The Tekken Online Challenge circuit has finally come to an end with its final stop in the Philippines.

While the country is known for big names like Alexandre “AK” Laverez, the TOC PH open tournament showcased some homegrown fighters who were ready to show off their skills to the world.

In the grand final, local phenom Hapon of Bren Esports went through an EWGF gauntlet against Omega Esports’ Jules. Despite Hapon coming from the lower bracket, the Geese/Leroy player managed to secure the reset and the 3-2 victory.

Game one started off with a great showing by Hapon and his Geese Howard. The Bren player quickly obtained the no-round brown with simple pokes against Jules’ flat-footed Marduk.

With no luck on the wrestler, Jules switched to the Mishima old guard, Heihachi. Being able to bring it to a final round, Jules caught Hapon in a beautiful time-out win with some safe defense.

The Omega player continued his domination into the next game, locking down on Geese’s most punishing moves. By taking a small backdash, Jules pulled out an insane whiff-punish EWGF to gain the lead.

To try to even things out, Hapon switched to the more agile character of Leroy Smith. Putting out more tricky moves with the Wing Chun master, Hapon parried, swept, and initiated a Rage Drive wall combo to claim the insane great round.

While Jules was able to bring it right back with a quick switch to Jin, Hapon knew his way around the semi-Mishima. Jules may have gotten an early counter-hit combo, but Hapon’s Leroy answered with an out-of-nowhere orbital kick that claimed the reset.

By the reset, things went back and forth between the two Filipino players. Even with Jules getting ahead in the final series, Hapon utilized Leroy’s flashy pokes to get out of tough situations.

With Jules now getting more sharp on his counter-attacks, the Jin player was able to go into championship point with a simple command grab that Hapon did not see coming.

With his back against the wall, Hapon played it safe for the next two games, using safe and long-range attacks that could stagger Jules’ flow. After a life-saving parry trap, the Leroy player blocked Jules’ hellsweep and initiated a game-winning punish.

Now down to the final game of the tournament, Hapon was more than ready to win. From his impressive use of Leroy’s b3 screw kick to his Twin Dragon Gate parry, the Bren player quickly got the health advantage. As soon as Jules tried to dash in for a quick punch, Hapon caught him in a championship-winning orbital kick combo.

With the win, Hapon goes home as the well-deserved champion of the Tekken Online Challenge Philippines with a cash prize of US$500.

The Bren player had a chance to double his earnings with a final boss battle in Doujin, but Doujin’s Lei Wulong stood tall as the Philippines’ final boss with a 2-0 win.

With the Tekken Online Challenge now over, we’ll likely see Bandai Namco announce a new tournament circuit for 2021 soon.

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