‘Tekken’ News: ‘King of Iron Fist Tournament 2016’ names new Champion; Kuma and Panda returning to the series

By Migs Casas / Dec 13, 2016 05:35 AM EST
(Photo : YouTube/Namco Bandai) Two familiar, adorable bears are also returning to the series.

"Tekken 7: Fated Retribution" has been holding tournaments in Japan called the "King of Iron Fist Tournament 2016 Global". The finals this year have been won by South Korean player Choi "Saint" Jinwoo, who crowned Champion of 2016.

According to recent reports at Yahoo eSports page, Choi "Saint" Jinwoo has become the second player to win both Evo and the King of Iron Fist Tournament all in the same year, with Daichi "Nobi" Nakayama doing the same back then in 2015.

Saint did compete against Nobi at the time reaching his Top 16 bracket, but lost against Nobi in a match. This was also due to the fact the South Korean competitor preferred a battop style joystick as seen in most Korean arcades. The Japanese arcades, however, traditionally use the balltop style joystick, which Saint was allegedly not comfortable and happy with.

When the two finally competed again at Top 8, Saint's performance was significantly much better as he used the battop style joystick setup.

Saint was able to make it into the grand final, winning with a 3-0 result over South Korean Alisa player "Chanel" and dominated the final set 3-2 using the character Jack-7.

In other news, Bandai Namco has announced two new (or rather, returning) characters for "Tekken 7" and they're none than the two adorable bears, Kuma and Panda.

These furry combatants are returning to the latest title as two separate individuals, in comparison to the previous versions being reskins of each other, maintaining their own movesets. This time each of them will have their own moves, including their own unique Rage Arts.

Lastly, Bandai Namco brand and community advisor Mark "MarkMan" Julio announced that there will be a special event that will be held sometime in January, in which a "Tekken 7" release date will be finally revealed.

"Tekken 7" is slated for an early 2017 release on PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One.