EVO 2013 Highlight Reel

 

 

After the triumphant inclusion of Super Smash Bros, as announced by Joey Cuellar a few days back, EVO 2013 has been riding a high ever since. Bigger and better than last year’s, online viewership at the game’s official stream this year registered a record high of 1.7 million unique viewers. For the hundreds who packed the halls of Paris Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, it was blockbuster worthy knockout blows, wall to wall action riddled with epic comebacks, rapturous applause and thunderous cheers nonparallel.

 

What went down at EVO 2013? Here’s the lowdown and more!

 

Moving into the event on Friday were over 4500 participants converging from various walks of life and different parts of the world. United by the 9-game event that is EVO, the multitude of fighting game enthusiasts witnessed some of the most gratifying revenge-comeback, fairy tale narratives there was and ever have been at any EVO event of past.

 

One player who was in the thick of it all was Japanese exponent MCZ Tokido, whom despite putting on one of the most consistent performances at the tournament had to endure more than his fair share of heartbreak and comebacks. Dropping into the loser’s bracket after game two in the KOF grand finals, Tokido ousted a resilient DM.Xian (in a victory that will return to haunt him later in the SSF4 reverse bouts) only to be to be put out by eventual winner AS Reynald who did well to crush his Japanese counterpart Hee San Woo 3-0.

  

 

On to the fan addition Super Smash Bros, crowd favorite Mango also dropped into the lower brackets after being knocked out by EMP Mew2King game one of the grand finals. Taking things into his stride he mounts an admirable climb back dispatching Ice, Dr.PeePee, Armada, and Hungrybox 2-0 in each and every one of those games. Advancing into the finals, the American, aka Joseph Marque, then caps his impressive comeback with a comprehensive dismantling of Wobbles, playing as Ice Climbers in the finals.

 

 

The “newest” addition to the EVO lineup which expanded the roster of games to an unprecedented nine was Injustice: Gods Among Us. In what was a bulldozer performance of win after win, EMP KDZ plowed through a primarily all American roster, beating out Crazy DJT 88, who was chasing a double after coming up tops in the Mortal Kombat category, 3-0 to take home the very first Injustice crown at EVO.  

 

 

On to one of the staples of EVO, Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, crowd pleaser EG’s Justin Wong fell a hair width too short of an epic comeback like Mango’s. Engineering a spectacular fight back against AGE NYChrisG after being beaten down into the loser’s bracket by eventual victor EMP FLocker, Justin Wong went on a spirited run putting out Cloud805 3-0 and Angelic 1-3 enroute to the finals. But as luck would have it, the American could not overturn the Puerto Rican who trumped him 3-2 in the finals.

 

 

And then, the highlight of the event, Super Street Fighter 4, the game with the largest turnout of participants at 1601 contestants, Japanese representative Tokido found himself in a world of hurt coming up against Singapore’s Xian after booting him out in the KOF tournament earlier in the competition. Always in control and never looked like throwing his lead away, Gen, played by Xian, beat Akuma squarely in his game. Taking his crown to an eruption of cheers and a flurry of celebratory hugs from his travelling counterparts, DM Xian walks out of Las Vegas SSF4 Champion at EVO 2013.

 

 

Here’s a quick summary and more highlights from the other games!

Lee Seon-woo “Infiltration” snags top honors in Street Fighter X Tekken after Justin Wong falters in the finals yet again. Fellow South Korean national Bae Jaw-min defeats Eightarc Bronston of USA to bring home first prize at Tekken Tag Tournament 2, after an American, DJT 88, walked out victor of the MK category and Yume of Japan came tops in the Persona 4 Arena grand finals.

 

 

 

Videos courtesy of IGN with pictures taken from Shoryuken. 

Source: Reddit Games