Knee laments about the state of Tekken 7

Since his release two months ago, Leroy Smith has dominated not just the Tekken 7 ladder but also tournaments as well. EVO Japan 2020 had only two players from its top 8 that didn't use the character. Also, when asked for a comment, this year's Tekken champion, Nopparut "Book" Hempamorn advised players to use the Wing Chun master. 

Leroy recently received a couple of nerfs with the recent version 3.20 patch, but several players, including pros, have lamented that these changes barely put a dent in the new fighter. Popular South Korean player Jae-Min "Knee" Bae has stated that only 5-10% of the required changes were made to Leroy in that patch, leaving him still in a dominant position. 

Knee is known for his ability to persevere no matter the changes that arrive in the game. He considers all Tekken 7's DLC characters a little bit overpowered, but Leroy seems to be the feather that broke the camel's back. In his ten years playing the game, he's always been able to overcome challenges after a lot of training. That was until the arrival of Leroy. The Wing Chun master has taken a lot of fun out of the game for him. 

Knee took the time in a stream to lament about Leroy’s dominance in the game and how it is adversely affecting his experience with the game. According to him, many players have dropped Tekken 7 because of Leroy and other DLC characters like Akuma and Geese. Yet, he still considers Leroy to be the worst of the bunch. That’s because, unlike Akuma and co, Leroy isn’t a guest character but an original explicitly created to join the growing cast.  

Using EVO Japan as the perfect example, Knee explained how he did use Leroy in the Qualifiers Stage, but eventually dropped him out of guilt. Turning to Steven and Zafina, however, he didn’t make it to the Grand Finals. Knee, like many other top tier players at the event, lost to a Leroy player. 

Although Bandai Namco has already released one update featuring nerfs, Tekken 7 producer Michael Murray officially confirmed that there would be two more patches that will bring even more changes to the game. Patch 3.21 will be the first to arrive in mid-February, while no date has been shared for the second yet. Murray also confirmed fan speculation that the changes introduced in version 3.20 were in fact made before EVO Japan 2020. 

One good take away from the whole Leroy saga is that Knee has found a new interest in creating content that explores his ideas on how Tekken 7’s cast should be buffed or nerfed. The arrangement is a bit unexpected, but it does mean that Knee will not be quitting the game in frustration anytime soon.