The Tekken Online Challenge showcased its final wave of American competitors with the US West.
The grand final was a fierce battle between Venezuelan juggernaut Jose Ismael “El Negro” Uzcátegui and NA native Moon “Binchang” Chang-bin.
While El Negro was aiming for a bracket reset, Binchang went all-in with his Claudio and Fahkumram pocket pick to finish out the championship series with a 3-1 scoreline.
Game one
In game one, Binchang immediately found success with his Claudio. Despite being chipped down into his rage mode, the Binchang instinctively ducked under a punch and launched El Negro into a stage-traversing combo that ended with a killing Rage Art.
Even with El Negro landing his orbital kicks and getting the health advantage, Binchang turned things around once again with a beautiful Cross Arm Impact that punished the Leroy player.
Game two
With the Leroy player completely downloaded, Binchang went to town in the second game as he poked away at El Negro with a well-timed hopkick and a cornering wall splat. While El Negro was able to initiate his rage drive, Binchang closed out the no-round brown with a simple interrupting punch.
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Game three
With his back against the wall, El Negro switched to his more confident pick of Master Raven. Now utilizing Raven’s elaborate mobility, he connected the counter-hit wake-up sweep and claimed his first game with a signature Blind Ghost.
Game four
Binchang opted to close things out by switching to Fahkumram. Even though El Negro was able to deal a ton of damage with a Rage Drive to wall-break combo, Binchang managed to counter her follow-up grab and do two ground-and-pounds on her. The Fahkumram player eventually ended it all with a simple jab combo.
With the championship win, Binchang comes out as the TOC US West champion and takes home US$500 as his cash prize. With the new format, the Claudio player went on to face the final boss of Michael “MYK” Kwon and won the final best-of-five, doubling his earnings at the tournament.
The Tekken Online Challenge continues with the game’s home country of Japan on December 5-6.
READ MORE: Italian pro, Mitrust Storm, wins the Tekken Online Challenge EU Southwest
