Two men walked off the Las Vegas Convention Center stage on Sunday night holding records. One of them had to beat himself to do it.
Evo 2026 Results: Arslan Ash Wins Eighth Title as MenaRD Goes Back-to-Back
Arslan Ash won Tekken 8 and MenaRD defended Street Fighter 6 on finals day at Evo 2026, June 28. This closed out a weekend that drew 5,774 unique competitors from 50 countries across 12 titles.
Arslan’s run was not close. The Pakistani star, now competing under Twisted Minds, went 11-0 through a 1,355-player bracket without dropping a set. He beat South Korea’s Rangchu 3-2 in the Grand Final. Number eight ties the all-time Evo record. This puts him level with Justin Wong and SonicFox.
The character choice deserves a paragraph of its own. Arslan alternated between Nina Williams and Kunimitsu, released as Tekken 8’s first Season 3 DLC character on June 1. This was twenty-seven days before the event. Nobody had counterplay documented. Furthermore, nobody had frame data drilled at tournament speed. He brought a weapon the room had never held.
South Asia had more than one story on the day. Qasim Meer’s top-five finish marked continued growth for Pakistani Tekken internationally. The top four finishers: Arslan, Rangchu, LowHigh and JeonDDing—each locked direct qualification for the Esports World Cup 2026 Tekken 8 event in Paris. This event runs August 4 to 7 with a $1 million prize pool.
MenaRD’s night was messier and better television. Saul Mena II reached Grand Finals from the winners side against Riddle Order’s Shigematsu. Shigematsu won the first set 3-1 to force a bracket reset. Both players then picked Blanka. Shigematsu committed his Level 2 Super Art without securing a conversion, draining his Drive Gauge. Therefore, MenaRD punished the Burnout state with corner pressure to close the second set 3-0. Tech TimesThefightinggames
It is his fourth Evo championship and second straight in Las Vegas, from a field of 2,416 Street Fighter 6 entrants, with $40,000 for the win. No other player has won four Evo titles inside a single game era.
Full bracket breakdowns are available via EventHubs’ Evo 2026 results log. For continuing coverage of South Asian representation on the global circuit, see our esports news desk.
