Bandai Namco Permanently Bans MEA3 Organizers, Revokes Dojo Points Over Collusion

Bandai Namco Esports has dropped the hammer on corruption in the MEA3 region today, issuing permanent bans to tournament organizers caught rigging the system. In a scathing official statement, the publisher confirmed these entities violated Tekken World Tour 2025 rules by "encouraging collusive behavior" specifically designed to hand a specific player a golden ticket to the championships.

Key Takeaways:

• The "Fix" Was In: Organizers allegedly manipulated brackets to "secure a specific player’s victory," undermining the entire region's integrity.
• Massive Ban: The culprits are permanently blacklisted from all Bandai Namco circuits, including the TWT and EMEA Tekken Cup.
• Last-Minute Shakeup: The revocation of points has completely upended the regional leaderboard just weeks before the Global Finals.

The Alleged Culprits: Who Was Involved?

While Bandai Namco's official statement remained vague on names, public tournament data and community investigations have identified the likely targets. Records point to the organizers behind Next Level Esports in Iraq as the primary entities stripped of points.

The scheme reportedly centered on artificially boosting a player known as Musashi (currently competing under the tag Najim). Tournament brackets from July 2025 show Musashi taking first place at "Next Level Esports League #1," an event now under scrutiny for irregular results intended to secure a qualifying spot for the World Finals.

With these points retroactively removed, the regional standings have shifted dramatically. yOReDz, a competitor from Kuwait, is now expected to inherit the MEA3 invitation to the Global Finals in Malmö, Sweden.

"Irrefutable Evidence" of a Broken Trust

The "Dojo" system allows local communities to award World Tour points, with the point value scaling based on the number of entrants (e.g., 96+ players grants 150 points). This structure relies heavily on the honor system, making it vulnerable to "bracket stuffing," which involves faking entrant numbers or fixing matches to maximize point rewards for a chosen winner.

Bandai Namco confirmed that "documentation supporting these allegations" was submitted to the administration, providing the "clear, objective, and credible evidence" needed to execute the ban.

"It has come to our attention that certain tournament organizers... violated the Tekken World Tour 2025 Official Rules by encouraging collusive behavior intended to secure a specific player’s victory." — Bandai Namco Esports Official Announcement

Leaderboard Chaos & Future Crackdowns

The sanctions include the retroactive removal of points from all Dojo events run by the banned organizers. This "nuclear option" immediately reshuffles the MEA3 standings. Bandai Namco has urged all regional players to "review their current placement... at their earliest convenience," a polite way of saying the leaderboard has been completely rewritten.

This move also serves as a warning shot to other regions. With rumors of similar point-rigging circulating in other territories, Bandai Namco has signaled that the era of looking the other way is over. The publisher pledged to continue "refining our moderation practices" to ensure the TWT 2025 Finals remain a battle of skill, not administrative fraud.

Source: Bandai Namco Esports