Evolution is known for bringing together the best fighting game players in the world and creating an environment where amazing things can happen. The prestige of the event makes every hit, combo and round extra important. This is why Evo is the holy grail in the fighting game community.
Over the last decade, Evo has been the home to some of the best matches in the history of fighting games. I picked out the 10 most revered matches since 2010 and ranked them. These are matches and moments that stick with fans and are known for their heart throbbing intensity. Without further adieu…
Here’s a general theme for this list: Justin Wong and Gamerbee will be featured quite a bit. Both are incredible players but more importantly have a flair for the dramatic. The 2011 set between these two was not only a heart throbbing affair, but quite possibly ended Justin Wong’s best and last chance at a Street Fighter IV Evo title. Breaking American’s hearts everywhere.
2016 was a great year and Ally and Kamemushi was the match to set the tone. Kamemushi sent the overwhelming favorite in Zero home with a 3-0, but couldn’t slow down Ally who seemed destined to take the event. It was a great sight to see Kamemush’s Mega Man blow the crowd away.
A four-stock in 57 seconds. On game five. In front of a raucous crowd. Enough said.
Axe four stocks SilentWolf in less than a minute Evo 2014
It might not be number one on this list, but for a lot of fans this is most memorable Evo set in a long time. LI Joe, an American hero, summoned the spirit of the bald eagle to take out one of Japan’s up-and-coming players. I’ve been to a handful of Evo’s and no crowd has ever been as united behind a player than they were for Joe that day.
SFV: HM Eita vs LI Joe – EVO 2016 Top 8 – CPT 2016
The greatest Marvel player this world has ever seen had failed to obtain a Marvel 3 Evo title throughout the first three years of the game’s life. It felt like only a matter of time before Justin was able to get that illustrious title. During that run, he had one of the most memorable comebacks against ChrisG and ended up taking him out in grand finals which led to the famous barrel role.
Justin Wong Does a Barrel Roll at EVO 2014..
The special part about Evo is at any moment a game that isn’t on a persons’ radar can absolutely blow them away. KOF XIII did that to an entire crowd in 2012. Bala’s win over MadKOF was the match of the day and brought plenty of eyes to that game. It also gave us MadKOF and his divider curtain that added to the intensity and importance of this set to all involved.
EVO 2012 – KOF XIII Grand Final – MadKOF vs. Bala
Snake Eyez was a well known player, but it wasn’t until this set that we got the full scope on how good he actually is. Xian was the returning champ but Snake Eyez and the American crowd were having none of that. It took some timeouts and disciplined play, but Snake Eyez pulled it off.
As a send off to street Fighter IV, Gamerbee and Infiltration put it all out there and gave the crowd a helluva show. The intense thought between sets, the simultaneous water chugs and 90 second matches were special. This set had everything! I couldn’t have imagined a better way to end the SFIV era.
Infiltration (Chun-Li, Juri) vs Gamerbee (Elena, Adon) – EVO 2015 USF4 – Top 8 Losers Finals
Similarly to Bala vs Mad KOF, Dogura and Garireo had a similar affect. At the end of an exciting day, everyone was talking about the BlazBlue finals that started the day. One of the most emotionally charged sets ever had Garireo summoning all his focus and strength to pull off the unthinkable reset win.
EVO 2014 Grand Finals: Blazblue | Garireo Vs Dogura
I can’t remember a set with so many momentum changes as this one. In many instances, Hungrybox was a hit away from missing out on his first Evo title. But, he kept fighting and never gave up. In most of these games, Hungrybox went into last stock at a deficit, but as we know now Hungrybox has no conscious regardless of the set count. Hungrybox stunned an entire crowd and kept us on the edge of our seats for 11 straight games.
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Featured image courtesy of twitch.tv/evo2k
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