M. Zubair from Pakistan emerges as TEKKEN 8 Champion at EWC 26

• Khawaja "M. Zubair" has gone through a Last Chance Qualifier early in the EWC 26 TEKKEN 8 tournament
• Thanks to impressive play, M. Zubair reached the Grand Final, facing South Korea’s Yoon "LowHigh" Sun-woong
• The Pakistani player emerged as the EWC TEKKEN 8 Champion with a 5-0 win against LowHigh

The rivalry between South Korea and Pakistan in TEKKEN, the famous fighting games franchise, has been ongoing for years.

At the recent Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026, Pakistan made a decisivemove after AG.AL’s Khawaja "M. Zubair" emerged as the TEKKEN 8 Champion.

The Pakistani player has gone through a Last Chance Qualifier

M. Zubair faced Yoon "LowHigh" Sun-woong from South Korea at the TEKKEN 8 Grand Final during EWC 26.

The former ultimately dominated with a 5-0 win against LowHigh, despite nearly falling out of the tournament earlier on.

Early in EWC 26, M. Zubair nearly failed to qualify and had to go through a Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).

In a bracket-reset game, he faced fellow Pakistani TEKKEN 8 player, Nauman "Numan Ch" Chaudhry and emerged as the winner, successfully securing a place in the main event.

From this last chance, M. Zubair progressed with impressive performance and he played against some of the best TEKKEN 8 players in the world.

Before appearing at the EWC 26 TEKKEN 8 Grand Final, M. Zubair had a single loss from Takaba Keisuke from Japan.

During the tournament, the Pakistani professional esports player’ two-time win against the modern legend, Arslan Ash, completely shocked the TEKKEN community.

The first time the two played, M. Zubair emerged with a 3-0 win but during the semifinals, he beat Arslan Ash after a significant deficit for a 5-4 reverse sweep.

The 5-0 win at the Grand Final against LowHigh earned M. Zubair a significant share of the $1m prize pool.

At the same time, the Pakistani player’s win positioned AG.AL at the top of the Club Championship standings.

His exceptional performance at EWC earned him the famous Jafonso Award, a distinction that is awarded exclusively to EWC champions who secure their Championship status after an initial LCQ.

Besides the prize and the lion share of the $1m tournament award, M. Zubair also received an extra $50,000 for the prestigious award.

Image credit: Esports World Cup