With each one of its feeder online tournaments now complete, the stage is set for the Evo 2021 Showcase and its qualified entrants.
Update: Evo has since canceled this event, meaning no real champion was crowned for 2021 aside from the regional online events.
Original article follows.
The Evo 2021 Showcase, set to happen at UFC Apex in Las Vegas in November, now has all 40 of its participants confirmed and locked in. Dubbed the Tournament of Champions, it will be the first in-person, offline event in the Evolution Championship Series since Evo 2019.
The fighters in question qualified for the tournament via Evo Online, which took place in August across more than a handful of regional divisions in five distinct titles.
Though neither Sony Interactive Entertainment nor RTS (now joint owners of the event) has released information on the exact format of the competition, it is quite a bit different from previous Evo iterations. Whereas Evo in years past has been open tournaments with free registration, the presence of the pandemic and the difficulties it presents have forced Evo to shift to an invitational format. The winners of each of the Evo Online competitions (as well as some runners-up) will represent their respective divisions in Las Vegas, and compete for their share of the $125,000 prize pool.
The following is a complete list of players that have earned their spots in the Tournament of Champions, divided into their respective games and regions of origin. One could even think of this as a delayed top 8 of sorts, with pools having qualified online in advance.
Tekken 7 Evo 2021 Showcase
- Marquis "Shadow20z" Jordan (North America)
- Genki "Gen" Kumisaka (Asia East)
- Nopparut "Book" Hempamorn (Asia South)
- Vincent "Super Akouma" Homan (Europe West)
- Garik "LMG MoB" Galoyan (Europe East)
- Jorge "Energie_Marduk" Andrews (LATAM Central)
- Sergie "Sergie Mazter" Jean (LATAM South)
Street Fighter V: Champion Edition Evo 2021 Showcase
- Derek "iDom" Ruffin (NA East)
- Alan "Nephew" Sun (NA West)
- Claude Eric "Hurricane" Diboti (Europe West)
- Jamie_TTM (Europe East)
- Masaki "Kawano" Kawano (Asia East)
- Kun "Xian" Ho (Asia South)
- Antonio "Kusanagi" Medrano (LATAM Central)
- Paulo "HorusPaulin" Moura (LATAM South)
Guilty Gear -STRIVE- Evo 2021 Showcase
North America
- Julian "Hotashi" Harris
- Dominique "SonicFox" McLean
Europe
- William "Leffen" Hjelte
- Uriel_Legion
Asia
- Lee "Xyzzy" Han-byul
- Daru
Latin America
- Jessé "Trema" Willian
- Mike "mike_Saftig" Saftig
Skullgirls: 2nd Encore Evo 2021 Showcase
North America
- Daniel "Cloud" Normandia
- Triviality
Europe
- CT "Mr Peck" Matthews
- Mr. Bors
Asia
- penpen
- Naminori
Latin America
- Receita Federal
- Jorjão
Mortal Kombat 11
North America
- Jarrad "NinjaKilla212" Gooden
- Jarod "Jueks-" Williams
Europe
- Arthur "Disarted" Bereza
- Konstantinos "K-TOP" Lamprou
Latin America
- Wellington "Konqueror249" de Castro
- Bruno "KillerXinok" Sousa
Editor's note: There are slated to be 8 players from Mortal Kombat 11 and Tekken 7, but as of press time, Evo has not replied to our request as to the process for selection of the remaining players. As such, those games are listed with the champions and/or top 2 from each region ran in each title.