Kim “Kkokkoma” Mu-jong claimed his first Tekken Masters tournament title at the Fighting Games Challenge in Poland this weekend, but it wasn’t easy for the Korean player.
Fighting from the winner’s bracket, Kkokkoma faced Japanese player Takumi “Noroma” Hamasaki in the grand finals. Noroma took third place at the Taipei Major last week so he was carrying some momentum into FGC.
Noroma looked strong in the first game, finishing it off with Jack -7’s Rage Art finish.
But Kkokkoma was able to bounce back and took the next game with a quick 3-0.
Noroma started to adopt a more defensive patient style, and baited Kkokkoma into overextending, and then countering with quick combos for big damage, taking the next two games, and ending the first set 3-1 and resetting the bracket.
With the reset, Kkokkoma had a change of heart and switched to Kazumi, who he was playing for most of the tournament. With better mix-ups and quicker punishes, Kkokkoma raced out to a 2-0 lead, although Noroma kept it close in both games.
With Noroma on the ropes, Kkokkoma started playing more aggressively in the final game. The two players traded blows throughout the final round, but this fantastic read and counter punish on Noroma’s missed poke sealed the deal, giving Kkokkoma a 3-0 in the final set and his first ever Tekken Masters victory.
With the win, Kkokkoma earned himself US$2,500 and 300 Tekken points, putting him 6th on the Tekken World Tour rankings. Noroma won US$1,250 and 220 Tekken points, putting him in joint 4th place with Yoon “LowHigh” Sun-woong.
The next Tekken World Tour event will be the Thaiger Uppercut Challengers event in Bangkok, Thailand, this weekend from June 22 to 23.
