After some surprises in Qualifier One, the TEKKEN 254 Circuit continued with Qualifier Two on 23 February 2019 and produced some more milestones for some of its players. RMP | Shoryuken rebounded from his worst ever Circuit outing in Qualifier One to finish fourth, his best performance on the Circuit so far, while Furious Monkey made it to the Top 8 for the first time as he finished fifth. Frost came third for the second consecutive tournament as he lost out on that seemingly elusive second place to DVK, who also came back from his worst ever Circuit performance in Qualifier One.
The Challenger Division saw the introduction of Yoshimitsu main Wraith who blew past the competition to win the tournament, including promotion contenders Kafikan and Komrad_Vadim, who continued their rivalry in entertaining fashion during the Losers' Final as the latter announced his win with a hilarious pop-off.
The Premier Division draw for Qualifier Three was conducted earlier this month and produced what is arguably the toughest pool ever drawn on the Circuit, with five previous Top 8 finishers all set to clash in Pool D.
POOL A
Maintaining second place in the overall rankings, Frost will be looking to continue his good run of form against AP | PR1EST. The two have previously met on the Circuit four times, once in the pool stage, with their series of sets tied at 2 wins and 2 losses each. Joining them will be Furious Monkey, who finds himself in the same pool as Frost for the second consecutive tournament, as well as Poker Face, who finds himself in the same pool as PR1EST also for the second consecutive tournament. Furious Monkey and Poker Face will be facing off for the first time since Qualifier Three last season.
XiT | QueenArrow and Overhaul | Deno_dev rounded off the draw for Pool A, with the two set to play each other for the first time as the latter spent Season Two in the Challenger Division. Deno_dev will be facing Furious Monkey, PR1EST and Poker Face in the pool stage for the second time this season, the latter two for the second consecutive tournament. QueenArrow will be facing both Frost and Poker Face in the pool stage for the second time overall.
POOL B
With another convincing tournament win under his belt, AP | Mickey will be the overwhelming favourite to advance from Pool B in first place. He will be facing Overhaul | In4red for the first time in the pool stage, and the first time since the Circuit Finals last season. T-Vets | Battousai and Proto-G are also likely to mount a serious challenge for that second Top 8 spot, with the former facing In4red in the pool stage for the third consecutive tournament and the latter facing Mickey in the Circuit for the third time overall.
Challenger Division newcomer Lowlife finds himself in the same pool as In4red and Proto-G for the second time this season (each player on separate occasions), the latter for the second consecutive tournament. Pip Squeak will be facing In4red for the third time overall and Battousai for the first time since Qualifier Three last season (if he shows up, that is; he has not been able to appear for any tournament so far this season).
POOL C
Pool C saw perennial Top 8 finishers Darktempest and DVK paired together. Surprisingly, the two have never faced each other on the Circuit before and will both be looking to get out of the pool in first place. Having beaten DVK in pools at Qualifier One, Stanley Styler might just have a say in that matter should he be on his best form on the day. He will also be facing Darktempest on the Circuit for the first time.
Community veterans T-Vets | Chuma Mzee and T-Vets | Nick Fury (formerly Flurryfists) also join Pool C, meeting for the first time since Round Two of Season One. It has also been over a year since Chuma Mzee last faced DVK on the Circuit, with the same going for Flurryfists and Darktempest. Darktempest and Chuma Mzee will meet for the first time since Qualifier Two last season, while DVK and Flurryfists are set for their fourth Circuit meeting, the last going the former's way at Qualifier One this past January.
The Pool C draw ended with PseudoDude, who is yet to appear at a tournament this season. He finds himself in the same pool as Darktempest for the second time this season, while he is set to face both DVK and Flurryfists for the first time since Season One.
POOL D
Pool D is without a doubt the toughest "group of death" drawn on the Circuit so far, with Xstar, AP | Tony, RMP | Shoryuken, Lord Vega and Tiz all set to battle it out for the two available Top 8 spots. All five have previously finished in the Top 8 on more than one occasion, and all but Tony have previously finished in the Top 4. This will be the first time since Round Two of Season One that Shoryuken, Vega and Tiz all find themselves in the same pool, while Xstar and Tony are set to meet on the Circuit for the fourth time (the first time in the pool stage since Round One of Season One).
Pool D will be full of third meetings between players. Shoryuken will play both Xstar and Lord Vega on the Circuit for the third time, with the same going for Tony and Tiz. A third meeting is also on the horizon for Xstar and Lord Vega as well as Tiz and Shoryuken, though the latter memorably walked out on his first meeting with the former at Round Two of Season One in February last year. However, Tiz and Xstar as well as Tony and Lord Vega will play each other on the Circuit for only the second time.
Joining the fun in Pool D will be RobbyM$, who is set to face Xstar, Shoryuken and Tiz in the pool stage for the second time this season, the first for the second consecutive tournament. He is also set to play Lord Vega on the Circuit for the first time since Qualifier Three last season, and Tony for the second time this season.
SIGN UP TODAY
Registration for the Challenger Division remains open to all who wish to join the TEKKEN 254 Circuit, with deadline for Qualifier Two set for the end of day on 21 March 2019. If you would like to know more about the Circuit and participate, click here for more information.
(NOTE: Previous versions of this article incorrectly stated that RobbyM$ would be facing AP | Tony on the Circuit for the first time, and referred to T-Vets | Nick Fury by his former pseudonym, Flurryfists.)
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