TEKKEN 8 at EWC 26 Champion: From Last Chance to First Place

Prior to EWC 26, M. Zubair was virtually unknown on the international stage. After initially failing to qualify, his only route into the tournament was through the Last Chance Qualifier. He completed a resilient LCQ run with a bracket-reset victory over fellow Pakistani Nauman "Numan Ch" Chaudhry in the Grand Final, securing his place in the main event.

From LCQ to EWC Champion

Zubair’s run only grew more impressive from there, facing some of the best players in the world and suffering just one set loss, against Japan’s Takaba Keisuke, throughout the entire tournament. He also shocked the TEKKEN community by defeating modern legend Arslan Ash twice, first with a 3-0 victory in Group Stage 2 and then with a 5-4 reverse sweep in the semifinals.

The historic run also earned Zubair the coveted Jafonso Award, given exclusively to EWC champions who begin their tournament journey in the LCQ. Alongside his championship prize money, the award adds another $50,000 to his earnings and secures his place on the permanent EWC Totem among the event’s champions.

Putting Pakistan On Top

The regional rivalry between Pakistan and South Korea has long been a defining part of modern TEKKEN. It was fitting, then, that the Pakistani underdog’s Grand Final opponent was Yoon "LowHigh" Sun-woong, a champion with both EVO and Tekken World Tour titles to his name.

But Zubair dismantled LowHigh with a relentless, hyper-aggressive style that appeared to leave his opponent visibly shaken. LowHigh was forced into increasingly risky callouts, many of which Zubair punished with precision. Combined with pixel-perfect movement that carried him through even the closest exchanges, Zubair completed his Cinderella run with a dominant 5-0 sweep in the Grand Final, putting Pakistan at the top of the TEKKEN world.

Club Championship points secured

Zubair’s historic win earned AG.AL 1,000 Club Championship points, adding to the 750 points they secured with their second-place finish in the Honor of Kings World Cup at EWC 26. With 3,350 points overall, AG.AL now sits atop the Club Championship standings, pushing Team Falcons into second place.

KIWOOM DRX also joins the Club Championship rankings following LowHigh’s runner-up finish in TEKKEN 8, moving into 14th place with 750 points. Meanwhile, Arslan Ash’s top-four finish keeps Twisted Minds in eighth place.