The Evolution Championship Series tournament series is one of the most well-known brands in fighting game tournaments across the globe, and it is a must-see for every fighting game enthusiast. EVO competitions have a 20-year tradition of attracting a huge audience of devoted fans and skilled players, as well as showcasing the finest competitive fighting games.
With so much history behind them, it's no wonder that this event series has grown significantly since its initial excursions into the globe. EVO tournaments, which concentrate only on fighting, currently include over a half-dozen headline games as well as top talent from across the globe.
Jump to:
The past and current events
The Evolution Championship Series, which began in 1996 under the name Battle by the Bay, has always been accessible to the public. Anyone who wishes to join and test their power against other players may only do so in fighting games.
The event series was renamed EVO in 2002, and we are all acquainted with it today. The majority of the other details remained the same: the games are played in a double-elimination style, and participants are paired at random. Throughout the event's days, consecutive matchups are played until the best of the best face off on the EVO tournament's final day.
That's when the victors are proclaimed and awarded their titles and prizes - with so many games played, there are usually a few outstanding players to honor. Before the organizers made the contentious choice to switch to consoles, games were held on arcade machines. Despite criticism, the decision paid off: newer games were played on consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 4.
Players like Justin Wong, Daigo Umehara, and Seon-Woo Lee have already created history, each winning nearly half a dozen championships in various years and tournaments. Over the course of the competition's 22 years, a total of 25 players have won multiple championships; most recently, Arslan Siddique joined their ranks following two victorious victories in the 2019 tournaments in Las Vegas and Japan.
Read also: Hearthstone World Championship
The places
The EVO events in the United States have been hosted in Las Vegas since 2005. Since 2017, the events have been held in the Mandalay Bay hotel, despite the fact that the site has changed often. Previously, organizers would shift from year to year.
There is a second component to the series, in addition to the major events in the United States. Fighting games are well-known throughout Asia, particularly in Japan, thus it's no surprise that events were planned there in 2013. Due to an earthquake and subsequent administrative issues, the inaugural EVO Japan did not take place until 2017, although it was a huge success.
Thousands of people registered, and the games played were most popular in Japan, including Guilty Gear, the BlazBlue series, ARMS, and Street Fighter. Super Smash Bros., which is popular in the west, isn't included in the event since it isn't as popular in Japan.
The Competitions
While the main events have evolved a lot from the beginning, the main events have remained the same. In the first event, 40 players competed in two Street Fighter tournaments. Marvel vs. Capcom, as well as a slew of other Street Fighter games, returned the second time around. As more games were published over time, more people joined – titles like Tekken, SoulCalibur, VirtuaFighter, and Guilty Gear entered the line-up alongside more Street Fighter games.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[st], and Dragon Ball Fighter Z is among the games performed in EVO 2019. While major brands like Mortal Kombat or Tekken take center stage, smaller and lesser-known games like Skullgirls, Windjammers, Killer Instinct, and others also compete. BYOC (bring your own console) contests are also held at each EVO event. A dedicated area enables users to compete with others in games of their choosing in a casual or not-so-casual manner.
The Guidelines
The format for the major events is double-Elim. This implies the players are divided into two groups. Each game in the first round has a winner and a loser; the winners and losers advance to their respective brackets and compete again. Someone who loses a match in the winner’s bracket is eliminated, whereas someone who loses a match in the losers bracket is demoted to the losers bracket until they lose again.
At the conclusion of the tournament, the champions of each bracket compete once more to decide the overall winner. In addition to the standard EVO regulations, each tournament has its own set of game-specific rules, such as character selection, limitations, and unique rules. Because players typically bring their own controllers, there are certain limitations there as well, particularly when it comes to the usage of macros and other "cheating" techniques.
There are even limitations on the games themselves in certain instances — EVO Japan 2019 actually prohibited games. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Dragon Ball Fighter Z were explicitly excluded from the tournament. This was due to the publishers' refusal to sponsor the event, which forced the organizers to exclude it.
At EVO, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be played.
As the largest event in the EVO series' history, 2019 featured a number of intriguing matches. The victor of Tekken 7 was one of the greatest surprises. Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique not only won the normal EVO tournament becoming the first Pakistani player to do so, but he also won the EVO Japan 2019 Tekken tournament following that.
The main event drew about 9000 people, many of whom took part in the nine official tournaments that were held as part of the event. Mortal Kombat 11, Samurai Shodown, SoulCalibur VI, and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle was among them. Twitch was used to broadcast the competitions.
The most popular event, based on participation, was Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which drew over 3.500 participants. A little issue arose during the Tekken 7 Grand Finals when EVO organizers aired a humorous video using Katsuhiro Harada's voice without his consent or knowledge. Fans were perplexed by the film, and most felt that it was an attempt at a joke that failed miserably.
Read also: Call of Duty League
The Evolution Championship Series
Hundreds of thousands of participants are anticipated in Vegas, and the Evolution Championship series 2020 seems to be the largest ever. Twitch broadcasts will be accessible in a variety of languages, as is customary. The EVO 2020 schedule, which will be released shortly, is being awaited by fans.
Betting on the Evolution Championship Series
The Evolution competitions, like virtually other esports leagues at this time, include a thriving betting market. Although several online bookies provide odds on the game series, none do so in Nevada, where casinos do not cover esports at all. Esports betting has yet to be approved by the Nevada Gaming Board.
Online sites are your best option if you want to wager on esports events like the Evolution Championship series - several online bookies provide odds on the tournaments. Street Fighter is anticipated to be the most popular game at EVO Japan 2020, and it is projected to have the greatest chances for this year's tournament.