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With Red Bull Golden Letters 2024 happening this weekend, Wade ‘Aggresive Duck’ White had the chance to speak to three UK players competing in the Tekken 8 tournament – Kane ‘KaneAndTrench‘ Heartfield, 2022 champion Richie ‘Ayorichie‘ Olusanya, and Hasan ‘JoKa‘ Rehman – discussing the event, the UK FGC and their hopes for the future of Tekken 8.
How do you feel the UK fighting games community (FGC) is right now?
KaneAndTrench: There are certain players who have reservations, especially with their characters at the moment. Some people don’t want to compete until they see that improvement. A lot of the UK Tekken players are adapting to the game. They are well aware how crazy it is compared to previous games in the series but we just absorb the information and we carry on. The community is in an ok place, but it’s naive to think that everyone is viewing it in an overly positive light.
Ayorichie: I think a lot of people will stick with the game just for the love of Tekken. I do think there a few a people that do dwell on the previous Tekkens and compare this game to those games. It’s a brand new game and they just need to take that on board and understand it’s still early days, the game is gonna change a lot over time and we just have to wait and see if it’s gonna be a game you enjoy or not. This is probably the best release a Tekken game has ever had.
JoKa: I think it’s amazing, the growth is phenomenal. We just had one of the best open tournaments and we are in the golden age of fighting games. In the UK in general, it’s crazy, when I go to some of the monthly tournaments I see new faces every single time I go.
How does the UK FGC stack up compared to the rest of the world?
KaneAndTrench: I like to think the community is very much active and passionate. The UK has been doing very well for itself and not just in Tekken but in other fighting games as well. There are very strong players in Street Fighter like EndingWalker and ProblemX doing their bit. I think the UK FGC is very much alive right now.
Ayorichie: The UK scene stacks up very well and proof of that is JoKa‘s performance at The Baaz Gauntlet, where he went on to win against the best players in the world. The training conditions we have are online which is a bit of a drawback. If we all went out to a tournament, the chance of one of us or a couple us are going to do very well.
JoKa: We have some really strong players but the problem is some of our talent aren’t being recognised. I wish sponsors and organisations would lean towards the UK because we have so many strong players that have competed on the world class stage and performed. There’s are many players putting in the effort and I hope it gets noticed.
I don’t think the British Esports Association support Tekken or fighting games as much in general. I understand it’s smaller and it’s niche but I hope they can shed some more light towards fighting games. They’re very easy in general to get into and anyone at any level can get into fighting games.
“We have some really strong players in the UK, but the problem is some of our talent aren’t being recognised. I wish sponsors and organisations would lean towards the UK because we have so many strong players that have competed on the world class stage and performed. There’s are many players putting in the effort and I hope it gets noticed.”
JoKa
Do you have any predictions for Red Bull Golden Letters 2024 this weekend? Could anyone cause a big upset?
KaneAndTrench: The easy answer is that ULSAN will dominate with that Dragunov of his, he’s been consistent throughout the entire year and is untouchable right now but I’m gonna do my best to take it. My character, Yoshimitsu, can be very effective with getting golden letters. But I think anyone can do damage, especially with this format, so we’ll see.
Ayorichie: Well, the big upset is that I’m going to win (smiles). In all seriousness, I feel like there’s a few people that could cause problems that people wouldn’t expect like SourPiggy and Nino, they play Bears and Bears are quite controversial in how they play the game. There’s also the-SAM-brother who people might not know much about but is really good.
JoKa: I think everyone is a threat, I’m not underestimating anyone. I’ve got my notes, I’ve practiced and gonna do my best and try and win the tournament.
What’s it like to be a part of Red Bull Golden Letters 2024? What opportunities does it provide players?
KaneAndTrench: It’s a very exciting and unique event to be a part of, it gives a lot of players a chance to show how unique their character and playstyle is, especially with the added ruleset of the golden letters. Tekken 8 can be very notorious for allowing golden letters to be even more possible than before and there are characters in this game that can be quite devastating.
Ayorichie: It’s sick, you get so many of these opportunities to enter and qualify which is good for people to enter to prove and test themselves, and the fact that anyone can enter is really good and that’s how I got my opportunity. It’s really cool to give people a chance locally and all over the world.
JoKa: It’s great and I’m grateful to compete at Golden Letters again for the first iteration for Tekken 8. It’s a really chill tournament with a special ruleset and tournament. I’m really grateful to be here and will do my best during the event.
Tekken 8 is still very young in it’s life cycle, how is the state of the game right now?
KaneAndTrench: When the game first came out, it was very volatile because the balancing was up in the air and some characters were overpowered. The balancing has been improving bit by bit but there are still areas where certain characters dominate with the system way more than others. We know a new balance patch is dropping soon where we know they are going to address these issues. We are basically hoping for Season 2 to fix a lot of the problems the first year had.
Ayorichie: With how they did patches, they were changing the game quite frequently, and everyone thought it was going to carry on like, but now it’s gone a bit stale with the updates. People are crying out for changes to characters that they feel are too strong, and as a player I understand that. They handled it well, but dropped the ball a little bit.
JoKa: I just wish there was a bit more balance patches and communication from the devs just so the veterans and casuals can understand why a certain patch has happened and what is coming in the future.
What characters from older Tekken games or other games in general would you like to see make it into Tekken 8?
Check out the interviews in video form here:
Red Bull Golden Letters 2024 is being streamed live from Red Bull’s Twitch and YouTube channels from 11:30am BST on 28 September and 10:30am BST on 29 September.
Wade ‘AggresiveDuck’ White is a tournament and event organiser for Super Smash Brothers Ultimate in London and Essex, with events reaching as many as 250+ attendees.
Wade originally started in esports by entering in amateur Dota 2 leagues before moving into the FGC scene with Smash Ultimate in 2018, competing in offline events in the UK and Europe.
