Adequately Prepared to Rock
The organizers of the Evolution Championship Series 2022 (EVO) have released an in-progress breakdown of this year’s game popularity. The Top 10, listed in order of competitor entries, currently sees Arc System Works’ Guilty Gear Strive in the lead as the most-entered title of the main tournies.
As EVO returns as an offline event for the first time in two years, the organizers have decided that the schedule will be dictated by the popularity of the games on deck. So while Capcom’s Street Fighter has long been the grand finale of the weekend, we could actually see something new round out the weekend’s festivities — provided, of course, that Guilty Gear Strive, Tekken 7, or any other release is able to pull in the most players.
You can check out the nine main games and their popularity (as of April 16) in the tweet below.
Evo 2022 Early Bird Leaderboard
9. Skullgirls: 2nd Encore
8. Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
7. MELTY BLOOD: TYPE LUMINA
6. DRAGONBALL FighterZ
5. Granblue Fantasy: Versus
4. TEKKEN 7
3. The King of Fighters XV
2. Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
1. Guilty Gear -Strive-— EVO (@EVO) April 16, 2022
Following on from Guilty Gear Strive‘s top spot, a very impressive showing is being put in by SNK’s The King of Fighters XV, which currently sits at number three, even ahead of Bandai Namco tournament mainstay Tekken 7. The King of Fighters, while often in attendance, is rarely one of EVO’s most popular franchise, and getting the spotlight on the team-based fighter could really help draw in new players and cement its status.
NetherRealm Studios’ Mortal Kombat 11 currently sits at number eight, behind niche anime fighter Melty Blood: Type Lumina and ArcSys’ Granblue Fantasy: Versus. This is perhaps reflective of NRS’ decision to call an end to supporting the title once it had ensured that all DLC had hit the market. While this would cause an expected drop-off for MK, seeing it resting behind cult anime scrappers and games that are years older (such as Bandai Namco’s Tekken 7 and Dragon Ball FighterZ) is still surprising.
Fighting the good fight in ninth place is Autumn Games’ excellent tag fighter Skullgirls: 2nd Encore, which continues to entertain hardened fighting game players with its divine visuals, awesome score, and intense gameplay. With more updates and characters on the horizon, the cartoonish classic looks set to run and run into 2023. Kudos.
Evo 2022 takes place August 5-7 at the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.
Chris Moyse
Senior Editor – Chris has been playing video games since the 1980s. Former Saturday Night Slam Master. Graduated from Galaxy High with honors. Twitter: @ChrisxMoyse
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