To understand why this is, it’s important you have to understand where EVO came from. Evolution is the largest and longest running fighting game tournament in the world. Founded in 2002 by Tom and Tony Cannon along with Joey Cuellar it has since grown into a masterpiece unrivaled within the community. At it’s inaugural event in Las Vegas the tournament featured only 3 titles, headlined by Super Street Fighter II Turbo. In 2015 the event showcased 9 different titles which it plans to match in 2016. It has experienced unprecedented growth over the years. In 2004 700 players showed up to compete; by 2015 more than 10,000 competitors descended on Las Vegas for their chance at EVO fame. The venue has changed many times to accommodate this growth and the founders have successfully navigated some treacherous times in fighting game history. However, 2016 has become an opportunity to solidify EVO’s place in history. It’s a chance to bring fighting games to the forefront of a burgeoning industry.

2016 is a year of change and with those changes come the opportunity to alter the landscape of Fighting E-Sports forever. EVO’s new venue is the first point of progress. While most fighting tournaments have been in ball rooms, EVO is moving to the main stage. The finals in 2016 are being broadcast from The Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. This venue has been host to the likes of the UFC, the NBA, and the League of Legends LCS Finals. Not bad company for an event that a decade ago couldn’t have filled a high school football stadium. This move has garnered national attention which will undoubtedly help to elevate player interest in fighting games.

The crowd during the 2015 Event

The move couldn’t have come at a better time as this years registration numbers have skyrocketed. Street Fighter 5 drew more competitors in the first 4 days after registration opened than any EVO before. The final count stands at 5,100 registered SFV players for the event. SSBM and SSB4 both topped over 2,000 competitors making this event the largest smash gathering not just for EVO, but inernationally. Even Pokken, the new fighting game recently released by Nintendo cracked the 1,000 player mark coming in at 1,180. EVO has 14,821 registered players heading into this weekend according a recent tweet by the founder. This puts the cash prize pool at almost $150,000 before the $100,000 being thrown in by the game developers Warner Brothers and Capcom.

As if that weren’t enough, for the first time ever EVO is being broadcast on a major television network. ESPN 2 has agreed to broadcast the SFV finals at 10 pm on Sunday July 17th. Only two other E-Sports events have been broadcast on a major network in recent history, Heroes of the Dorm and the Dota 2 International. This opportunity is not surprising as EVO’s viewership numbers have exploded in recent years. In 2013 EVO saw 1.7 million unique viewers tune in; by 2015 that number had over doubled to 3.9 million unique viewers and a total of 19 million stream views. To put this in perspective, the Stanley Cup which is hockey’s premier event has surpassed this number only twice in the last two decades. Wimbeldon one of the biggest events in tennis came in with half this many viewers or a little over 2 million in 2016. Nathan’s hotdog eating contest which ESPN has committed to televising again in 2017 saw a measly 1.2 million viewers in 2016. The numbers are there and EVO will be the first fighting tournament to capitalize on them.

William “Leffen” Hjelte

Where’s the money? The sponsor support and money that have long held back the scene are finally pouring in on the heels of popular new game releases. Daigo “the beast” Umehara recently picked up a sponsorship from Red Bull along with William “Leffen” Hjelte. New E-Sports teams have also taken notice of the growth with Echo Fox sponsoring Mew2King and Tempo Storm adding a few players to their roster as well. While MadCatz recently left the player sponsorship scene, it seems as though many new organizations are eager to take their place. With the influx of new sponsors, teams, and money this EVO has reached a tipping point. Not only will the exposure for this event be unheard of, but the potential to generate future revenue will be as well.

If this EVO is as hype as the last few have been you can expect ESPN and the money to stick around for years to come. Allowing for growth that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. With the hopes of the community rested on its shoulders EVO stands to carry us into an exceedingly bright future.