Everything you need to know about Evo Online

The Evolution Championship Series (aka Evo), the premiere FGC tournament in esports, has had a rough go of it the last few years. The pandemic made live events incredibly difficult and fighting games had issues moving online compared to other esports. The FGC has been built from hotel ballrooms and packed conference centers, so the switch to online wasn’t easy.

To complicate that, Evo Online in 2020 was canceled outright after co-founder Joey Cuellar was accused of sexual misconduct. His hand was forced as developers pulled out of the event and he has since left the company. In March 2021, Sony stepped in to buy Evo, hopefully ushering the tournament into the next era.

For years, Evo has been a staple of the summer esports calendar held in early August. Sony was certainly hoping that live events could fully return by August 2021. Legally, they can, but there are ethical concerns as the Delta variant of COVID-19 has led to an increase in case numbers as vaccination rates remain stagnant. So, as we enter August, Evo is not holding an in-person event.

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Instead the Evo Online series will run from Aug. 6 to 15 with the Evo Showcase (an in-person Evo) being held on Nov. 28 and 29. But there are changes due to the nature of the competition.

Evo was best known for its massive brackets. Anyone had a shot to challenge the best FGC players in the world. In 2018, over 10,000 people registered for Evo to compete in the tournament. This year is different as the Evo Showcase won’t be an open bracket. Qualifying has been ongoing for months and Evo Online will be one of the big chances for players to potentially make it into the Evo Showcase.

The five games in Evo Online are Tekken 7, Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition, Guilty Gear Strive, Skullgirls 2nd Encore and Mortal Kombat Ultimate 11. Competition will be held over two weekends: Aug. 6-8 and Aug. 13-15.

Read more: 7 fighting games that should make an esports comeback

For competitors, all events will begin at noon PT. For Europe, that time is GMT +1, for Latin America it is GMT -7, for Asia-Japan it is GMT-9 and for America it is GMT -7. For Americans, that is more commonly called Mountain Time. It is one hour ahead of Pacific Time and two hours behind Eastern Time.

The stream itself will alternate between games. Each region will have its own championship and all of them will be streamed when they reach the final few rounds. For clarity’s sake, the times below will focus only on the NA region. For the full rundown of Asia, Europe and Latin America, use this link.

Tekken 7

How many entrants in North America: 615

When to watch the North American final at Evo Online: 5:30-8:30 p.m. PT, Saturday, Aug. 7

Skullgirls 2nd Encore

How many entrants in North America: 317

How to watch the North American final at Evo Online: 2-5 p.m. PT, Sunday, Aug. 8

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition

How many entrants in North America East: 410

How many entrants in North America West: 367

How to watch the North American East final at Evo Online: 5:30-7:00 p.m. PT, Sunday, Aug. 8

How to watch the North American West final at Evo Online: 7:00-8:30 p.m. PT, Sunday, Aug. 8

Mortal Kombat Ultimate 11

How many entrants in North America: 406

How to watch the North American final at Evo Online: 5:30-8:30 p.m. PT Saturday, Aug. 14

Guilty Gear Strive

How many entrants in North America: 2,262

How to watch the North American final at Evo Online: 2-5 p.m. PT, Sunday, Aug. 15

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Who to watch for at Evo Online

Of the 3,451 total competitors, Guilty Gear Strive has far and away the most with about two-thirds of all competitors playing in the game. Dominique “SonicFox” Mclean is certainly the player to watch. They are already the highest earning FGC player of all time and a five-time Evo Champion including three Mortal Kombat titles.

In Evo Online, they will be competing in Guilty Gear Strive, Skullgirls 2nd Encore, Mortal Kombat Ultimate 11 and Tekken 7.

Derek “iDom” Ruffin is another good player to watch, he’s top 10 all time in earnings and the 2019 Capcom Cup champion in Street Fighter V. He will be competing in Street Fighter V and Guilty Gear Strive.

This will be the biggest event in Guilty Gear Strive’s short history after releasing in June 2021. So far, SonicFox is the highest earner, but right behind SonicFox are Kelly “SQ” Chapdelaine and Victor “Punk” Woodley who will be challenging for the first major title in the game’s history. The beauty of Evo means that it will likely be a new face who wins Evo Online, immediately vaulting them up the ranks and locking in a spot at the Evo Showcase in November.

Lead image credit: Evo / Sony