Esports: Kiwi Tekken player relying on unknown factor for World Championship

Dan Saeidian is heading to the IeSF Esports World Championship in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in November.

Dan Saeidian hopes the element of surprise will help him at the IeSF Esports World Championship in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in November.

The 18-year-old recently claimed victory at LPL Pro's Tekken 7 Esports World Championship NZ Qualifier to earn the right to perform as an E Black in Tekken.

While inexperienced on the world stage, Saeidian said that would help him given there would not be a lot of information available about how he played.

On the flipside, he had studied many of the world's top players.

"If I know the player - not personally - then I will definitely have the upper hand, considering they don't know how I play," he said.

"So they need to adapt quicker than I do to how they play; because I know how they play, based on their performances in other tournaments."

Saeidian, who plays under the screen name "DanBanter", said he would undertake plenty of study before the world championships.

"I will research each country's representatives and the characters they use and ask local people for practice against those specific characters.

"The fact that my performance there will affect the view of people on New Zealand's esports is quite overwhelming, but I've got what it takes to do well."

More than 1000 gamers from at least 50 countries are expected to attend the IeSF World Championship in November. Last year's New Zealand champion Thomas "Kor_Nnova" Choi finished fourth at the world championships in Korea.

Choi's performance was one of the best by a New Zealander at the event.

Saeidian was tipped as a player to watch at the New Zealand qualifying tournament and he said that weighed on him.

"Some doubt circled my mind during a short period of time but now I feel much more confident.

"To be honest, I could've played better. There were a lot of missed opportunities where I could've made things go quicker in my favour."

Saeidian had to fight his way back from the loser's bracket after losing to Kavin "KYO" Li in the semifinals. Saeidian's 3-2 win over Jamie "Zarzob" Joe in the final loser's round was a big moment and gave him plenty of momentum heading into the decider.

In the grand final, Saeidian got his revenge as he topped Li 3-2 to take the national crown.