Interview with Neia - France's next Tekken prodigy

One of the biggest reasons why we love Tekken so much is its ability to give us new stars out of nowhere. This is how Arslan Ash burst onto the scene, how the entire Pakistani community kept giving us new world-beaters every year, and how Europe kept evolving.

Evo France, which started last year, ended up being a revelation: not only was the event itself cool, but the vibe around it was immaculate. And there, we saw the first Evo appearance of the up-and-coming French Tekken player, Neia. She wasn't exactly unknown before, because of her association with Kayane, and because every event has lots of eyes on them. But it's her gameplay on her beloved Lili that made everyone say, "Wait a minute, she's incredible!"

Unfortunately, her run stopped at the exact same place two years in a row. But on the way there, Neia defeated incredible players, veterans, and powerhouses who thought themselves top-8-bound.

We had an opportunity to interview her after her Evo France 2026 run:

Last year, Evo Nice was the tournament where a lot of people first learned your name. This year, you’ll already have a weight of expectations. Does it feel different knowing people will actually be expecting you to make a run? 

Coming back to Evo Nice after finishing 17th last year was a different experience. I was proud of my result last year, and I knew some people had expectations of me this time. I tried to give my best again, and ended up with the same result.

You finished 17th at Evo Nice last year in a field of more than 2,500 players. Looking back now, what do you think you did particularly well there, and what would you do differently with hindsight? 

I think what I did well last year was that, even though I was still new to the offline scene, I wasn’t afraid to face certain players. This year, what I wanted to do better was manage my emotions and try to maintain a good mindset until the very end. Last year, whenever I lost, I tended to give up on the tournament quite easily. This year, I didn’t want to make the same mistake again, even if I ended up in the losers’ bracket.

You recently finished 5th-6th at UFA, your best result at a major so far. Did anything about that tournament make you feel that you had reached another level as a player? 

I think UFA confirmed to me that I’d become more consistent against strong players. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m proud that I managed to achieve that result.

Your competitive career started incredibly quickly after Kayane noticed you at one of her sessions last year. Was that the point where Tekken started being something you knew you wanted to make a career of? 

Before meeting Kayane, I always loved the game and gradually started taking it more seriously, even though I wasn’t planning on competing in tournaments yet. Meeting her and getting into offline competition really changed the way I saw the game. I love the community; I’ve had amazing experiences at events, and opportunities I never would have imagined. So I think that’s when I started making a career out of it.

Kayane has gone from being the person who first spotted you to being a mentor. We all know how good she is as a competitor, as a commentator, a community figure. But how good is she as a mentor? 

Kayane is an incredible person and mentor. She’s helped me a lot, especially when it came to helping me fit into the community when I was just starting out. She also shared her experiences as a competitor with me, so I’m really grateful to her. Having someone like her in my life really makes a difference.

You beat Kayane and then Lancelot during that first session, despite having very little tournament experience. Did you already realise how good you were back then? 

I knew I was at a pretty high level before I started competing, since I’d been playing online for years and had reached a high rank. But before getting into offline competition, I couldn’t really measure my actual level. So when I played against Kayane and Lancelot, it gave me confidence, but I had no idea what would come after that Kayane Session. I was happy to see that my online level translated to offline play, and that I could perform just as well, if not better.

Why Lili? What attracted you to her? Was it gameplay, her style, visuals, or anything else?

Lili wasn’t the first character I picked when I started playing Tekken 7, but she was the character I stuck with because I really liked her personality and fighting style. I also loved how much we could innovate with her combo routes, which isn’t necessarily something you can do with other characters. That’s why I chose her.

How good do you feel Lili is in the current meta? What are her best and worst matchups?

She has really good movement, good damage, and I think she’s a good character overall. I’d say her main weakness is that her moves don’t track that well, so opponents can move around her quite easily. As for matchups, I think it depends a lot on the player. Personally, Lars and Feng are the matchups I struggle with the most. I have a really hard time against those characters. However, I wouldn’t say that any matchup is impossible. One matchup I really enjoy is Asuka’s. I almost never lose against that character.

What are your overall thoughts on the direction Tekken 8 faces with some of the franchise’s biggest development names no longer being there? Do you pay attention to all of this, or do you prefer to play and master whatever’s presented to you balance-wise? 

I think Tekken 8 Season 3 is heading in a good direction. Season 2 was too focused on aggression. Some characters were way too strong for no reason, Anna being one example, and there were also moves that were bugged. I do pay attention to these things because I still want to enjoy the game I play, but I think we have to adapt because we don’t get to choose the patches. Tekken is still a game that’s very close to my heart, as I’ve been playing it since I was a child, so honestly, I don’t think I could ever stop playing it, even if I’m not always happy with the patches. I still want Tekken to evolve in the right direction, and I hope that’s what happens.

“Teammate” is a rare word in FGC, yet your Vitality teammates are Jeondding and KingReyJr. How good are they, and how would you describe them? 

Jeondding and KingReyJr are incredible players. The first time I met them was also the first time I got to play against international players, before I joined Vitality. At Evo France 2025, they both made the Top 8, and I was really happy for them. Jeondding is a very thoughtful player. When I play against him, it’s honestly really difficult to find an opening in his game, and I hope to reach his level one day. My matches against KingReyJr. are usually pretty close, but when I lose, I can still understand why, so it’s always an experience I learn from. He’s also a really good player. They’re both very kind to me and always support me, so I love them both, and I’m really happy to be part of the team now.

Your rise has been very fast, which also means people have started attaching words like “prodigy” and “future star” to you very early. Do those expectations motivate you, annoy you, or do they not matter at all when you start playing?

It doesn’t really affect me. I always try to give my best at tournaments and learn from both my losses and my wins. I’m proud of how far I’ve come in just one year of offline competition, but I know I’m still learning and gaining experience over time. I know people are understanding towards me and recognise my talent as well, so I don’t put pressure on myself because of those expectations.

How do you feel about essentially repeating last year’s result, especially given that the losses came against Rangchu and Bilal, two incredibly seasoned veterans who have won plenty of events? 

Of course, I would have liked to do better than last year, but I’m still very proud of my result. They are both incredibly strong and experienced players, so playing against them was a good learning experience. I still have a lot to improve on, especially mentally, but I’ll take what I’ve learned from this tournament and keep working to do better next time.

Anything you’d like to say to the increasing number of your fans? 

Thank you for all your supportive messages and kind words. It really means a lot to me, and I’m happy to know that some of you find inspiration in me!