{"id":38005,"date":"2026-07-18T06:59:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T22:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techbeatph.com\/wproot\/?p=38005"},"modified":"2026-07-18T06:59:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T22:59:51","slug":"ak-underground-arena-major-pgdx-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techbeatph.com\/wproot\/ak-underground-arena-major-pgdx-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"AK To Host PGDX 2026 Tournament Before EWC Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before competing on one of esports’ biggest stages, Alexandre “AK” Laverez is returning to the local scene by organizing Underground Arena: Major, a Tekken World Tour 2026 Dojo Event, during the Philippine GameDev Expo (PGDX) 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The tournament, organized through AK’s PlayBook Events<\/a>, will take place on July 26 at PGDX<\/a>, while casual play sessions and community activities will run from July 24 to 25. Registration is now open through Start.gg.<\/p>\n

AK gives back before Esports World Cup 2026<\/h4>\n

AK enters the event as the Philippines’ sole representative in the Tekken 8 competition at the Esports World Cup 2026, making Underground Arena: Major his final major local appearance before traveling to compete internationally.<\/p>\n

Rather than focusing solely on his own campaign, the Filipino Tekken veteran is using the event to strengthen the country’s fighting game scene by creating another high-level competition for local players.<\/p>\n

Through PlayBook Events, AK aims to provide more opportunities for aspiring competitors to gain tournament experience while helping grow the Philippine fighting game community.<\/p>\n

Tekken World Tour points and international opportunity at stake<\/h4>\n

As an official Tekken World Tour 2026 Dojo Event, Underground Arena: Major offers players the chance to earn valuable circuit points while facing some of the country’s top competitors.<\/p>\n

The tournament also carries an additional incentive.<\/p>\n

The champion will earn an opportunity to compete alongside AK in one of three international fighting game events. This includes EVO Singapore, EVO Japan, and the Thaiger Uppercut in Thailand.<\/p>\n

The winner may choose which tournament to attend, providing another Filipino player with international competitive experience.<\/p>\n

Three-day celebration of the fighting game community<\/h4>\n

Beyond the main tournament, PlayBook Events is positioning Underground Arena as a gathering for players of all skill levels.<\/p>\n

Attendees can participate in casual Tekken matches during the first two days of PGDX<\/a> before the official competition begins on July 26.<\/p>\n

The format is designed to encourage both experienced competitors and newcomers to interact, practice, and celebrate the local fighting game scene.<\/p>\n

Philippine fighting games continue to grow<\/h4>\n

As competitive fighting games continue gaining momentum in the Philippines, community-driven tournaments such as Underground Arena provide players with additional pathways toward international competition while helping sustain the local esports ecosystem.<\/p>\n

AK has established himself as one of the Philippines’ most accomplished Tekken players, representing the country in numerous international tournaments throughout his career. His qualification for the Esports World Cup 2026 highlights the continued presence of Filipino competitors on the global fighting game stage, while his work through PlayBook Events reflects a broader effort to strengthen grassroots esports at home.<\/p>\n

Underground Arena: Major is supported by PC Express and AMD Ryzen and Radeon, whose partnership with PlayBook Events aims to expand opportunities for Filipino fighting game players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before competing on one of esports’ biggest stages, Alexandre “AK” Laverez is returning to the local scene by organizing Underground Arena: Major, a Tekken World Tour 2026 Dojo Event, during the Philippine GameDev Expo (PGDX) 2026. The tournament, organized through AK’s PlayBook Events, will take place on July 26 at PGDX, while casual play sessions…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":38006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23637,18],"tags":[28728,28729,22489,28735,28523,28734,28733,28731,28732,28730],"class_list":["post-38005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fighting-game","category-gaming","tag-ak","tag-alexandre-laverez","tag-esports-world-cup-2026","tag-fighting-games-philippines","tag-pgdx-2026","tag-philippine-fighting-game-community","tag-playbook-events","tag-tekken-8","tag-tekken-world-tour-2026","tag-underground-arena-major"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techbeatph.com\/wproot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techbeatph.com\/wproot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techbeatph.com\/wproot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techbeatph.com\/wproot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techbeatph.com\/wproot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38005"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.techbeatph.com\/wproot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38007,"href":"https:\/\/www.techbeatph.com\/wproot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38005\/revisions\/38007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techbeatph.com\/wproot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techbeatph.com\/wproot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techbeatph.com\/wproot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techbeatph.com\/wproot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}