TEKKEN 7 E BLACK flys flag for NZ esports in South Korea

New Zealand’s latest E Black is set to launch his campaign at the ninth e-Sports World Championship in Busan, South Korea this week.

Thomas "Kor_Nnova" Choi cemented his spot as New Zealand’s E Black through his performance at the LPL4 TEKKEN 7 NZ Championship in Auckland in August.

“I am looking forward to testing my skills against the best gamers in the world,” Choi said.

“It is a big honour to be able to represent New Zealand and I will do my best to show how far gaming has come in our corner of the world.”

TEKKEN 7 is one of the three games that will be contested at the world championships with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and the popular League of Legends also on deck.

The world championships first took place in 2009 and the participation numbers have grown rapidly, which reflects the expanding popularity of esports around the globe.

This year’s event will feature more than 450 entrants from 39 countries and 28 of those countries have an entrant in TEKKEN.

The International Esports Federation operates the tournament and they have 47 member nations.

John McRae, Vice-President of the New Zealand Esports Federation, said it was exciting to see how the Kiwi talent stacked up on the world stage.

“Thomas was able to see what it takes to compete against the best when he met Choi ‘Saint’ Jin Woo from the Echo Fox team at the LPL4 Tekken 7 NZ Championship,” McRae says.

“That should serve as a good base for Thomas to work from as he eyes the world championships.”

The LPL4 Tekken 7 NZ Championship marked the first time a major fighting game tournament was televised in New Zealand.

The event drew hundreds of participants from across the country so it gave an indication of Choi’s ability and it will be fascinating to see how that translates at the top level.

The world championships officially get underway on Thursday.

New Zealand fans can watch the IESF world champs live on www.letsplay.live.

The opening ceremony starts on Thursday at 2pmand Thomas "Kor_Nnova" Choi competes in the TEKKEN 7 tournament on Saturday from 2pm - 12am.

Please click here for the full event broadcast schedule.

Links:

New Zealand Esports Federation www.esf.nz
International Esports Federation http://ie-sf.org
Letsplay.live http://letsplay.live/

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