"This award means so much to me because it comes from the community."
All of the 2026 Evolution Championship Series (Evo) Awards Show winners were just announced in Los Angeles, CA. Read on for the full list of Evo Awards 2026 winners plus a recap of what happened during the event.
Evo Awards 2026 Hall of Fame
On March 28, the second-annual Evo Awards celebrated the fighting game community (FGC). The event kicked off with a segment hosted by Hollywood RobTV and Tasty Steve. It also had Justin Wong, IFC Yipes, and Grr, and Cloud805 duking it out in Invincible VS.
After revealing the Evo Awards 2026 categories and winners, the show welcomed three-time Japanese Evo champion Shinya “Nuki” Onuki, Street Fighter player and organizer Mike “Watts” Watson, plus two-time Evo champion and host Ryan “Prodigal Son” Hart into the Hall of Fame.
All three of them shared their thoughts and thanked everyone for the honor as well. “Still feels unreal,” Watts stated on X. “Thank you to everyone involved.” Meanwhile, Nuki expressed gratitude to Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi and Daigo Umehara on X for keeping him committed to fighting games. Prodigal Son gave a shoutout to fellow inductee Watts, too, recalling how he used to download the latter’s matches.
All Evo Awards 2026 winners
Here are all 20 of this year’s Evo Awards winners. Among them are legends such as TEKKEN player Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique, artist Hungry Clicker, and content creator Rooflemonger. Although Arslan Ash wasn’t at the venue in Los Angeles, he recorded a heartfelt speech dedicated to his supporters, sponsors, team, family, and the entire FGC.
| Category | Winner | Nominees |
|---|---|---|
| Best Artist | Hungry Clicker | SpaceDey, BeffenM, Klever Art, Rskad |
| Best Character | Mai Shiranui | Ryu, Ekko, Potemkin, Armor King |
| Best Combo | Blaz’s Sagat vs Xiohai’s Mai Fan | Ed’s Dream Combo, Ryan Hart’s Dragon Dance, SuperKawaiiDesu’s Arhi Tod, AbuOmar Double Super vs Kindevu |
| Best Commentary | Rynge on Blaz Entering Grand Finals of CapCom Cup 11 | “MenaRD cannot be denied.” – Sajam, “Ninjas in Paris!” – MarkMan, Tasty Steve Narrating Arslan Ash’s Evo Win, “This cell might be bleeding, but he remains perfect.” – Damascus |
| Best Content Creator | Rooflemonger | Brian_F, Sharkparty, Sajam, Diaphone |
| Best Cosplay | Sharkparty’s Juri | RhinosaurousRex’s R. Mika, Bridoof’s Jack-O, Steff Von Schweetz’s Cagliostro, Kaho Shibuya’s Hsein-Ko |
| Best Custom Controller (Presented by Chipotle) | The Bard Box | Arcade Cab Folding Table, Itabashi Zangeif’s 3D Controller, The Plant Box, The Giant Fight Stick |
| Best Dressed (Presented by Zenni) | Ryan Hart | WhiteBl4ck, Tasty Steve, Unroolie, Hollywood RobTV |
| Best Game Release | Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves | Virtua Fighter 5 Revo World Stage, HUNTERxHUNTER NENxIMPACT, 2XKO, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 |
| Best Local | River City Rushdown | Iron Grid, 404 Esports, RunTheMix, King’s Cup |
| Best Meme (Presented by Chipotle) | KojiKOG’s Crashout | 6-7, What Are You Standing Up For, Ryan Hart, Steamed Bun Man |
| Best Online Series | Tampa Never Sleeps | La Gema, Breakout Series, ParagOnline, Motivation Academy |
| Best Pop Off | Punk Standing Up vs Xiaohau at EWC | Shin Paulo at Irongrid, Dual Kevin at Combo Breaker, Mulgold vs. Atif at EWC, Arslan Winning Evo France 2025 |
| Best Product | Brook Wingman Converter | Haute42 x Hautepad X, Qanda Sapphire, Corsair Novablade, Jonyfraze 4TW |
| Comeback of the Year | Mister Crimson (vs Blaz) | kobayan vs Dual Kevin, Gropis vs Hikari, BigBlack vs Defiant, Psycho vs Blaz |
| Commentator of the Year | Tasty Steve | MrLeapfrog, IFCYipeS, Shidosha, Rynge |
| Match of the Year (Presented by Qiddiya) | Xiaohau vs Lauyagami | Blaz vs Mister Crimson, Go1 vs ET, Psycho vs Blaz, BigBlack vs Defiant |
| Moment of the Year | KojiKOB’s Crashout | Lauyagami Winning SWC, Mister Crimson’s Comeback, Punk Standing Up, MenaRD’s Evo 2025 Win |
| Player of the Year (Presented by Qiddiya) | Arslan Ash | Xiaohau, Blaz, Go1, MenaRD |
| They’ve Got Next (Upcoming New Player) (Presented by PlayStation Tournaments) | Blaz | Hinao, Neia, Riddles, Micky |
Evo Legends Live and tournaments galore
During the ceremony, Evo Legends Live was announced as well. It will premiere this April 29 in Japan and feature a showdown between Daigo Umehara and Saul “MenaRD” Leonardo.
Later, the FGC will also get to duke it out in free micro-tournaments at Evo Las Vegas. There will be more than 150 flash tournaments. These will run hourly and include prizes.
That’s all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more news and updates.