Terrelle “Lil_Majin” Jackson may be a professional gamer, but it isn’t his full time job. Despite this, Lil_Majin has been able to still put up strong tournament finishes on the Tekken World Tour. And at this past Evo, Lil_Majin was the American hero as he made a miracle run in a stacked Korean Top 8. Esports Heaven’s Amanda Stevens was able to talk to Lil_Majin shortly after Evo about his amazing Top 8 run, how he manages his practice time with work, and how excited he is to have Negan coming to Tekken. Evo’s over, you went pretty deep, the crowd was cheering your name. You heard the USA chants, and how much of that did you hear, or were you so focused on all your matches that everything was kind of buzzing? It was kind of a combination of both, like actually against JDCR I had my headset on, so I could still hear the game, and I could still hear the crowd. Just like CEO, I took my headset off, and embraced the full power of the crowd, it helped me win. It was like a wrestling match. How does it help as a player? You said it helps amp you up, so it doesn’t distract you at all? No, I’ve been competing for a very long time and I’ve dealt with raucous crowds, and people really going against me. So, if I can compete with a crowd against me, I can compete with a crowd for me. You play King. I’m just getting into Tekken, I used to play during 3. I haven’t seen a lot of Kings on the Tour. Why is that? A lot of the really good King players, whether from America or from overseas, they don’t have sponsors, so they can’t attend most events. You know me, I’ve a pretty good sponsor, and a full time job as well. So I can’t take off work whenever I feel like it, that’s the only reason I haven’t been to more events. What’s it like being a professional gamer, especially one that can end as a finalist at Evo and still have to fit in time with that 9 to 5. How are you still able to stay on top? It’s mainly due to streaming. I started streaming real late last year, about December last year. I’ll stream 2 to 3 hours three times a week. It’s really helped me stay keen on the game, learning matchups and it’s been really good practice for me. You only get about 6 to 9 hours of practice a week? Yeah somewhere around there, it can vary sometimes, but I have to do that, work you know, full time job, and I have to be a good boyfriend to my lady over here. It’s tough but you can definitely do it., You played some of the Tekken gods. When you saw your path in the Top 8, what was going through your mind?” That I can beat them. Simple as that. No negativity, I’ve got my game plan, it’s going to go my way? Exactly. It’s either them or me, and regardless of their reputations, once they’re sitting next to me, holding their sticks and I’m holding my pad, that’s it you have to earn it. I have no worries at all, I just had to keep knocking them down as they came to me. There was a character announcement for Tekken at Evo. You’re already got a big grin. How do you feel about Anna, Lei and Negan?! That’s really hype. And being a big Walking Dead fan, Negan is one of my favorite characters on there! A lot of people hate guest characters and stuff but I think this one was really really good. I’m happy about Anna and Lei and I’m excited to see who the other three characters are going to be. A lot of people in the community aren’t happy about the DLC characters like Akuma and Geese. What is your opinion on those two characters? I believe that, and Eliza too, Akuma, Geese, and Eliza too, they still have to abide by Tekken rules. They are still Tekken characters, and they aren’t like a cheap easy win, as you can see none of them were in the Top 8. You have to work for it, so I believe that they were made perfectly to fit in the game and still be fair. One of the last two questions. Of all of the stage music, which is the greatest? In my opinion, it’s the Abandoned Temple, the Akuma stage. I love that stage, the first round music and the third round music is amazing. Do you have anything you want to say to your fans? To the Americans? We have to keep stepping it up, we’re close, we’re getting closer and closer! Other Koreans and other internationals are falling in Pools or right outside of pools to Americans. The gap is closing and I’m not going anywhere yet. I’m looking to go to Summer Jam, you should see me there! Feature image credits: Chris Bahn/Red Bull Content Pool