Red Bull Golden Letters: Ulsan emerges victorious after a TEKKEN 8 masterclass against AK

Lim “Ulsan” Soo-hoon has been crowned Red Bull Golden Letters champion, overcoming Alexandre “AK” Laverez and 18 other players in an all-star Grand Final after a weekend of tense TEKKEN 8 action at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London.

The Grand Finals gave fans a true TEKKEN 8 masterclass with Lim “Ulsan” Soo-hoon and Alexandre “AK” Laverez battling it out in a high-stakes match to be crowned the 2024 Red Bull Golden Letters Champion. Ulsan gave an undefeated performance, taking down seven pro-players across the weekend, and confirming his title as the Red Bull Golden Letters 2024 Champion in a stunning 3-1 Grand Finals win.

For the first time in Red Bull Golden Letters history, this year’s TEKKEN 8 tournament featured four global qualifier rounds across North America, Europe, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Saturday also saw an all-new 20-player group stage, where the pros spent the day competing for a spot in the top-12 elimination bracket on Sunday, including Red Bull Players Hoa “Anakin” Luu and Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique, as well as inaugural Red Bull Golden Letters winner Richie “Ayorichie” Olusanya.

The new 20-player group stage on Saturday quickly escalated into a series of intense matchups, as the pros brought their A-game. British pro player Kane “KaneAndTrench” Heartfield, South Korean TEKKEN legends Jae-hyun “CherryBerryMango” Kim and Lim “Ulsan” Soo-hoon, and European open qualifiers winner Nino “Nino” Schwarz quickly emerged as frontrunners in the tournament, sweeping the group stages with 4-0 wins. In the final group stage, UK open qualifier winner Akhil “Tetsu” Kakar narrowly secured his spot in the top-12 elimination bracket, beating Joseph “Joey Fury” Bennett and Mohammed “the-SAM-brother” Al Jabri in a three-way tie.

Kicking off Sunday’s 12-player winner’s bracket, CherryBerryMango and Ulsan continued their winning streaks, defeating KaneAndTrench and AK in the semi-finals and sending them to the loser’s bracket. In a clash of Korean TEKKEN legends, Ulsan secured his spot in the Grand Finals, sending CherryBerryMango to the loser’s final with a 3-1 score. After being relegated to the loser’s bracket by Ulsan, AK fought his way back to a chance at the Red Bull Golden Letters crown, defeating Jodd and KaneAndTrench, before facing off against CherryBerryMango.

With one final chance at the Grand Finals, AK came in strong and swiftly ended CherryBerryMango’s run with a 3-0 win, securing his spot against Ulsan for the second time. The Grand Finals culminated in a gripping redemption match between AK and tournament favourite Ulsan. Though AK put up a strong fight, Ulsan’s efforts were unmatched, swiftly winning the Grand Finals with a 3-1 win.

Red Bull Golden Letters’s unique format also made its debut in TEKKEN 8, incentivising players to make high-risk plays for greater rewards as they raced to win in a first-to-three format. Competitors who managed to secure three ‘PERFECT’ or ‘GREAT’ – TEKKEN’s famous ‘Golden Letters’, instantly won the entire set in these clashes. This format meant there was always a chance for players to fight their way back for a chance at the Grand Finals, and kept the game intensity high.

The tournament was hosted by UK Fighting Games icon Jamil “Jammerz” McKenzie and featured commentary from Steven “Tasty Steve” Scott, Rasheed “Bubsy” Jenkins, Reepal “RIP” Parbhoo and Kobi “K-Wiss” Scarlett.

Following his amazing performance throughout the tournament, newly-crowned Red Bull Golden Letters Champion Lim “Ulsan” Soo-hoon commented: “I’m really happy to have won Red Bull Golden Letters. This is my fourth tournament win this year, and competing in this format was both exciting and challenging. The UK competitive scene has been amazing, and I hope that I’ll be invited to compete again!”

Red Bull Golden Letters host Jamil “Jammerz” McKenzie, commented after the Grand Final: “This year’s Red Bull Golden Letters was bigger and better than ever before. The new expanded open qualifiers created a unique opportunity for communities across Asia, Europe and North America to support local talent, and to further see the fighting game community grow.”