Lots of big, triumphant moments for the biggest Evo Japan to date.
Evo Japan 2024 has concluded and from it emerges seven champions tempered by the fires of competition. Japan has been known to produce some of the best fighting gameplay players in the world. Yet that only opens the door for some truly dramatic outcomes and some of the most spectacular professional matches we’ve seen yet.
King of Fighters XV – Lin “E.T.” Chia-hung
The first grand finals of Evo Japan turned out to be a dramatic one as Lin “E.T.” Chia-hung finally takes a championship over long time rival Zeng “Xiaohai” Zhoujun.
The two have always had close matches but E.T. has never been able to best Xiaohai when it matters. Xaiohai has denied him an Evo before but this time he finally bests his demon to become an Evo champion.
Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes] – Kyo
For the debut year for the latest UNI game, we have Kyo adding his name among Evo Japan 2024’s champions. In an anime fighter like UNI that’s notorious for its speed and aggression, Kyo really showed his skill by being able to stay on the winners side of the bracket for his entire tournament run.
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike – SHO
In the year where Street Fighter 3 is back on the Evo mainstage, it’s no surprise that all the old Japanese legends have emerged from the shadows.
Giving us a glimpse of what we could expect later this year, we have SHO taking the Evo Japan crown. The Yun master showed us why he’s considered one of the best by easily taking down his rival BOSS twice in both winners and grand finals.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising – Rookies
Another Evo mainstage debut, Granblue has found its very first Evo champion with Rookies. The Japanese player was already taking names back in the game’s previous version so he’s no slouch among the competition.
Things did look a bit dicey when he lost the first grand final set 3-0 against last year’s champion, gamera. But he was able to rally back and was able to close out the second set with a convincing 3-1.
Guilty Gear STRIVE – Matthew “TempestNYC” Tulloch
Another highlight for Evo Japan 2024 is Matthew “Tempest” Tulloch becoming one of the rare American Evo Japan champions. His road wasn’t easy as he had stiff competition such as Japan’s Mocchii and William “Leffen” Hjelte in his way.
In the end, they proved themselves no match for him as he bulldozed his way to the championship with three consecutive 3-0s.
Tekken 8 – Yuta “Chikurin” Take
Last but not least among the debut games is Tekken 8. Many eyes were on this grand finals as Tekken vets Yuta “Chikurin” Take and Yoon “LowHigh” Sun-woong were on the main stage. It was top tier Dragunov on LowHigh’s side versus Chikurin’s mid tier Lili. Many were expecting a one-sided fight, and they got it as Chikurin was able to walk all over LowHigh to become the first Evo Japan Tekken 8 champion.
There have been claims that Tekken 8 is a solved game but this match shows that there’s still more to discover.
Street Fighter 6 – Saul “MenaRD” Mena II
Closing off Evo Japan was Street Fighter 6 which once again saw a record breaking number of entrants. It was the main event, and it wouldn’t be complete without Saul “MenaRD” Mena II coming in as the final boss of the tournament. However, no one could stand up to The Bull’s horns as MenaRD takes his first ever Evo trophy.
Banner photo from Evo.
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