DRX’s Tekken pro gamer Jaemin ‘Knee’ Bae is being interviewed by Chosun Biz. / Provided by DRX
“In line with the saying, ‘Tekken is on your knees,’ we will show a good performance in the recently released ‘Tekken 8’. “Some people worry about retirement because of their age, but I want to become a long-serving gamer who shows that ‘you can be a professional gamer even in your 40s.’”
Jaemin Bae (38), a Tekken pro gamer from DRX, is more famous for his nickname ‘Knee’ than his real name. During his 20-year career as a player, he left a record of winning the world’s largest fighting game competition, EVO (Evolution Championship Series) 3 times, winning a total of 119 domestic and international Tekken competitions, and finishing as runner-up 37 times. The modifier ‘Tekken God’ was added in front of Bae’s name. Memes such as ‘Tekken is the Knee’ and ‘Knee is the Knee’ also prove Bae’s popularity.
Bae became famous by creating a technique called ‘provocative jet upper’. It is said to be a technology that even Tekken developers did not know about. When playing as the character ‘Brian Fury’, it is a technique to break the opponent’s defense with provocation and then make a final hit with Jet Upper. After Bae created this technique, Japan’s Bandai Namco Entertainment, the developer of Tekken, recognized it as an official technique.
Tekken is a game that was popular in Japan, the country of origin, and Korea, which is geographically close to the game. However, with the appearance of Arab motif characters in Tekken 7, released in 2017, it began to gain sensational popularity in the Middle East and Pakistan. Bae’s popularity also increased in the region.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) invited Bae to the ‘2024 MEFCC (Middle East Film & Comic Con)’, the largest pop culture festival in the Middle East held in the capital, Abu Dhabi. As a side event, he will face Aslan Siddiq, known as Aslan Ash (nickname) from Pakistan, who is considered his rival, at the ‘Tekken 8 Showdown Impact’ held on the 10th. Although it is not an official tournament, it is the first match to be played with Tekken 8, which was released in 7 years last month.
I met Bae ahead of his match against Aslan at the DRX office in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 7th. He said, “Because this event is a show match to announce the release of Tekken 8, I am not particularly prepared or nervous (about facing Aslan),” but added, “Starting with Evo Japan in April, a series of official competitions are held this year, and in these competitions, Aslan “I think the player is a strong competitor that must be captured,” he said. He added, “Aslan is a player with a good balance between attack and reaction and his strength is composure,” adding, “He does not make mistakes in critical moments and even creates comebacks.”
Bae chose Pakistan as an emerging powerhouse in the Tekken world. In 2019, he went on a solo trip to Pakistan 10 days before the grand finals of the ‘Tekken World Tour (TWT)’, an international tournament hosted by Bandai Namco. This is to absorb the know-how of Pakistani players and understand their strengths. The story of Bae staying in the Lahore area in northeastern Pakistan for three days and competing with 41 players, including Aslan, is a famous anecdote.
He said, “Tekken is a game where you can grow more effectively by working together rather than playing alone.” Only when people compete against each other can they learn each other’s techniques and strategies. Bae said, “Gathering in arcades and playing Tekken games was something you could easily see in Korean arcades in the 1990s, but now arcades have almost disappeared and most of them only do personal broadcasts.” He added, “When I went to Pakistan, I got to see what Korea was like in the 1990s.” “It was the same,” he recalled.
‘Knee’ Bae Jae-min lifting the trophy after winning EVO 2022. / Provided by DRX
The Tekken series was first released in 1994. Bae, who was an elementary school student at the time, is said to have first encountered Tekken while walking to an arcade. He said, “I’ve played other fighting games, but I was attracted to Tekken when I saw a bear character called ‘Kuma’ appear in it. “It was amazing that human and animal characters were able to face each other,” he said. “It was also interesting that the breathing was faster than that of Street Fighter.” He also said, “In the process of working hard to come up with a strategy to beat my opponent, I felt, ‘I am a person with a competitive spirit.’” He added, “I didn’t think I had a natural talent for games.”
It is said that even when PC games such as ‘StarCraft’ became popular worldwide, Bae could not let go of Tekken. He said, “When I was a high school student, I lived in Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, and there was a rumor that the ‘knee’ was the best with Tekken.” He added, “Adepts from Daegu who enjoy Tekken came to where I live, and I gave them 30 consecutive losses in one day. did. “I never won,” he recalled.
Bae said, “In Daegu, there was a culture of gathering at arcades and sharing skills and strategies,” adding, “From that day on, I went to Daegu every weekend to play games. I traveled to other regions and tried to learn the techniques of the masters. “People who gather together to play games have completely different amounts of information and knowledge about the game.”
He said his dream is to create a space where juniors can gather and play games, like an arcade. A space like this is essential for beginners to have fun, for players to improve their skills, and to maintain the reputation of Tekken professional gamers. “This dream is for myself,” said Bae. “I think I’m still holding on thanks to the hard work I learned in the past. “It’s not easy to do it alone,” he said.
Bae said, “When professional gamers began to be recognized as a profession, I thought, ‘It’s possible because it’s StarCraft, but it won’t happen in Tekken.’” He continued, “As a Tekken professional gamer, I received support from the club and wore a uniform. I started my career in 2017, and now gaming has developed into a huge industry, and various avenues have emerged, including becoming not only a professional gamer but also a YouTuber and director. “Times have changed,” he said.
He also asked for interest in non-mainstream games. “There is talk that the gaming industry is growing and important, but it is limited to one or two mainstream games,” said Bae. “It is too difficult for a company or team to solve it on their own.” “I hope that the categories of domestic competitions will become more diverse than they are now, and that various opportunities will be created so that students can pursue their dreams of becoming professional gamers from a young age,” he said.
