EVO 2014: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know

EVO 2014 is right around the corner, which means there’s a ton of exciting details centering on this massive fighting game tournament.

This year’s installment of the biggest fighting game tournament there is features your favorite fighting games, pro players and two separate showcase events. From July 11th to the 13th (Friday to Saturday), the most elite fighting game players will fight for top honors at the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. And hey, there’s going to an expanded “Bring Your Own Console Area,” too!

Here’s everything you need to know about EVO 2014! Make sure you come back here to watch the livestreams of every game tourney as it happens. We may just get a look at a new character addition to Mortal Kombat X, too…

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1. There Will Be 8 Main Tournament Games

The main fighting games that will primarily be focused on at this year’s EVO tourney are listed below along with their total estimated prize pots. Click on each game to see the full breakdowns of the payouts that will be awarded to its respective top 8 winners:

• Ultra Street Fighter 4 (Total estimated prize pot: $29,790)
• BlazBlue: Chronophantasma (Total estimated prize pot: $35,080)
• Killer Instinct (Total estimated prize pot: $13,380)
• Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Total estimated prize pot: $10,140)
• King of Fighters XIII (Total estimated prize pot: $3,190)
• Injustice: Gods Among Us (Total estimated prize pot: $3,110)
• Super Smash Bros. Melee (Total estimated prize pot: $9,700)
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Total estimated prize pot: $7,570)

Skullgirls: Encore will also be playable in a side tournament. Autumn Games (publisher) and Lab Zero Games (developer) have added a combined prize pot bonus of $5,000 to the tourney.

Friday and Saturday’s tournament proceedings can be seen at the following LINK.

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2. A Ton of People Have Signed Up to Compete in Ultra Street Fighter 4, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Super Smash Bros. Melee

Shoryuken.com has confirmed that a huge collection of fighting game pros have signed up for the three biggest games being played at the tourney:

• 1,979 players have signed up to compete in Ultra Street Fighter IV
• 1,014 players have signed up to compete in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
• 970 players have signed up to compete in Super Smash Bros. Melee

As for the number of players participating in the other game tourney’s, you can refer to the reported numbers below:

• 508 people have signed up to compete in BlazBlue: Chronophantasma
• 338 people have signed up to compete in Killer Instinct
• 319 people have signed up to compete in King of Fighters XIII
• 311 people have signed up to compete in Injustice: Gods Among Us
• 257 people have signed up to compete in Tekken Tag Tournament 2

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3. Twitch is Sending Three Prominent Players to the Tournament

Twitch’s resident fighting game specialist Victor “Victheslik” Denchartphan announced that Twitch will be personally flying in three pro fighting game players – Acqua, KoujiKOG and Yossan. It’s interesting to note that this will be the 1st American fighting game tourney appearances for all three players. It’s also interesting to note that 836 international players will be competing at this year’s EVO.

Shoryuken.com broke down the number of players who will be representing their respective countries:

• Canada – 331
• Japan – 127
• Mexico – 114
• Australia – 28
• United Kingdom – 27
• France – 23
• Brazil – 21
• Chile – 19
• Germany – 15
• Colombia – 13

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4. Japan’s Most Dominant Fighting Game Players Will Be Participating

There will also be an influx of five excellent Japanese fighting game players at this year’s tourney – Daigo Umehara, Tokido, sako, Nuki and Haitani.

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5. Capcom Will Be Adding a Huge Pot Bonus to the Ultra Street Fighter IV Prize Pool

Capcom is adding a $10,000 pot bonus for the Ultra Street Fighter IV prize pool. They’re also raising the stakes by adding an exclsuive tier to the Capcom Pro Tour ranking points for competing players. This huge sum of money will be distributed throughout the top 16 players who get ranked in the EVO 2014 tourney.

6. Namco Bandai’s Adding More Cash to the Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prize Pool, Plus There’s Going to be Soul Calibur Side Tournaments

Twin Galaxies will be running the side tournaments for Bandai Namco’s Soul Calibur V and Soul Calibur 2 HD Online. The Soul Calibur 2 HD Online tourney will be held on Friday (July 11, 2014) and the Soul Calibur V tourney will go down on Saturday (July 12, 2014).

Check out the two pics below to get details on the the prize pool breakdown of both games:

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7. Arc System Works and Aksys Games Will Add a Combined Prize Pot Bonus to the BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Tournament

The main developer (Arc System Works) and publisher (Aksys Games) behind BlazBlue: Chronophantasma added a combined $30,000 to the game’s prize pot bonus.

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8. Atlus Games Wil Be Holding Its Own Side Tournament for Two of Its Games

Video game publisher Atlus will be conducting side tournaments of its own with two games – Guilty Gear Accent Core + R and Persona 4: Arena. Atlus has also sweetened the deal for the Persona 4: Arena tourney by throwing in a $1000 prize pot bonus and a signed piece of art by Shigenori Soejima. Dustloop.com listed all of the details for both game’s side tournaments, so check it out there if you’re interested in entering.

In another bit of cool Atlus fighting game news, they have confirmed that they will be bring along a playable build of Persona 4 Arena: Ultimax to EVO 2014.

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9. Razer Will Be Adding Its Own Prize Pot Bonus to Killer Instinct

PC gaming hardware and accessories producer Razer has added their own major prize pot bonus to the Killer Instinct tourney – $10,000.

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10. There’s Also Going to Be an EVO 2014 Indie Video Game Showcase and Art Show

Several independent video game developers will be attending EVO 2014 and present their latest projects in a showcase. The games that will be on hand at EVO 2014 include:

• Advent Saga
• Lethal League
• Yatagarasu Attack on Cataclysm
• VIDEOBALL
• Aztez
• Towerfall Ascension
• Starwhal
• Battle Golf Association
• Nidhogg
• Gunsport!

Along with this event, there’s going to be a the 1st EVO sponsored art show. Miguel Wilson of Multiverse Studio provided some comments to Shoryuken.com about the showcase and what it will entail:

This year, the Evolution Championship Series is proud to present the Inaugural Evo Art Show! During the Evo tournament event, we will be showcasing our first ever live art gallery dedicated to the genre of fighting games! The live art exhibit will be featuring the works of some of the industry’s leading artists, such as Edwin Huang, Long Vo, Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz, Tracy Tubera, Mark Hammermeister, Michael Pasquale, and many more!

There will be a chance for all tournament participants and fans to check out and purchase original artwork featured in the show. Fans will also have the chance to interact with some of their favorite artists as well! So, while you’re enjoying the action of the Evo tournament, stop by and explore this exciting exhibit as we honor the spirit and art of fighting games!

Head to the next page to see all of the livestream links to all of EVO 2014’s action!