Japanese esports association Care recently held its 12th biannual tournament, featuring the hit game Tekken 8, which was livestreamed on the association’s official YouTube channel. As Game*Spark reports, what’s so peculiar about this tournament is that all of its participants are senior citizens. This tournament saw 92-year-old Hisako Sakai taking the winning trophy.
The Care association is a Mie prefecture-based organization whose goal is to “create an environment in which the elderly can casually participate in esports.” According to their official website, this comes as an effort to promote the wellbeing of the elderly and aid them in living healthy and active lives. Their first tournament was held in 2019, with the participants competing in online matches of Shogi and Othello (Reversi), complete with a full-on professional broadcast and commentators.
Care’s 11th esports tournament, held in summer this year, brought a new challenge to the competitors with the introduction of Tekken 8, and it seems like they’re enjoying duking it out in Bandai Namco’s classic fighting game. The most recent tournament, held this November, saw 8 grandmas and grandpas clash in one-on-one Tekken 8 showdowns, with the oldest participant being 95-years old. Care esports tournaments are currently held twice a year across Mie, Aichi and Gifu prefectures, but the association hopes to be able to host a full-blown national tournament in the future.
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