Even though Malekith hasn’t been active lately, he shouldn’t be under anyone’s radar. With Tekken World Tour Last Chance Qualifier approaching, playing in his home country might give him extra strength and lead him to getting a great results, similar to his achievements from a few years back. Other than the TWT finals we talked about the tour format, Season 2 changes and the Dutch community.

Hi Malekith, thank you for joining the interview! We haven’t seen you competing for a while, what have you been up to?

I have been busy with work lately, so I don’t have much time to compete at tournaments. Currently I’m working 8 days straight. The last international tournament I attended was in March at Brussels Challenge Major Edition 2. But don’t worry I will be at the TWT finals!

If we can’t talk about the present, let’s talk about the past! Please share your best Tekken memories from the previous titles.

I started playing competitively in the Tekken 5 days, but Tekken 6 is where I started to shine. My best memory was at Damagermany 2010. During that tournament I beat two of the best players in Europe and I had a really close set with Knee while playing only with Asuka. Although I lost against Knee, it was by far my best match I have ever played, since every game was going till the last round. A few years later I won EU Damagermany which was the last international Tekken 6 tournament in Europe. Attending SVB 2010 in UK was also one of my personal highlights. After winning that tournament Harada came to me and said he was really impressed with my Asuka, since he had never seen an Asuka player winning a tournament before.

 How active is the scene in the Netherlands nowadays?

Although currently I’m not that active myself, the scene here definitely is. There is a decent amount of offline sessions and some local tournaments being held here. We have around 20 active Tekken players.

What about the most famous Dutch tournament, Red Fight District?

As far as I know, there won’t be any Red Fight District tournament organized in the future anymore. The organizer is just very busy with his personal life. But hey, you never know, right?

Who are the top players in your country?

Malekith: We have some really solid players in the Netherlands. To name a few: Kyoko Manjii, Hasaldo, Art of Ace, Alucard, Wogus, Tristan, Sofiane and Action Paxion. In my opinion people need to watch out for Kyoko Manji. In the past he has proven to be one of the best players in Europe. We also have 2 solid Polish players living in the Netherlands: Bati and Pychu.

We are getting closer to the Tekken World Tour finals which will be taking place in your home country. How important for Dutch players it is that the event will take place in Amsterdam?

I still can’t believe that the event will take place in Amsterdam. Pretty much all of the Dutch players are hyped about it! Some of the players have never met any of the international players before and now they have a chance to meet the best players from all over the world. Personally, I can’t wait to see all my friends again and meet new international players.

I feel like the Last Chance Qualifier will be the biggest Tekken tournament in Europe. Do you have any insight on how many players are planning to come to Amsterdam?

Unfortunately not. But I already know there will be a lot of players attending the last Chance Qualifier in Amsterdam. You can count on it that pretty much all of the best EU players will be at the TWT final event! And for anyone who haven’t visited Amsterdam before, try some of the typical Dutch snacks  like frikadel, herring, kroket, Dutch fries, bitterballen and stroopwafels.

What are your thoughts on Tekken World Tour in general? How do you like the current qualification format with no regional restrictions?

The great thing about Tekken World Tour is that more people are traveling and competing at tournaments. Thanks to this tour more unknown players are getting more exposure. I think the previous format is more hype than the current one. I know a lot of players don’t like the no regional restrictions format. As for, me it really doesn’t matter. If you want to be the best then you need to beat the best.

How do you like Season 2 so far? Asuka has been buffed… a bit…

I really like the new changes in Season 2, the game feels so fresh again! Asuka being buffed this season is amazing! The only thing she is missing now is a solid 10-frame punisher. This is by far the best Asuka in any Tekken game. Dimeback getting 2nd at SCR 2018 shows how good she really is during a tournament setting. I’m excited to play her at the next coming tournament which will be held at Dutch Comic Con in November.

Wouldn’t she be just too strong with a big 10f punisher? SS+2 is still safe, f,f+3 has been buffed…

She doesn’t need a big 10 frame punisher, but give her at least 1,2 NC. But then again, I really can’t complain about Asuka since her buffs are really good! SS+2 still being safe is a bit unnecessary, but her ff+3 CH into a tailspin is crazy. 

What about Paul’s changes? Even though he has been nerfed, people still place him high.

Paul is still a top 10 character for sure. He got some nerfs and buffs, but in general he still plays the same. Nerfing his deathfist and b+1,2 was necessary. But buffs like f+1+4 into deathfist is really good. Paul is still a powerhouse and a great tournament character for sure.

Thank you, Malekith! See you next month in Amsterdam!