I’m not exaggerating when I say Evo France 2025 legit cured my depression.
When Arslan Ash and Jeondding embraced after that final round, I was holding back tears. And no, this isn’t just about prize money or another trophy on the shelf. This was something deeper, something that reminded me exactly why competitive Tekken matters.
The Losers’ Run of a Lifetime
Arslan Ash ran the entire gauntlet from the losers’ side all the way to a grand final reset. Let that sink in. The pressure, the fatigue, the mental fortitude required to claw your way back from the brink and still have enough in the tank to reset the bracket and claim victory is extraordinary.
This is debatably one of the best Evo Tekken grand finals we’ve ever witnessed. It certainly blows away the Evo Las Vegas grand final, which felt flat in comparison with its Anna mirror match between Arslan and Atif. France gave us storylines, tension, and heart-stopping gameplay.
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My Hands Were Shaking (And I Wasn’t Even Playing)
I was rooting for Arslan from the moment he dropped to losers’. Every round had me on the edge of my seat. My hands were literally shaking during crucial moments. When you’re not even the one holding the controller but you feel that level of tension, you know you’re witnessing something special.
The Road to Grand Finals: Battles in the Losers’ Bracket
Before we even got to the grand final, the losers’ bracket was delivering absolute warfare.
KingReyJr’s Near Upset
KingReyJr got dangerously close to eliminating Arslan from the losers’ bracket entirely.
He had the tools. He had the reads. But a few crucial mistakes cost him everything. The most painful part? Watching him commit to parry attempts over and over, even when they clearly weren’t working. Sometimes in Tekken, you can feel yourself making the wrong decision in real-time but can’t break the pattern. That’s what happened to KingReyJr, and it’s what separated him from pulling off what would have been the upset of the tournament.
It just goes to show how razor-thin the margins are at this level. One bad habit, one mental loop you can’t escape, and your tournament is over.
KaneAndTrench: The Biggest Obstacle
Here’s the thing about Arslan’s losers’ run – it started with KaneAndTrench.
KaneAndTrench’s Yoshimitsu was the one who sent Arslan to losers in this very tournament. But it went deeper than that. Historically, KaneAndTrench had a pretty good record against Arslan. This wasn’t a one-time fluke – this was a player who had consistently found ways to beat the GOAT.
When I saw Arslan had to face KaneAndTrench in losers, I thought this was it. This was the biggest obstacle. The final boss of his redemption run. If Arslan could get past KaneAndTrench, if he could overcome the player who put him there and who had his number historically, then his odds of taking the entire tournament would increase twofold.
Arslan bested him. He eliminated KaneAndTrench from the tournament.
That’s when I started believing the impossible might actually happen.
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Qudans vs Arslan: Redemption Match
Then came Qudans with his Heihachi. This matchup had history.
At the Esports World Cup (EWC), Qudans was the one who sent Arslan to losers’. More than that – Arslan got completely destroyed in that tournament. It was brutal. That loss had been sitting with Arslan, and now here they were again, both fighting in the losers’ bracket at Evo France.
This time, Arslan got his revenge. He was finally able to best Qudans and exorcise that demon from EWC. It wasn’t just about advancing in the bracket – it was about proving he’d learned, adapted, and could overcome a player who had previously dominated him.
Sin’s Yoshimitsu vs LowHigh’s Clinical Bryan
Another match that deserves recognition: Sin versus LowHigh.
LowHigh was surgical with Bryan. Absolutely clinical. But here’s where it gets interesting – his coach noticed that Sin couldn’t break the 1+2 throw and told LowHigh to spam it. And spam it he did. That throw became free damage, round after round, a guaranteed momentum swing that should have buried Sin’s chances.
And yet, despite this massive handicap and the coaching adjustment exploiting his weakness, Sin came very close to defeating one of the best Tekken 8 players in the world with his Yoshimitsu.
The truly mind-blowing part? This is top 8 at Evo France we’re talking about. Sin made it to the top 8 of one of the most stacked Tekken tournaments in the world while unable to break throws consistently. A fundamental skill that intermediate players master, and he’s competing at the highest level without it.
He was playing with one hand tied behind his back, eating throws that he should have been breaking, facing an opponent who was actively being coached to exploit that exact flaw, and he still nearly pulled it off. That’s the kind of heart and adaptation that makes tournaments like this unforgettable. When players refuse to give up even when the odds are stacked against them, when they find ways to compete despite glaring weaknesses in their game, that’s when you witness something special.
Fergus vs Arslan: Matchup Mastery
Then came Fergus with his Asuka. Fergus is considered the best Asuka player in the world – an absolute master of the character.
This wasn’t even a contest for Arslan.
It felt like Arslan had studied the Asuka matchup deeply after losing to Tibetano’s Asuka in their previous tournament. That loss clearly left an impression, because Arslan came to Evo France prepared. He dismantled Fergus with surgical precision, showing complete understanding of the matchup.
What’s remarkable is that Arslan eliminated both of the dominant Asuka players in this tournament: Fergus and KingReyJr. He didn’t just beat them – he shut down the character entirely. This wasn’t luck or adaptation on the fly. This was homework done, lessons learned, and a champion coming back stronger from a previous defeat.
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The Grand Final
The Jeondding Factor
Here’s the thing about Arslan: we all know he’s the undisputed king of first-to-two sets. His tournament prowess in that format is unmatched. But longer sets? That’s historically been his kryptonite. It’s the one chink in the armor of the greatest Tekken player we’ve ever seen.
That’s why I had my doubts heading into the grand final against Jeondding’s Eddy. Arslan has struggled against that matchup before. He’d just barely survived KingReyJr. The question haunting me was simple: could he actually pull off the reset? He did.
And Jeondding, my second favorite player in this tournament, made every second of that grand final electric. He didn’t just show up. He fought with everything he had, pushing Arslan to the absolute limit. The match was SO CLOSE. There were moments where it could have gone either way, where one wrong read or mistimed punish would flip the entire narrative.
That’s what made it beautiful. Jeondding elevated the moment. Without his phenomenal play, without him bringing Arslan to the brink, this wouldn’t have been the instant classic it became.
Seven Evo Titles: Boring or Brilliant?
Arslan Ash now has his seventh Evo title.
Some people find this boring. “Arslan wins again, what else is new?” they say with a shrug. I get the fatigue with dominant champions. But here’s what amazes me: how does he keep doing it?
Seven different tournaments. Seven different brackets. Seven times he had to adapt, overcome, and prove himself all over again against the best players in the world who have studied every frame of his gameplay. The pressure of being the favorite, the target on your back, the expectation that you should win – that’s a weight most players crumble under.
Arslan doesn’t just carry it. He thrives under it.
Why This Matters
This grand final reminded me why I fell in love with competitive Tekken in the first place. It’s not all about the flashiest combo or the most disrespectful taunt. It’s about two players at the absolute peak of their abilities, pushing each other beyond their limits, creating moments that transcend the game itself.
When Arslan and Jeondding hugged at the end, it wasn’t just sportsmanship. It was mutual respect between warriors who had just given everything they had. They understood what they’d just created together.
That’s what Evo France 2025 gave us. That’s what cured my depression, even if just for a moment. Pure, unfiltered competitive excellence wrapped in genuine human emotion.
All the players were incredible, but this grand final? This was special.
This was Tekken at its finest.
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