The Biggest Fighting Game Tournament in the World

Hugo “Hugs” Gonzalez and Jeffrey “Axe” Williamson competing in Super Smash Bros. Melee at Evo 2015 with avid fans looking on.

The Evolution Championship Series is an annual fighting game tournament held in Las Vegas, Nev. Evo, as it is commonly called, started in 2002 and has grown significantly each year. It brings together players from all over the world and has become the crown jewel of fighting game tournaments.

Evo 2015 was held on July 17 through July 19 at the Bally’s / Paris Las Vegas Casino. The lineup of games consisted of “Ultra Street Fighter IV,” “Super Smash Bros. for Wii U,” Super Smash Bros. Melee,” “Mortal Kombat X,” “Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-,” “Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3,” “Tekken 7,” “Persona 4 Arena Ultimax,” and “Killer Instinct.” Thousands of players competed for a shot at money, glory, and most importantly, bragging rights until next years Evo.

The number of entrants at this years Evo were the biggest the series had ever seen. “Ultra Street Fighter IV” had the most entrants with 2,227. That many entrants is a huge  accomplishment for the fighting game community. However, Street Fighter wasn’t the only game to have a strong showing.

Making a large splash at Evo once again was the Super Smash Bros series. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U had a staggering 1,926 entrants. Perhaps more impressive was the fan favorite Super Smash Bros. Melee tallying 1,869 entrants, making Evo 2015 the largest Melee tournament of all time. Not bad for a fifteen year old game.

Smash Bros. has been the source of much controversy over the years. Many of the traditional fighting game players didn’t view Smash Bros. as a game deserving of a spot at Evo. However, impressive numbers of entrants, insane live stream viewing numbers, and fast, exciting play has changed several minds of players.

One of Evo’s founders, Joey “Mr. Wizard” Cuellar, spoke about the future of Super Smash Bros. at Evo in an interview with The Daily Dot.

“I think Smash is here to stay,” said Mr. Wizzard.

Much of the controversy surrounding Smash Bros. at Evo 2015 happened on the main stage. Florida player Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma was booed for his campy, or what many players call lame, style of play. He lost the crowd, but Hungrybox went on to take second place in Melee, which is a huge accomplishment.  

The winner of Super Smash Bros. Melee and $11,214 at Evo 2015 was Adam “Armada” Lindgren from Sweden. Armada’s grand finals set with Hungrybox was viewed live by 205,000 people on twitch.tv.  

The game lineup for Evo 2016 won’t be revealed until early next year. If history has proven anything, Evo 2016 will be the biggest tournament yet.