Jeon “JeonDDing” Sang-hyun is one of the more beloved members of the Tekken pro scene. From being a buff fitness enthusiast to an Eddy/Lucky Chloe main that dances on his opponents, JeonDDing is a prime example of someone who values the holistic experience of being an FGC pro player.

In an UYU interview, the Korean player opened up about his journey in the Tekken world. JeonDDing rose to fame as an Eddy specialist in 2018, traveling on his own savings, and winning big events like SEA Major Singapore and CEO Orlando. He eventually caught the eye of FGC org UYU.

“I think I am lucky that I could find my team relatively quickly compared to other players,” said JeonDDing. “For a lot of players who want to get sponsored, they need to go to an international tournament, but the price for going to an event requires almost a month of salary.”

Heading into 2019 as a proud member of UYU, JeonDDing had his eyes set on the Tekken World Tour Finals. While he also competed in Street Fighter along with his Tekken runs, the player decided to cut out his SF play-time to focus on his main game. Since the TWT Finals only invited players with the most points, JeonDDing sent himself on a mission to rise through the ranks for the rest of the year.

His obsession to reach the TWT Finals came as a double-edged sword. If he reached the goal, it would mean that he could finally rise as one of the best players in the Tekken scene. Unfortunately, he fell short in points for the TWT invitation.

“My mind was too focused on the finals rather focusing on my game,” stated JeonDDing. “Because I was worrying way too much about this tournament [Dreamhack Atlanta] being my last chance, I ended up losing my first game in my bracket. The pressure made me not perform my best.”

With the pressure finally breaking his winning mindset, JeonDDing decided to rest for two weeks before the finals. Although he ended up losing to Filipino pro Alexandre “AK” Laverez in the TWT Last Chance Qualifier, he felt that he wasn’t as nervous as before and was actually able to enjoy the tournament more.

Entering 2020, the UYU pro wanted to be more in tune with his playstyle and grind out the game like his org mate Yoon “LowHigh” Sun-woong. JeonDDing even went as far as finding better characters to use in his tournament runs, namely Leroy and Julia. He eventually abandoned Leroy, and kept Julia as a pocket character to his Eddy and Lucky Chloe.

Despite the sudden halt of the 2020 Tekken World Tour in light of the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic, JeonDDing felt that his life didn’t change much. The player would still stream and work out as part of his normal schedule. Of course, he still misses the offline competitive events he frequented, and thinks that Korea is more than ready to revitalize its local scene.

Bandai Namco eventually canceled the 2020 Tekken World Tour in exchange for a safer, online alternative in the Tekken Online Challenge. The UYU player went on to win Season 3 of the AfreecaTV Tekken 7 League, and participated in the TEN x Dynamic Busan 10v10 battle, where he managed to wipe out half of Bae “Knee” Jae-min’s team with Julia.

With 2021 just around the corner, JeonDDing has set high goals for the next potential Tekken World Tour: Win two Master tournaments, two Challengers, and maybe Top 8 in the TWT Finals.

Though he might be gearing up to be one of Korea’s finest fighters, JeonDDing still embraces his funny and charming stage antics.

“I just want to say that I do all those things to have fun with the players and the viewers, so I hope you guys enjoy it,” explained the UYU player.

You can check out the two-part video interview here:

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