Evo Japan’s organizers have finally released the roster for the main games. The 8-year run from its origins continues with several mainstays happening from recent releases.
- King of Fighters XV(SNK) is back for its’ third year.
- Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising(CyGames, Arc System Works) gets its’ premiere in this tournament. Its’ release in December 2023
- Guilty Gear Strive(Arc System Works) is in with its 2nd appearance.
- Tekken 8(Namco Bandai) will get its first major out of Evo Japan 3 months after its release.
- Street Fighter 6(Capcom) is having its’ first appearance as a major for this tournament.
- Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike(Capcom) will make its debut as the wayback playback.
- Under Night In-Birth II [Syst:Celes]. is also getting its’ first run in Evo Japan.
Tekken 8, being the newest one with less prep time than the others, yet of course, some things don’t change totally. With new mechanics and the very betas that happened, along with the pletora of YouTube combo videos, there is plenty of groundwork to cover before both the January 24th release and the Evo Japan 2024 tournament. At the time of this writing, Steve Fox was the most recent character reveal and breakdown for Tekken 8.
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is quite the surprise. The infamous title was one of the few that built the foundation for Esports on the fighting game tip, yet to see it as a major today is pretty exciting. The game is still widely available for practice in whatever format you can possibly get, including Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, and Street Fighter III Online.
To Those Who Didn’t Make It This Time
Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown has been dethroned from its’ 2022 spot despite its’ 2021 release. Sega is still present in the Evo Japan tournament through Under Night In-Birth II [Syst:Celes]. Nearly everything here will be played on one plane as 2D fighters. Dead Or Alive 6 is also not present. Mortal Kombat 1 is also not making an appearance in this tournament. The lineup is more centric to Japan, and this is proof.
How to Enter / Watch In-Person
With a $95,378.50 USD prize pool, evenly distributed amongst all majors, Evo Japan is turning out to be something to watch. If you’re attending the Tokyo event, the registration is right here. The eSports Union of Japan has placed an entrant cap on participants, so before you start practicing, get a new weapon of choice, or pick out your mains or pockets, you’re better to sign up real soon! Registration for the Tokyo event ends in March, 2024.
