Tekken 7 is one of the most dynamic and exciting fighting games out there. The fighting game franchise has been around for more than 20 years and this most recent iteration demands a near encyclopedic knowledge of character moves and frames, great timing, and a natural killer instinct. If you can somehow master all three of these attributes, you have for yourself a great Tekken 7 player.
While it is by no means easy to master all this, several individuals have done exactly that across the world. Several great players have come forward to answer the call of the King of Iron Fist, and excel at it. This article lists the top 10 players in the game right now. Before we move on, here's a simple disclaimer. This list is just my humble opinion, my personal favorites ranked from #10, to #1.
There are so many more great players out there that I probablymissed out. I'm sure mileage varies and other people might have a much different top 10 in their minds. That's all well and good as there is more than enough room for great talent in a great game like Tekken 7! And now that all that is out of the way, let's move on to our list.
I'm EDGE I No Mercy, and this is my list of Top 10 Tekken 7 players!
10. Anakin
Hoa “Anakin” Luu is easily one of the most successful North American Tekken players to ever grace the fighting franchise. Anakin has been winning tournaments since Tekken 6, and it was during this iteration of the franchise that he won the 2010 MLG Pro Circuit, Dallas Finals. He made it to the finals of EVO twice, in Tekken Tag 2, and in Tekken 7. Although Anakin failed to win it all in EVO, he has still won several tournaments recently.
He won the CEO 2022 tournament, besting notable players like Rangchu and Book. He is currently under contract with Red Bull's esports division. Although he is good at many characters, Anakin is one of the few pros who is known to be a character specialist. When the going gets tough, he is known to bring out his monster Jack 7, specializing in both offensive and defensive plays.
9. Ryan Hart
Perhaps the most decorated and versatile player of this list, Ryan Hart has won numerous tournaments and accolades, and not just in the Tekken franchise. The UK native has been playing competitively since 1994 in various franchises aside from Tekken like Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter and King of Fighters.
Hart is also a two time EVO champion having won the EVO Tekken Tag Tournament in 2004, and the EVO Tekken 5, Dark Resurrection tournament in 2008. He also finished in the top 8 in the Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution, Tekken 4, Street Fighter III, Third Strike, and Tekken 6 tournaments as well. He also holds four Guinness World Records for fighting games, including the most tournaments in different countries a player has won, most international tournament competition wins, most consecutive wins in Street Fighter V, and the longest winning streak in Street Fighter IV. Ryan is also only one of a handful of players who have placed in the Top 8 at EVO in both a Street Fighter and a Tekken game. He joins some illustrious company in Poongko, Justin Wong, and Tokido.
Ryan is a decorated fighter game veteran for sure, but perhaps his biggest triumph is having overcome homelessness through playing fighting games. Hart experienced living in the streets of London as a teen, and it was definitely not easy. Just for somehow getting by such a trying period of his life with his passion, earns Ryan Hart the #9 spot on this list.
8. Qudans
Qudans, the pro Tekken player that returned after a long hiatus
The prodigal son of Tekken is #8 on this list. After numerous triumphs and accolades during the “dark ages” of fighting games, Qudans left the competitive tournament scene for 10 years then returned with a bang to stamp his class, once again. Qudans was one of the greatest names in South Korea, a hotbed for competitive Tekken and for video games in general. He won numerous tournaments and stamped his class during the “dark ages” of fighting games. This refers to the years between Tekken Tag tournament up to Tekken 5 and Tekken 5, Dark Resurrection.
He was known for his godlike mastery of the Electric Wind God fist, and specialized in using Devil Jin, and the other Mishimas. He bested several notable Japanese players in many tournaments, and even beat Ryan Hart at EVO 2005, another member of this list. Unfortunately, all those accolades would be overshadowed by a series of unfortunate events in Qudans's life. His wrist injury got progressively worse, he had to fulfill his mandatory military service, and his father passed away. All this was understandably a lot to bear, and Qudans vanished from the competitive scene for a decade.He came back to competitive play gradually with Tekken Tag 2, but it was not an easy road back up.
He was initially overwhelmed by all the new moves and the new characters since he had left, and he gradually had to get his old skills back. Eventually, all his hard work and diligence paid off when he won the initial tournaments that came out with the release of Tekken 7. He won the first season of AfreecaTV Tekken League, and the SEA Major 2017. This assured him of a spot at the first Tekken World Tour Finals, which he won with authority. His dramatic victory helped him get coveted sponsorships from Rox Dragons and UYU.
He had another successful run at the TWT in 2018, making the finals, but eventually dropping to Rangchu. But a few months after that, he won the 2019 True Gaming Invitational, beating Chanel and bagging the $60,000 prize pot. It is one of the largest prize pots ever in Tekken.
7.Nobi
One of the best Dragunov players is next on the list. Nobi, a Japanese Dragunov specialist comes roaring in at #7. Nobi, along with JCDR, has always been one of the acknowledged masters of Dragunov. He is known for his fearsome wall-to-wall combos, and his expertise at forcing opponents towards the wall, even if they block his running punch. 2015 was easily Nobi's best year, when he stamped his class in the competitive Tekken scene.
His most notable victory was when he won the EVO championship in 2015, beating tough competition, like Saint, and Ao. He also won that year's King of Iron Fist tournament, nabbing a total of $45,000 of winnings from both tournaments.
6. JDCR
JDCR competing at the Red Bull Golden Letters
Kim “JDCR” Hyun-jin comes in the list at #6. He has always been known for his deep fundamentals, and great technical skill. This often translates into using characters that are usually difficult to master, notably Heihachi, Armor King and Dragunov. JDCR was introduced to fighting games at just 8 years old when he entered an arcade in a mall. From there, he was hooked instantly playing King of Fighters, at first. He continued to play until KOF2000.
When he was 14, his brother introduced him to Tekken Tag Tournament, and his love affair with Tekken began. He coined his own nickname “JDCR” which is a loose abbreviation of a Korean phrase that indicates his skill in using many characters. It's said that JDCR got so good that he got into real life fights for beating people at Tekken Tag in the arcades. Thankfully, this did not deter him from continuing to play. He continued to play and eventually won a regional qualifier at 22 years. The win would allow him to participate in a big tournament in Hong Kong, but he was also due for conscription service then. Despite this, he was still allowed to travel and participate and he won the tournament. This started his career playing competitively, and JDCR has never looked back since.
With the home-release of Tekken 7, JDCR began to rack up several wins in the first Tekken World Tour. It was at this time that he became known for his aggressive but very technical Dragunov. His winning streak culminated at EVO 2017, where he won another title. He landed a sponsorship with Echo Fox where he played, until 2018. He also recently placed second only to Knee in the Red Bull Golden Letters 2023 tournament.
5. AK
AK the Phillippines's top Tekken player
The Philippines's own Tekken wunderkind comes in at #5, to round out the top 5 on this list. Alexandre “AK” Laverez was brought to a local mall with an arcade that had Tekken Tag Tournament 1 machines by his uncle. He was only 6 years old, but he would never forget that day. It was his first introduction to the game franchise that would change his life forever.
AK started competing in Tekken 6 but it was only in the 2013 King of Iron Fist Global Championship where he took 3rd place, that he truly established himself. He was only 13 when he achieved this, making him a genuine Tekken prodigy. AK continues to compete, notably finishing 2nd at the WEGL Super Fight Invitational. He lost to Qudans in the final, and placed 2nd at the 2019 EVO in Japan losing to Pakistan's top star, Arslan Ash.
AK, ready to fight
4. JeonDDing
Sang-Hyun Jeon or “JeonDDing” is another prominent South Korean in the Tekken fighting scene. He is currently playing for UYU. Surprisingly, JeonDDing wanted to be a Starcraft player, at first. However, for whatever reason that did not pan out, and he found himself playing Tekken. He started out playing in Tekken 6, but did not have much success, at first. It was in Tekken 7 that the South Korean Eddy master began to make his mark on the competitive scene. At EVO 2017, he placed a respectable 5th alongside Anakin. His other notable achievements include winning the SEA Major Singapore, in 2018, and placing 2nd place in Clash of the Olympians 2019, and Combo Breaker, 2018.
Eddy has always been his preferred choice, but since Eddy was a delayed DLC character, he opted to use Lucky Chloe for a while, when Eddy was yet to be released. He has however been trying out Julia, as a means to cover Eddy's weaknesses as a character. JeonDDing has also become famous, for hitting his clutch Rage Art at the REV Major 2022. His victim was Pakistan's Atif Butt. The Pakistan Tekken community would not forget the dramatic win, and began to nickname the Rage Art, the “JeonDDing” in his honor. JeonDDing went on to win the event, cementing his legacy as the master of the Rage Art. Tragically, his grandfather passed away before the event, which led to JeonDDing dedicating the win in his honor.
3. Atif Butt
Lahore-based Atiff Butt is a relatively new player in the competitive Tekken scene. He made eyebrows turn his way when he took first place in the Tokyo Tekken Masters 2019. Unfortunately, due to travel restrictions, he could not compete at EVO 2020 in Japan. This setback did not deter Atif Butt from stamping his class.
Despite being bested by JeonDDing at REV Major with his now legendary Rage Art, he went on to win the Tekken World Tour Finals 2022. His opponent in the finals was fittingly JeonDDing, whom he defeated. Atiff Butt is known for using his ultra-aggressive Akuma to get in his opponent's face from the get-go. He likes to pressure opponents and keep them guessing, using Akuma's superior offense.
2. Knee
Bae “Knee” Jae-Min, the God of Tekken comes in at the second spot on the list. As one of the longest playing and most successful players in the pro scene today, Knee has just about seen it all in the game that he helped push to prominence. Knee began playing all the way back to Tekken 1 when he was in elementary school. He also liked playing other fighting games, but in time, a lot of the other franchises simply faded away from the arcade scene. Tekken was always a persistent presence in the arcades. Because of this, Knee began to play Tekken exclusively and started to excel at it.
During those early 2000s there was really no pro scene to speak of in the fighting game scene. The esports scene was dominated mainly by Starcraft and in those early days, Knee played for nothing more but to be known as “the best in “South Korea.” With the release of Tekken 5, the game slowly started to grow in prominence. Knee began to dominate the competition now, as his legend started to grow. He won several early tournaments of Tekken 5, and Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, cementing his place as the top player of the game. Knee would take a long hiatus from the game to complete his mandatory military service. The 2 year break did not dampen his competitive flame. If anything, it seemed to stoke it even more. Soon, esports began to include fighters at their events, and Knee continued to dominate. Knee won the World Cyber Games 2010, defeating notable opponents like Ryan Hart, Ao, and Rikimaru. He also won the 2013 EVO tournament defeating Bronson Tran in the finals.
Knee also went on to win the 2018 EVO tournament in Japan, and it seemed like nothing or no one could defeat Knee. That was when he ran into Arslan Ash at OUG 2018 in Dubai. Arslan soundly defeated Knee, which started a series of defeats for the God of Tekken. This was highlighted by his loss to Arslan at EVO 2019. Knee took the losses gracefully and viewed them as a learning experience. He would later visit Pakistan and play with Arslan and the other players of the Pakistan community where he was hailed as a hero. He would also go on to win the 2022 EVO tournament in dominating fashion using Feng Wei. Although Knee is famous for using Bryan, he is skilled at using just about any character on the roster at any given time. Despite his immense skill, he is still playing and learning to constantly get even better.
1. Arslan Ash
While Knee will always be considered the God of Tekken, and probably the greatest player of all time, it's Arslan Ash who is widely considered as the best player in the game, in this era. Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique has definitely earned the respect and recognition he has gained. The Pakistani player has definitely had to claw his way up to the top of the Tekken mountain.
Playing in Pakistan, Arslan has had to overcome numerous challenges to gain the recognition and accolades that he now enjoys. Pakistan has had to endure many social and political problems through the years, and for a majority of the population, playing video games would be a luxury. Because of the current situation, it's a country that's not easy to visit, and to leave. All this did not stop Arslan from playing and excelling in fighting games. Arslan also played the King of Fighters and won the KOFGCC 2018 tournament in Oman, Kuwait. He won other tournaments in the KOF XIV scene, but it was in Tekken where he truly stamped his class. It was when he defeated the legend Knee, in the 2018 OUG Tournament that the world started to take notice. Arslan was still relatively unknown then, and it was simply shocking to see the then no name player school a Tekken God.
Arslan continued his dominance when he won the EVO 2019 tournament in Japan. Arslan defeated established players like Chanel, Book, Low High, and even Knee again. He squared off against AK in the finals and won it all. And he achieved all this despite numerous complications with travel and finances that almost left him out of the tournament. Arslan continued to gain more recognition as he won other Tekken tournaments after that.
He also went on to win the next EVO tournament in Las Vegas, the following year. He swept through the competition using Geese, and again defeated Knee using Kazumi. He was later signed by Red Bull esports, and he had now proven that he was no flash in the pan. He also secured victories at CEO 2021, Combo Breaker 2022, and the IESF, 2022. He also won a third EVO championship in 2023. Arslan has placed Pakistan on the Tekken map, and for that he's the top Tekken player on this list.
