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The Road to Evolution 2014

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So, I may have slightly hinted this in the thread about the competitive Smash Bros Melee documentary, but I'm really in to watching game tournaments. And from the sounds of it, there is some sort of interest around these parts in the way of Melee so maybe other titles will suit your fancy.

 

So with that, I figured I'd try a thread about the biggest gaming tournament for fighting games, and that's Evolution. Evolution has a lot of games on show, usually the likes of Tekken, Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom and Blazblue are a definite for each show. But there are some games, whether they be retro (Super Street Fighter 2) or seasonal favourites (Mortal Kombat), that will come back up to the main stage for people to compete with. I think one example of this that many people here will know about is Smash Brothers Melee, the fan pick of last year.

 

So let's get started with the run down for this years event.

 

The recently revealed line up for Evo 2014 is as follows:

 

Ultra Street Fighter IV

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Killer Instinct

Injustice: Gods Among Us

King of Fighters XIII

BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma

 

There is one game that they are very keen to have on the line up. That game was the most popular game of the event last year. Heck, it's the most popular event by simultaneous viewer-ship for the events entire history. I don't think the game needs to be named, but here is a statement from the publisher of the game regarding an appearance at Evolution 2014.

 

While we are engaged in preliminary discussions with Evo about their upcoming event in July, the potential role of any Nintendo software at this event is undetermined at this time.

 

What an incredibly short sighted bunch of dick heads they are.

 

Continuing onwards! The event is to take place July 11-13 2014 and will, presumably, be streamed across multiple networks such as Youtube, Twitch and Livestream like last year. My preference is Twitch with Youtube as a solid insurance in case of any bandwidth issues.

 

Now, Evolution is the main event, but there are a lot of tournaments on the path to Evolution that really do add the hype to the main event. The list I'm going to provide isn't very comprehensive, heck, it's initially going to be two channels to keep up with things but depending on any interest I'll be sure to update them with more sources.

 

Keep your eyes on the following channels for live streams of any tournaments that come up:

Team Spooky - These guys are all right. They get some nice coverage of as many events as they can possible set up at. I definitely recommend Iplawinner's slang page for a basic lesson in the terminology you'll be hearing these guys using pretty often.

 

GODSGARDEN - A lot of the Japanese players you will see participating in these events are usually from a Japanese fighting game community know as GODSGARDEN. Most streams will refer to the elite players from this community as the "Japanese Gods", Daigo Umehara being one example.

 

Any one else interested, let me know. I'll try and keep this up to date with news, especially on the Melee front as I really want it to make a second appearance.

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I am incredibly pissed that Tekken Tag 2 is not making an appearance this year :angry: How Killer Instinct (that has, like, 5 characters) somehow makes it is beyond me.

 

Considering UMVC3 is getting super predictable (HIDDEN MISSILES!), I sure hope Melee makes it, it's always fun (and at least there are always players using guys like Jigglypuff or Dr.Mario).

 

Of what's confirmed so far, only King of Fighters truly interests me. Street Fighter 4 too, I guess, but I'm not so hot about that one.

 

I sure hope that isn't the final line-up...

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I'm not a big fan of Tekken but man, I've gotta agree with your views on Marvel. It's the same shit every time and I'm pretty sure Justin Wong has practically mastered it.

 

I also really hope Melee gets in. It's obvious they want it, I just hope Nintendo aren't retarded enough to block the efforts. All it does is give them bad press, heck, the fact the response isn't all ready "be our guests!" pisses me off enough. Capcom annoys me on the business front, but at least they remain close with the community.

 

There will be other games coming up. I'm pretty sure another donation drive game will be announced, plus there's usually some smaller titles that just don't take centre stage.

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Evo is fast becoming one of my yearly highlights and I can put that down to my love for Street Fighter as that's what brings me in each year. Last year, Capcom ran the Capcom Cup and the year before that there was the Street Fighter 25th Anniversary tournaments and I watched all the qualifiers and finals.

 

Along the way, I've certainly ejnjoyed watching the other games, especially Marvel which can be stunning to watch some times though I'd say Chris G is the current king given how quickly he can lock out his opponents with Morrigan - it's not always that entertaing to watch as it can become quite formulaic but it's certainly effective and when things go awry, he can still bring in Doom and play like a champ.

 

I follow various Capcom related twitter feeds (like unity, Street Fighter, Capcom Fighters and Yoshinori Ono) and Evo and so most of the big name tournaments get retweets like ESGN's SSF4 Fight Night that ran the past week and half with the likes of Xian, Infiltration and Tokido in a winner stays on knockout competition.

 

I'm surprised to see the Melee had the highest viewership for Evo 2013 mind as I remember seeing the qualifying rounds were only a third of the people watching Street Fighter and Marvel ones - at least on Twitch anyway.

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I'm not a big fan of Tekken but man, I've gotta agree with your views on Marvel. It's the same shit every time and I'm pretty sure Justin Wong has practically mastered it.

 

Pretty much the only UMVC3

that I still like are Lythero's (he's pretty awesome with Wright and VJoe). Unfortunately, he's Irish, which means he never goes to these tournaments. He'd be a breath of fresh air.

 

I also really hope Melee gets in. It's obvious they want it, I just hope Nintendo aren't retarded enough to block the efforts. All it does is give them bad press, heck, the fact the response isn't all ready "be our guests!" pisses me off enough. Capcom annoys me on the business front, but at least they remain close with the community.

 

Wasn't there a problem last year where Nintendo stepped in because the EVO organisers initially forgot to take care some of the paperwork involved with Melee, and then, instead of owning up to that mistake, made it look like Nintendo was actively forbidding Melee's inclusion?

That could be why Nintendo's first reaction isn't that welcoming.

 

Though truth be told, regardless of Capcom's repeated blunders, Capcom of America really is still great with their community. Who knows, that might just be their saving grace.

 

There will be other games coming up. I'm pretty sure another donation drive game will be announced, plus there's usually some smaller titles that just don't take centre stage.

 

I'd love to see Skullgirls, honestly. It's a new game, and if the players were allowed to choose between teams of 2 or 3, matchups could get interesting.

Edited by Jonnas

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Thanks for the update Captain Falcon!

 

Time for the reveal of the fifth new character?

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Thanks for the update Captain Falcon!

 

Time for the reveal of the fifth new character?

 

Yep, will probably happen during AE Grand Finals. Luckly it's on the East coast so it doesnt involve staying up so late.

 

TeamSp00ky and Capcom Fighters will be hosting the action this weekend.

 

They had the team 5v5 Marvel yesterday which was pretty good. The usual suspects were there, Justin, PR Balrog, Chris G (who was looking a bit out of form) but I was surprised how good some of the other guys were doing with characters not viewed so favourably. I guess lower tier characters have the benefit of not giving the giving the match experience to the better players that they can sometimes be caught off guard.

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On new news, Tekken Tag 2 will be on EVO as well :yay:

 

I hope it gets a good turn out. TTT2 has a well-balanced roster, and easily leads to uncommon match-ups.

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I am doing a terrible job at keeping this thread maintained haha, I keep forgetting it exists!

 

But thanks for the update Jonnas, good to see that the organisers listened to the disappointed Tekken fans!

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So this thread seems to have been forgotten but this weekend is Evo 2014.

 

Currently got Injustice grand finals on stream one. King of Fighters XIII is also on at the moment but not being streamed. Smash Bros is on the other feed.

Edited by Captain Falcon

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!

 

What? I thought it started after the World Cup Finals!

 

Aww... I already missed so much :( Gotta catch up.

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I really need to stop forgetting this thread, but it's all ready the final day. I'm so sorry guys, been too busy watching the thing!

 

Reggie appeared in a video before Smash finals started, giggled when he asked for "no Johns"

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I get spacing is a massive part of any fighting game but I do think the amount of movement in Smash makes the ultra high end competitive play a little difficult to watch compared to more traditional fighting games.

 

Now it's time for Marvel!!!

 

So glad I booked Monday off to stay up and watch all this stuff or I'd be an absolute wreck.

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I really need to stop forgetting this thread, but it's all ready the final day. I'm so sorry guys, been too busy watching the thing!

 

Reggie appeared in a video before Smash finals started, giggled when he asked for "no Johns"

 

I saw that too. Good of Nintendo to put out a thank you message to the players. Daft question though, what is the "no Johns" reference? To do with the E3 tournament?

 

I managed the fit in some of Evo 2014 and it was sensational! The BlazBlue final in particular I was on the edge of my seat!

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I really need to stop forgetting this thread, but it's all ready the final day. I'm so sorry guys, been too busy watching the thing!

 

Reggie appeared in a video before Smash finals started, giggled when he asked for "no Johns"

 

Oh man I really need to see this! Missed all of tonights play but can't wait to see it tomorrow. Adore Melee :) I heard Hungrybox sent PPMD to losers though? Holy crap.

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I saw that too. Good of Nintendo to put out a thank you message to the players. Daft question though, what is the "no Johns" reference? To do with the E3 tournament?

 

"No Johns" is a long running thing in the Smash community and I think the documentary covered it too. It's basically saying "no excuses" whenever you lose, in reference to a guy named John who participated and had an excuse for every defeat he suffered.

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Competitive Smash is absolutely insane. My eyes can't keep up with what's going on half of the time. :laughing:

Also, I wonder how many GCN pads these guys go through. :heh:

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"No Johns" is a long running thing in the Smash community and I think the documentary covered it too. It's basically saying "no excuses" whenever you lose, in reference to a guy named John who participated and had an excuse for every defeat he suffered.

 

'My fingers haven't warmed up yet' will always be my favourite line.

 

Competitive Smash is absolutely insane. My eyes can't keep up with what's going on half of the time. :laughing:

Also, I wonder how many GCN pads these guys go through. :heh:

 

It really is incredible. I just don't understand how a physics engine can be so deep that it allows the game to keep evolving 13 years after launch! And I know some players are still using their original GC controllers :D

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It really is incredible. I just don't understand how a physics engine can be so deep that it allows the game to keep evolving 13 years after launch! And I know some players are still using their original GC controllers :D
Dat build quality. :awesome:

Actually, I'm still using a launch day GCN controller, but the analog stick is in pretty bad shape now. :grin:

Melee is easily my most played GCN game and no doubt my most played multiplayer game of all time! Not a single year has gone by since 2002 where it hasn't been played, and the disc permanently lives inside my GameCube. :hehe:

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