Short for the Evolution Championship Series, Evo is the largest annual fighting game tournament in the world, and its 2017 iteration will take place this weekend from July 14th to 16th at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas. Talents from all across the globe will be gathered in Sin City, competing in the lineup of 9 games including Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros, Tekken 7, and many more. Gerald Lee from Core-A Gaming has an excellent 5-minute video that will get you up to speed on the history and what it’s like to be at Evo.

Keep in mind that Evo 2017 is an open tournament, which means anyone can register to participate in the tournament and a part of the entry fee will go into the prize pool. Last year’s Evo saw a total prize pool of over $100K for Street Fighter V with the first place Seon-Woo “Infiltration” Lee taking home $50K. From fighting game legends and multiple Evo champions like Justin Wong and Daigo Umehara, to a kid fresh out of high school, everyone will be put into qualification pools in a double elimination format and the top 8 players from the semifinal bracket will advance to the grand finals.

Even if you’re not familiar with all the titles and players in the scene, fighting games have a unique advantage in that they are intuitive to watch while showcasing some of the finest mechanics and psychological warfare esports has to offer. Whether you’re a fighting game aficionado or a button masher, it’s easy to get excited for things like the iconic Moment #37 without being able to appreciate the inhuman skills involved. I would highly encourage everyone to witness history being rewritten this Sunday for the closest video game equivalent of boxing.

So, what are you most hyped about for Evo 2017? Will older SFV players rise up against the likes of KnuckleDu, PR Balrog, and Punk? Who will be crowned as the best Melee player? Will Nobi be able to take back his championship from Koreans in the new console version of Tekken 7? Be sure to share in the comments below.


▣ Evo 2017 Top 8 Finals Schedule for Select Titles

Sunday, July 16th
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 - 7:45 AM
Tekken 7 - 12:30 PM
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U – 3:00 PM
Street Fighter V - 7:00 PM

**All times are PDT (U.S. Pacific)
***All Top 8 finals will be streaming on the main Evo Twitch channel. The official schedule can be found on Shoryuken and tune in for the complete roster of Evo streams.