish at Evo is a bit worrying, and he plays Dragunov. A character that has fallen off quite hard in Season 2 due to the reduced focus on poking and conservative play — though of course this did not stop him from getting to the CEO grand finals.
If he wants to stick with Dragunov, though, he’ll have to work extra hard at EWC if he is to defend his title.
6. Jeondding
Jeon “Jeondding” Sang-hyun is the people’s champion. Everyone loves him for his colorful personality and unwavering loyalty to Eddy, even when he’s not among the best characters in the game. His consistency since July is huge. Getting fourth at CEO, second at The MIXUP, and third at STL in the span of a month and a half takes serious skill and mental fortitude. Definitely worthy of a higher slow in the Esports World Cup Tekken 8 Power Rankings.
He did fall woefully short of the top eight spots at Evo, though, so I don’t think his stock is going to be that high at least as far as this power ranking is concerned. Don’t get me wrong: he is still one of the very best South Korean players out there, so anyone underestimating him at Riyadh might just get blindsided.
5. Mulgold
Han “Mulgold” Jae-gyun is bar none the best Claudio player in the world, and his loyalty to Claudio has been rewarded handsomely. First place at Combo Breaker was just the beginning, and he followed it up with fourth place at Evo just last week.
I would personally put Claudio as the sixth or seventh best character right now, swapping places with Jin depending on who’s playing both characters. It looks like Mulgold can leverage his power well and is placing high on the EWC Tekken 8 power rankings.
4. Knee
Bae “Knee” Jae-min had an uncharacteristically awful run at Evo last week, only managing a top 32 finish despite playing Bryan. Who is by most accounts in the top three spots of the Season 2 tier list at the very least. This was a disappointing result by Knee’s standards, especially given the overwhelming strength of his character of choice.
Of course, Bryan is still one of the most difficult characters to pilot in the entire game, and in a first-to-two setting like at Evo, there’s little room for execution errors or indecision with Bryan. This could very well explain why he did so poorly relative to his usual placements at Evo, but I’m not completely convinced that this result is enough to knock him down too much in the Esports World Cup Tekken 8 power rankings. Knee is Knee, he’ll rally and recover just in time for EWC.
3. Chikurin
Yuta “Chikurin” Take has made a flawless transition from Season 1 to Season 2. He placed in the top 6 at Battle Arena Melbourne and 12th at CEO, but nothing impresses more than his third place result at Evo.
He’s also still got Lili in the pocket when the situation calls for it, always a bonus for the EWC Tekken 8 power rankings. Anyone who’s been following the Tekken scene since last year knows what Chikurin can do with that character. And since he’s on a high right now coming off of Evo, I think he’s going to do very, very well at EWC.
2. Atif Butt
Atif “Atif Butt” Ijaz is probably the only player in the world that can challenge the next person the Esports World Cup Power Rankings. Just look at these results throughout the year: second at Combo Breaker, first at CEO, and second at Evo. If that isn’t the very epitome of consistency, what is?
I'm still not able to get over the thought of how I ended up in second place again.
Just like last year's Evo final, runner-up once again. Anyway, I sincerely want to thank everyone for their support and my team @FalconsEsport. My next target is EWC. Let's see how my result…
— Fᴀʟᴄᴏɴ | ᴀᴛɪꜰ (@AtifButt540) August 4, 2025
Okay, so he plays a rather boring pick in the form of Anna, not the absolute best character in the game right now. But no one can deny his choice’s effectiveness.
1. Arslan Ash
All hail the greatest of all time. Knee might have the longevity to his name, but Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique is now the Tekken GOAT with six Evo trophies in his case. This guy is just the sickest Tekken player I’ve ever seen, and his Evo win last week just cements his status as the person to beat right now.
The format might be vastly different to what fighting game tournaments use, but Arslan is him. Whether he’s using Nina or Anna doesn’t matter, because his skill, confidence, and consistency are at an all-time high. He has been on the wrong side of upsets in the past, but didn’t see any of that weakness at Evo.
