Interview with Malik Ash: From Pakistan’s arcades to Alliance on the TEKKEN 8 world stage

Malik Ash is officially part of Alliance as the esports organization's TEKKEN 8 player, and he cannot be more excited. In an exclusive interview with esports.gg, Malik Ash talked about his TEKKEN journey, what it takes to practice for tournaments, the current meta, and his thoughts on both the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) and this year's TEKKEN World Tour (TWT)!

In his interview with esports.gg, Malik Ash described joining Alliance as the proudest and happiest moment of his career so far. He also revealed that instead of being recruited by the organization, he had taken the initiative and reached out to team's owner, Kelly Ong, back in October 2024. He not only shared his strong tournament results in Pakistan with Ong, but also his hopes of duking it out on the international stage as well. Then, after only a few months, the opportunity finally came through.

"Joining Alliance is a proud moment and the happiest feeling I've had this year and in my career," Malik Ash said, adding how his journey mirrors many other players from Pakistan.

Speaking of starting out in Pakistan, growing up, Malik Ash duked it out in TEKKEN alongside players like Arslan Ash and Atif. He then gradually improved through local tournaments before turning professional in 2019 and competing under an American organization in 2023. Now, he brings more than 14 years of experience to Alliance.

"It's the same story for every TEKKEN player in Pakistan," he told esports.gg. "We all know each other from [around] 2011, 2012, when I used to go to school. All the TEKKEN players who are now the stars and well-known [at the] world level — we all used to play from that time. So we know each other."

Interestingly, the interview took place right after a TEKKEN 8 practice session at one of Arslan Ash's boot camps. Malik Ash also said that he regularly trains at various other boot camps and arcade centers in Lahore. His practice routine matches what Arslan Ash once shared in another esports.gg interview. That is, Malik Ash also trains about seven to eight hours a day!

Right now, Malik Ash is also active as a coach on the Metafy platform. He said that this role is quite helpful for improving his own gameplay. For example, when his students face challenges, he searches for solutions that often reveal new strategies or problems that he hasn't noticed before. To him, coaching is both a learning experience and a way to contribute to the fighting game community (FGC).

Building on his coaching experience, Malik Ash shared his thoughts on the current state of TEKKEN 8's meta as well. "Currently, TEKKEN 8 needs nerfs to every character, whether it is my main character Leo or Anna, Dragunov, or Claudio," he said. "The game is really in a bad state as a competitive thing. It is like a casino game or like a 50-50 mix-up that forces us to guess every time."

He continued, "But the good thing is the development team and the tuning team [are] currently working on this, and we are getting balance patches back-to-back. They are listening to feedback, so I'm happy that the last patch was in a direction of defensive improvements. I think after one or two months, TEKKEN 8 will be in a good state. It's in an average state right now."

Malik Ash also recalled TEKKEN 8's Season 2 emergency patch. To him, the excessive buffs removed control and strategy from matches, creating situations where whoever pressed buttons faster had the advantage. This led to calls for nerfs, even if they affected his main.

As noted, this year’s iteration of the EWC draws near. Malik Ash told esports.gg that his first priority is to qualify for it. He added that many organizations share this goal. The tournaments selected for the EWC are part of the TWT 2025 circuit as well, which means placing well in these events benefits both competitions. For example, finishing fourth in a tournament could qualify him for the EWC while simultaneously earning points toward the TWT standings.

After qualifying for the EWC, Malik Ash said that he plans to really lock in on TWT. He spoke about the importance of staying competitive throughout the year because there are tournaments after the conclusion of EWC 2025.

Malik Ash also told esports.gg that one of his favorite moments was playing alongside Knee during the latter's visit to Pakistan. Plus, he earned third place in a major Pakistani tournament, beating Atif, the TWT 2024 and EWC 2024 runner-up, and took second place at Daira 2024, where Arslan Ash placed first. These achievements made last year one of his best competitive seasons.

"The first time I had the chance to play with Knee when he went to Pakistan, I was really happy," Malik Ash said. "And now, with team Alliance, it really, really makes me happy every minute of my life. I am very happy. I just want to give my best so that my team also feels proud of me."

As for parting words, Malik Ash shared his wish for the TEKKEN scene and the FGC as a whole to grow stronger with events like the EWC. He said that the EWC has improved tournament prize pools and visibility, attracting more players and organizations.

"So I wish that the EWC can continue for more years so the tournament series will go on and fighting game tournaments will keep happening. That's my life. I don’t want to live a life without TEKKEN tournaments and fighting games," he told esports.gg.

That's all for now. Stick around for more interviews, news, and updates on the FGC.