TEKKEN has a storied history with Evo, and now, we experience the inaugural Evo Japan appearance of the latest installment, TEKKEN 8, as the franchise celebrates its 30th anniversary. Viewers saw the TEKKEN 8 Season 1 road map, including free content updates like new stages, photo mode, and additional story battles alongside the next DLC character, returning TEKKEN 7 newcomer Lidia.

The Evo Japan 2024 Top 6 competitors consisted of some familiar TEKKEN faces. INFESTED, LOWHIGH, CHANEL, and CHIKURIN began on the Winners side, with DOUBLE and MANGJA awaiting in the Losers Bracket. Not only would the winner earn the first TEKKEN 8 Evo Champion title, but they would also win the first Master+ Event, earning a massive 800 points in TEKKEN World Tour 2024. We’ve got every beat here for you to relive the action in the TEKKEN 8 Top 6 recap.

Evo Champion LOWHIGH joins INFESTED in the Winners Semifinals to commence the TEKKEN 8 Top 6. LOWHIGH, with his Dragunov, faces INFESTED’s Nina with a high-intensity first game, with the two players trading rounds back and forth. LOWHIGH took the first game after an incredibly close final round. This trend continued through the second game, with the two players neck and neck, as he activated his Rage Art to even the score 1:1. Things started to change in Game 3, as LOWHIGH unleashed a solid two-round streak against INFESTED, denying their offense. While INFESTED blocked a three-round sweep, in the end, LOWHIGH took the Winners Semifinal to head into the Winners Final.

CHANEL with Alisa and CHIKURIN with Lili follow up with the next Winners Semifinal match. We saw another tense first game, with CHIKURIN taking 3 out of 2 round wins. While CHANEL would maximize expert defense, avoiding CHIKURIN’s attacks and creating space, CHANEL would punish each opportunity they found, taking the set win and heading to the Winners Final against LOWHIGH.

INFESTED’s Nina faced off against MANGJA’s Law in the Losers Quarterfinal. MANGJA’s left no room for INFESTED to build up steam in the first game. While INFESTED found their footing in Game 2, MANGJA’s confidence did not relent, winning an incredibly quick Losers Quarterfinal as he headed forward in the bracket.

CHANEL’s Alisa returns to compete against DOUBLE’s Law in the next Losers Quarterfinal. During the first game, we witnessed everything CHANEL attempted to set up in their match against CHIKURIN as they earned the win. DOUBLE built up momentum in Game 2, winning two quick matches. CHANEL clutched a Rage Art win in the third round, but DOUBLE shut them down, bringing the score to 1:1. CHANEL was determined to win the match, taking two swift wins. Still, before they could grasp victory, DOUBLE pulled a perfect round, followed by another close victory, taking us to the final round of the final game. In a nail-biting final round, CHANEL defeated DOUBLE and progressed to the Losers Semifinal.

The Winners Final commenced with LOWHIGH and CHIKURIN using Dragunov and Lili, respectively. CHIKURIN’s offense seemed unstoppable for the first two rounds, but LOWHIGH saw an opening to shut down their streak. It wouldn’t be enough, however, as CHIKURIN took Game 1. LOWHIGH returned with intensity for the next two rounds of Game 2, showing how badly he wanted to put the set in his favor. After a three-round streek, LOWHIGH brought the set 1:1. The first round of Game 3 was incredibly close, with a beautiful slow-mo victory for CHIKURIN. Then, in a flash, LOWHIGH took the next round, but that momentum didn’t last as CHIKURIN brought the set to 2:1. While Game 4 felt like it could go anyone’s way, CHIKURIN defeated LOWHIGH and sent them to the Losers Final.

MANGJA and CHANEL faced off in the Losers Semifinal to decide who would join LOWHIGH to make their way up to the Grand Final to face CHIKURIN. CHANEL and his Alisa had some practice earlier against Law, and it seemed to pay off against MANGJA as they won Game 1 swiftly, along with a perfect ending to Round 4. Just as it seemed like CHANEL would take the set, MANGJA took the match 1:1. CHANEL was determined to take the set, and after a few grueling rounds, it seemed the game would go their way. That was until MANGJA came back with a devastatingly quick round. After an astounding tug-of-war, CHANEL earned the win to join LOWHIGH in the Losers Final.

CHANEL changes characters to Zafina as a counter-pick to LOWHIGH’s Dragunov in the Losers Final. While it seemed to be a deciding strategy at first, with a quick round 1 in CHANEL’s favor, LOWHIGH came to play and returned with three definitive wins for Game 1. CHANEL swapped back to Alisa for Game 2, but LOWHIGH’s Dragunov was already fired up and serious. CHANEL wasn’t ready to go home yet, and they returned to win Game 3, bringing the score to 2:1 in LOWHIGH’s favor. CHANEL proved they came to play, taking the next two rounds in Game 4 with confidence. LOWHIGH needed the runback against CHIKURIN and retaliated to win the next three rounds to face off in the Grand Final.

LOWHIGH, known to be masterful of numerous characters, switched into Steve for the Grand Final against CHIKURIN’s Lili. CHIKURIN took three rounds in a row to win Game 1. LOWHIGH made the switch back to Dragunov for Game 2. While LOWHIGH fared better with the character switch, CHIKURIN seemed unstoppable as they won the second game. Right as CHIKURIN was a round away from ultimate victory, LOWHIGH retaliated with a perfect round. LOWHIGH couldn’t keep the pressure on. CHIKURIN showcased a definitive victory 3:0 in the Grand Final as they became the first Evo Japan Champion Champion, earning 800 points in TEKKEN World Tour 2024.

Evo Japan 2024 Final Standings:

1. THY | CHIKURIN

2. DRX | LOWHIGH

3. DRX | CHANEL

4. MANGJA

5. 魚群 | DOUBLE

5. DRX | INFESTED

View full results at start.gg.

Lastly, we have Street Fighter 6 concluding Evo Japan 2024! Be sure to tune in for the last tournaments of the event and follow the action streaming on Twitch and YouTube.