Despite seeing diminishing numbers in the United States, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 continues to pull huge crowds in other regions, most notably Japan. With signups for this weekend’s MASTERCUP.7 closed as of September 21, we now have a good look at how attendance for the latest installment of the annual tournament series has shaken out.
According to the event’s official website, 176 teams have registered to compete, meaning a total of 880 players are ready to throw down in the popular 3D fighter.
Since its inception in 2007, MASTERCUP has become one of Japan’s premier Tekken events, regularly drawing enormous crowds of both competitors and spectators. In fact, attendance has continued to grow even over the past few iterations; 625 took part in the competition at MASTERCUP.5, a number that grew to 750 at the following event.
The scene’s dedication to MASTERCUP is also reflected in the level of talent these tournaments regularly exhibit. The sixth installment saw players like FRB|AO, Nobi, Yuu, Genkids, and many more come together to compete, resulting in some of the fiercest competition Tekken Tag Tournament 2 has seen since launch.
It’s unclear whether the game’s continued success in Japan can be attributed to the surviving game centers (they use the Unlimited arcade version), the country’s relatively consolidated fighting game community, or some other factor, but one thing is for sure: it’s great to see competition, no matter the title, continue to thrive.
MASTERCUP.7 is scheduled to take place this Sunday, November 3, at 8 AM JST. A live stream will be provided through Twitch.
Source: MASTERCUP via Katsuhiro Harada