Tekken pro Anakin schools Barstool Sports in the craziest way
Red Bull Esports / Bandai NamcoHoa ‘Anakin’ Luu has proven why he’s one of the best Tekken stars in the world, dominating Barstool Sports’ host Adam ‘Smitty’ Smith in multiple rounds while handicapping himself heavily in the process.
Anakin, who is currently ranked number two on the World Tour standings, joined Smitty on the Barstool Sports broadcast to talk about his history with Bandai Namco Entertainment’s fighting game, and how he’s remained relevant late into his 20s.
While chatting the pair had a few games, and Anakin proved that his decade of professional experience hasn’t been wasted – he donned a blindfold, locked in Jack-7, and went to work.
The battle itself didn’t look like anything too flashy, as Smitty came to grips with his character, while Anakin seemed to be working off just the sound of the game and his extensive knowledge of reach distances, move resets, and more.
Anakin made short work of Smitty’s Panda choice, delivering a quick 3-0 in the Jack-7 vs Panda matchup. The pain wasn’t over for Barstool Sports’ host, however, as the rank-two star reminded him tournament rules was first to two match victories.
“Might have to turn him around,” the broadcast presenter said, seemingly dejected that he’d suffered a clean sweep in the first match. He even threw a few light jabs Anakin’s way to see if he could see through the blindfold. The Tekken pro didn’t even react.
He even jokingly accused the Barstool producers of handicapping him further, after he realized the announcer wasn’t saying anything between rounds.
“Did I win again? He’s [the announcer] not letting me know ‘Round 2, Fight,’ Round 3, Fight.’ It’s like you guys have it muted to make it harder. I just hear a bear dying, and I have to assume,” the Radiance star laughed.
Slapping around a stunned Smitty without sight wasn’t the only thing Anakin did during the broadcast, however. The 28-year-old also spoke about his past with the game, and revealed he first started playing sometime between 10 and 11, when his father would take him to arcades.
Nearly a decade later, the American superstar clinched top spot at the MLG Pro Circuit event in Dallas. Nine years after that, he’s still placing among the top ranks of major tournaments.
Most recently, the Jack-7 player finished top three at the 2019 EVO Championship Series, only finishing behind title winner Arslan ‘Arslan Ash’ Siddique and two-time EVO champion Jae-Min ’Knee’ Bae. He was eliminated 3-2 by Knee in the lower bracket final.
Anakin’s total domination proves he’s more than deserving of his current top-two ranking. And now, who knows? He’s shown he’s happy doing fun Tekken streams – maybe we’ll see him playing blindfolded against T-Pain in full Leroy Smith cosplay soon enough.