The Evolution Championship Series (EVO) is the largest and longest-running fighting game tournament in the world, and the lineup for the weekend showcase of the best gamers in the world will include some fan-favorites and new titles. According to the official EVO Twitter account, the lineup of fighting games includes Tekken 7, BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, Injustice 2, Super Smash Bros Wii U, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 and Dragon Ball FighterZ.
#Evo2018 Lineup! https://t.co/AzIV3RZCr7 pic.twitter.com/Onm1mEUgI8
— EVO (@EVO) February 7, 2018
Five of the eight games (Tekken 7, Guilty Gear, Injustice 2, both Super Smash games) are returning from EVO 2017, with Street Fighter V being replaced with its superior Arcade Edition and BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle replacing BlazBlue: Central Fiction.
Dragon Ball FighterZ from Arc System Works and Bandai Namco has not only taken the video game industry by storm, but will make its EVO debut just weeks after its release.
The EVO organizers also announced the games that will have their finals on Sunday, the final day of the competition. These games include: Guilty Gear Xrd Rev2, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Tekken 7, Dragon Ball FighterZ and Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition.
Some notable omissions from the EVO 2018 lineup include Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite, the next title in the cherished MvC franchise, and the two Nintendo fighting games, ARMS and Pokken Tournament DX.
Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite, although fun to play, did not sit well with fans when it was released in 2017 with a lackluster roster and subpar graphics. ARMS and Pokken Tournament DX each found their own audiences since release, but haven’t garnered much mainstream eSports momentum.
Last year’s EVO had the audience vote on the final game to be included in the tournament, selecting Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. There’s no word if EVO 2018 will have a ninth game voted on by the fans, but we’ll update if that changes.
Fans can catch EVO 2018 live from Las Vegas from Aug. 3-5 on the official Red Bull Sports Twitch channel.
Are you happy with the EVO 2018 lineup? Do you feel another game deserved to be added? Let us know in the comments section below.
