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EVO 2022: Chia-Chen 'ZJZ' Tseng KOFXV champion interview

After his championship win at EVO 2022's KOFXV Grand Finals, ZJZ shared thoughts on returning to physical competition, and the state of King of Fighters.

TJ Denzer

August 10, 2022 5:35 PM

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When the dust settles on any game headlining EVO, only one player can be victorious. For King of Fighters XV, the player left standing at the top of the heap was none other than Chia-Chen “ZJZ” Tseng. Coming out of Taiwan, ZJZ is no stranger to King of Fighters or fighting game competition. Tseng handily brought down the Top 8 of KOFXV, including defeating two fellow Taiwanese players to claim the championship. Afterwards, ZJZ was kind enough to talk to us about returning to physical competition, and how he feels about the current state and future of KOF.

Notable in ZJZ’s answers were that he was happy to return to physical competition. It was a daunting task to go through so many competitors to make it to the final championship finish, but also exhilarating. ZJZ was thrilled to be at EVO and be able to make his victory happen on the main stage, and before the eyes of all of those watching both in-person and around the world.

One of the funnier aspects of EVO 2022’s King of Fighters XV Grand Finals was that ZJZ came up against not only a fellow Taiwanese player in Lin "E.T." Chiahung, but they both used the exact same team in their final epic showdown. ZJZ took the time to share his thoughts on what he thinks of King of Fighters XV’s balance and meta with this in mind. He also let us know what he thinks of the future of the franchise, sharing his thoughts on who he’d play after the multiple content reveals for the game at EVO, including Samurai Shodown characters, Shingo Yabuki and Kim Kaphwan. ZJZ shared that he’s particularly interested in what Orochi Shermie (who was released this last weekend) can do and will be training on the character.

Want more EVO 2022 videos like this King of Fighters XV champion interview? Be sure to follow our YouTube channels at Shacknews and GamerHubTV for our latest video interviews, reviews, unboxings, gameplay, and more on the latest video games, technology, and toys.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.