Gaming
esports
The unlikely rise of Arslan Ash, the greatest Tekken player on Earth
From the gaming arcades of Lahore to winning two EVO tournaments and being named ESPN esports athlete of 2019, the Pakistani prodigy reveals all about his inspiring journey to the top.
Everyone loves an underdog. Whether it's real life or films and books, we never grow tired of hearing these stories. Always uplifting and inspiring we find ourselves rooting for our hero to overcome all the odds and rise to the top.
Well, just like rooting for Frodo in Lord of the Rings or Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire, Pakistanis have found themselves cheering on the young Tekken champion Arslan Ash.
Ash, born Arslan Siddique to Muhammad and Khadija Siddique, is a 24-year-old young gun from Lahore who's become the world’s best Tekken player. Coming from a middle-class family, Ash, with support and encouragement from his parents, was planning to become a doctor. However, being a huge gamer since his early childhood days, he could regularly be found in the gaming arcade in front of his house.
“When I was four-years-old, there used to be gaming zones in front of our house,” says Ash. “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. 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
He says he was an A+ student until matriculation and by his mid-teenage years he was also very well known in the local gaming circuit. “People used to say this little kid comes and beats everyone at the game. So, I was good in studies as well as gaming. But [then] there was a national-level tournament with the name of Pakistan Tekken 6 Grand Masters Championship (GMC). This was the biggest tournament in Pakistan and I won it. After that, everyone started recognising me. Then I started going to other cities for gaming and became popular in Pakistan."
However, this success in gaming caused his studies to suffer. Around this time, his father passed away, so his mother and two elder brothers ran the house, with his mother working as a tailor and a painter.
Ash reminisces about his childhood and how his father would be strict while his mother let him play games because he had real talent.
Despite resistance, he continued playing and winning city, district and national-level tournaments in Pakistan, establishing himself as the man to beat. When his friends suggested that Ash should try for international tournaments, he didn't have the money or the resources to do so.
My family said I had wasted their money… But I thought to myself 'I'll show everyone that I picked the right path'
“I did not have the money. So, I spoke to my friends about it. 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 in this."
And so, Ash embarked on his first international Tekken tournament: KOF GCC 2018 in Muscat, Oman, where players competed in King of Fighters, Street Fighter and Tekken tournaments. Ash’s belief in himself paid off and he won the Tekken tournament and even scored fourth place in King of Fighters.
Ash almost became a doctor before turning to esports full time
© The Videographers
But with success, life took a dramatic turn. Ash now had to make a crucial choice that would dictate his life for years to come.
“When I went abroad to play the tournaments, I had to pick one thing. Either my studies or the tournaments. Because you cannot be perfect in both. Also my studies were now at higher level because I was doing CA [Charted Accountancy]. I did not get good grades in the medical field so my mother suggested instead of going for dentistry, I should go for CA because I could earn more in that field,” says the Tekken hotshot. “No one in our family was a CA. She said 'You are sharp and you can utilise your mind in this field'. I cleared one module, but when I started travelling internationally, I had to pick one: gaming or CA. So I picked gaming instead.
“My father had passed away by then, and my mother wasn't happy with me because in Pakistan people don’t know about gaming. But I knew I would earn more this way. My mother became depressed over my decision. My family said I had wasted their money because they invested a lot in my studies. But I thought to myself 'I'll show everyone that I picked the right path.'
“You become what’s written in your fate. 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
Ash understands that to survive on the esports scene, he needs to ensure he takes 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. After making his name known in Oman and Malaysia, he participated in the OUG Tournament and PLG Tournament 2018 in Dubai. He won both of them and, intriguingly, it was at OUG where Ash would have his first encounter with Jae-Min 'Knee' Bae, the Tekken legend from South Korea.
I feel proud that I chose to pursue my passion
“At OUG, the world’s number-one player, Knee, was also there. We faced each other in the grand finale. I was nervous, but I somehow won the competition. This brought me fame. The international gaming world now took some notice that there was a guy named Arslan. Even then not many knew it."
Things changed drastically when Ash went to participate in EVO Japan 2019 in February. 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.
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
But Ash wasn’t done yet. He went on and won EVO USA 2019, as well as defeating Knee four times, including matches at OUG, EVO Japan and finally EVO USA.
Ash shares one story about his journey to the US. “You know how difficult getting a US visa is? I got it with a lot of trouble. I had to go for World Showdown of Esports (WSOE) 2019 and after a week it was EVO USA.
“Just a week before my flight I lost my passport with the US visa stamped on it. 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.
For everything I have done, 80 percent credit goes to my mom
“When I arrived in the US, I was already losing since I hadn't appeared in the first round. And then I was so jetlagged I just couldn't perform at all.” And yet Ash still came in 7-8th place in WSOE. Then for a week, he prepared for EVO USA and won the tournament.
There's still no stopping Ash as he has made history after being the first Pakistan-based athlete to join the Red Bull family. “It’s a dream for a gamer to be signed as a Red Bull athlete. At least it was my wish to get sponsored by Red Bull because they have a huge presence in the gaming industry. So, this partnership with Red Bull is like joining my family.”
The young Tekken master’s words echo with a confident humility as he sets his sight on the next dream to fulfill. “I always move forward with a dream to achieve. 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."
Having recently won ESPN's esports esports athlete of the year award for 2019, it's clear that the world is Ash's oyster right now. With Geese and Kazumi being his loyal go-to characters for competitions (even though his favourite player remains Nina) and with eight hours of daily practice, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Ash make more headlines in 2020 and beyond.
Apart from gaming, Ash also likes to stay fit. As gaming involves hours of sitting in one place, it’s important that an esports athlete maintains their health: "I want to show the world that as an athlete, I am fit. My goal is that I go to gym because you know, fitness is important for gaming."
Lastly, after facing so many odds and overcoming them, Ash now feels grateful. “After my father, my mother brought me up. 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.
2024 is set to be another big year for Arslan Ash
© Mind Map Communications
“It's completely because of my mom’s prayers and Allah. I feel so blessed that I have achieved so much. For everything I have done, 80 percent credit goes to my mom."
With such an inspirational story and his ‘overnight’ success representing about a decade's worth of hard work behind him, how does his mother feel today?
“Now she is very happy and she is telling everyone that her son won the EVO championship and I'm very famous in my area. I have now told my mother to stop working. Now she spends her time enjoying life like she should."
