eSports: Tekken 7 E-Black Set to take on the world

Thomas 'Kor_Nnova' Choi iand Choi 'Saint' Jinwoo.

New Zealand's latest E-Black is set to launch his campaign at the ninth e-Sports World Championship in Busan, South Korea this week.

Thomas "Kor_Nnova" Choi cemented his spot as New Zealand's E Black through his performance at the LPL4 TEKKEN 7 NZ Championship in Auckland in August.

"I am looking forward to testing my skills against the best gamers in the world," Choi said.

"It is a big honour to be able to represent New Zealand and I will do my best to show how far gaming has come in our corner of the world."

Tekken is one of the three games that will be contested at the world championships with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and the popular League of Legends also on deck.

The world championships first took place in 2009 and the participation numbers have grown rapidly, which reflects the expanding popularity of eSports around the globe.

This year's event will feature more than 450 entrants from 39 countries and 28 of those countries have an entrant in Tekken.

The International e-Sports Federation operates the tournament and they have 47 member nations.

John McRae, Vice-President of the New Zealand Esports Federation, said it was exciting to see how the Kiwi talent stacked up on the world stage.

"Thomas was able to see what it takes to compete against the best when he met Choi 'Saint' Jin Woo from the Echo Fox team at the LPL4 Tekken 7 NZ Championship," McRae says.

"That should serve as a good base for Thomas to work from as he eyes the world championships."

Kor_Nnova will have the opportunity to equal the ledger at the world champs as Saint will be representing South Korea.

The LPL4 Tekken 7 NZ Championship marked the first time a major fighting game tournament was televised in New Zealand.

The event drew hundreds of participants from across the country so it gave an indication of Choi's ability and it will be fascinating to see how that translates at the top level.

The world championships officially get underway on Thursday.

New Zealand fans can watch the IESF world champs live on www.letsplay.live

IESF Broadcast Schedule
Opening Ceremony - 2:00pm to 3:00pm, Thursday
Group Preliminary (LoL) - 3:00pm to 10:30pm, Thursday
Group Preliminary (CS:GO) - 2:00pm to 11:00pm, Friday
Tekken 7- 2:00pm to 12:00am, Saturday
LoL 3rd Place2:00pm to 11:00pm, Sunday
LoL Final - 2:00pm to 11:00pm, Sunday
CS:GO Final - 2:00pm to 11:00pm, Sunday
Closing Ceremony - 11:00pm to 11:30pm, Sunday