Arslan Ash is now a six-time Evo champion after defeating fellow Pakistani Tekken 8 pro Atif ‘Ijaz ‘Atif’ Butt in a grueling Grand Final at Evo 2025.
The Top 8 was rough for Arslan Ash, the favourite to win. He first struggled to beat Yuta ‘Chikurin’ Take in the Winners Finals and then Atif beat him in the Grand Finals for a dramatic bracket reset. However, Arslan Ash pulled it off in the end, remaining the top Tekken 8 player in the world.
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Arslan Ash and Atif Face Off In Intense Grand Finals at Evo 2025
The Grand Finals match against Arslan Ash and Atif seemed meant to be — the two faced off in the Grand Finals at last year’s Evo as well. In fact, Arslan Ash stated after the victory that it was inevitable they’d face one another.
“We both work so hard, we have to face each other,” Arslan Ash told reporters. “That’s the thing, I don’t want to face him. I know he’s so strong. We play each other every day and know each other’s weaknesses. We can’t hide from each other. It’s 50/50.
“He’s one of the best players in the world.”
The Grand Finals went quite interestingly for Arslan Ash. It was an Anna mirror between the two Pakistani pros. Unfortunately, this matchup proved that Atif was the better Anna. This is likely due to Arslan Ash picking up Anna just two months before Evo 2025. The first match went to Atif, which reset the bracket.
Despite Arslan Ash having only one more chance to take home his sixth Evo victory, he stuck to Anna going into the next match. The crowd started to boo, likely not wanting to watch Arslan Ash play at a purposeful disadvantage once more. After yet another round loss, Arslan switched to Nina.
When asked why he decided to switch, Arslan Ash stated: “This time, [the match] was a bit different. I usually hide my gameplay by covering my stick. But I had nothing to hide my stick with. I was thinking constantly about him watching me. I copied Anna because of him.
“But he was winning with her. And when Anna didn’t work out, my last resort was to play Nina and do my best. […] I know how to take on difficult situations with Nina more.”
For Arslan Ash, being put in such a tough spot is not a detriment.
“I had faith in that situation. You have to win just one match. When you’re losing, losing, losing, you have to get back to the start,” he said. “I knew I had to just win one match and I could make a comeback. If I didn’t win one match, I’d lose the whole thing.”
Atif admitted that he really wanted to win this time around because he worked so hard to get to the Grand Finals yet again. Still, he said he was ‘very happy’ to get second place. Arslan Ash noted that Evo is the largest fighting game event in America and winning it is like winning the World Cup. In the past, Arslan Ash has complained about more Evo events popping up around the world, worried about how this would impact the prestige that comes with winning Evo.
For both Atif and Arslan Ash, it’s all about passion. When asked how younger people can get into competing in esports, they both responded that you must love video games.
“Only do it if you like video games,” Arslan Ash said.
“You should be working hard and should learn from pro players,” Atif added. “Winning and losing are both a part of the game.”
Source: https://esportsinsider.com/
