For those unfamiliar with the grandeur and scope of the Evolution Championship Series (Evo), a long-standing fighting game community staple, we're happy to tell you that this year will be an absolute treat. The event's 20th anniversary will feature the grandest iteration ever of the tournament and convention experience. In addition to two separate venues playing host to the event, there will be a total of nine featured games for viewers on-site and at home to watch.
There's so much to watch and follow that we've compiled an extensive guide to the games and names you need to keep tabs on. First we'll preview the four games wrapping up on Saturday, and then we'll dive into the games whose finals comprise the main event onstage at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Saturday finals
Pokken Tournament
The Pokémon craze will reach Evo this year with an incredible 1,180 entrants for the new Pokémon-meets-Tekken fighting game, which may be the weekend's biggest culture shock for traditional fighting game fans. That said, these are the favorites for the top prize: Tevin "TeeJay" Stokes, Circa eSports' Christian "Suicune Master" Patierno, and Panda Global's Steven "Coach Steve" Delgado. But, with such a new game, it's certainly possible to see a shakeup in the top eight.
Tekken 7: Fated Retribution
The Tekken community will be out in force with at least 549 players signed up for the hype of a brand-new game in the series. South Korea will be the popular pick to take it all, with representatives Jae-min "knee" Bae and Jinwoo "SAINT" Choi as the clear-cut best. However, Japan will also boast one of the top Tekken players: Daichi "Yamasa nobi" Nakayama. The best storyline going into the tournament could arguably be the contender status of Circa eSports' Hoa "Anakin" Luu against the international powerhouses, but anyone could realistically qualify for the final spots.
Killer Instinct
There has been plenty of movement with player tier lists since last year's Evo and this wide-open field of contenders may be the best the game's ever seen. The favorites will be Darnell "Sleep" Waller and Deion "Thompxson" Thompson. On their heels will be tournament staples Kenneth "UA | Bass" Armas and Jonathan "RicoSuave" DeLeon.
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
With 2,662 players, this is the second-largest tournament at Evo. For the majority of the game's competitive life, it has been a one-man show: Team SoloMid's Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios. He was the legend to beat. Now it's a wide-open competition with heavyweights such as Team Liquid's Nairoby "Nairo" Quezada and DT's Samuel "Dabuz" Buzby up against hopefuls such as DT's Jason "ANTi" Bates and Panda Global's Eric "ESAM" Lew.
Sunday finals/main event
Mortal Kombat XL
It wouldn't do the tournament justice to name Critical Reaction's Dominique "SonicFox" McLean as the favorite and call it a day. For starters, his main competition is substantial: Panda Global's Brad "Scar" Vaughn and the United Kingdom's Denom "PXP | A F0xy Grampa" Jones. Both sport playstyle fits for SonicFox and boast impressive tournament credentials. After that, it's a crapshoot of contenders that range from: Yomi Gaming's Frank "Slayer" Perales, brothers Malik "MIT" and Yomi's Denzell "DJT" Terry, Yomi's Christian "ForeverKing" Quiles, to Brant "Pig of the Hut" McCaskill. One thing is for sure, they're all going to need to play their absolute best to knock SonicFox from his pedestal.
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
The hype will never die. A game totally infused with fighting gamer's personality, UMVC3 will yet again get its time to shine on the main stage. With defending champion Nicolas "KaneBlueRiver" Gonzalez in top form, this could be his repeat victory in the making.
Last year left a bad taste in the mouths of many diehard UMVC3 fans and there will be plenty of players ready to rectify their mistakes. Chief among them is Christopher "NYChrisG" Gonzalez, with Panda Global's Raynel "RayRay" Hidalgo and Ryan "FilipinoChamp" Ramirez, and the legendary Justin "JWong" Wong of Evil Geniuses close behind. If the motivation to kick KaneBlueRiver from the top spot weren't enough incentive, the fact that this could be UMVC3's last Evo trophy certainly will be.
Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator
Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator will be on the big stage as the sole "air-dasher" or "anime" game for the main event lineup. If this is your first exposure to the beauty that is Guilty Gear, you're in for a fighting game feast. In addition to being one of the fastest games on the broadcast schedule, its smooth animation could make this the Evo showstopper. There will be plenty of healthy competition with more than 900 competitors, all with hopes for the anime crown. Whether you're a fan of rock and roll or just pure speed in a fighting game, don't blink when the action starts.
The favorites for the title of king of Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator might all be from one region: Japan. The early hopefuls include Tsuyoshi "FAB" Oshida, Masahiro "Machabo-" Tominaga, Kenichi "Ogawa" Ogawa and Ryo "Dogura" Nozaki. Of the four mentioned, Machabo should be considered the odds-on favorite to take down the entire tournament. If his well-known and feared name weren't enough, he recently dispatched Ogawa at YOUDEAL League 5 and FAB in convincing tournament sets. Look for perennial dark horses GGP's Ryota "Kazunoko" Inoue and Goichi "Go1" Kishida to make a little noise as well.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
This long-standing Nintendo franchise makes its return to the final day of Evo. With a reported 2,372 participants, it's the third-highest total in the entire event. Who is the favorite to take down Evo? There isn't an easy answer. Last year's champion, Alliance's Adam "Armada" Lindgren, should receive a mention by default. His form last year was magnificent and silenced any doubts. But that was last year. This year, it has been mostly Team Liquid's Juan "Hungrybox" DeBiedma calling the shots. Any negative reaction to his tactics doesn't change the fact that he's a virtual lock for a top spot on the final day of the tournament.
Then, you have the wild cards: Cloud9's Joseph "Mang0" Marquez and Team Echo Fox's Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman. Positive reports for all three of these contenders indicate that their momentum could propel them to the front of the line.
Of course, with the popular names out of the way, the true dark horses of the game range from Tempo Storm's Jeffrey "Axe" Williamson, Counter Logic Gaming's Zachary "SFAT" Cordoni or even Panda Global's Justin "Plup" McGrath. It truly is anyone's game.
Street Fighter V
The finale of the entire show is the next stop on the Capcom Pro Tour, the more than 5,000-participant juggernaut known as the Street Fighter V tournament. Despite the monumental number of players, the landscape for the latest Capcom fighting game is a bit easier to skim for favorites. On one hand, you have the two popular picks to take down the prize: Team Razer's Lee "Infiltration" Seon-woo and Hajime "Tokido" Taniguchi. Then, you have other popular pocket picks such as Twitch and Red Bull's Daigo "The Beast" Umehara, Kenryo "Mago" Hayashi, Team Razer's Keita "Fuudo" Ai and Kun "Xian" Ho, YouDeal Majestic Athletic's Tatsuya "Haitani" Haitani and Qanba Douyu's Zhuojun "Xiao Hai" Zeng to round out the list of strong contenders. We can't list them all, but within the Asian player ranks exist plenty of killers who could surprise the masses.
Then, the underdog show (everyone else) is led by Evil Geniuses' Justin Wong, BX3's Arman "Phenom" Hanjani, and Team Liquid's Du "NuckleDu" Dang. With such a varied field and with so many pools of play, your contenders from outside of Asia need to be mentally fit and absolutely stellar at the game. It's an endurance game and that alone could prove daunting. Needless to say, Street Fighter V -- from the pool play to the final eight contenders -- will be an amazing show.