Evolution 2014 has finished just a few hours ago, and with it comes not only news from the biggest fighting game tournament in the world, but things about new games.
Luffy, from Meltdown, basically ran a gauntlet of top players to take the championship at Ultra Street Fighter IV, arguably one of the oldest but also freshest games in the show. Among the players he beat in the tournament are Tokido, Mago, Momochi, Gackt, Snake Eyes, Fuudo, and of course, the eventual number two contender, Bonchan. This is the first time a female character (Rose) took the championship for Street Fighter at EVO, and the first time a European took the same championship. Consequently, Luffy is getting a special in-game title for his achievement, and qualifies for Capcom Pro 2.
Meanwhile, the Marvel tournament went down to three of the games’ best; Justin Wong, NYChrisG, and FilipinoChamp. Justin actually sent FilipinoChamp to the losers’ bracket, but ChrisG denied them the chance for a rematch. In the end, Justin’s patent Morrigan play won him the championship.
For Super Smash Bros Melee, again a game that is arguably one of the oldest and freshest in the show, C9|Mang0 beat Hungrybox to be the championship in the 2nd year in the row. Outside the competition, Smash community members were on hand to celebrate the career of one of their own, Progducto, who is taking an offscreen role while he deals with new health conditions.
Overall, it was a shocking EVO in many ways, as many popular, top players, including Tokido and Daigo, were taken out from their respective tournaments early. However, you can also say this has been one of the best EVOs in years, as the influx of new talent means competition has not been stagnating.
Regarding announcements, Netherrealm revealed that Raiden is joining the cast of Mortal Kombat X, and Katsuhiro Harada of Bandai Namco unveiled Tekken 7, to be built using the Unreal 4 Engine.
We mentioned earlier that Rose is the first female character to win Street Fighter EVO. In fact, it was a big year for female playable characters in the tournament, as all the games, save Melee and King of Fighters, was won by or with a female character.
Congratulations to EVO and the entire fighting game community!
You can read partial results (champion and number two contender) below and see full results here.
Ultra Street Fighter 4
MD|Luffy, playing Rose, beat Bonchan, playing Sagat.
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
EG|JWong, playing Wolverine, Storm, and Akuma, beat GG|NYCHrisG, playing two teams (Morrigan, Doom and Vergil, as well as Morrigan, Magneto, and Doom).
Super Smash Bros Melee
C9|Mang0, playing Fox, beat Crs.Hungrbox, playing Jigglypuff, Fox, and Falco.
Killer Instinct
KN.RM|CDJr, playing Sadira, beat RG|Rico Suave, playing Thunder, Fulgore, Glacius, Jago, and Sabrewulf.
BlazBlue Chronophantasma
Garireo, playing Litchi, beat Dogura, playing Azrael.
The King of Fighters XIII
QANBA|Xiaohai, playing EX Iori, Mr. Karate, and Kim, beat MCZ|Tokido, playing EX Iori, Mr. Karate, and Chin.
Injustice: Gods Among Us
RG|SonicFox, playing Batgirl, beat AK.EMPR|Pig of the Hut, playing Zod.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Twitch|JDCR, playing three teams (Heihachi and Armor King, Kazuya and Devil Jin, and Heihachi and Dragunov), beat MCP|Gen, playing Bob and Leo.
Picture is of Luffy and Bonchan being awarded champions, courtesy EVO and SRK.
