- The Evo 2022 event is drawing nearer and nearer
- Guilty Gear Strive marks more than 2 000 competitor entries
- This is the first in-person Evo event since 2019
With over 2 100 registered competitors, Guilty Gear Strive dominates Evo 2022 and becomes the main event.
GGS Breaks 2K Competitors
The Evolution Championship Series (Evo) 2022 is one of this year’s most-anticipated fighting game esports events, gathering players from all around the globe to compete in the most popular fighter titles. With the event becoming the host of tournaments for games like Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, and King of Fighters XV, Evo 2022 is surely going to be a varied experience. Even Street Fighter VI will be a crucial part of this year’s Evo event.
However, with registrations for the tournaments now closed, it’s clear that one game will take center stage at the event. With over 2 100 registered competitors, Guilty Gear Strive becomes the only game at the event to have more than 2K participants. It even surpasses games like the previously mentioned titles, each of which broke over 1 000 registered competitors.
A Breakdown of the Numbers
Guilty Gear owes much of its popularity to its success during the online period for the fighting game community (FGC) when it attracted many viewers and players, that will not be excited to watch and play at Evo 2022. However, one also has to note that the two runners-up, SFV and Tekken 7, also break the barrier of 100 participants. These are very good numbers and show that the games’ player bases are healthy and thriving, despite the games being released six and seven years respectively.
The numbers for Granblue Fantasy: Versus, Melty Blood: Type Lumina, and Skullgirls also appear to be very good. None of the three games have ever been to an Evo event before, so this will mark probably their biggest tournaments of all time.
It has to be noted that this year’s Evo event is the first in-person one since 2019, before the Covid crisis hit. The fact that players and fans have been waiting for two years also helps this year’s Evo’s popularity. It’s also noteworthy to say just how popular the event is on the world stage, with a total of almost 8 000 competitors coming from 63 countries.
The Evo schedule is such that the games with the most players attending to compete will headline the 2022 event. The top four games by number of competitors will take up the four slots on Championship Sunday, while the remaining games will finish up their tournaments on the previous day, or earlier.
