The world’s largest fighting game tournament comes to Tokyo on January 26-28, 2018!

Hot news from the Evo Japan Executive Committee: they are proud to announce that the first Evolution Championship Series: Japan will be held on January 26-28, 2018. The location: Akihabara UDX, mere minutes away from Akihabara Station in Tokyo, Japan.

The Evo Japan concept was originally revealed during Evo 2016’s finals at the Mandalay Bay Event Center, and last September–during the Tokyo Game Show–we learned that January 2018 was the intended target, now confirmed.

Additionally, a new tournament that leads up to Evo Japan will take place in 2017, in collaboration with the staff and community of TOPANGA and GODSGARDEN, in order to “unite gaming communities and celebrate the fighting spirit in Japan.” This event is called “[sài]” and will be organized using the Evolution Championship Series formula, using the double-elimination format. This event will be an open tournament, allowing anyone to register and compete. There will be no preferential treatment or seeding based on skill level for the tournament bracket placement.

[sài] will take place May 20-21, 2017, also at Akihabara UDX, and is free to enter. There will be three main events: Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, and one other game, yet to be determined. More information will be announced soon on the Evo Japan website.

Message from Noriyuki Kaneko, the chairman of Evo Japan Secretariat

Fighting games have been around for over 30 years, stemming from a single genre within the arcade gaming industry it has evolved and transcended the world of gaming. In recent years the fighting game communities based out of North America have expanded the genre and player base, most notably through Evo and has had great success in hosting the world’s largest open gaming tournament – for all games. I am honored to be part of an Evo event in Japan, the birthplace of the fighting game, not only as part of the staff but also as a fighting game fan & player.

Although it is known that Evo is the world’s biggest open gaming tournament, it’s more than just that. In my experience, Evo is also the best event for the separate fighting game communities. Evo Japan will work to unite these many communities and fighting gamers from all over the world as well. We welcome everyone that has their own specific goals, ideas and purposes and hope to enjoy fighting games together.

We look forward to seeing you at Evo Japan 2018, let’s have a great time together!

Follow news to come for Evo Japan on Twitter, on the official website, and here on Shoryuken!

Source: Evo Japan; [Evo 2016 photos by Junpei Tainaka]