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More than 9,000 players will compete in the biggest fighting game tournament in the world this weekend. Here's how you can watch, and what to look for
More than 9,000 players will compete in the biggest fighting game tournament in the world this weekend. Here's how you can watch, and what to look for
Kevin WebbAug 2, 2019, 22:56 IST
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Evo
The Evolution Championship Series, or Evo, has been the largest fighting game tournament in the world for more than a decade, welcoming thousands of competitors from around the world to the Mandalay Bay Casino on the Las Vegas strip.
More than 9,000 players from 80 countries will compete in nine different games during Evo weekend, including "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate," "Street Fighter V," "Mortal Kombat 11," and "Tekken 7."
The tournament will be streaming live from Aug. 2 to Aug 4, starting at 10 a.m. PT, 1 p.m. ET on Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m. PT, 12 p.m. ET on Sunday.
The champion of each game will win thousands of dollars depending on the number of players in their tournament bracket.
This weekend, more than 9,000 players from 80 different countries are taking over the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas strip to compete in the Evolution Championship Series, the fiercest fighting game tournament on the planet.
Evo is the largest open entry esports event in the world and features official tournaments for nine different games. Popular games like "Street Fighter" and "Mortal Kombat" have more than 1,000 players competing in a massive tournament bracket on Friday and Saturday, and the finals will be held in front of a sellout crowd on Sunday. Viewers at home can follow Evo across 10 different livestreams starting today, Aug. 2, at 10 a.m. PT, 1 p.m. ET.
Evo will host official tournaments for nine games during the weekend, including "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate," "Street Fighter 5," "Mortal Kombat 11," and "Street Fighter V."
Each year Evo chooses a lineup of the most popular fighting games for competition.Well-known titles like "Street Fighter," "Mortal Kombat," and "Tekken" are mainstays in the lineup, but lesser known titles like "Blazblue Cross Tag Battle" and "Under Night In-Birth" have earned a place thanks to their passionate communities.
Of course there are some older games that are still popular among the players, so there are more than a dozen side tournaments for players to enter during the weekend as well. The side tournaments wont get as much attention, but a few will be featured on the live broadcasts.
Evo will be streaming live across 10 different channels on Twitch.TV, so you can always track your favorite games.
Evo will be streaming live from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. PT (1 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET) on Friday and Saturday. The tournament finals will be broadcast on Sunday from 9 a.m. PT to 10 p.m. PT on Twitch.tv/Evo.
With so many games being played it can be tough to keep track of the whole event. "The Jump Off" is designed to hop between the most exciting moments of the tournament, similar to "NFL Redzone."
If you're watching from your computer, you can use the website Multitwitch.tv to watch multiple streams at the same time. Otherwise, you can download the Twitch app on your phone, video game console, or other streaming devices to follow along.
More than 9,000 players are competing at Evo, but professionals will lead the pack.
While there are more than 9,000 players at Evo this weekend, there are a select group of professional players who stand out from the pack. For example, Benjamin "Problem X" Simon won "Street Fighter V" at Evo last year and returns as the 5th ranked player in the world this year.
"Street Fighter" and a few other games in the Evo lineup have their own professional tours that encourage players to travel the world in exchange for big prize pools and ranking points.
Dominique "SonicFox" Mclean is one of the highest ranking players in the world in both "Mortal Kombat 11" and "Dragon Ball FighterZ," and has won multiple Evo championships. The 21-year-old was named the Esports Player of the Year at the Game Awards last year, and you can expect to see him in the finals on Sunday.
The fighting game community is one of the most diverse groups in esports
While many of the most popular esports games suffer from a lack of diversity, fighting games welcome an international community with a variety of backgrounds. The diverse community can be credited to inexpensive arcades and individual competition that lowers the barrier of entry for players, compared to other team-oriented games that require an expensive computer to compete.
Every player contributes to the Evo prize pool, and developers support their games with hefty bonuses.
Every player who competes in an Evo tournament contributes $10 to the overall prize pool, so the payout depends on how many players are competing in the game. As a bonus, several companies with official tournaments at Evo contribute additional prize money for the winners.
The top 8 finalists in each game are guaranteed a payout and the winner will earn 60% of the overall pot. In reality that means that some finalists wont break even on their trip to Vegas, but Evo finalists are also likely to earn industry sponsors for their performance.
