WUFL Tekken 7 Day 1 Recap

The third week of the WePlay Ultimate Fighting League Season 1 started with extremely hype matches during the Day 1 of the Tekken 7 tournament. Eight players from Group A battled it out for the four coveted playoff spots. Let’s look at all the best moments that happened today!

Qualified From Group A

The Full Standings at the end of Group A

WUFL Tekken 7 Day 1 Recap

Arslan Ash was the main favorite coming into Group A. Every opponent sang the praises of his power level, and they were entirely correct: the Pakistani Evo champion was the first to clinch the playoff berth. However, he didn’t do it as flawlessly as he would have hoped – after defeating his primary opponent Saint, he, in a bout of complacency or entirely on merit, lost the set against Caiper. That dropped match shouldn’t deceive anyone, though, as his Zafina was the cleanest and deadliest of all the performances we have seen today. Anyone unfortunate enough to meet him in the playoffs should make himself ready.

Saint, the grizzled veteran of the scene, didn’t come out of the gates swinging like Arslan. Yes, he won his bout against KiraKira, but he had to work really hard for it, and he looked rusty while doing it. However, the more he played, the more his confidence and abilities grew. During the latter parts of the day, Saint was again the methodical destroyer everyone knows him as. That said, he did lose against Arslan Ash in what was an incredibly close series.

During his pre-groups interview, KiraKira promised us some exciting bikini-clad Eliza action, and boy, did he deliver. His sleepy vampire was skipping and jumping all over the place, delivering devastating combos in the process. Overall strong showing let him get third place over his Spanish rival Caiper, who lost a single round more.

Someone who’s definitely going to be disappointed by his display at WUFL Season 1 is Book. The most recent Evo Japan champion couldn’t find his rhythm since the very beginning. He started the tournament with Jin but quickly realized that he’s not working. However, a switch to Leroy did him little good, as his constant misplays during the crucial times hindered him from winning the matchups he should have won. The final defeat against KiraKira put paid to his chances of making it into the playoffs.

We didn’t have a 7:0 in Group A, but we did have another 0:7. Hometown hero, Ukrainian borissonic, came to the WUFL as a sudden replacement, hoping to have his breakthrough tournament in Kyiv. Ultimately, he fell short of the task, losing all his matches. He did, however, entertain thousands of viewers that will surely remember his name for the future.

Top Matches of Day 1

Saint vs. Arslan Ash

Ever since the groups were announced, the battle between Saint and Arslan Ash was going to be the main attraction of Group A. Two former Evo champions, two top players from their regions, meeting for the first time ever. Both of them were very keen to knock their opponent down a peg and establish their dominance over the group. Saint won the first match, delivering the perfect beating to his opponent in the final round. But for Arslan, this was merely a setback. He gathered himself and clutched it out when both of the opponents had a match point.

KiraKira vs. Ghirlanda

WUFL is a serious tournament with very high stakes, but that doesn’t mean fun can’t be had. Evidently, both KiraKira and Ghirlanda were on the same wavelength when they picked the outfits for their fighters, Eliza and Katarina, in the matchup that was perfectly described by the commentators as the peak of degeneracy. And that was even before Ganryu had any say in the battle!

Most Valuable Player of Day 1

Caiper

It is rightly said that winning is what matters in the very end. All the players that made it into the top-8 can be equally content with their showing. It would be easy to just slap the title of MVP to dominant Arslan Ash or Saint. But we feel like it’s what Capier did that deserves recognition: he was the only competitor that managed to take down mighty Arslan Ash. He wasn’t far from defeating Saint too. His Feng’s unexpected Reverse Kenpo caught his opponents off-guard time and again. Now he should think long and hard: if he managed to beat Arslan Ash, why can’t he beat everyone and grab himself the WUFL champion title?

WUFLS1 Tekken 7 Day 1 Highlights

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