EVO 2024, the largest open-bracket fighting game tournament in the world, just concluded this past weekend, hosting over 10,000 unique players across eight different games. The three-day event, hosted in Las Vegas, has never been without incredible moments over its over 20-year history, but the past weekend may have cemented EVO 2024 as one of the most legendary yet.
Here are eight of the most hype moments from EVO 2024.
1) Arslan Ash Dominates the Tekken 8 Bracket for the Win
Arslan Ash, the back-to-back reigning champion of Tekken 7, returns to Las Vegas to take the crown once more in the EVO debut of Tekken 8.
Dubbed as the “largest Tekken tournament of all time”, Arslan Ash blazed through the brackets to find himself comfortably sitting in the Grand Finals. When it was time for his match against fellow Pakistani opponent ATIF, Ash showed no mercy, winning his set without ever giving ATIF a second chance. The final counter kick from his Nina was met with a deafening uproar from the audience as Ash burst from his seat in celebration.
2) LilyPichu Beats Tekken 8 Director Katsuhiro Harada
They say never to meet your heroes, but they never say anything about beating them. While streamer and OfflineTV content creator LilyPichu may not have made it to the Tekken 8 finals, she accomplished something worth celebrating in its own right: beating the director of Tekken 8 himself, Katsuhiro Harada.
In a nail-biting best-of-three set, LilyPichu managed to clutch a victory with just a sliver of health left, executing a clean side-dodge into Lili’s Rage Art against Harada’s Feng. “I can’t believe I beat him!”, Lily says with glee after the match.
“I quit this game”, Harada replies. Since then, he’s asked Lily for a rematch.
Related: Heihachi Mishima Lives in Tekken 8 EVO Announcement
3) Nitro Clutches the Win for the Guilty Gear STRIVE Championship
When it comes to New York native Nitro, the third time’s a charm. In 2023, he competed in the Guilty Gear STRIVE and Dragon Ball FighterZ brackets, falling just out of reach of his first EVO championship title. This year at EVO 2024, he had his eyes set on the prize.
Nitro, representing team FlyQuest, was knocked into the Losers Finals of the Guilty Gear STRIVE top 6 players – but that didn’t deter him. Climbing his way back into the Grand Finals, Nitro forced a reset against Japanese player Tatuma. The entire arena was on the edge of their seats as it came down to the final match of game 5, when Nitro’s Jack-O backed Tatuma’s Sol Badguy into the wall, caught him mid-air, and delivered the final combo to seal the victory.
The crowd erupted as Nitro celebrated his first EVO victory, jumping into a swarm of his supporters.
4) Justin Wong Finally Meets His Match in Rock Paper Scissors
While Justin Wong remains one of the most celebrated players in fighting game history, he’s no stranger to sudden comebacks in his opponent’s favor. On day three of EVO 2024, Wong had become the undefeated champion of Rock Paper Scissors – that was until Chris, Louisiana native and fellow Tekken player, stepped up to the plate.
Wong had previously swept the competition the day before by throwing out a different hand for each opponent. First scissors, then paper, then rock. When the next three opponents challenged him, he knocked the first two out with the same strategy. There’s no way he’d use the same three moves again, right? It’s too predictable.
Unfortunately for Justin, Chris from Louisiana called his bluff, taking out the reigning champion with Paper and covering Justin’s Rock. I guess it wouldn’t be the first time Wong was denied a flashy finisher.
5) SonicFox Takes Home Their 7th EVO Championship Title with Mortal Kombat 1
If you’re even slightly familiar with the fighting game community, you’ve undoubtedly heard of SonicFox. Starting their tournament journey at only age 13, SonicFox would make their EVO debut in 2014, taking home their first championship win in Injustice: Gods Among Us. They’ve since won six more EVO titles, passing the legendary Daigo Umehara as the second most winningest player of EVO titles held by one person.
In the Mortal Kombat 1 tournament at EVO 2024, SonicFox was as relentless as ever, blasting through the brackets and coasting into the Grand Finals without a single loss under their belt. In game 5 of the final set, SonicFox confidently walked toward their opponent with only a sliver of health left, successfully reading their opponent’s attack and countering with a jump-in that led to the game-winning combo.
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6) Hayao Steals the Show in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
Japanese player Hayao may not have won the Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike finals, but in the eyes of many, he won EVO 2024. The 41-year-old player was overflowing with irresistible charisma and undeniable confidence the moment he stepped onto the stage with the five other competitors in the 3rd Strike finals, putting on a show for the cameras or dancing with the crowd in between each round. But it wasn’t just his personality and insane flexibility that stunned the crowd at EVO 2024.
In game 4 of the Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Losers Quarterfinals, Hayao made history with one of the flashiest and most unexpected comebacks since the notorious “Daigo Parry” from EVO 2004. With virtually no health left and the set-winning match on the line, Hayao’s Hugo jumped towards American player FrankieBFG’s Ken, perfectly parrying all four hits of Ken’s EX Tatsumaki kick in mid-air. After landing, Hayao countered with a combo of his own, bringing FrankieBFG’s Ken down to his last bit of health.
Then, Hayao does the unthinkable. As Ken wakes up from being knocked down, Hayao uses Hugo’s dropkick (standing heavy kick), arguably one of the worst attacks in his toolkit, but just the move he needed to hop over Ken’s Jinrai super successfully, following up with a game-winning EX Monster Lariat.
It’s a scene that some are calling “EVO Moment 38”, coincidentally happening on the 20th anniversary of “EVO Moment 37”, within the same game, under similar circumstances and, to top it all off, with Justin Wong commentating the match himself. Sometimes, the stories truly write themselves.
7) Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong Receive the First-Ever EVO Impact Award
The fighting game community, or FGC for short, has a storied history spanning multiple decades. From local hometown arcades, to player-run fighting clubs, to hotel ballrooms, and now, to worldwide convention centers, the fighting game scene is a legacy intertwined with inspiration, passion, and respect. This year, EVO 2024 introduced its first-ever EVO Impact Award, recognizing Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong for their massive contributions and achievements to the FGC.
Though both players were well-known in the FGC before “EVO Moment 37”, it was the infamous match-up at EVO 2004 that immortalized them as permanent legends. The “Daigo Parry” happened when fighting games were still a niche genre and EVO tournaments had less than 1,000 attendees in the crowd, but the impact it had still lingers on to this day, transcending not just the fighting game genre, but video games as a whole. EVO Moment 37 has been referenced in countless other video games, anime, and even this year’s Chipotle commercial promoting EVO 2024. Highly regarded as “the most important esports moment of all time”, the clip would go on to inspire millions of future fighting game players, propelling the genre into the massive size it is today.
After EVO 2004, Justin Wong and Daigo “The Beast” Umehara would go on to amass incredible careers in the fighting game scene, becoming two of the most decorated players in FGC history.
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8) Punk Earns His First EVO Championship Title in Street Fighter 6
There’s nothing like the feeling of a well-earned victory, especially when you’ve fought so long and hard for it in the face of adversity, criticism, and doubt. On the last night of EVO 2024, nobody knew that feeling more than Punk, the Philly-based fighter who took home his first-ever EVO Championship title in Street Fighter 6.
For years, both Punk and his Grand Finals opponent, BigBird, had EVO wins just slightly out of their reach. Both had previously made it to Grand Finals matches at previous EVO tournaments, but neither managed to secure a victory to call themselves the champion. At EVO 2024, when the two had made it to the Grand Finals match together, one of them would finally take that title home.
In one of the most exciting final sets imaginable, BigBird managed to reset the Grand Finals with his ruthless Rashid. Punk, playing Cammy, fought tooth-and-nail against an onslaught of BigBird’s mixups, level-2 supers, and tricky throw-loops. When BigBird was able to win the first set, forcing a Grand Finals reset, it wasn’t looking good for Punk.
The last set started off strongly for BigBird, who quickly won the first match. Shortly after, Punk turned it around, eventually leading the set into game 5 with a 2-2 tie with a round under both fighter’s belts. This was it – the final round of EVO 2024. BigBird’s Rashid had the lead, taking Cammy’s health down below 50%. Punk retaliated with combos of his own, forcing Rashid into the corner. In an extremely risky play, Punk jumped in with a heavy punch, allowing him to dish out two back-to-back combos.
At that moment, both Punk and BigBird were in the same position. The first person to connect the next hit would most certainly go home as the EVO champion. Punk threw normal attacks at BigBird, hoping to expose an opening, but couldn’t get through Rashid’s blocking. For less than one second, Punk noticed Rashid standing up, likely anticipating an overhead dive kick from Cammy, and then, in the blink of an eye, it was over. Punk connected with a crouching kick, followed by a combo, and ended the match with a level-3 super.
The roars from the crowd could have knocked the walls down of the Las Vegas Convention Center as Punk secured his first-ever EVO Championship win. But unlike the bombastic pop-offs from other EVO winners that weekend, Punk didn’t jump out of his seat in celebration. Instead, overwhelmed with emotion, he turned to his opponent, BigBird, shared a hug, and cried.
In an act of grace and pure sportsmanship, Punk showed that it wasn’t just about winning and losing in that moment. It was overcoming the years of obstacles in his way and the countless naysayers telling him he’d never make it. It was about showing the utmost mutual respect for your opponents, the love for the competition, and was an example of the passion of the fighting game community at its finest. Both Punk and BigBird helped close out EVO 2024 with one of the most exhilarating and hard-fought sets in EVO Finals history.
Images and video clips credited to @RellFGC, @HelloItsLi, @tempusrob, @Vexanie, @itzbenross, and @Evo.
