Olivia Richman 
Tekken 8 might need a new game director, with Katsuhiro Harada saying he’s quitting the game after taking a tough exhibition match loss to Twitch streamer Lily “LilyPichu” Ki
LilyPichu says she was hesitant to take on Harada in an Evo 2024 exhibition match. Her hands were even shaking in some of the VOD footage. Despite that, the Tekken 8 area took a break from intense matches in the main tournament to stream the Sajam Tekken Slam: Beat-A-Pro. During this event, Tekken creators were called on stage to face other skilled players. The final match saw Harada being called on stage to take on LilyPichu.
The surprisingly exciting match went back and forth until LilyPichu came out on top. While LilyPichu was overjoyed with the win, Harada seemed frustrated by the loss. The host gave the mic to Harada, who looked ready to talk smack.
“I quit this game,” Harada said.
Despite some viewers clowning Harada for “losing at his own game,” a lot of fans said in Twitch chat that the match was exciting. The streamer and developer put on quite a show, leading to some crowd-pleasing moments.
Is LilyPichu good at Tekken 8?
LilyPichu is a very good Tekken 8 player, reaching the rank of Mighty Ruler in the in-game ladder. This would place her above the 90th percentile among players.
Despite Lilypichu sounding humble upon winning the match against Harada, it should be noted that she is a huge fan of Tekken 8. Since the game’s release, Lilypichu has been streaming her ladder matches. She reached Mighty Ruler rank before attending Evo thanks to pro PhiDX acting as her coach.
LilyPichu played Lili while Harada stuck to Feng.
In the best-of-five match, Lilypichu pulled off some impressive combos. Despite Harada responding with some skilled maneuvers that would be tough for a less-skilled player to pull off, Lilypichu scored a perfect round against the Tekken creator. In the fifth round, Lilypichu excited the crowd with a Rage Art. Getting that against Harada was quite an unforgettable moment but also a clear blow to Harada’s confidence.
The match served as a fun appetizer to Evo 2024’s Tekken 8 grand finals day. Meanwhile, it looks like Disguised, created and run by fellow streamer Jeremy “DisguisedToast” Wang, is debating signing Lilypichu after that performance.
