The Evolution Championship Series is an annual esports event that focuses exclusively on
fighting games.
In fighting game communities it is commonly referred to as "EVO" or just "Evo".
The tournament uses the double elimination format.
As with Super Battle Opera, the Evolution tournaments are well known and typically contestants
will travel from all over the world to participate, most notably from Japan.
Evo was founded by Tom Cannon, also known for his work on Shoryuken.com, a fighting
game website.
The tournament started as "Battle by the Bay", a 40-man Super Street Fighter II Turbo and
Street Fighter Alpha 2 tournament in 1996 in Sunnyvale, California, eventually moving
to its recurring venue in Las Vegas.
The event changed its name to Evo in 2002.
Over time, the tournament grew, recording over one thousand participants in 2009.
Originally the tournament used arcade cabinets, but in 2004 the decision was made to move
all games over to their console versions, to no small amount of controversy.
During the transition to games on the seventh generation consoles, most games were played
on a PlayStation 3, though Evo 2014 will run most games on the Xbox 360.
Aside from the official tournaments, there is also a "BYOC" area in which many different
games are played and side tournaments are held.
History Evo 2002
Evo 2003
Evo 2004 Evo 2004 took place at Cal Poly Pomona in
Southern California from July 29 to August 1.
The tournament amassed approximately 700 competitors from over 30 nations to compete over in nine
different games.
The games featured included Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike,
Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution, Guilty Gear XX, Soul
Calibur II, Tekken 4, and Tekken Tag Tournament.
Controversially, Evo 2004 used home consoles for most of their tournament games instead
of arcade cabinets, with the only exception being 3rd Strike which used the more traditional
arcade cabinets.
The reason for this change was attributed to the various software and hardware limitations
of arcade cabinets at the time.
Evo 2004 was also the birthplace of "Evo Moment #37", in which Daigo Umehara, while facing
Justin Wong, was successfully able to parry one of Chun-Li’s super moves while having
very little health left and then counter with his own, winning the round and eventually
the match as a result.
Evo 2005 2005 was the first year Evo was held in Las
Vegas at the Green Valley Ranch casino and hotel.
Evo 2006 Evo 2006 took place at the Red Rock Resort
Spa and Casino in Las Vegas.
2006 was the first year that Capcom gave its official, public support of the Evolution
tournaments.
Traditionally, Evo has only included fighting games, but in 2006 it included Mario Kart
DS in its lineup.
Evo 2007
Evo 2008 Evo 2008 took place at the Tropicana Hotel
and Casino in Las Vegas from August 8th to August 10th.
The tournament would feature six games within its official roster: Capcom vs. SNK 2, Tekken
5: Dark Resurrection, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super
Street Fighter II Turbo, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2.
Evo 2008 also allowed attendees a preview of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, Street Fighter
IV, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom.
Evo 2009 Evo 2009 took place on July 17 to July 19.
Held at the Rio Convention Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada, the tournament itself would
feature six game in its official roster: Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core, Marvel vs. Capcom 2,
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Street Fighter
IV.
Notably, the newly released Street Fighter IV increased Evo attendance by a considerable
margin, and the tournament for it alone boasted more 1000 participants, almost three times
that of the tournaments for the other games.
Evo 2010 Evo 2010 had a massive number of competitors,
with Super Street Fighter IV amassing approximately 1,800 players to duel for a $20,000 guaranteed
prize pot.
Most notable in this EVO was Justin Wong cementing his dominance in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 in its
proverbial swan song, defeating the champion of the previous year, Sanford Kelly.
Also notable was Wong failing to make the top 8 in Super Street Fighter IV, falling
victim first to Vance "Vangief" Wu, and soon after to Taiwanese player Bruce "GamerBee"
Hsiang.
Melty Blood: Actress Again was included after a poll on Shoryuken.com to decide on the final
game of the tournament, beating out Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Capcom vs. SNK 2,
Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Soulcalibur IV, and The King of Fighters XII.
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger was to be included, but after a majority of the community moved
on to BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, the decision was made to replace it with Marvel vs. Capcom
2.
Also notable was G4's limited coverage of the event, even offering X-Play host Adam
Sessler for commentary of the Super Street Fighter IV finals.
Evo 2011
For Evo 2011, a tournament season was announced in which players could earn ranking points
at one of eight tournaments.
It took place at the Rio Las Vegas from July 29 to July 31, utilizing a 55,000-square-foot
ballroom.
All 50 states of the U.S. were represented, as well as 44 additional countries.
On July 25, 2011, it was announced that PlayStation Home users could watch a live stream of the
tournament.
Evo 2011 was the most viewed event in its history, its livestream watched by over 2
million unique viewers on UStream over the course of the event.
In attendance was Street Fighter series producer Ono Yoshinori, who announced a free balance
patch for Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition.
Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada was also on hand to show new mechanics for Tekken
Tag Tournament 2 and Soulcalibur V. Other unreleased games shown were Ultimate Marvel
vs. Capcom 3, King of Fighters XIII, Skullgirls and Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online
Edition.
A Skullgirls side tournament was held in which the winner received a one-of-a-kind Skullgirls-themed
arcade stick.
Media outlets G4, GameSpot and Destructoid were all present to cover the event.
A notable occurrence in the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament was the success an eight-year-old
named Noah Solis, whose team included Hulk, Sentinel and Albert Wesker.
Solis's performance included a perfect round in less than ten seconds.
Solis was eventually eliminated by Mortal Kombat finalist Chris G. In an interview with
Giant Bomb, Solis's father, Moises Solis, spoke of how he intends to support his son's
success in fighting games, citing video games as one way alongside education to avoid falling
into gang culture.
Evo 2012 Evo 2012 took place July 6 to July 8, 2012,
at Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada.
On January 3, Joey Cuellar announced that Evo 2012 would have 6 main tournament games,
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Mortal Kombat, Soulcalibur
V, The King of Fighters XIII and Street Fighter X Tekken.
The tournament series from the previous year returned, featuring seeding points for all
six games in 17 events all across the world.
Evo 2013 Evo 2013 was announced on December 2, 2012.
It was held on July 12–14 at Paris Las Vegas.
On January 8, Joey Cuellar announced that EVO 2013 would have eight main tournament
games, with the first seven revealed being Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Super Street
Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter X Tekken,
The King of Fighters XIII, and Persona 4 Arena.
The eighth game was voted on by players via online donations, all proceeds of which went
to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
The eventual winner of the poll was Super Smash Bros. Melee with $94,683 raised for
that game, while the total amount of donations was $225,744.
Nintendo of America initially objected to the streaming of Melee matches, although a
live stream was ultimately allowed to be carried out as planned.
On May 7, 2013 it was announced that Injustice: Gods Among Us would be a main tournament game,
thus expanding the game roster from eight to nine.
Evo 2014 Evo 2014 was announced on September 15, 2013.
It was held on July 11–13, 2014 at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino.
On February 6, 2014, Cuellar announced that Evo 2014 would include Ultimate Marvel vs.
Capcom 3, Ultra Street Fighter IV, Injustice: Gods Among Us, The King of Fighters XIII,
Killer Instinct, and BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma, while also mentioning that discussions were
ongoing with Nintendo on the possible inclusion of Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Melee was eventually officially added to the roster with Nintendo's approval.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 was also later added to the roster.
References
External links Official website