Bandai Namco Apologized for Disqualifying a Chinese Tekken World Tour Player

This year's Tekken 8 tournament, Thaiger Uppercut (TGU), has got unprecedented attention these two days, thanks to an official apology by Bandai Namco for their behavior of disqualifying a player xiaochenchen XCC right before he marched to the top eight. 

As this 18-year-old young man's first international event since joining TeamEssence, a Southeast Asian Esports organization, XCC achieved a winning streak by defeating all the opponents. His march suddenly had to stop, not because of any misbehaviors, but because his nationality is China, a country that is not on the long list of 189 countries whose residents are qualified for the event. 

The reaction and support by the community are strong enough to be not overlooked. With the hashtag #JUSTICEforXCC, Twitter users have expressed their anger and disappointment over the decision. One user said: "There's absolutely no justifying having a player compete all the way up into top eight winners and then being disqualified because of his native land. There should be no barriers on where are from to compete in a game we all love!"

Finally, the organizers decided to change their minds, apologize, and invite the player to Tokyo so he could compete in the Last Chance Qualifier. Tekken Director Katsuhiro Harada also made a statement regarding the situation, saying that the team will "make every effort to increase the number of participating countries in the future."