We are getting closer and closer to EVO 2019! The biggest fighting game tournament series in the world is set to kick off in early August, and once again the head of EVO Joey “MrWiz” Cuellar has shared the latest registrant leaderboard. There’s a lot to glean from this info, even if we don’t have specific numbers, and if this keeps up EVO 2019 will be a fascinating few days.
Let’s take a look at the numbers:
Evo 2019 Registration Scoreboard June Edition!
— Joey Cuellar (@MrWiz) June 1, 2019
1st - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
2nd - Street Fighter V
3rd - Tekken 7
4th - Mortal Kombat 11
5th - Samurai Shodown
6th - Under Night In Birth
7th - Dragonball FighterZ
8th - Soul Calibur 6
9th - Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle#Evo2019
9. BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle
People will look at this list and think “well BlazBlue is last in registered players, it must be an inferior game” and that is simply not the case. The BBTAG competition last year, in its first year of eligibility for EVO, brought the house down with some incredible play. The new patch has also dramatically shifted the playing field with favorites like Gordeau being curtailed while the likes of Mika and Akihiko took a bump in strength. Mark our words: this will be a tournament to watch on Saturday at EVO.
8. Soul Calibur VI
One of four (!) games debuting at this year’s EVO, we are surprised to see SCVI as far down on the list as it is. The game has seen some pretty substantial turnout so far, with the highest turnout of any game at NEC 19 (286 players) and 258 players at Combo Breaker 2019. This may be less a matter of “this game isn’t popular” than it is one of “the other games are that much more popular”. It’s not you SCVI, it’s us.
7. Dragon Ball FighterZ
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. DBFZ sat atop the list of registered players at EVO 2018, with nearly 2600 Dragon Ball fans vying for the EVO title. How did that game, with all of the momentum that it had, fall to seventh just one year later? It could be the perceived lack of support, with lackluster DLC offerings and constant rumors of the game’s shelf life being shortened. Perhaps players are worried about running into the buzzsaw that is SonicFox. Whatever it is, the trends are not looking good for what was the most popular fighting game in all of 2018. Let’s hope the game finds its footing fast.
6. Under Night In-Birth EXE Late[st]
Under Night has been shocking the fighting game community since it first appeared on the EVO 2019 list. Despite a steadily growing community of players and a groundswell of support, many thought this was a reach to be included in the EVO lineup. Considering the game now sites above three major franchises, we’re thinking Under Night and its community is proving itself worthy
5. Samurai Shodown
There is no more shocking piece of information on this list than this right here. Most of the fighting community forgot Samurai Shodown was coming out when it was named to the EVO 2019 slate, and now it’s smack dab in the middle of the registered user list. Apparently a lot more people missed SamSho than originally predicted, and we could not be happier about it.
4. Mortal Kombat 11
Meanwhile, MK11’s strong numbers are no shock at all. The game has been the talk of the fighting game community since its reveal back in December, and its first EVO appearance will likely be a massive competition. It led all games in registration at Combo Breaker 2019 with nearly 900 players -- which makes sense, CB takes place in NetherRealm’s backyard of Chicago -- and we expect even more players at EVO.
3. Tekken 7
Saying Tekken 7 having a lot of sign-ups at EVO is like saying grass is green and water is wet. Tekken is perennially one of the most entertaining tournaments of the entire weekend, and the more strong showings the game has at major FGC events -- with the recent Combo Breaker being no exception -- the more players will flock to the game. Tekken 7 is a Sunday standard at EVO, and luckily 2019 is no exception.
2. Street Fighter V
The main event of EVO in recent memory, Street Fighter V continues to pull in massive sign-up numbers for the event. Even with the game perceived to be on the downturn thanks to a lack of updates from Capcom on its future, SFV will once again pack ‘em in at EVO this year. We once again look forward to SFV closing EVO Sunday...we just hope it ends a little earlier this year.
1. Super Smash Brothers Ultimate
We had a feeling Super Smash Bros Ultimate would be a popular game in its first EVO year. We did not expect it to lead all other games in registered players in June. Perhaps this is a result of Super Smash Bros Melee not being part of the main EVO series, but the fact that Ultimate is pulling in so many players is a fantastic sign for competitive Smash’s future. If Smash can maintain this number one spot, EVO will truly be the ultimate Smash tournament.
For more, check out the results of Smash N' Splash 5 featuring top Smash Bros players, as well as a big Evil Dead tease for the future of Mortal Kombat 11.
