Arslan “Ash” Siddique crowned ESPN’s Esports Player of the Year 2019

Arslan Siddique, famously known by his gamer tag Arslan Ash, is a 24-year old from Lahore, Pakistan who recently took the world of Esports by storm.

Ash embarked on his first international Tekken tournament: KOF GCC 2018 in Muscat, Oman, and hasn’t looked back ever since.

2019 has proved to be a remarkable year for the gamer, as he has stolen the spotlight in the world of Esports.

This year, the Tekken star went on to win both the Japanese and the US-based Evo Championship Series tournaments. By doing so, he became the first Pakistani to win in a large international games tournament.

Even though his journey to Japan for EVO Japan 2019 in February was extremely rocky, he still managed to perform at his best to steal the show.

He braved visa issues, five flights, and a two and a half-day journey to reach Japan just hours before the competition began. His struggles weren’t over just there, as he then struggled to exchange Pakistani rupee for Japanese yen and still managed to deliver a breakthrough performance.

It was Ash’s first massive tournament, and he managed to claim victory and win the Championship in his first attempt. This allowed him to get a lot of exposure, and he earned praise from many legendary Tekken players.

On his quest to win both the Evo Championships, he defeated the world-renowned Tekken player ‘Knee’ four times to put his name on top of Tekken tournaments around the globe.

The ESPN Esports Awards, which took place on December 20, highlighted the best performances and moments of the year. Arslan “Ash” Siddique won fan polls and Esports choice amongst 3 other players including Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, Xiaomeng “Liooon” Li, and Jay “Sinatraa” Won for their incredible performances in Fortnite, Hearthstone, and Overwatch respectively.

It’s unanimous! @ArslanAsh95 is the best #esports player of 2019. 🏆Read about him here: https://t.co/LA7GflZjdb pic.twitter.com/KZUhzVxJOI

— ESPN Esports (@ESPN_Esports) December 21, 2019

He bagged over 60% of the votes in a Twitter poll on his way to be crowned the Player of the Year. He is now the first Esports Player of the Year from Pakistan, and also the first Red Bull Athlete from the country.

.@ArslanAsh95. @bugha. @sinatraa. Liooon (@lxm1996). They all had outstanding years. Who’s your pick for the best #esports player of 2019? Read more about our finalists: https://t.co/LA7GflZjdb And cast your vote:

— ESPN Esports (@ESPN_Esports) December 20, 2019

Having spent just over a year in the world of competitive gaming, it’ll be interesting to see where Ash heads next in his quest to become the best Tekken player of all time.