Gaming
esports
The unlikely rise of Arslan Ash – the greatest Tekken player on Earth
From the arcades of Lahore to winning EVO tournaments and becoming a Tekken star, Pakistani prodigy Arslan Ash reveals how he became one of the most feared players around.
Arslan Siddique, better known as Arslan Ash, isn't your typical esports athlete. At only 28 years old, he already boasts a long history with video games, having won four EVO championships – a feat that's unmatched – as well as being crowned champion at the Tekken World Tour Finals 2023 after months of intense battles. His successes mark him as the undisputed master of the biggest Tekken stage – and he's no where near done yet.
01
From talk of the town to worldwide phenom
Thanks to getting an early start in his youth by playing in arcades, Ash quickly became a great fighting player and had made a big name for himself in his home nation of Pakistan by his teenage years. However, it was a lack of funds and difficulties in raising international awareness that were putting a stopper to him playing against the best in the world internationally.
In 2018, he had finally managed to raise enough money to take a trip to KOF GCC 2018 in Oman. He may have walked into the event an unknown, but he was undoubtedly the talk of the entire fighting game scene by the end, taking an easy win in the Tekken 7 competition and top four in the King of Fighters XIV tournament. From then on, he quickly rose to the top of the worldwide scene in a whirlwind story.
02
Eating, breathing – and sleepwalking – gaming
Ash's game plan wasn't always to become an international esports star. With support and encouragement from his parents, Ash was on the path to become a doctor as an A+ student. But his mind – and even body – were always carrying him back to the gaming front.
“My parents tell me that at times when they used to wake up around 3 or 4am, they used to find the main gate of the house open and me sleeping in the gaming zone instead of in my bed," he says. "This was the height of my passion for gaming… I used to sleepwalk into the gaming zone."
Arslan Ash is ESPN's esports athlete of 2019
© The Videographers/Red Bull Content Pool
It's no surprise that all this time spent gaming was getting Ash noticed. Who could miss the little kid who kept coming to the arcades and beating everyone? It was at this time where juggling his studies and passion for gaming was becoming too precarious to balance. “I was good in studies as well as gaming," Ash says. "But [then] there was a national-level tournament – the Pakistan Tekken 6 Grand Masters Championship [GMC]. This was the biggest tournament in Pakistan and I won it. After that, everyone started recognising me."
As Ash's success continued to mount, it was around this time that his father tragically passed away. From there on, his mother and two elder brothers ran the house, with his mother working as a tailor and a painter to keep the family afloat.
Despite this pressure, he continued playing and winning city, district and national-level tournaments in Pakistan, establishing himself as the man to beat. Although his friends kept suggesting that Ash should try for international tournaments, he didn't have the money or resources to make the next step of his dream a reality. So, in a true outpouring of support, his friends rallied round to help come up with a solution.
“I did not have the money," he says. "Deep down I knew if I go, I would win because I was number one in Pakistan. My friends collected money for registration and my family, especially my mother, supported me a lot."
Ash almost became a doctor before turning to esports full time
© The Videographers
03
Crunch time: To game, or not to game?
It was at this point the balancing act between gaming and studying was toppled and Ash had to make a crucial choice: gaming or studying? With his studies suffering and his passion for gaming only growing stronger, the choice may have been clear for Ash, but it was met with apprehension from his mother and the rest of his family, who had high hopes for him to pursue a career in medicine.
I thought to myself, 'I'll show everyone that I picked the right path.' I wanted to be a doctor, but I learnt that if I am doing well and can be a better gamer than I’d be an engineer or a doctor, then why not pursue my passion?
Arslan Ash is proud he stuck to his guns and persevered in esports
© The Videographers
04
A meteoric career levels up
Ash understood that to survive on the esports scene, he needed to ensure he took his talents global: “The gaming sector isn't as developed in Pakistan compared to Europe or the USA, or even Korea and Japan. Kids there are encouraged by parents to become professional gamers, but in Pakistan very few people are so good at gaming that they can earn through it."
Fortunately, Ash more than made the grade. From Oman, he went to Selangor, Malaysia to participate in FV X SEA Major Malaysia where he ranked in 9-12th place. Next, he participated in the OUG Tournament and PLG Tournament 2018 in Dubai – winning both of them. And it was at OUG where Ash would have his first encounter with South Korea's Jae-Min 'Knee' Bae; the Tekken legend and world number one player at that time.
"We faced each other in the grand finale. I was nervous, but I somehow won the competition. The international gaming world now took some notice that there was a guy named Arslan."
Things changed drastically when Ash went to participate in EVO Japan 2019. The story of his journey from Pakistan to Japan is already the stuff of legend: apart from facing visa issues, he took five flights over two-and-a-half days to reach Japan on the day of the competition. Four hours before the tournament started, he was still struggling to exchange Pakistani rupees for Japanese yen.
“Just a week before my flight I lost my passport with the US visa stamped on it," he explains. "I got so depressed for three days, but didn’t lose hope. I got an emergency passport made, emailed the embassy and requested a re-interview for the visa. It was impossible, but I got the visa the day I was supposed to fly in the morning. So, I obviously missed the flight and flew the next day."
With the clock ticking, Ash managed to reach the venue just in time to participate. A dark horse in this massive tournament, the debutant came out as the overall winner, shocking the world. More heads turned.
Ash made a name for himself at EVO Japan 2019
© The Videographers
The young Tekken master’s words echo with a confident humility as he sets his sights on the next dream to fulfill. “I always move forward with a dream to achieve," he says. "Ten years ago, my dream was to collect 100,000 Pakistani rupees. My next dream was to become the number one player in Pakistan. Then it was to become number one player in the whole world and to win two consecutive EVOs for Pakistan. I have fulfilled that."
05
Building a lockdown gaming bootcamp
It's not all about winning – Ash is just as focused on supporting those around him and the esports scene at large. For example, the Pakistani Tekken community was at a disadvantage during lockdowns in online competitions due to poor connectivity, so Ash set up a lockdown bootcamp for local players to compete with each other and keep their skills sharp.
“I had the idea of renting a place where players could come to practise and they could stay there as well,” he explains. “The idea of this bootcamp was to train and enhance our skills.”
The bootcamp allowed his fellow players to keep their skills sharp and meant they could rapidly improve with so much time to play against the best players in the region. As a result, Pakistan now have numerous top Tekken players and the future looks bright not only for Arslan Ash, but the entire Pakistani fighting game scene.
06
Tekken it to the top
As he continues his career at the top of the Tekken scene, he regularly competes with players that push him to the limits. As a result, Ash now thinks more about the mental side of his game, preparing for opponents and tournaments in a mental capacity.
“I always think and play through my opponent's approach,” he says. “I try not to make any mistakes in the game or tournament for which I have practised for months. I bring out my most experienced character so that I have as much control over the situation as possible and so that I don't fall under pressure.”
2024 is set to be another big year for Arslan Ash
© Mind Map Communications
What's more, after facing so many odds and overcoming them, Ash now feels grateful. “After my father [passed away], my mother brought me up," he says. "I believe I've got my competitive nature from her as she was also an athlete back in her college days. She taught me how to control my nerves before a tournament, how to take care of my diet and so on. Forget about winning or losing, just focus on the game. So yes, she keeps guiding me how to be more in control. She doesn't know about Tekken, but she knows how to compete."
There's no doubt that his preparation style, gratitude and sheer dedication to gaming continues to pay off. Leading up to his Tekken World Tour crowning achievement in 2023, his 2021 CEO victory first marked a triumphant return to the US scene, while his dominant showings at VSFighting 2022 and Combo Breaker 2022 cemented his ability to adapt and conquer any opponent. And with another exciting year ahead – including participating in the Tekken World Tour 2024 – his inspirational career is set for its next powerful chapter.
