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.
gaming
EVO 2022 Preview
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
C4
WonderChef
What Reveals Can We Expect to See at EVO 2022?
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.
