Professional Tekken 8 player SuperBrine has achieved the God of Destruction rank using the character Alisa while wearing a sleep mask, a feat that has gained significant attention within the fighting game community. SuperBrine streamed his entire journey, which began in June and concluded in early October, on Twitch.
This accomplishment has prompted discussions regarding Tekken 8's difficulty and the perceived ease of playing Alisa. SuperBrine, however, insists the challenge was not a critique of the game. "My primary goal was simply to take on a challenge that most people will consider impossible and prove that I can do it," he stated. "I want to clarify that I didn't do this to criticize the game or suggest that it's poorly designed in any way. It's actually the exact opposite. I genuinely love this game, and I thrive on pushing my own personal limits through these kinds of extreme challenges."
SuperBrine confirmed that the sleep mask prevented any vision and that the entire process was broadcast live, making deception impossible. He noted that the physical toll of keeping his eyes closed for extended periods and the mental exhaustion were the most challenging aspects, requiring frequent breaks. "The physical toll was actually surprising. ...Mentally, it required extreme patience, without it, completing this run simply wouldn't be possible," he said.
He attributed his success to a deep understanding of fighting game fundamentals, extensive experience playing on multiple smurf accounts to gauge player knowledge at different ranks, and Tekken 8's detailed sound design. "It comes down to a massive amount of foundational experience," SuperBrine explained. "You would be able to instantly differentiate specific sounds knowing whether a move resulted in a wall splat or not, if it was a hit or a block, and if you landed a counter hit versus a normal hit. Ultimately, it’s all about paying attention to the audio and knowing exactly the type of player you are facing."
SuperBrine also commented on the debate surrounding his achievement, stating that if reaching the top rank blindfolded were simply a matter of selecting an easy character or a flaw in the game, others would have replicated the feat already. He encouraged anyone who believes the game is that easy to attempt the challenge themselves.
This accomplishment draws parallels to other players who have excelled in fighting games despite disabilities, such as the late BrolyLegs, who used his mouth to control his arcade stick, and BlindWarriorSven, a blind Street Fighter 6 player who achieved victory at Evo 2023 by utilizing the game's accessibility features to discern opponent positioning through audio cues.