EVO co-founder sent an interesting tweet a few hours ago explaining that their Super Smash Bros Melee stream this year received as much as 100,000 concurrent viewers, making it the most viewed stream, not just in EVO's history but in the history of all video game streams.
For now, Smash Bros Melee is the most watched fighting game in history, with 100k concurrent #evo2013 viewers!
— Tom Cannon (@ProtomCannon) July 14, 2013
Of course, this record may change in the coming hours after they verify the numbers for all the streams, but either way it is a milestone for Smash and the FGC in general. As Smash community member progducto/Wynton Smith confirmed, Smash has been running as an EVO side tournament for years but this is the first time they were added to the official streams.
@plsburydoughboy Yep, 2007 was pre-streaming (thanks for making me feel old). 2008 was Brawl, 09 Brawl side event, etc.
— MIOM| prog (@progducto) July 15, 2013
We've covered how Smash almost got taken off the streams, and how Nintendo changed their mind and brought it back in a matter of hours. It was even revealed that Nintendo's legal team, who sent the cease and desist, was originally planning to remove the game from EVO altogether. It seems all this drama had the effect of raising interest in the game and tournament among FGC and Nintendo fans alike.
The tournament itself was an exciting affair, as Mango (playing Fox McCloud) fought his way back from the loser's bracket to eventually take the championship. Solid performances from all the players in Top 8, between Ice (Sheik), Armada (Peach), Hungrybox (Jigglypuff), VGBC/Dr. Peepee (Falco), CT.EMP/Mew2King (Fox), Shroomed (Dr. Mario), and Wobblez (Ice Climbers) definitely helped keep the stream popular. You can read a rundown of these matches directly from SRK.
For many old Smash fans, this was their first exposure to the Melee competitive community. Some people remain critical that removing objects from gameplay goes agains the spirit of the game itself, but overall, I think fans immediately appreciated the high level play and technical proficiency the Top 8 players put on show. This may hopely raise interest in the tournament coming back next year, and possibly even the upcoming Super Smash Bros For Wii U/Super Smash Bros for 3DS eventually coming to EVO as well.
