is a reporter who covers the business, culture, and communities of video games, with a focus on marginalized gamers and the quirky, horny culture of video game communities.
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Evo 2025, the biggest fighting game tournament in North America, starts this weekend. If you tune into one of the nine different Evo Twitch channels you’ll see some of the top players in the world compete in fighting game staples like Street Fighter and Tekken, and newer games like King of Fighters: City of the Wolves, and Rivals of Aether II. The fighting starts today and lasts till late Sunday, August 3rd. Though this year is smaller, with fewer entrants than last year, there’s still plenty of reasons to watch.
While Evo remains one of the most highly attended fighting game tournaments in the world, this year, the number of entrants are slipping. Last year there were over 10,000 attendees — setting a record for the highest number of unique competitors in a fighting game tournament ever. This year, that number is significantly lower with the number of entrants slipping to over 8,500.
There could be a number of explanations for this. Economic volatility driven by inflation and policy has made the cost of living rise precipitously. When people have to think twice between groceries and a trip to Vegas (where Evo is annually held), the trip to Vegas typically loses out. Evo has also expanded, adding tournaments first in Japan, then France, and now Singapore, giving international players more of a choice of which events to attend.
Safety is potentially another reason why players are staying away. Evo is an internationally known and recognized tournament, players from all over the world compete in this event. But in the US, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been conducting raids across the country, ostensibly to arrest immigrants for deportation. But there have been numerous reports that legal residents, US citizens, and even tourists with valid visas are being arrested and detained for months or even illegally deported. In an email to The Verge, the Las Vegas Convention Center director of communications Erica Johnson wrote, “The LVCVA’s policy is to abide by all federal, state, and local laws and cooperate with the lawful execution of those.” Evo did not respond to requests for comment.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 06: Fans cheer on Matias “Scorpionprocs” Martinez after the EVO 2022 Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate tournament at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on August 06, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images) Getty Images
Some notable international players, though, have decided to brave crossing the US border. Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique from Pakistan is registered to attend Evo, returning again to compete for another Tekken Championship. Matías “Scorpionprocs” Martínez and Nicolás “Nicolas” Martínez, Chilean twins known for dominating Mortal Kombat tournaments, will also be competing.
The games themselves might also be contributing to reduced turnout. Tekken 8 has the second highest number of entrants after Street Fighter VI, but the game’s second season was so poorly received by players that Tekken executive producer Katsuhiro Harada wrote, “I personally do not think this backlash is at all unjustified.” That frustration with the game might have led to its player count being cut nearly in half going from 4,646 players in 2024 to just 2,521 this year.
Whatever the reason, this year’s Evo will be a slightly smaller, but no less exciting affair that’s worth watching. Take a look at the schedule here.
Even though Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves received criticism for some of its character choices, I’m generally excited to watch any game I haven’t seen before. Evo 2025 is also adding two new streams to the schedule for people to watch any of the smaller games that are always featured at Evo but not large or notable enough to get main event stage billing. Also my absolute favorite competitor Dominique “Trans Rights” / “SonicFox” McLean will be there and I’ll watch them whenever he’s on.
Here’s some other things to look out for:
Mortal Kombat Top 8 at 1PM ET on Saturday August 2nd: MK 1 has the least amount of entrants that I have ever seen and I want as many people to watch as possible so the competitors don’t feel so lonely.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves top 8 on Sunday August 3rd at 3PM: I really want to see someone using Cristano Ronaldo lose badly.
Street Fighter 6 Top 8 on Sunday August 3rd at 11 PM ET: Street Fighter 6 is the most popular game at Evo, boasting the highest number of entrants the last three years, and its finals are always events you wanna watch.