Interview with Anakin at Evo 2025: “Take that leap of faith. Enter the tournament. I promise you won’t regret it.”

The esports action never ends as Evo Las Vegas 2025 showcases top players duking out against each other for glory. One of the competitors is none other than Hoa "Anakin" Luu, and esports.gg caught up with him for an interview about this year's event and the TEKKEN 8 meta. Anakin also shared an encouraging message dedicated to all Evo attendees.

In his interview with esports.gg, Anakin said that Evo is one of his favorite tournaments because everyone shows up, including old friends who no longer compete. He likes reconnecting with the folks he first met playing in arcades as a teen, and since Sony’s acquisition, Evo has grown into an experience beyond just competition. The developer booths and new game showcases like MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls and Invincible VS, for example, make the event exciting for all fans.

"I'm also fine just sitting back and watching, but I am very curious about the new Marvel game," Anakin added. "I played a lot of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, so if the game is anything like that, I think I might actually enjoy it a lot. But for now, I like to just sit back and watch. I've also played 2XKO during the testing. And for now, I'd like to wait 'till the games come out so that I can have my alone time with it and enjoy it."

When we asked about the TEKKEN 8 competition at Evo Las Vegas 2025, Anakin said that since there aren't many sports left for the game at this year's Esports World Cup (EWC), he’s hoping to secure one with a strong performance. To prepare for the weekend, he actually ramped up his practice after Season 2 launched back in April. He's put in countless hours to adapt to the changes and said he's aiming to return to his consistent TEKKEN 7 form.

"I think as far as what I wanna do, the gameplay is not going to change, but it is important to keep up with the patches just so you can know the little changes that happen that will affect an overall tournament set," he said. "It could kind of determine everything. So you just gotta be comfortable in those uncomfortable spots."

He then recalled the Season 2 emergency patch, which played a role in restoring player trust and the player count. That season's launch frustrated a lot of players, but the game has steadily improved since then.

"The first couple years of TEKKEN are always a little volatile because they’re still working on the game," Anakin said. "And since it was in arcades before, only a small group of players really had access. But now that it’s out worldwide and there’s a lot of money on the line, that changes everything a bit. They’re still working out everything, but it’s getting really close to being the game I think everyone can enjoy."

During the interview, Anakin reflected on how his early experiences of playing arcade games at Walmart turned into a lifelong passion as well. It's amazing how something so simple became such a major part of his life. He then credited his supportive parents for allowing him to pursue video games at a time when many others couldn’t do so.

As a top competitor now, Anakin carries the support he received as a kid by encouraging others to enter tournaments.

"I meet a lot of people at these tournaments, and the most common thing is I meet people who are there for the first time. I ask them if they entered or not, and a lot of times, they say that they don't enter because they don't feel like they're ready," Anakin said. "To anyone reading, if you have reservations about entering, you should just go ahead and enter. It's fun. There's really no reason why you shouldn't. People who may not feel like they're ready or they're intimidated by it -- definitely just go ahead and take that leap of faith. Enter the tournament. I promise you won't regret it."

That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more news, interviews, and updates from across the FGC!