With EVO 2025 on the horizon, we once again head to Vegas for EVO Prime. EVO has announced its doors will be opening across the world, having found success in Japan and setting its sights on France, but the EVO we have known and loved for years is looking to crown 16 kings in Las Vegas. 8 across its main lineup, and 8 more in the extended lineup of smaller games. Here’s everything you need to know about EVO USA this year.
All EVO 2025 Games
For its main titles, which will have their finals take place on Championship Sunday you can look forward to seeing:
- Street Fighter 6 (SF6)
- Tekken 8
- Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
- Guilty Gear – STRIVE –
- Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
- Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes] (UNI 2)
- Mortal Kombat 1 (MK1)
- Marvel vs Capcom 2 (MvC2)
Marvel vs Capcom returning to the main EVO lineup was a shocker, after Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite struggled to garner the interest amongst fighting game fans that pretty much shelved the franchise. It has been a side game for the past few years due to the game’s legacy at EVO and status amongst fans, with some of the scene’s legends still being active today. Speaking of side games, the extended lineup is as follows:
- Rivals of Aether II (Rivals 2)
- Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O
- The King of Fighters XV (KoF 15)
- BlazBlue: Central Fiction (BBCF)
- Killer Instinct (KI)
- Capcom vs SNK 2 (CvS2)
- Samurai Shodown (SamSho)
- Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 (XRD)
EVO 2025 Entrants
Unfortunately, this year, EVO numbers are down nearly across the board. In previous years, the departure of Smash Ultimate and Melee drastically dropped the numbers, despite the support from PlayStation. Unfortunately for Smash fans, the situation remains the same, with the sole platform fighter rep being Rivals 2, who have done incredibly well for entrant numbers. Registration is now locked across all games, so we know the official numbers are 14,295 attendees, of which 13,329 are competing across all titles.
For your main games
Street Fighter 6 – 4247
Tekken 8 – 2554
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves – 1579
Guilty Gear -STRIVE- – 1515
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising – 939
Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes] – 548
Mortal Kombat 1 (MK1) – 381
Marvel vs Capcom 2 (MvC2) – 573
Despite maintaining its status in various world tours, as a points garnering event and being one of the most prestigous events, the costs of going to EVO and the general cost of living has made it harder and harder for people to justify. For comparison Tekken 8 last year garnered 4651 players and is one of the most notable drops in attendees. SF6 isn’t quite as harsh a drop-off but still notably down 1000 attendeeds, going from 5,279 in 2024, to this year’s 4247. For the side games, numbers also relatively low, but these games are usually just additional games that players will pick up and enter on the side in addition to their main titles.
Rivals of Aether II – 360
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O – 213
The King of Fighters XV – 169
BlazBlue: Central Fiction – 249
Killer Instinct – 118
Capcom vs SNK 2 – 236
Samurai Shodown – 156
Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 – 135
Street Fighter 6
With its inclusion in the Capcom Pro Tour and a chance to earn qualifying for a shot at that 1 million dollar first place, its no surprise that SF6 once again is the biggest event at EVO. There’s a host of big names, previous EVO finalists and of course, EVO champions looking to cement their legacy with another title.
All eyes are on MenaRD going into EVO, as one of the winningest players in recent times, and no stranger to the top 6 of EVO, he’ll be looking make a push towards Grand Finals this time. As the number 4 seed, he’s expected to fall to Leshar and Punk if things go as expected. Whether he ends up facing the latter in the winner’s side or the loser’s side, the Punk vs the entire Domnican Republic rivalry will be more ammo for the winning side no matter the result.
Punk himself is looking to try and do a repeat, having won last year’s Street Fighter 6 EVO, staying in the winner’s side until the bracket reset. The Alpha comes in as the third seed, behind Leshar (1) and Kakeru (2). Kakeru, last year’s Capcom Cup Winner has been consistently impressive in open brackets, walking away with the mindboggling money that came with his win at the Capcom cup. His finalist opponent is also expected to squeak into Top 8 on the loser’s side. The full projected seeding for Top 8 is
- DRX Leshar
- ZETA Kakeru
- FLY Punk
- Weibo RB MenaRD
- REJECT Fuudo
- Falcons NL
- 2Game Blaz
- MOUZ EndingWalker
EVO is always home to one cinderella run, and while GO1 is no surprise upstart to go on a run, his win in Fatal Fury at EWC shows that any game he sets his mind to, he’s one to be scared of. Be on the lookout for matches featuring GO1, Fenritti, moke or of course, Tokido.
Tekken 8
Arslan Ash’s stomping ground. No matter how the game changes, and who’s blessed by the patch, like Life, death and Taxes, Pakistan’s Arslan Ash in Grand Finals is an inevitably that we have to accept. He has notably been taking breaks from the game as of late, and voiced his discontent for the number of EVO events that have now popped up. But, the player that first took to the global stage in EVO Japan is likely a shoe in for a Top 2 spot, and potentially his 5th EVO win.
That said, he’s not actually seeded to get there, Knee, ULSAN and ATIF are all expected to outplace Tekken’s modern GOAT, with all 3 continuing to post consistent results and actively grinding. Top 8 is set to see a South Korean Winner’s and Grand Finals.
- DRX Knee
- DNF ULSAN
- Falcons ATIF
- DNF Mulgold
- Twisted Minds RB Arslan Ash
- VARREL Rangchu
- DRX LowHigh
- TeamYAMASA NOBI
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Also known as Garou coloquially, Fatal Fury coming back to the big screen off of the back of some Saudi funding made some interesting headlines on route to being featured as a main game at EVO. It’s one of the few fighting games at EVO that has had its Esports World Cup bracket happen prior, giving a good indicator of who’s on top right now. The multi-game GOAT, GO1 was mentioned earlier for SF6, but his EVO history is long and loud, this time his sights have been set on SF6 and this, having secured 1st place at EWC over the odds on favourite of the event, Xioahai in the best of 9.
That event being Single Elimination Best of 9 in playofffs is obviously a very different format to the BO3, Double Elimination bracket that EVO will be playing until Top 3, so things really could change up. Xiaohai is still the number 1 seed going into EVO, his legacy familiarity with the systems and dominance in KOF has him likely to come out on top. The rest of Top 8 is a pretty star studdest cast of players across several games that all took their focus to the City of the Wolves after its prize pool was announced.
- KSG Xiao Hai
- DFM/PWS GO1
- CAG Fenritti
- SS NEMO
- Falcons Kindevu
- T1 ZJZ
- AG Reynald
- ONIC NYChrisG
Guilty Gear -STRIVE-
Guilty Gear as a franchise has always been a well represented pick at EVO, and -STRIVE- is no exception. As another game that has a tour, EVO isn’t the be all and end all for STRIVE players. That said, the allure of an EVO title is always something to chase. The game has seen new systems since its last appearance in Las Vegas, with mixed reception. White Wild Assault is the name of the game and familiar names fill out the Top 8.
- PAR Daru_I-No
- Ditto RedDitto
- tatuma
- FLY NitroNY
- PAR Jack
- Kshuewhatdamoo
- TSM Leffen
- Verix
The top 8’s distribution shows how volatile the competition is. The defending EVO Champion and ArcSys World tour Champion aren’t expected to make it into Top 3, and multi-game threats like Leffen, while expected to make it to the final few, is expected to do just that.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
Granblue was another game where a cinderella run made headlines amongst a see of favourites closing out their expected bracket paths. Aarondamac is back, and expected to make it into the final few once more. Albeit not on the controller he used to win this time last year.
For the most part, the Top 8 seeds of EVO are pretty standard for an event of this size, with the projected seeding being on the safer side. Practice partners will be facing off if seeding goes as predicted with Paragon (PAR) seeing solid representation, and the GS duo expected to face off in the Lower Bracket Finals.
- IBUSHIGIN とろろ (tororo)
- GS フクナガ (Fukunaga)
- GS gamera
- PAR Kojicoco
- G.U. Monarch
- PAR ZANE
- AVENGER Ryazo
- PAR Aarondamac
Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes]
Uni 2 is set to be aa spectical, its where you start seeing these main titles fall off in numbers, but the game’s emphasis on tight execution in the modern era does help set it apart. We’ve long since left the Clearlamp era, and 1st seed Senaru is expected to add to the trophy cabinet with a back to back EVO.
- Senaru
- BBB Defiant
- PAR BigBlack
- BNP knotts
- 2GB Combo
- ちょび chobi
- BBB OmniDeag
- Ugly_ Shaly
Mortal Kombat 1
Netherrealm games don’t always get their flowers at EVO, but MK1 making it to the mainstage is big for the title. With front row attention brings first class talent, and EVO’s bonafide royalty is once again in attendance to add to their bustling trophy spread. Netherrealm’s winningest, SonicFox comes in as the number 1 seed. They’ve previously split time between the series they’re most known for, and some other titles, being a previous evo Winner in Dragonball FighterZ at its height. This time the other games of Teeken 8 and Fatal Fury are going to be some welcome distractions while cleaning up in MK1’s winner’s side. 2nd seed Kanimani has also had a golden season in 2025 with nothing but first place since August of last year in the 5 events we’ve seen them at, starting from a narrow win over VideoGamezYo at VSFighting XII. If they can keep the streak going, their clash with SonicFox will be one to watch.
- SonicFox
- ONi Kanimani
- RBT/T7G Nicolas
- PAR Rewind
- Grr
- RBT/T7G Scorpionprocs
- STG Onlinecale213
- 2Game SnakeDoe
Marvel vs Capcom 2
When’s Marvel? Finally, the answer is now. Its a game that has had legends come and go, but the new blood are here and incredibly efficient. A beloved “discord fighter” that has kept up with modern numbers, the game’s return to the big stage is going to be a huge chance to break out for the grinders, if they can make it past the old guard.
People keeping up with the MVC2 scene will recognise the players seeded for Top 8, with many of these names butting heads in side brackets for years, including ones at the Mandalay Bay. Now though, they get their chance on the big stage.
- CM Khaos
- DK Express
- Ducvader
- Locdown
- Crizzle
- SmoothViper
- Mix… Gconceptz
- mvc2 Roundhouse
Side Stage Games
For the extended lineup, we’ll be posting the Top 8 seeding, with the exception of Rivals 2, which, as the sole platform fighter representitive, will have its storylines looked at a little closer in place of Smash’s absense.
Rivals 2
Platform Fighters often take issue with Best of 3 until Top 3, with the games being pretty volatile. Other events run Rivals 2 as Best of 5 quite early in the bracket, again, due to the game’s speed. Both Marlon (kusiwastaken) and CakeAssault have struggled to maintain a truly iron grip on the game’s results but are seeded in the top 4 for good reason. Some favour has also been given to melee GOAT and Genesis X Rivals 2 winner Plup, and Ultimate’s rank 1, Sparg0. Both players have gone the distance vs Cake in Grand Finals of massive Rivals events are absolutely deserve their position among the Rivals Rulers.
- CakeAssault
- Plup
- FaZe Sparg0
- kusiwastaken
- Shrug Club Sophilo
- Bbatts
- PAR I0N
- BOIKO Stango
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O
- Akani Shiwapo
- Homestay Akira
- Tetsuko’s Y O U
- HYDRIX DensetsuSP
- MGG レオラオ Reorao
- DFM Itabashi Zangief
- StrikeFirst GentlemanThief
- Tenguman
The King of Fighters XV
- GHZ TheGio
- Falcons ET
- LEV Layec
- QAD Wero Asamiya
- Liquid ViolentKain
- Falcon Tamago
- Comitê PiterErn
- LEV PAKO
BlazBlue: Central Fiction
- J-Anson
- CAG Fenritti
- Ruka
- Xcaliburbladez
- Division
- brkrdave
- Uri
- G.U. Monarch
Killer Instinct
- LAGr DaaChronicle
- UA Bass
- ThrashHeavy
- DD Roman22s
- Buddins Raven is Raw
- LAGr Carnitas
- LAGr Element
- WolfSlayerNinja
Capcom vs SNK 2
- Coates Bas
- ChoiBoy
- Silentscope
- ericturbo
- DR.B GALAXY B
- KS2 Señor Payaso
- kilomax
- umthrfkr
Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2
- Oguri Gap KTP
- PAR Zwei Not
- Shopify Rebelllion Hotashi
- Foo
- FF ElvenShadow
- Vogue
- pattheflip
- Rude+E
