Source: SOOP

SOOP (co-CEOs Choi Young-woo and Lee Min-won) is hosting the Tekken esports tournament 'TEKKEN STARS CUP' in collaboration with 'Knee,' a professional Tekken esports player and current SOOP streamer.

The 'STARS CUP' is built upon the 'Knee Tekken Tournament,' which Knee has hosted independently, and represents the culmination of the ongoing collaboration between SOOP and the player. Since Knee's platform migration and his joining of KRX, SOOP has consistently supported the hosting and broadcasting of Tekken DOJO tournaments. Based on this long-term partnership, both parties have been gradually expanding the scale and global competitiveness of the event.

As a result of these efforts, the tournament has been officially promoted to a 'CHALLENGER Tier' event for the Tekken World Tour (TWT) 2026—a first in about 10 years—and will receive $2000 in prize money support from BANDAI NAMCO, the organizer of the TWT. Consequently, this 'STARS CUP' will be held as the first-ever TWT Challenger Tier tournament in Korea.

The tournament will take place offline on Saturday, the 18th, starting at 11:00 AM at Freec Up Studio in Daechi-dong, Seoul. Various events, including prize giveaways for in-person attendees, will be held at the studio.

Participants in this tournament include the host, Knee, as well as players from domestic professional teams such as KRX's 'LowHigh,' DNS' 'Ulsan,' and GENG's 'MulGold.' In addition, numerous renowned professional Tekken esports players from Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, and other regions around the world are set to compete in spectacular matches.

The matches will be broadcast live worldwide, with SOOP being the exclusive platform for the official Korean-language broadcast. SOOP plans to further strengthen its mutual partnership with professional esports player and streamer Knee, as well as the professional gaming team KRX, moving forward.