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How each player reached victory at Evo 2019
The biggest fighting game event of the year played host to dozens of the most exciting matches and conclusions the genre has ever seen – we run through what brought the hype.
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Tournaments have a drastic impact on the fighting game scene. It can be the turning point that gets a region noticed or sparking the discussion of what it means to be a viable competitive character.
Naturally, the bigger the tournament, the more weight it carries and Evo 2019, which took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, was no exception – after all, it’s the marquee event in the FGC calendar. Here’s a look at the event’s results and how each champion’s actions will change the community.
Street Fighter V
Back in 2014, Masato ‘Bonchan’ Takahashi placed second at Evo 2014 in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, That was as close as he’d come to obtaining the title of the Evo Champion. Since then, his results have dipped. During the Evo 2017 Street Fighter V tournament, he was only able to reach ninth place, just shy of hitting Top 8.
But this year, the outcome was different. Capcom’s flagship title boasted impressive character variety at Evo 2019, due to the meticulous balance the game exhibits and the tiers were closer than ever. Few would have called AZ’s Hiroki ‘Kichipa-mu’ Asano and his pile-driving Zangief to make it to the top spot, but he surprised Street Fighter fans by overcoming one of the character’s worst matchups in Kensuke ‘Trashbox’ Ishikawa’s Birdie. While most Laura players have long since dropped her for greener pastures, Derek ‘iDom’ Ruffin’s mixups and awareness make her explosiveness more consistent than most. Though the top tiers appeared, like NASR’s Adel ‘Big Bird’ Anouche and his powerful Rashid and Atsushi Fujimura’s optimised Ibuki, two Zeku players also made an appearance – Yangmian Huang and DC ‘Infexious’ Coleman. And, much to the crowd’s delight, Bonchan’s Sagat was met with thunderous applause every time his Tiger Shots and Tiger Uppercuts graced the screen.
Though weaker than his other character, Karin, Bonchan was able to effectively use Sagat to even the playing field in some of his more uncomfortable match-ups, switching when necessary to adjust to his opponent. Believing in both of his choices and relying on months of practice, Bonchan hit the grand finals against BigBird, where he defeated the Rashid player with Karin. The win was more than just the title, it was a validation of his decision to stay with his characters and he had found the key to breaking his curse. On a grander scale, the Top 8 and the variety presented as a whole reminds the scene that sticking with a character, no matter how strong or weak, can still yield a good return.
Tekken 7
Korea. United States. Japan. Those are the regions people typically think of as housing the strongest talent in the Tekken scene. Unbeknownst to many, Pakistan also carries world-class talent. It wasn’t until vSlash’s Arslan ‘Arslan Ash’ Siddique soundly defeated ROX Dragon’s Jae-Min ‘Knee’ Bae at OUG Tournament 2018 and alongside a massive follow-up win at Evo Japan 2019, that people started to consider Pakistani players as legitimate threats in the Tekken World Tour circuit.
Thanks to Sherry ‘Sherryjenix’ Nhan’s eFight Pass system, Arslan Ash was able to acquire his visa and bring his Kazumi to US soil during Evo 2019. Determined to make a repeat of his victory earlier this year, Arslan Ash toppled the competition through the winners' side of the bracket, where he was to face his rival Knee once more. After sending him and his Geese to the losers' bracket, Arslan Ash waited patiently until Knee was able to work his way up to the grand finals. Arslan Ash, though, is too dominant of a player, and even Knee’s Devil Jin pick to counter Arslan Ash wasn’t enough to even reset the bracket. He became not only the Evo World Champion, but also the only player to win both Evo Japan and Evo US in the same year.
The competition for fighting games, especially Tekken, as always been about global talent, yet if Arslan Ash is anything to go by, there are still more undiscovered strong players just waiting for the opportunity to make their mark.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
The losers' bracket of any game is an absolute danger zone. One more loss means you are out of the tournament. Every match is played like it’s the last. And those in the bottom of the bracket are even more determined to make it out. But those that don't buckle under the pressure are more likely to make it out.
This is what happened to Echo Fox’s Leonardo ‘MkLeo’ Lopez during the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament when he had to claw his way to the finals after losing to RayRoadGaming’s Takuto ‘Kameme’ Ono and his deft Mega Man play in Top 32. He then had to survive an arduous journey with his Joker.
What makes MkLeo’s run through the losers' side even more impressive is that it was done in the biggest bracket of Evo 2019. With well over 3,000 entrants, filled with players who are desperate for a shot at the first Evo for the game, the potential to run into killers was high. MkLeo ran into tough opponents like Anahuac Esports’ Enrique ‘Maister’ Solís, Duck Hunt main Ishiguro ‘Raito’ Tetsuya and more, as he advanced to grand finals to face off against Gavin ‘Tweek’ Dempsey and his Pokémon Trainer.
The matches were close, but a bracket reset and momentum shift landed MkLeo the win. He was crowned Evo 2019 Champion of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and one of the biggest comeback stories around, showing players that you can still make it happen no matter where you are in the bracket.
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