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| Screencap from IESF's YouTube Channel |
by Drew Malihan
MANILA - Alexandre "AK" Laverez punched his ticket to the International Esports Federation (IESF) World Championship 2023 Tekken 7 Grand Finals Friday in Iasi, Romania.
The 22-year old defeated South Korean representative Oh "Meo-IL" Dae-il in the semifinals of the tournament with a clean 3-0 finish using his signature Shaheen.
AK found himself in a tight spot in the second set, with Meo-IL leading with two games to none, but a turnaround Rage Art combo did wonders for the Filipino, who since just lost one game to win the series.
The Playbook Esports standout swept the group stage earlier this week, beating Rafael "Exiszt" Rafaeljan from the Netherlands, Arshia "AFK" Afkari from Iran, Donald "Doni1212" Struga from Albania, South Africa's Jonathan "CactuarkiDD" Brown, and Israel Moshe "King Isra" Moncada Andino from Honduras.
AK directly qualified to the Round of 32 where he beat Rafael "Fuco" Fusco Yanez of Venezuela 2-0 before a close 2-1 affair with Denmark's Michael "Whale" Tran..
Before meeting Meo-IL, the Filipino dealt another 2-0 beating of Greece's Marios-Dimitrios "Nivek" Bitsikokos.
Assured of USD 6,000 and a second-place finish, AK will try to get the second IESF Tekken 7 Title for the country against Pakistani standout Atif "Atif Butt" Ijaz.
This will be the third time a Filipino went to the finals of the IESF World Championships since AK's Playbook Esports teammate Andreij "Doujin" Albar won the 2017 edition and then a runners-up finish in 2019.
Follow him on X: @drew_corner
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