Tekken World Tour 2019 brings bigger prize pool, new categories, and a finals in Thailand

It may not have a spot at the WCG 2019 lineup, but Tekken is busy taking esports matters into their own iron fists. A new Tekken World Tour has been announced by Bandai Namco Entertainment and Twitch, with new categories, new stops, and a finals destined for Southeast Asia.

The Tekken 7 tour is spinning up a US$185,000 (~S$250,000) prize pool for its third season, with US$100,000 of it reserved for the finals. It’s a vast improvement over last year’s winnings, and a sum sizeable enough to keep competitors going.

The next component to this year’s changes are the two tournament category additions, Master+ and Dojo. The first is exclusive to the esteemed Evolution Championship Series (Evo) tournaments held in August, while the second allows tournament organizers to go official and award Ranking Points.

Complementing the Dojo in terms of World Tour reach are three new challenger stops: Dubai (ROX n ROLL Dubai), Greece (Clash of the Olympians), and South Africa (Cape Town Showdown). Surely, the fighting game community comes up with the best tournament names.

Players in SEA have a few options to shoot for:

• 22-23 Jun: Thaiger Uppercut in Bangkok, Thailand
• 24-25 Aug: FV Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• 28-29 Sep: REV Major in Manila, Philippines

Those who rack up enough Tekken World Tour Ranking Points to make the Top 19 cut will be invited to the Finals in Bangkok, Thailand (dates pending as of writing). The final, 20th slot will be up for grabs in a Last Chance Qualifier held at the Finals itself.

Do note that only the player’s 10 best tournament performances will be recognized: 3 Master+ or Master tournaments, 3 Challenger tournaments, and 4 Dojo tournaments.

Hop over to the official site for the full schedule, prize and point breakdowns, rules, and more!

The Tekken World Tour 2019 kicks off on 20 Apr in Lyon, France.