gaming

EVO 2022 Preview

Evolution Championship Series

Published Jul 27, 2022

Everyone within the Fighting Game Community (FGC) was heartbroken over the news regarding the cancellation of the 2020 Evolution Championship Series (EVO) tournament due to the pandemic. Following that development, the 2021 version of the biggest fighting game event in the nation was relegated to an online competition that was spread out over two weekends. Now that we've arrived in 2022, EVO is coming back strong by returning to its familiar roots as an in-person event. And after the shocking news of Sony Interactive Entertainment and RTS acquiring EVO became public last year, the FGC is now looking forward to how those two gaming entities will improve the overall presentation and feel of its premiere tourney. In order to get you prepared for EVO 2022, we're here to present you with a comprehensive preview of what's to come.

So What is EVO All About?

Simply put, EVO is the largest fighting game tournament in the US of A. Competitive fighting game pros from across the globe regularly come to this annual esports event to take on the very best and see who is the #1 player in the world for the most relevant fighting games at the time. The very first EVO was known as "Battle by the Bay," which was a tourney centered on Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Street Fighter Alpha 2. The EVO moniker was officially adopted in 2002 and its size/scope has grown tremendously over the years. You can check out the videos above produced by theScore esports to get a full overview of everything EVO entails and what its most jaw-dropping moments ended up being throughout its long history.

When and Where is EVO 2022 Taking Place?

EVO 2022 is set to take place from August 5 to August 7. And it'll emanate from both the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino and the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay (for the Arena Finals) in Las Vegas, NV.

What Games are Being Played at EVO 2022?

The main stage games that'll be contested at EVO 2022 are as follows:

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition

Guilty Gear Strive

Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate

Tekken 7

The King of Fighters XV

Melty Blood: Type Lumina

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Granblue Fantasy: Versus

Skullgirls: 2nd Encore

There are also going to be some unreleased fighting games that'll be a part of EVO 2022 as well. Capcom will bring a playable version of Street Fighter 6 to the event and also drop some reveals for everyone in attendance and those viewing the festivities at home. Also, a 2v2 tournament for MultiVersus is also going down that'll feature the top 32 teams competing within the Warner Brothers-branded platform fighter. And finally, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R will also be available in demo form for those who want to take it for a spin. That game will feature 64 players going head-to-head in a single-elimination tourney.

How Can I Watch EVO 2022 and What's the Streaming Schedule?

You can watch all the EVO competition through the following Twitch channels across all three days of the event:

And here are the start times for each day and the games/streaming channels you can tune into at those times (all times are in PDT):

August 5

10 am: Special Event (Panels, Interviews, Exhibitions, and More) on Evo

11 am: Guilty Gear Strive (Round 1 Pools) on evo2

10 am: Granblue Fantasy: Versus (Round 1 Pools) on evo3

10 am: Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (Round 1 Pools) on evo4

11 am: Street Fighter V: Champion Edition (Round 1 Pools) on evo5

10 am: Melty Blood: Type Lumina (Round 1 Pools) on evo6

10 am: Skullgirls: 2nd Encore (Round 1 Pools) on evo7

10 am: Vortex Gallery (Tournaments) on TeamSp00ky

August 6

10 am: Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (Top 8) on Evo

10 am: Guilty Gear Strive (Round 1 Pools) on evo2

10 am: Tekken 7 (Round 1 Pools) on evo3

10 am: Granblue Fantasy: Versus (Round 2 Pools) on evo4

10 am: Street Fighter V: Champion Edition (Round 1 Pools) on evo5

10 am: Dragon Ball FighterZ on (Round 1 Pools) on evo6

10 am: The King of Fighters XV (Round 1 Pools) on evo7

10 am: Vortex Gallery (Tournaments) on TeamSp00ky

August 7

10 am: The King of Fighters XV (Top 8) on Evo

Who's Going to be Commentating at EVO 2022?

One of the main pulls for any esports tourney is the commentator lineup that'll be in tow to commentate over all the hype matches that'll play out. The entire commentator lineup for EVO 2022 has been unveiled, which you can check out in the list posted below:

Jammerz

MarkMan

Jchensor

Jake Ryan

POS Industries

Chastity

Aroo

Zero

Ebonic Plague

Tyrant

Sumichu

Saki Sakura

Jaidlyn

Mr. Aquaman

Sajam

UncleJay

iambic

UltraDavid

Solid Bones

Raph

Ketchup

Logan Sama

Maverick

El Colt

Yipes

jmcrofts

MonkeyBizness

dapurplesharpie

Flexiss

LI Joe

HellPockets

Spag

Damascus

Rickstah

Saint Cola

Jiyuna

SamDDing

Tasty Steve

Mustard

Brad Muse

Meta_Abe

Brett

Danke

Rynge

Vicious

Rome_Himself

Persia

MunozScyther

nothingxs

Proxy

Riskey Sweep

Virum

RIP

Kai Kennedy

WonderChef

What Reveals Can We Expect to See at EVO 2022?

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Like past EVO events, fans are expecting major reveals for the fighting game genre as a whole at this year's extravaganza. In an exciting move, a special "PlayStation Tournaments: EVO Lounge" live stream will put forth a bunch of exciting reveals over the course of two days (August 5-6). The publishers/developers that will be a part of this live stream include Arc System Works, Bandai Namco, Capcom, SNK, and Warner Bros. Games. You can check out all those reveals via Twitch and YouTube.

Slide 1 of 3