itburns.bsky.social

Let me tell you a story about @TK_iKARi There's been a lot of conversation going around about how he "came out of nowhere" to win EVO. This isn't remotely true. iKARi's been playing for like 20 years at this point. This guy is an OG thorugh and through. However, he lacked the international prestige to really stand out on the average Tekken player's radar. He was always a match or two away from making a big mark at an event. This brings me to Combo Breaker 2025, one of his worst finishes at any major. He didn't even make top 128, but it wasn't a lack of skill from iKARi. He just wasn't playing like himself. I remember watching one of his pools sets at CB and noticing that he was visibly shaking. His nerves were clearly getting to him. There was a clear difference between iKARi in his comfort zone and iKARi playing at a big major. And, if you know anything about Kazuya, he requires unwavering confidence to succeed. You have to be completely locked in. The next night at Combo Breaker, iKARi was running sets at 2am. He was out of the tournament anyways, might as well get some practice in, right? A line started to form. Then a crowd. Everyone that was there still playing Tekken wanted a chance to fight against him. Something shifted during the time he was running sets. He eventually started going full Pokchop on people, talking shit, getting loud, having the entire room rally behind him. It was like watching a different man. There are certainly people in the community who know a lot more about iKARi than I do, but that night really stood out to me. There's something about running sets in the wee hours of the night that just makes things click. His ability to take down the best Tekken players isn't something that he just pulled out in the spur of the moment. He's been putting effort into this for years, and his effort finally paid off, both in terms of mechanical skill and being mentally prepared to take on the best players in the world. The pics here are mine, never had the chance to post them anywhere. I'd always planned to write about it someday because I knew just from sitting there and watching iKARi that he'd go on to do something absolutely incredible one day. Unfortunately, the games journalism industry is abysmal right now, but it'd be a waste not to share this part of his journey even if it's just in a post like this. Here's to hoping there's a long career ahead for you yet, iKARi. Congratulations on the win.