The Evolution Championship Series (EVO) is without a doubt the premier fighting game tournament in North America. Fighting game aficionados from around the world gather in Las Vegas each Summer to battle it out in several different fighting game tournaments, with the championship and a lot of prize money on the line. So many memorable moments have taken place at this event, with the most famous one being when legendary Street Fighter player Daigo “The Beast” Umehara won the Street Fighter III: Third Strike 2004 Championship by Tech Countering his opponents Super Arts and finishing them with his own. You can watch this classic moment here:

Speaking of Street Fighter, the video game franchise has always been present at the event, usually having its tournament at the very end with the largest amount of participants and prize money. However, this year things worked out differently, as the fighting game stalwart has been dethroned. The final number of registrants have been tallied, and to the surprise of many, the one who has the highest amount is Dragon Ball FighterZ, in addition, it’s also the first time that we have seen a Street Fighter game not have the highest registration numbers at the event. Here’s a breakdown of the registration statistic’s for this year:

Evo 2018 Numbers – #Evo2018
1) DragonBall FighterZ – 2575
2) Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition – 2484
3) Tekken 7 – 1538
4) Super Smash Bros. for WiiU – 1354
5) Super Smash Bros. Melee – 1351
6) BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle – 1178
7) Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2 – 629
8) Injustice 2 – 363

— Joey Cuellar (@MrWiz) July 21, 2018

Dragon Ball FighterZ has really taken off in popularity, with many reviewers calling it the best fighting game in years. Arc System Works took everything great about the anime series, mixed it with their signature fighting games style, and the combination worked out perfectly. Still, it’s quite a shock to see Street Fighter at the number two spot in terms of popularity, especially when it comes to EVO. Even more surprising about this is that Dragon Ball FighterZ was only released in January of this year, less then seven months ago. Despite being in second place for applicants, Street Fighter is still boasting some impressive numbers. In fact, this year alone has seen a huge jump in participants and attendees.

Now that the numbers are in, we’re seeing healthy growth for both competitors and fans at #Evo2018. Looking forward to seeing you all in 2 weeks!

2017
Competitors: 6812
Overall attendees: 8964

2018
Competitors: 7437
Overall attendees: 10541

— EVO (@EVO) July 20, 2018

All of the fighting games being represented at EVO 2018 will benefit greatly from this event because the numbers are there, and they don’t lie. EVO 2018 will take place from August 3-5 in Las Vegas, Nevada at The Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.