KARACHI: A team of Pakistani gamers emerged victorious in the Gamers8 Tekken 7 Nations Cup in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Dawn.com reported.

The team, comprising Arsalan ‘Ash’ Siddique, Imran Khan, and Atif Butt, beat South Korea 3-2 in the grand finale.

The trio reached the final after beating the United Kingdom 2-1 in the semi-final and South Korea 3-0 in the upper-bracket final.

Along with the trophy, the team also won prize money of $500,000.

A total of 16 national teams participated in the tournament from all over the world. They were divided into four groups.

In the group stages, Pakistan topped the table with nine points from three matches. Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Africa were the other three teams.

“Pakistan is the best Tekken [playing] region in the world,” Mr Khan tweeted after the win.

In the post-match interview, Mr Butt said winning the tiebreaker to win the final was the only thing on his mind.

When asked about their teamwork and strategy for the competition, Mr Siddique revealed that the trio only played as a team in this tournament. “In Pakistan, we play against each other.”

He added this rivalry fostered healthy competition and improved their game as the tournaments they usually participate in were quite competitive.

Talking about their plans, the team said they will keep competing in the tournaments despite the hefty prize money they are taking home from this tournament.

“There are still a lot of competitions to win,” said Mr Siddqiue.

For Mr Khan, this was “the start of a new era” and the trio now has to train even more to stay competitive.

Mr Siddique added there was no time to relax and the team will have to work harder as more gamers will now watch their matches to analyse their strategies.

The tournament, Gamers8 Tekken 7 Nations Cup, was organised by the Saudi Esports Federation from July 6-9 with a total prize pool of $1 million. It was part of the Gamers8 tournament taking take place in Riyadh over eight weeks.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2023