 right? Someone's going 0-2. These players, explain that to me. It's hard to process that, right? Because now you take a look at both of these players. Samij qualified more through consistency than anything else with points. Tekken Master, a little bit of a different story. One Brazil game show, which really gave him all the points he needed to be able to pull. That was a massive point injection. It was that Brazil game show wins. Huge. He needed that, 100%. And very well played to him for even being able to do so. But you're looking at two NRS veterans here with multiple EVO medals and some like Tekken Master winning tournaments all over the world. First round losers. It's just not something that you would expect to see. It is. It is insane. But also a testament to just how tough this year has been for competition for these top players, right? 100%. And has not been smooth sailing for anyone by like that kind of like top three or top four, I guess you could say of the players that not only got top eight in every tournament that they were at, but they would either win them or they'd be in like top three, top four, where you know, okay, right, there's like thousands separating these players. But for 99%, especially some of the, you know, in this qualified position today, it was a slog, it was a grind, and it was constant success through it. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I saw those characters. I mean, this has got to be a button check. There's no way Samij isn't playing Cassie. Surely. We have just been told this is not a button check. We might be seeing Shang Tsung out of Samij. Is it? Is it not? Or is it going to be Samij plays Highborn Katana? That's why they were sitting, but Tekken Master plays Highborn as well. So cute. Oh, Samij is Katana. Okay. Thank you, production. Samij is going to be bringing that. Now, Chris, which variation? Because Samij played a lot of Katana early on. It's got to be Highborn, right? Fanfare, still fanfare. Okay. Very good. This is Shades of Kabul breaking for him from way back in the beginning of the pro competition. This was Samij's original name. What got him his first hot day? It feels weird saying throwback for a game that isn't even a year old. I know. But by this game's standards, this is a throwback. Samij really burst onto MK11 with Katana, right? And early on, Katana wasn't seen to be tremendously strong. But arguably one of the most buffed characters in the game is Katana. Fundamentally, has received a lot of love in every single match. And Samij was making things happen with like day one Katana. And the character has come a long way from then to now. So I'm very excited to see this. Beautiful match of knowledge, being able to just dash right through, getting that back to Punish. And then Tekken Master going with the shame, which we haven't even really seen much out of that. Tekken Master always has this huge arsenal of characters at his disposal. And goes for the Soulstealer, which we never see either. Now, I know that Tekken Master does play Katana. Tekken Master's actually been playing Highborn, I believe. Shouts to the Middle East community have really been talking a lot about Highborn as a variation. And I know that Tekken Master is the kind of player that I've been told has learned the variation to understand it more. So I definitely could have expected to see Katana coming out of Tekken Master. But also, you're playing a character that morphs into them. You're going to morph into Katana. Sure, why not? Especially if he knows how to play that character. And I'm very surprised Samij went with Katana when he seemed to be doing relatively well against Foxy Shane earlier as Yes Queen Cassie. So maybe he's just going for a different approach in the crushing blow, 25%. Just trying to inch his way towards that corner. Nice confirm. Big combo. 20% just like that. Samij. Really respectable damage. Oh, instant wake-up jump kick. That was such a Tekken Master play. And now he has the full screen. And that's what you want to shank. Especially getting someone like Katana. He has that mobility, that long-range jump, but you definitely out his owner. Oh, goes for the 1-1. Has a little bit left in the tank, but unfortunately for Samij the Sparks. Oh, no. Oh, he turned off release check. Say it ain't so. I think Samij is going to go back to character select screen. That is really unfortunate. But in terms of character choice, I think you definitely called it where there might have been elements of discomfort with Samij when it came to the original first match we saw Samij versus Foxy, which is why Samij is in the loser's bracket right now, was not a free game for Foxy, but it was quite dominant. And I know that Shang Tsung seemed to beat Digital Soldier Cassie, Yasqueen does better. It all comes down to ground eruption. Very, you know, Digital Soldier Cassie gunshot is punished by ground eruption. That's a big deal. That really sucks for the character. And then Yasqueen can punish House Sparks with the shoulder a lot better. But this might just be a comfort thing. I know that Samij's favorite character is Katana. And it's so hard to predict. Like someone like Tekken Master, you're not just dealing with the first character you see on the character select screen. You're dealing with the potential of whatever character if and when he goes down, right? The roster that Tekken Master brings in, one of the hardest players to prepare for in any tournament is a player like Tekken Master because he's going to come in with this crazy roster of characters. And you have to make sure that your pick, especially now we're in 3 out of 5, there is more counterpicking opportunities that you are willing to, you know, match whatever you pick against the entirety of that character is going to pick. And you know what, and it's really, Samij is really in a tough spot right now because going down the first game against a player like Tekken Master who, like we said, has all those characters at his disposal, you're already at even bigger disadvantage than you would normally be, but he did stick with Katana and same variation as well. Maybe he just needed some time at the character select screen to kind of figure out what to do differently. As much as I hate to point out, we did see Samij go to the control screen, so if ever you've accidentally gone into a tournament with the wrong buttons, trust me, it happens to even the pros every now and then, we'll make that mistake. The question is how do you come back from that, right? You don't want to let that kind of mistake tilt you and go, you don't want that. Especially now. Yeah, especially at the finals. In the finals, the anger in the loser's side of round number one, you don't want to make all those mistakes, you just have to let it go. Mentality is everything. Samij is just trying to open up Tekken Master. He's having a lot of trouble just staying on top of him, and even when he does, he just seems to back off a little bit too much. It's nice to see the diverse play styles from Tekken Master, because Tekken Master was known for a long time as a very aggressive, very rush down heavy player. And even when you see him play Sonya, he will not have any problem with just sitting there throwing rings the whole game. And that style transition is so well to Shang Tsung. And he goes, Samij finally starting to get ever so close. But one mistake, it just leaves him out of disadvantage. Tekken Master looking incredibly strong right now. He just, Tekken Master really just seems fine up close. Definitely off to play more full screen, but at the same time has no problem getting up close and personal against Samij. Just trying to go with these trades here. I mean, positioning wise, this is actually really bad for Tekken Master. Even though he won the first round, Shang, the kind of character that really needs the distance on, no punish on the short hop attack, but he really needs screen to do what he does best. And Samij, if he can play his cards right, this is where Tekken Master's going to stay the rest of the game. Oh no, he just missed it. It's just one whole scramble right now. Okay, finally was able to open up Tekken Master. No break way, so he has to make this hurt. He keeps the corner positioning, no anti air, and a nice grab escape by Tekken Master. We're beginning to see one of the sides of fanfare though, is overall like definitely a less than average damage out there across the board, right? You get those confirms. You have a meterless combo option, but speaking of combos, straight into that fatal blow confirmed, this is going to do a chunk. And it was the right call to use. He wants to close out this round. He doesn't want Samij to even take around here in game number two. This was the right way to do it, and he's probably just going to back off. No reason to overextend here. I mean, one ground eruption, it's over. One EX course, it's over. One throw, you get my drift. This is very dangerous for Samij now. And it is now chip out territory, and that was the height of those skulls is so perfect for a situation like that. And Samij is looking for a really rough spot. Tekken Master is playing out of his mind, honestly. This defensive play is working out really well. And it's clearly getting the better of Samij right now. Samij, you know, known for that Cassie through most of the year, and going back to a guitar now, as much as I'm happy to see it, I do wonder if maybe fanfare just isn't the right thing. If there's one person I would expect to be able to stick out with Tana and do it, it is Samij. But Samij really had the majority of his success this year with Cassie, right? That most notably that Evo performance, right? An amazing showing at Evo, and it was Cassie that led to that. And again, no, and Samij just set against Foxy Grandpa, even though he lost that set, it definitely wasn't super free. It wasn't something that could be won. And it's like Samij going to be going back to Yasqueen Cassie. It's a year, and I'm still not used to saying that. I feel like I say it wrong every time. Yeah, I just usually stick the variation to Cassie because I just don't know how I'm pronounced here. V2 Cassie from Samij. V2 Cassie. But you know what? Samij might have been going with Ketana because if he was able to edge out a game with Ketana, it would help in the counter-pick battle. That might have been a serious game plan of his. But now there's none of that left. Tekken Master's up 2-0, and a huge life lead right off the start here. There you go. Finally able to get some pressure going here. Variation 2 Cassie definitely has the potential of being much more aggressive than Ketana is. Even then, Samij finishing these full strings is definitely working out for Tekken Master. He is just so prepared for everything. And spending both bars there. I mean, he's got a huge lead in all this screen space. You can throw that far away. It does not matter. There you go. But now Samij has him in the corner. Especially with this variation of Cassie, it's a lot of grounded damage. And spending the crushing blow, definitely necessary. Wanted to close it out. And again, a comfortable match point. Tekken Master finds himself one now. The big hit, Samij. What do you do with this? Taking the knockdown. Nice quarter-life combo. And you can tell that Tekken Master is making Samij second-guess himself up close. But this is where they can change though. This is where Samij has the corner. Shang Tsung doesn't have the distance. But even on block, he's moving himself out. There you go. Nice little follow-up there. No reversal to follow-up with though. And now off of this breakaway, that is definitely a good spot if you're Tekken Master. And you'll see, the second Samij is used breakaway. Tekken Master is going for all these gap strings. Big confirm on that jump kick, Samij. Second enough, no. 1% left. That 10 health. Oh, punish. 100% going to be a punish. And Samij already looking way better off with Cassie Cage. Fight. You do hope it's not too little, too late though. It's like you said before in a counter pickers game, which you know you put yourself in against Second Master. Even if you win one game, you give that person the opportunity to go straight back to character select. But maybe there'll be enough big jump kicks for me. That's the kind of really needs, the maximum payout, maximum reward for those big decisions. And that's a mention, Samij seems much more comfortable on being able to get in on Tekken Master as Cassie Cage, as compared to when he was playing Katana. I think it's just, maybe it's just time. Oh, big ball as well. That was beautiful. Stuff like that, right? Just confidence, comfort. And this is what comes with having, playing that same character since, you know, for the majority of the pro competition. I'm sure the variation is different, but just the muscle memory is there and a beautiful crossing blow. Almost 27% Samij inching his way in. He needs to be careful though. Tekken Master is still on set point. Beautiful down four. And just jumping over, he's trying to finish this. Yeah, Tekken Master's instant breakways have been good all day. Big punish. That's not going to crushing blow because it was a punish, but decent damage. Nonetheless, that's what Chaldea... One touch in the fatal blow, but he will not have the ability to do so. And Samij with the signs of life, answering back now with Tekken Master. Yeah. Straight to the character select. I do, I actually do wonder if Tekken Master is going to be changing because Tekken Master went straight and was shang sung, presumably knowing that Samij could bring out Cassie. So I wonder if this is just to kind of like take a bit of time. Oh, we heard it. No, it's going to be Sonya Blade. Mama Blade comes out. Knowing Tekken Master, this was his plan all along. So he's going to stick it out with Warlock Shang. If he happens to go down a game, it's time to switch characters to Sonya. He played Sonya earlier on the winner's side, played really well, but just at the same time couldn't close it out. But this is where it starts getting a little dicey. You're right within victory's reach. 2-0 set point. Samij manages to make some adaptations, come back, go back to the character that he was more used to. And that was a really solid performance. So this next character pick is crucial because if he goes with a character that might not be the right call, you went from being on set point to into a game five situation. I think that's why Tekken Master's called for the coach, right? Shark Teeth coming up. Yeah. If you can have words, have them now. This is the biggest turning point of the set. If Samij wins this next game, we are even Stevens. And if not, Tekken Master eliminates Samij from the tournament and advances through. So this is the most important time to take your time, talk to your coach, see what's going on. And this is the... I think the name of the game is going to be exactly the same. Samij is just going to have to work his way in against Tekken Master just in a completely different style. I can't say it with that crushing blow nice and early. I feel like if there's one point to get hit by that crushing blow that isn't the most tilting, it is actually right at the start. Yeah. Because that's like 20% right at the beginning of the game where, I mean, one jump kick and now it's evened out, right? The good news is that for Samij at least, he has the corner position that crushing blow is out of the way and he's already trying to establish that dominance in the sweep range. And Cassie, especially this variation, is very scary when it comes to that. You see Samij breaking there. Probably not so much for the damage but many did not get himself cornered and give Tekken Master that whole screen left to work with. That's a big elbow. No crushing blow. There you go. Put the crushing blow there. One touch in the fatal blow and this will 100% be Samij's round but that goes the same for Tekken Master as well. They're just looking for one opening. That was a beautiful point. That was so smart. Perfectly timed. Tekken Master puts himself on match point. We've seen some important crushing blows used by both players. Those resources are running a bit dry. Big overhead but no. Tekken Master didn't believe. Samij looks like he's starting to fall apart here. He's taking a lot of grabs. Nice little up three flawless block there. Oh, big whiff. That's a punish. Unbreakable. Oh, no drops. The execution is starting to fail and Samij needs to stay calm and he needs to tighten up. The good news is that Samij has been one of the most patient players in our scene for a while. So this getting zoned out does not phase him. He's going to take his time. Oh, big hit there but again. Just going to take the advantage. You see both players playing it so safe. They're not going to try and whiff punish each other. Maybe a questionable time. Big hit. He's going to get down to Tekken Master. He knows the break. But no hit confirm as well. That is a disaster but has another chance to get more damage on the board. Not out of this just yet. One touch for either player should be able to close out this round. Will Tekken Master finish this set or can Samij stay alive? He's on match point. Still there's a big hit that could firm Tekken Master. With the break till blow he's going to be eliminating Samij from the tournament. He came down to that final hit. Both players were in the exact same situation. You're both 9-50 health. You're both at sweet distance. You both have the buttons. It's a matter of who can find the hit and who can just be quicker on the draw. And this time it was Tekken the Master. Beautiful hit confirm by there. Knew that he had to spend the field of blow. No reason not to at that point. And honestly, even on Samij's side he played great. I just wish we saw that Cassie Cage a little bit earlier. He just seemed so much more comfortable with that hit.