Imran Khan, who goes by the screenname “Khan”, made a clean sweep of the Tekken 7 Dojo finals match in Penang Esports Festival 2019. The Pakistani made his way through the bracket and took down the Malaysian hopeful Zaba 3-0.
Khan has been in Malaysia for 15 days now, having stopped by KL before Penang. The Pakistani from Lahore is quite close with his family, and is already missing them. He’ll be able to share the good news of his championship with them! He’s earned the feeling of being proud to represent both his country and its Tekken community with the win.
Despite his 3-0 win, Khan says Zaba is quite a strong player. We saw the Malaysian almost get a comeback a few times, and the winner himself acknowledges the skill there. He says Zaba will be able to improve further via the community, saying it’s similar in Pakistan. He’s been competing against other Malaysians over the 2-day Penang Esports Festivals too. Khan feels the Malaysian esports scene has a lot of support, not just for the local players, but also for all the competitors.
Khan’s also Arslan Ash’s best friend since childhood, and he’s only got good things to say about his friend. “He’s very hardworking and believes in himself,” Khan says, adding they train daily for up to 10 to 11 hours. Tekken has been in Khan’s life since he was 12, with him running out of classes to go to arcades to play. His father had been angry at him, but his son is now representing Pakistan in Tekken. He also gets his mother to play with him before he leaves for a match. They’re now supportive of him playing Tekken, Khan tells us, when before they didn’t even know he played.
His strategy to winning is to believe in luck and a lot of practice. It seems to apply to his favourite “worst” character, Akuma, saying playing against Akuma requires being careful, and it can make one stronger. “Just work hard and don’t be jealous of anyone,” he advises those intending to go pro. “Your time will come, just focus it all on the game.”
If more events get organized in Malaysia, Khan says he would be willing to come, once again mentioning the great support from the fans. Let’s see if we can get him to come again some time! Congratulations once more to Khan.