Esports: From local arcades to Las Vegas - Kiwi Dragon Ball FighterZ game set to take on world's best

Players compete in the 2016 EVO event in Las Vegas.

Ajith Siva has played against the best fighting game players in New Zealand and now he wants to take on the world.

The 29-year-old has been playing fighting games for nearly a decade after starting in local arcades in Wellington.

He has enjoyed his share of success recently and won a Tekken 7 tournament at Redzone Rumble 2 last year.

His focus has since turned to Dragon Ball FighterZ and he won LetsPlay.Live's Wellington Regional Championship tournament last Wednesday.

Siva is a web developer by day and will head to Las Vegas in August to compete at the Evolution Championship Series, commonly referred to as EVO.

EVO is a fighting game event where more than 10,000 people from across the world compete during the three-day tournament.

Ajith Siva, left, along with Mitchell Phease.

"EVO is the biggest fighting game tournament of the year, in the world," Siva said.

"I'm mainly going as a spectator just for the experience, it will be great if I can create some upsets as a participant as well."

No Kiwi or Australian has finished inside the top three in an EVO event, which goes to show how much tougher the competition is on the international stage.

When it comes to Dragon Ball FighterZ the best player on the planet is Dominique "SonicFox" McLean, a 20-year-old American who is part of the Echo Fox gaming roster.

"In a tournament game I wouldn't touch him. In a First to 10 set I might kill a character or two," Siva said of SonicFox, illustrating his superior skill.

Before Siva heads to EVO he will take part in the Dragon Ball FighterZ National Championship next week at the LPL Studios in Auckland. Siva plays under the alias of "Blackout".

"I think I have a good chance of winning nationals," he said.

"The competition is tough, my regular sparring buddy is "Toash" who won the Auckland regionals and so I think with enough practice I can take it out. I will try to meet the expectations of everyone."

The gaming community in New Zealand is a passionate group and Siva said it was exciting watching it grow in recent years.

"It's great, I've made so many great friends and rivals over the years I've been travelling across the country for tournaments. We also have a fantastic, albeit small, scene down here in Wellington and the guys are very welcoming."

For those gamers who were yet to take on a fighting game tournament, Siva suggested they just got stuck in.

"Fighting games are tough to get into but they are just amazing to play. I'd highly recommend coming to a local tournament and getting to know the players."

The winner of the nationals will join Siva at EVO in Las Vegas and the Christchurch regional event will take place on Wednesday night.

The top two will advance to the national finals next week.