From Brazil to Pakistan and beyond: “The energy at Final Kombat is just something that is really hard to replicate anywhere else.”

After an intense day of battles in the Mortal Kombat Pro Kompetition 2023-24 circuit's Final Kombat Group Stage, the top players advanced to the next phase of Final Kombat 2024! As these competitors duked it out live, their fans and supporters cheered them on. Read on for what attendees had to say about the esports action plus the 2024 Final Kombat Group Stage results!

After celebrating Guilherme "GuiExceptional" Sartor's victory at the Final Kombat Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ), Bruno "KillerXinok" Sousa shared his thoughts about the event with esports.gg. At Final Kombat, KillerXinok is among the top 20 players to earn a coveted spot in the Group Stage. When asked about his journey, he enthusiastically noted that having three players from Brazil in the Group Stage is a historic first.

"Yeah, that's the first time it's happened," KillerXinok said. "And it's so good for us because we can hang out, we can talk to each other, we can coach each other. It's a little different from what we are used to, so it's a new experience for us. I feel like we are good [in terms of] rising in Brazil at a tournament level."

KillerXinok continued, describing the Mortal Kombat 1 scene and meta in Brazil. "It's not as big as in the United States or other countries, but it's strong and we are passionate about the game. It means a lot to us. We have our own playstyle and that's different from the United States or Europe or somewhere else in the world. We are playing different characters. GuiExceptional plays Ashrah that the other countries don't play a lot."

In addition to himself and GuiExceptional, the other player from Brazil is Pedro "Zeeus" Ribeiro. "I'm cheering for both of them," KillerXinok said.

Unlike the Final Kombat LCQ, the Final Kombat Group Stage took place at the Toronto Metropolitan University Theater. While entering the venue, players, spectators, and guests received a goodie bag featuring items such as a golden Scorpion Funko Pop, a customized Final Kombat water bottle, and a figurine.

One of these spectators was Asad Ullah "asadun10" Naweed, who traveled to Toronto from San Francisco, California. He also wore a Mortal Kombat Pakistan (MKPK) t-shirt designed by his crew from Pakistan. In his interview with esports.gg, asadun10 revealed how the competitive scene in Pakistan is strong, with top players frequently matching up against the best internationally. According to asadun10, one of MKPK's best players, Azam "IChuckBassI" Khan, nearly qualified for Final Kombat, but was knocked out in the Middle Eastern finals.

"One of our competitors, who is easily the best player out of Pakistan that we have — he came very close to qualifying for Final Kombat this year," asadun10 said. "And unfortunately, he got knocked out in the Middle Eastern finals so he wasn't able to be here. But it's a thriving scene in Pakistan. I think we have a number of really good players who frequently match up with some of the top players, so it's really good to see that."

Asadun10 described the distinct vibes of the Mortal Kombat 1 scenes in Northern and Southern California as well. In his personal experience as a player who dukes it out semi-competitively in Northern California, he still finds strong opponents to create combos with and play against. He then described the atmosphere of Final Kombat.

"The energy at Final Kombat is just something that is really hard to replicate anywhere else," asadun10 said. "So I'm very, very happy to be here."

In terms of who he's rooting for, it's Dominique "SonicFox" McLean. He recalled how he had randomly matched up with the legend a couple of weeks ago in an online match.

"And I just let my controller go and started taking pictures of the stream," he continued. "Like, there's no way I'm going to win this one, so I may as well take proof that I've actually played against SonicFox. Real hype, Sonic — you are going to get this. Undefeated in Group A. I'm hoping to see him carry it all the way to the finals."

Elsewhere at the venue, Final Kombat commentator Ryan "Ketchup" Neal was watching the Final Kombat Group Stage matches even during his break. He shared his thoughts about the Final Kombat LCQ with esports.gg, noting that it was a mixture of the expected and unexpected. While many players performed as anticipated, GuiExceptional's success was a surprise to him. However, he affirmed that GuiExceptional was the absolutely deserving champion of the LCQ.

"The difference between the LCQ players and those that qualified is preparation isn't as plentiful," Ketchup continued. "You haven't got as much time to prepare for it. So very curious to see how GuiExceptional performs today especially as he's in the last group."

Ketchup also said that he hopes to see European or international representation in the Final Kombat Finals on June 16. "SonicFox is going into this and not as a clear favorite, which is very new,” he continued. “But it's all going to result in a pretty ridiculous finals tomorrow, I think."

Here are all of the results of the Final Kombat Group Stage. From Group A, SonicFox and Faysal "Faysalkombat" Mawlawi made it to the Final Kombat Top 8. Meanwhile, Jordan "VideoGamezYo" James and Nicolas emerged from Group B. Jarrad "NinjaKilla212" Gooden and Daniel "TheMightyUnjust" Taibot advanced to the next stage from Group C. Finally, Matías "Scorpionprocs" Martínez and Zoulfikar "Xombat" Dayekh emerged from Group D.

The Mortal Kombat 1 esports action continues on June 16, so be sure to stick around on esports.gg for more news and updates!