The Evolution Championship Series has been the biggest stage for fighting games for sixteen impressive years; however, for the first time since its inception EVO will not be featuring a Marvel vs Capcom game as one of its premier tournaments. Instead, it will be replaced by none other than the up and coming Dragon Ball FighterZ. The news comes courtesy of the event’s official announcement for its tournament line-up.
While it hasn’t always been the main focus of EVO, Marvel vs Capcom has always had some kind of presence at the event from its very inception back in 2002 with Marvel vs Capcom 2. It was a good fifteen year run for the franchise, but with Marvel vs Capcom Infinite’s mixed reception and the rampant rising popularity of FighterZ it’s a run that has finally ended.
This year EVO will feature Street Fighter 5 Arcade Edition, Tekken 7, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Super Smash Bros. Melee, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, Injustice 2, and Dragon Ball FighterZ all as premier main stage events. Of those, Street Fighter, Tekken, FighterZ, Guilty Gear, and Smash Bros Melee will all be featured as a part of the Arena finals.
There is hope for Marvel vs Capcom however. There is still a chance the franchise can be included in some kind of side event since the schedule hasn’t been announced for those yet. Considering the franchise’s legacy it is most likely it will still be at EVO in some way. Though for now at least, its time in the spotlight is at an end. It’s time for the new hotness to take center stage.
The EVO 2018 World Finals take place Aug 3-5 in Las Vegas.
