It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
First and foremost, Happy New Year! I apologize for leaving this blog to collect dust for a while. Truth is, December was pretty crazy, between working a temporary paid internship for the first time ever, and getting swept up in the Holiday Season. Because of both, I didn’t have a whole lot of time to work on stuff for the blog. Now that both are in the rear view mirror, I can put more focus on writing for this. Call it my New Year’s Resolution, if you will.
But enough about my whereabouts…let’s talk eSports.
January is usually a time where there isn’t too much going on in terms of competitive sport. The National Hockey League and National Basketball Association are in the middle of their respective seasons, while the National Football League is in the process of whittling the field down for Super Bowl Sunday. I’m talking about none of those today. (Especially the NFL, for reasons I may or may not get into in another blog.)
Instead, I’m here to talk about the inevitable announcement of what games will be at the Evolution World Championships.
Evolution, or Evo for short, is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious video game tournaments in the world. Fighting game players from all over flock to Las Vegas every summer to compete for massive prizes and a year’s worth of bragging rights. It’s right about this time the lineup of games usually gets announced, so with that in mind, I have a wishlist of what I’d like to see played at Evo 2017. No real guidelines to speak of here, but keep in mind that this is all strictly opinion. If there’s something you don’t agree with here, that’s perfectly fine; I’m willing to debate any point in this article, so long as things stay civil.
With that out of the way, how about we jump right into it?
Street Fighter V
First, let’s address the elephant in the room. However you want to look at it, Street Fighter V is going to be at Evo; it started off running only Capcom fighters, and Street Fighter has been an Evo staple to this day. Also, despite the game bombing commercially, it’s been an excellent tournament headliner, thanks in large part to Capcom’s eSports initiative in the form of the Capcom Pro Tour. In fact, Evo’s Top 8 tournament for Street Fighter V managed to get a prime time spot on ESPN2. That’s a pretty major accomplishment, so there’s no way Joey Cuellar (A.K.A. Mr. Wizard) won’t feature the latest iteration of the grand master of fighting games at the biggest fighting game tournament ever. And with balance changes to the old cast, as well as new faces joining the fray throughout the year, there’s potential for new faces to make some serious noise.
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Another “gimme” pick, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has been a part of Evo’s lineup since 2012 (or 2011 if you count the initial Fate of Two Worlds version), being featured as part of what I like to call “Evo Sunday” all five years…most of them just before whatever version of Street Fighter IV was hot at the moment. And that’s despite the fact that the game has received no additional support from Capcom due to licensing issues with Marvel. Of course, we all know that’s no longer a problem as of early last month, and with Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite coming later this year, it only seems right to take the third chapter of this classic crossover fighter for one final ride.
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Ever since its introduction to the Evo scene in 2015, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U has had…kind of a weird run. Both tournaments had their entrant counts in the thousands, with 2016’s tournament actually seeing a substantial increase in entrants (2,662, an increase from 2015’s 1,926), and both tournaments even managed to surpass its older counterpart, Super Smash Bros. Melee, in terms of raw participant numbers. When it came to the actual tournaments, however, they felt more like afterthoughts, with inconvenient time slots and very little fanfare compared to the treatment the Melee tournaments received at Evo. To be fair to Mr. Wizard, scheduling for a tournament of this scale (with only three or four days to work with) is a massively tricky undertaking. Still, a little more care could’ve been put into the Smash Bros. for Wii U tournaments; I’m not necessarily saying they should’ve been given treatment equal to the Melee tournaments, but they could’ve tried a bit harder to hype it up rather than put all the hype towards Melee because of the seniority it possesses.
Also, no disrespect to D’Ron “D1” Maingrette, the guy’s masterful when it comes to Smash Bros. commentary. But would it be too much to ask for Phil “PhenomenalEE” Visu to co-cast Top 8 along with TKBreezy this time?
(As an additional note, while a Switch version of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is likely, I doubt it will be available in time for Evo. It would be nice to see, though!)
Killer Instinct
Originally, I thought Killer Instinct’s chances of returning to Evo for the fourth year in a row were a bit shaky, since it looked like Season 3 was the last hurrah for the game as a whole. That, and with the number of entrants for each Killer Instinct tournament at Evo dropping year to year, it’s not unreasonable to think that it won’t be back in 2017. However, with three new characters coming to the game throughout 2017, and Iron Galaxy promising more surprises, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to think that it could be back after all. Killer Instinct is not a lock for Evo 2017 by any means, but the chances are better than they were before.
King of Fighters XIV
Evo is no stranger to hosting SNK games; Capcom vs. SNK 2 was an Evo classic for many years, and King of Fighters XIII featured some crazy Top 8 moments in 2012 and 2013. With King of Fighters being absent from Evo’s main stage for the past two years, and SNK announcing an E-sports support program for the game, King of Fighters XIV could bring it back in a huge way, maybe even set a precedent for future King of Fighters tournaments.
Tekken 7: Fated Retribution
The original arcade version of this game was featured in 2015, while the Fated Retribution update got the spotlight in 2016. Now, with the latter coming to consoles at some point this year, it makes sense to think that Tekken 7 will be on the Evo stage once again. I’m not sure if there will be another King of Iron Fist tournament series like what Bandai-Namco had last year, but if one gets announced before the Evo lineup is revealed, I could see Tekken 7 coming back for at least one more year.
Injustice 2
Ed Boon and NetherRealm Studios have barely said a damn thing about this game since August, so it makes you wonder what’s going on behind the scenes. I’m not about to put on a tin foil hat and theorize what’s going on, but fighting games usually don’t have info droughts that last this long. That being said, considering Kombat Pack Season 3 won’t be walking through the door for Mortal Kombat XL any time soon, NetherRealm’s relationship with the Evo crew over the past few years is a good sign that Injustice 2 has a shot at getting into the lineup. Let’s just hope this game is not as zone-heavy as the first…
Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator OR BlazBlue: Central Fiction
The last entry on this list is technically two games, but only one of them is bound to make it to Evo. It’s just a matter of which one gets the call, and there are arguments for both.
While Evo has been publicly known to a decent degree, it’s Guilty Gear Xrd that helped it get SportsCenter’s attention, with the infamous “What’re You Standing Up For?!” match between Ryuchi “Woshige” Shigeno and Kenichi Ogawa being a particular focal point. On the other hand, BlazBlue: Central Fiction is the newest addition to the BlazBlue series, which hasn’t been on the main Evo block since what many consider to be the greatest Grand Final set in Evo history two years ago, Galileo’s comeback against Dogura in Chrono Phantasma.
It’s hard to say which of these two will get the call to Evo, but rest-assured, one of them WILL get in.
Now, by this point you may have noticed two omissions from this wishlist: Pokken Tournament, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. There are a few reasons for this. For Pokken, it’s simply a matter of popularity. It had a great start when it first launched last spring, and did decently at last year’s Evo in terms of views and participants. In fact, the Evo tournament was even a part of Game Freak and The Pokémon Company International’s Pokken circuit that lead to the Pokémon World Championships the month after.
Sadly, the well of success Pokken found early on dried up not long after it had sprung. Even if it was featured at other tournaments after both Evo and Worlds, its popularity took a nosedive after the Pokémon World Championships. Moreso while new characters made their way to the arcade version, there has been no sign of them coming to the Wii U version…which makes sense, considering the Wii U is essentially done and dusted.
For Pokken to come back to Evo, one of two things need to happen. Either an updated version for the Nintendo Switch comes out with the four arcade newcomers (as well as any other new surprises), or Bandai-Namco and TPCi wave enough dollar bills in Mr. Wizard’s face to convince him to give the game another shot. Only time will tell, but at this point, I say Pokken’s Evo status is looking grim.
Melee, however, is in an unusual position: I want to see it at Evo…and it’s more than likely going to be there…but at the same time, I kind of don’t want to see it.
First, let me start off by saying that I don’t hate competitive Melee, and I get why it’s as big as it is. It’s a fun game to watch at a high level, easily on-par with Marvel vs. Capcom or Guilty Gear in terms of fun factor. Moreso, it pulls in Twitch views by the truckload, and the competitive scene has been running strong since its revival in 2013. It’s a game with a massive following, and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
So, why do I want to see Melee at Evo while not wanting to see it at Evo at the same time? (It’s confusing, I know.)
The short answer is that there’s no point in holding a tournament when you know who’s likely to win it all in the end.
The long answer is that as amazing as Melee tournaments can be, they’ve gotten predictable over the years. Allow me to explain for the uninitiated: There are at least six Melee players that are the strongest and most consistent in the competitive Smash Bros. community, players that, at their best, are borderline unstoppable by all but themselves. You have “The Five Gods,” four of which still play the game to this day and consist of:
- Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman
- Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma
- Joseph “Mango” Marquez
- Adam “Armada” Lindgren
Then you have a player who many consider to be the “Sixth God,” William “Leffen” Hjelte.
Finally, the fifth god of the group, Kevin “PPMD” Nanney, has not participated in a proper Melee tournament since 2016’s Battle of the Five Gods exhibition, but is often noted as one of the Five Gods regardless.
If there is a major Melee tournament going on, like Dreamhack, CEO, or Big House, chances are very high that it’s going to come down to any combination of these five players (sans PPMD), and one of them is going to win it all. Those Melee players are on a different level compared to others, hence their distinction as “Gods,” and only a few other Melee players, such as Justin “Plup” McGrath, can actually beat them in the early stages of a Top 8. Further down, however, is another story.
By comparison, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournaments are much more diverse in terms of entrants, even with only two years of metagame development under its belt compared to Melee’s fifteen. True, you may see faces like Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios pop up more often than not, but most of the time, any Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament feels like it’s anyone’s game to win.
So, with all that in mind, if Mr. Wizard and friends believe that Melee absolutely needs to be at Evo, here’s what I think they could do as a compromise. Skip hosting a full-fledged tournament for Melee, and instead hold a “Day Zero” exhibition tournament with a prize pool, similar to last year’s Battle of the Five Gods. The staff can gather the best Melee players in the world…the Five Gods (PPMD’s health issues permitting), Leffen, and any other top Melee players they can get a hold of…and invite them to participate.
It’s a win-win for everyone: The Melee community gets its time to shine, they help kick off Evo weekend, and an important point of contention as far as its growth as a competitive title, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U gets more limelight for the actual tournament.
And as a final, not-actually-serious prediction for the Evo ’17 lineup, I predict another Day Zero exhibition: A Fighting Game Community Overwatch tournament. Non-fighting games have been featured at Evo before (hello, Mario Kart DS), and Overwatch feels very close to a fighting game with its emphasis on counterpicks. Keep in mind that there’s very little chance this will actually happen, but it would be kind of funny to see major fighting game names like Justin Wong and Michael “IFC Yipes” Mendoza go at it with the likes of McCree and D. Va as opposed to Karin Kanzuki and Necalli.
…A man can dream, can’t he?!
Evo Speculation Season is upon us, and the official unveils are not too far off. Will my guesses be accurate? Only time will tell. Maybe I’ll speak more on the official reveals when they happen.
(Spoiler: I’m going to speak more on the official reveals when they happen.)
‘Til we meet again,
Tom
The Mind of Lydon 