The official report of the general e-sports tournament "Puyo Puyo Ranking Pro Selection Tournament SEASON 1" has arrived!

Sega Games held the "Puyo Puyo Ranking Pro Selection Tournament SEASON 1," a general e-sports tournament for the "Puyo Puyo" series of action puzzle games, a Japan eSports Pro License certified title, on Saturday, April 13, 2019, in the "Sumitomo Fudosan Osaki Garden Tower" in Osaki, Tokyo at the headquarters of Sega Sammy Group in Osaki, Tokyo, on Saturday, April 13, 2019.

The top 16 players in the Puyopuyo Point Ranking will be selected to participate in this tournament, and the fourth-place finisher will receive a professional license and the winner will have the right to participate in the "Puyo Puyo Ranking Finals" to be held on April 20 (Sat) at the Phoenix Seagaia Resort in Miyazaki, Japan. The winners will be awarded the right to participate in the "Puyo Puyo Ranking Finals" to be held on Saturday, April 20 at the Phoenix Seagaia Resort in Miyazaki.

The 15 contestants, in point order, are Yoshiken, Nikki, renna, TS, Toripan, redri, Tekku, reoru, sym, Tomokun, Shiino, Kazuki, Kiu, Abeshi, and Thomson. The tournament was played in a two-set system, with the winner taking the first two sets.


Four players, including Tekku, who has been playing Puyopuyo for about a year, advanced to the semifinals.

The four players who won the first round and the quarterfinals and earned the right to a professional license were Tomokun, Abeshi, Thomson, and Tekku. In a shocking turn of events, Yoshi Shiken, the No. 1 Puyopuyo Point Ranking player, and Kazuki, the runner-up in the "National Prefectural eSports Championship 2019 IBARAKI" "Puyopuyo eSports" General Division, Ibaraki Prefecture Special Advance Representative Round, were eliminated.

Among the semi-finalists, the most notable player was Tomo-kun, a 16-year-old who had won a tournament and whose calm and composed play from start to finish had current pro Tom saying, "Another high school prodigy has emerged. Then there is Tekku, who has been playing "Puyopuyo" for about a year. The semi-finals finally got underway with a sense that a new legend was about to be born.

First Semifinal Tomo-kun vs.
Tomo-kun, who had been playing with precision up to this point, dropped his first move and looked surprised. However, he quickly regained his composure and fought back by flexibly playing from two chains to a large chain of about 10 or so. Abeshi, not to be outdone, showed his super play, bouncing back from Tomo-kun's 13 chains with 14 chains.

After a high-level battle of 10 or more chains, the winner was Abeshi, who won the battle by winning the battle of reads. After both players came back from the game, the other players congratulated them and offered words of encouragement.

Semifinal Game 2: Thomson vs Tekku
The second semi-final match featured the veteran Thomson, known for his "Puyopuyo" series video distribution, and the young prodigy Tekku, who lost his first run, but was able to push back with a quick chain attack and an overwhelming 12-chain attack. Thomson calmly read his opponent's moves and countered with the big chains that Tekku excels at.

In a tense situation in which both players were reaching, Tekku was able to use his strengths to his advantage, and he was able to push back with a rush of chains to win the game without allowing his opponent to counterattack.

Final match: Abeshi vs Tekku
Finally, it was time for the final match for the right to participate in the "Puyo Puyo Ranking Finals. Before the game, Abeshi said, "I'm honestly happy to have made it to the finals. I'm also very confident that I could beat Tom (Thomson). I'm at a loss for words.

However, when the game began, Tekku suddenly launched an onslaught of attacks, piling up a chain of moves to take the first run. While Abeshi seemed to be unsure of when to initiate the move, Tekku attacked boldly to take the lead.

Abeshi, who was cornered, barely managed to get one back, but he was unable to stop Tekku's momentum. In the end, Tekku was able to block Abeshi's hand with a seven-chain hand to complete a double accomplishment: his professional debut and his tournament win.


There was also a surprise event in which a new pro challenged an active pro!
After the final game, a surprise event was held that even the participants were not informed of: "New Professionals Challenge Current Professionals! was held after the finals, which was not known to the participants. This was an exhibition match between Kuroro, Amemiya, Taiyo, and four new professionals. Tomokun and Abeshi challenged Kuroro, and Thomson and Tekku challenged Amemiya and Taiyo.

The active professionals won three games and lost one, a solid testament to their current abilities. The most exciting matchup was between Tekku and Amemiya Taiyo, who are from the same generation. While Tekku took the lead with two elimination or 10-chain moves, Amemiya-Taiyou took revenge with a preemptive attack and showed the strength of the active players by reaching the end. In the end, Amemiya-Taiyou won the game with more firepower than Tekku's 11 chains.

After the exhibition match, an award ceremony was held, and the four players who obtained professional licenses were presented with certificates by Mr. Hiroyuki Miyazaki, the tournament executive committee chairman. Please keep an eye out for Tekku, who will be participating in the "Puyopuyo Ranking Finals," and the other four new pros to see what they can do in the future.

Interview with the Winner, Tekku

--How do you feel about winning the tournament?
I came here with the intention of winning, to become a pro, and I'm surprised that I've made it this far and won the ...... tournament.

--What do you think was the reason for your victory?
What do you think was the reason for your victory? It was a successful strategy.

--Was there anyone you were interested in?
I was most wary of the famous player Thomson. We met in the semifinals, and I didn't expect him to win with such vigor.

--How do you plan to spend the week leading up to the Puyopuyo Ranking Finals?
I'm going to let my college friends know and have a good time, then I'll switch back to Puyo Puyo (laughs).

--Who are your rivals in the Finals?
All the pros are my rivals.

--What are your thoughts on the Finals?
I'm really happy that everyone has supported me this far, so I'd like to carry on that support and win in the Finals.

--What was the first "Puyo Puyo" series title you played?
It was "Supa-Puyo Puyo Puyo" on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was the only game I had at home, and I was playing it to kill time, and I became able to do stair stacking. I played soccer and then I left the game, but last year "Puyo Puyo eSports" was chosen (as an eSports event), so I decided to give it a try. I watched videos of famous players and tried to copy them, and that's how I ended up here.

--What made you decide to become a pro?
In the June 2018 tournament, I made it to the finals, but I lost by one run to meta. I lost to you by one run, which was frustrating."


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