Knee (gamer)
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| Knee | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||||
| Name | 배재민 (Bae Jae-min) | ||||||
| Born | 24 June 1985 Gyeongbuk, South Korea | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| Games | |||||||
| Playing career | 2004–present | ||||||
| Team history | |||||||
| 2010–2021 | ROX Dragona[1] | ||||||
| 2021–2022 | Vision Strikers | ||||||
| 2021–2022 | DRX | ||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| Korean name | |||||||
| Hangul | 배재민 | ||||||
| Hanja | 裴宰民 | ||||||
| Revised Romanization | Bae Jaemin | ||||||
| McCune–Reischauer | Péi Zǎimín | ||||||
YouTube information | |||||||
| Channel | |||||||
| Subscribers | 350 thousand[2] | ||||||
| |||||||
Bae Jae-min (Korean: 배재민; born 24 June 1985), better known as Knee, is a South Korean professional Tekken player, coach, and streamer on Twitch and on YouTube. He is a four-time EVO champion, having emerged victorious in EVO Las Vegas 2013 and 2022, as well as EVO Japan 2018 and 2025, being the oldest Tekken winner in tournament history.[3][4][5]
Personal life
[edit]Knee was born in Gyeongbuk Province, South Korea, on June 24, 1985 and raised in Seoul.[6][7] He was passionate in Tekken games in arcades since the first game.[8] He has stated on occasions that he would train for hours daily overcoming wrist pain issues with his joystick until he could master each character in the different rosters of each iteration.[9][10][11] The 5'7 e-sports gamer has gone on to compete in local tournaments in Seoul, South Korea at the local arcades before deciding to pursue a full career in e-sports.[8][12]
Career
[edit]Knee’s debut in a major tournament was in 2004, when he entered the Tekken 5 Korean Arcade Championship.[13] Knee won his first tournament in 2005 in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection.[14] Knee has won at the EVO tournaments for a record three separate Tekken games: Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Tekken 7, and Tekken 8.[15][16][17] He captained South Korea when they won international tournaments for Tekken 7 in 2017.[9][18]
Knee became an EVO champion for the fourth time by winning the title in Tekken 8 on May 11, 2025 in Tokyo, at the record age of 39, one month shy of his 40th birthday.[19]
Honors
[edit]In 2018, Knee was inducted into the Esports Hall of Fame in Seoul under the "Heroes" Category.[14]
Public image
[edit]Other rival gamers respect the game of Knee. For example, Arslan Ash has stated a number of times that he most feared playing against Knee, and unlike Knee has a less confrontational style where he prefers playing weaker pools in order to strategize his chances in advancing in tournaments.[8] Publishers such as ESPN have called him arguably the best Tekken player in history.[20]
Sources
[edit]- Kim, Hyung Seok (2021). i am progamer - The Stories of Jang Jae-ho (Moon) and Cho Seong-joo (Maru). ISBN 9-791-190-98044-9.
- Kim, Hyung Seok (2022). e-Sport-Spieler, die die Welt erobert haben: Ambition, Knee, Escar Edition. Seoul: 겜툰(주). ISBN 9-791-168-44015-9.
References
[edit]- ^ "Bae "Knee" Jae-min signs with ROX Gaming". 7 August 2017.
- ^ "About Tekkenknee". YouTube.
- ^ Evo Japan 2025 Grand Final - Knee (Bryan) vs Mulgold (Claudio/Feng) - Tekken 8 on YouTube
- ^ "[EVO Japan 2025] Interview with Tekken 8 winner DRX Knee! "Want to play in Pakistan again"". 11 May 2025.
- ^ Michael, Cale (11 May 2025). "EVo Japan 2025 - Tekken 8 Results". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ Kim 2022, pp. 89.
- ^ "DF - KNEE BIO". 15 January 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
- ^ a b c Inside the Battle: Arslan Ash & Knee Break the Silence on Years of Gaming Rivalry! 🔥 on YouTube
- ^ a b Kim 2022, pp. 90.
- ^ "World's No. 1 Tekken player vows to keep playing until 100 trophies". Korea Herald. 20 April 2021.
- ^ Asuncion, Joseph (13 July 2023). "Knee once played 42 matches in Pakistan just so he could beat the region's own Tekken god". One Sports.
- ^ EVO 2022: Jae-Min "Knee" Bae Tekken 7 Champion Interview on YouTube
- ^ Knee on Twitter
- ^ a b Kim 2021, pp. 172.
- ^ Cowley, Ric (8 September 2022). "DRX's Knee is your EVO 2022 Tekken 7 champion". Red Bull.
- ^ Rand, Emily. "Tekken and Mortal Kombat shine at Combo Breaker".
- ^ "JDCR wins Tekken 7 crown at Evo". ESPN. 17 July 2017.
- ^ Lee, Timothy (17 July 2016). "South Korea dominates Tekken". ESPN.
- ^ "Evo Japan 2025 early results, stream ft Kakeru, MenaRD, Punk, Chikurin, Rookies, E.T., BigBird, Xiaohai, Tororo, Rangchu, Kawano and more". www.eventhubs.com. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ Lee, Timothy (10 July 2017). "South Korea favorites in Tekken 7". ESPN.
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