It’s the moment that fighting game fans have been waiting for, the full lineup reveal for the Evolution Championship Series 2020, also known as EVO 2020. Set to kickoff this Summer from July 31-August 2, nine different fighting games have been chosen for the event this year. Eight of them will use the standard tournament round robin elimination style that will allow numerous participants to register, while the ninth title will be an exclusive invite only tournament that is set to commemorate the 20th Anniversary for one of the all time classics, Marvel VS. Capcom 2.
The lineup is very similar to the previous years with a couple of exceptions. Street Fighter V: Championship Edition returns because it isn’t EVO without Street Fighter, while the huge fan favorite Dragon Ball FighterZ is back for the third straight year. Samurai Shodown and Soul Calibur VI are also coming back after a good showing last year, as will Tekken 7. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will also come back due to it’s ever growing popularity. The two newest games to show up on the lineup are the new Arc System Works games, Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] and Granblue Fantasy Versus with the latter not even being released in the States yet.
Here’s the full lineup of EVO 2020:
- Dragon Ball FighterZ
- Granblue Fantasy Versus
- Samurai Shodown
- Soulcalibur VI
- Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Tekken 7
- Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r]
As we mentioned earlier, Marvel VS Capcom 2 will have a special 8-man tournament that will include players who have been invited to participate, as opposed to those who can register for the other titles events. It will consist of four past champions and four exemplary players who have had an impact on the fighting game community with MVC2 at one point or another. This was made evident by longtime fighting game/EVO champion Justin Wong, who tweeted that he will be one of the eight fighters invited to participate.
While this is a great way to celebrate MVC2, as well as the culture at EVO in general, this means that another fighting game was sacrificed to make this possible. Speaking of which, two notable games that were featured last year are absent from this years lineup, Mortal Kombat 11 and BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle. This is fairly significant due to both games lifetime being extremely short, with the former being out for less than a year and the latter only a little under two. This will also be the first time that a NetherRealm title will not be playable in the main lineup since 2011, leaving Injustice and Mortal Kombat fans isolated from the event.
You can watch the Twitch Stream reveal of the lineup here:
Either way, the announcement of the lineup has had some effect on the fighting game community, both positive and negative. We’ll probably see some updates and responses from those in charge of EVO, but it’s highly unlikely that they’ll change the lineup. The one thing that won’t change is the massive congregation of fans and participants that come to Las Vegas each and every year to duke it out in their respective tournament to claim the top prize. Last years event was one for the ages, and now we can’t wait for this Summer. EVO 2020 is set to take place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada from July 31-August 2. You can register for the event here.