TEKKEN 8 tournament rules
Last updated 24 October 2026
Based on the official TEKKEN 8 esports rules and adapted for Zenith events. The general tournament rules also apply, and where a tournament page sets its own details, the tournament page applies.
Format
- Double elimination. A player who loses in the winners bracket drops to the losers bracket; a second loss eliminates them.
- Matches are best of 3 games. From the top 8 onwards (winners semi-finals, losers bracket from round 1 of top 8, winners final, losers final and grand final) matches are best of 5.
- Grand final: if the player from the losers bracket wins the first best-of-5, a second best-of-5 is played to decide the champion.
- Played on the latest version of TEKKEN 8 on the platform shown on the tournament page (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S or PC).
Game settings
- Versus mode, Tournament settings on Default, with In-Battle Status Settings on.
- Rounds: 3 out of 5. Time limit: 60 seconds per round. Stage: random.
- Special Style is allowed. Character customisations are off; preset costumes are allowed.
- If a game ends in a draw from a double KO or time out, it does not count and is replayed with the same characters.
Characters and sides
- The winner of a game must keep the same character. The loser may change character, which brings a new random stage.
- Either player can ask for a blind pick for the first game: both tell an organiser their character privately before choosing.
- Players agree on sides (player 1 or 2). If they cannot, best-of-3 rock, paper, scissors decides, and the choice holds for the whole match.
Pausing and interruptions
- Pausing the game, on purpose or by accident (including unplugging your controller), loses you the current round.
- If the interruption is outside the players’ control, such as a game crash or another controller, the game restarts at the same round count.
- If a round was already decided when the pause happened (the final hit had landed with no more inputs possible), the round stands.
Controllers
- Bring your own controller. Turbo, macros and programmable functions are not allowed.
- One button may not trigger several inputs, or a direction and an attack together. Organisers may inspect controllers.
- For online events, play on a wired internet connection. The lobby host is the higher seed unless both players agree otherwise.
Coaching and timing
- Coaching is allowed only between games, only for the player who lost the previous game, once per match for up to one minute.
- Coaching during a live game forfeits that game after one warning.
- Be ready within 10 minutes of being called, or the match is forfeited.
Official sources
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