One aspect that brings hype in an Esports Tournament is the presence of the voice and delivery of the commentator who explains and directs the audience about the moments that occur in the ongoing match.

It is not surprising that several historical moments in the Esports scheme emerged thanks to the comments of these figures which gave a special and lasting feel to these moments.

This element is also equally crucial in the competitive scheme of Tekken Esports. There are even several names that could be said to have succeeded in becoming icons in the world of Tekken commentators.

Unfortunately this year, the community had to lose two well-known and well-loved commentators, namely Spag (Hassan Farooq) and RIP (Reepal Parbhoo) who announced their absence as commentators at the event. Tekken World Tour (TWT) this year 2025.

RIP and Spag both announced this information via their personal X accounts. Even though they were absent from TWT, both of them emphasized that they would continue to work in other tournaments outside the TWT calendar.

According to RIP, the reason he did not take part in the TWT 2025 event was not his own decision, but rather that he was no longer called upon by Bandai Namco Esports as the organizer for duty.

On the clip from livestream which he shared on his personal X account, he explained that he himself was surprised by this information. The reason is that RIP himself just found out that he was not on the list of TWT commentators from his fellow casters, not from Bandai Namco directly.

So in short, I got word from someone else that the caster name list for this year had been completed, and my name wasn't on it. However, this list does not include the EVO tournament. So, to be honest, I don't know.

What is clear is that it is 100% clear that I will not be in the Master Level tournament. For other levels, the potential is still there, but honestly I'm not sure.

~Reepal RIP Parbhoo

Even though RIP has explained his current condition and the basis for his announcement on X's social media, Spag did not provide any explanation regarding his decision not to return to duty at the TWT 2025 event. He expressed his thanks and felt proud of the opportunities and achievements so far in this event.

Causing Disappointment and Speculation in the Community

The absence of these two well-known commentators has devastated the community. Many people expressed sadness at this information, from casual players, fellow commentators, even pro players. They expressed their sense of loss because they would not be able to hear the voice of this figure's casting at this year's TWT event.

Apart from expressions of sympathy and disappointment, this announcement immediately gave rise to speculation in the community. Many assume that the reason these two figures were not reassigned was the impact of the vocals of these two figures giving their criticism of the Season 2 update which was considered quite chaotic and not balance.

For more information about event dates, locations and registration for the 2025 TWT Tournament please visit tekkenworldtour.com and spread the word on social media with #TWT2025.