Bae Jae-min (; 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.
Personal life.
Knee was born in Gyeongbuk Province, South Korea, on June 24, 1985 and raised in Seoul. He was passionate in Tekken games in arcades since the first game. 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. 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. According to Knee, it was in Tekken 4 in the early 2000s when he started to take Tekken seriously and developed the urge to compete professionally in the game.
Career.
Knee’s debut in a major tournament was in 2005, when he entered and won the "Tekken 5" Korean Arcade Championship. Knee won his first tournament in 2005 in . Knee has won at the EVO tournaments for a record three separate Tekken games: Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Tekken 7, and Tekken 8. He captained South Korea when they won international tournaments for Tekken 7 in 2017.
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.
Honors.
In 2018, Knee was inducted into the Esports Hall of Fame in Seoul under the "Heroes" Category.
Public image.
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. Publishers such as ESPN have called him arguably the best Tekken player in history.