The Evolution Championship Series, often called Evo, is an American yearly event that features only fighting games. The tournaments are open to all players and use a format where competitors can lose twice before being eliminated. Like Super Battle Opera, players from around the world join, including places known for gaming such as Japan, South Korea, and Pakistan. The first Evolution event was originally named Battle by the Bay and featured tournaments for Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Street Fighter Alpha 2. It was renamed Evo in 2002. Each year, more people attend the event. Since 2005, the event has taken place in different locations across the Las Vegas Valley. From 2021 to 2025, Sony Interactive Entertainment and the Endeavor esports company RTS shared ownership of Evo. As of 2026, RTS (now owned by Qiddiya City, a large project in Saudi Arabia) fully owns Evo.
History
Evo was started by Tom Cannon, who is also known for his work on Shoryuken.com, a website about fighting games. The tournament began as "Battle by the Bay," which was a competition with 40 players for Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Street Fighter Alpha 2 in 1996 in Sunnyvale, California. Later, the event moved to a place in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, where it has been held regularly. In 2002, the tournament was renamed Evolution Championship Series, or EVO for short. Over time, the number of participants grew, and by 2009, more than 1,000 people joined the event.
At first, the tournament used arcade machines, but in 2004, the organizers decided to switch to console versions of the games. This change caused a lot of disagreement among players. When the tournament moved to seventh-generation consoles, most games were played on PlayStation 3, though in 2014, most games were on Xbox 360. In addition to the main tournaments, there is a "BYOC" area where players bring their own consoles to play different games and compete in side events.
The first "Battle by the Bay" tournament, called B3, was organized by Tom "inkblot" Cannon, Tony "Ponder" Cannon, Joey "MrWizard" Cuellar, and Seth "S-Kill" Killian. It took place in the Golfland arcade hall in Sunnyvale, California, and had 40 players, mostly from the United States, with some from Canada and Kuwait. The event featured competitions for Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Street Fighter Alpha 2.
The B4 Street Fighter Championships happened in July 2000 in Folsom, California. This event added new games to the list, including Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was the first game not from the Street Fighter series to be included, showing that the tournament would include other types of games in the future.
The B5 Championships took place in August 2001 in Folsom, California, and had a larger group of players from around the world, especially from Japan. Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 was added to the tournament list at B5, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was a major highlight. TechTV called it "the hottest arcade fighting game of the season."
In 2002, the event was officially named "Evo." Evo 2002 happened on August 9, 2002, at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Evo 2004 was held at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, from July 29 to August 1. Around 700 players from over 30 countries competed in more than nine games, including Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and others. Most games used home consoles instead of arcade machines, except for Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, which used arcade cabinets. During this event, a famous moment called "Evo Moment #37" happened when Daigo Umehara won a match by parrying an opponent's powerful move with very little health left.
In 2005, Evo was held at the Green Valley Ranch casino and hotel in Las Vegas for the first time.
Evo 2006 took place at the Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino in Las Vegas. This was the first year Capcom officially supported the event. For the first time, Evo included a non-fighting game, Mario Kart DS, in its lineup. The fighting games featured were Dead or Alive 4, Guilty Gear XX Slash, and Hyper Street Fighter II.
Evo 2007, called Evo World 2007, happened from August 24 to 26 at the Green Valley Ranch in Las Vegas. Other Evo tournaments were held across the United States that year. The official games included Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Virtua Fighter 5, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Guilty Gear XX Λ Core, and Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Evo 2008 was held at the Tropicana Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip from August 8 to 10. The official games were Capcom vs. SNK 2, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2. The Brawl tournament faced criticism for its rules, which allowed items in the game. A player who was not well-known defeated Ken Hoang in this event. Attendees also got a preview of upcoming games like BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger and Street Fighter IV.
Evo 2009 took place from July 17 to 19 at the Rio Convention Center in Las Vegas. The official games included Soulcalibur IV, Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, and Street Fighter IV. The release of Street Fighter IV greatly increased the number of participants, with more than 1,000 players competing in its tournament alone.
Evo 2010 was held at Caesars Palace from July 9 to 11. Super Street Fighter IV had about 1,800 players competing for a $20,000 prize. Justin Wong won the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 tournament, defeating the previous year’s champion. However, he did not make the top 8 in Super Street Fighter IV. The game Melty Blood: Actress Again was chosen through a poll on Shoryuken.com. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger was not included because the community had moved on to BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was added instead. G4 provided limited coverage of the event, with Adam Sessler commenting on the Super Street Fighter IV finals.
For Evo 2011, a tournament season was introduced where players could earn points at eight events. The tournament took place at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino from July 29 to 31. It had participants from all 50 U.S. states and 44 other countries. Over 2 million people watched the event live online. Street Fighter series producer Ono Yoshinori announced a free balance patch for Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition. Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada showed new features for Tekken Tag Tournament
Outside Vegas
In 2010, the Evolution Championship organizers created a new event called "Evo vs Godsgarden" to be held in Japan the next year. However, the event was cancelled after the Tohoku earthquake and never happened again. During a Nico Nico livestream after Evo 2013, Cuellar said he still wanted to hold a tournament in Japan.
At Evo 2016, it was announced that a new event named "Evo Japan" would take place in Japan. Japanese companies Aetas, Hearts United Group, and Shochiku Broadcasting each put one million US dollars into the event. At the Tokyo Game Show in 2016, organizers said the tournament would be held in January 2018, with a smaller event in 2017 before the main tournament.
At Evo 2017, the lineup for Evo Japan 2018 was shared. It included games like Street Fighter V, Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, Tekken 7, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, BlazBlue: Central Fiction, The King of Fighters XIV, and ARMS. The event took place from January 26 to 28. The lineup focused on games popular in Japan, while others like Super Smash Bros. Melee, Injustice 2, and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite were not included because they were less popular in the region.
Despite 7,000 participants, Evo Japan reported a loss of $1.13 million according to financial reports from Hearts United Group.
Evo Japan 2019 was held in February 2019.
In October 2019, it was announced that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate would be the main game for Evo Japan 2020.
After EVO 2022, the lineup for Evo Japan 2023 was revealed. It would include Guilty Gear Strive, Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, The King of Fighters XV, Granblue Fantasy: Versus, Melty Blood: Type Lumina, and Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown. The event was planned for March 2023.
In August 2023, it was announced that Evo Japan 2024 would take place in April 2024. The lineup included Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Guilty Gear Strive, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, The King of Fighters XV, and Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes], with Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike as the Throwback Tournament.
In August 2023, it was also announced that Evo would add a third event in a new location in 2024.
In July 2024, it was announced that the third event, Evo France, would be held in Nice from October 10–12, 2025. The lineup would include Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear Strive, Tekken 8, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, and Dragon Ball FighterZ. It was also announced that a fourth event would take place in Singapore in 2026 and that a new awards show called the Evo Awards would be held in Los Angeles in February 2025. In December 2024, it was announced that Evo Japan 2025 would be held in Tokyo from May 9–11, 2025, with a lineup including Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Guilty Gear Strive, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, and The King of Fighters XV. Special tournaments would feature Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike and Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.
In December 2025, the lineup for Evo Japan 2026, scheduled for May 1–3, 2026, was revealed. It would include 12 games, such as Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Guilty Gear Strive, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, The King of Fighters XV, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Fist of the North Star, Vampire Savior, Melty Blood: Type Lumina, Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes], and 2XKO.