Tekken Online Challenge 2021 Returns with a New Format

Bandai Namco have revealed the next stage in competitive Tekken 7 this week.

The Tekken Online Challenge 2021 has been announced, pitting the top players against each other in regional tournaments. While this is an online event, things are being done a bit differently to last year. There are new organizers, and Bandai themselves have more than more experience in ensuring online fighting games run well. This is shaping up to be one of the more exciting fighting tournaments of 2021.

Seong-ho “Chanel” Kang | Photo by: Robert Paul @tempusrob

Tekken Online Challenge 2021 Event Breakdown

The tournament is mainly being organized by both Bandai Namco and ASTRO Gaming. This marks the first collaboration between the two brands. Both will contribute equally to the prize pool, bringing it to $100,000 split between players.

Fourteen regions are set up to help keep the gameplay decent even with the event happening online. These are the regional divisions decided upon by the organizers: North America, Central America, South America, West Europe, East Europe, Middle East, West Africa, South Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Philippines and East Asia, Oceania, Korea, Japan.

The division is set up in a way to geographically limit the distance for connections between players in each region. While it does divide players up a lot, it will help an online event stay smooth.

To play in the event, players need to register for the tournament online. It is due to start on June 1st. Players will need to be registered in the game and listed on the leader board to take part. You will also need to be registered on the Tekken Esports Tournaments portal. Registration on the Tekken portal closes on May 31^st.

However, there will be an important patch prior to that. The May 27^th update of balancing changes will be the version in use. For a fighting game where intricate movements are key, these changes are going to be important for those looking to win.

Online Dojo Challenge

Bandai is partnering with local tournament organizers to create Online Dojos across the world . Dojos are given a chance to run their own tournaments and the organizer decides how points are awarded and how the tournament will go down. While smaller, this portion of events really opens things up. It allows more and more regions to get involved with competitive Tekken.

For emerging regions, this feature could really democratize the running of fighting game tournaments. The online Dojo challenges are going to see more players get the opportunity to compete at high level Tekken 7. While it isn’t the most well-know fighting game scene, this could be a big deal. it could allow Tekken become a much bigger esport in under-served regions, which would really both Tekken’s esports and exposure and local esports groups in these regions.

Tekken Online Challenge 2021 Masters

The Tekken Online Challenge will begin with Dojo events. Then the events will move into the next stage, the Tekken Masters. This is the largest portion of the Online Challenge. If you’re interested in fighting games or esports betting, then these events are probably going to be the big attraction. They bring the best players in each region together.

The Dojo portions are going to be fun locally, however, it is August that will see the serious competition start.

Online fighting games have a bit of a different rhythm. Compared to in-person, the internet connections can introduce a bit of randomness and frustration. By the time we get to the Masters though, this should be fairly well smoothed out. When it is just the top-level players competing, they tend to take their connections seriously.

In the end, if you’re interest is fighting games, then the Tekken 7 Online Challenge is going to be a fun event to keep an eye on. It’s due to run for a couple of months, so be sure to check out what’s happening over the summer.