An unfortunate aspect of 2020 was the inability to attend gigantic events in person. While some of these things — sporting events, concerts, etc. — are starting to return, it’s taking conventions and gaming tournaments a little longer to get back into the swing of normalcy. Most of them are still having events, but they’re digital-only with fans viewing in through streaming sites like Twitch.
One such event is EVO 2021. The PlayStation-owned fighting tournament is famous for large crowds coming together to witness some of the best players in the world battling on stage in games like Street Fighter, Dragonball FighterZ, and Super Smash Bros. However, another part of that fun was what was taking place away from EVO’s main stage. Fans would put together tournaments on the side with their own prizes and contestants. Others would just get together and play each other, because that’s what everyone else was doing. EVO is as much a fighting game convention as it is as a tournament.
PlayStation recognized this community aspect and, while EVO 2021 is going to be digital, it is making efforts to not miss out on the fan interactions that have taken place over the years. This is why it announced it’ll be hosting open-format community tournaments that fans can participate in alongside the main events of EVO 2021.
Introducing the Evo Community Series’ PS4 Tournaments 🤜🤛
Take on all challengers in three open-format tourneys for a chance to win cash prizes ahead of Evo 2021: https://t.co/cHAHZoXyY2 pic.twitter.com/PzvWvd6yDU
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 1, 2021
Starting next week, the Evo Community Series features more than 120 tournaments across the globe, $74,000 in total prizing, and more than 100 hours of broadcasts.
As part of this community celebration, PlayStation is hosting three tournaments from June 10 through August 3. Eligible PS4 players in select regions across the globe will be able to participate in these open-format competitions for a chance to vanquish rivals and win cash prizes (details below). Select matches will be broadcast on the PlayStation Twitch and YouTube channels, as well as Evo’s Twitch channel.
Whether you can perform frame-perfect inputs or simply enjoy watching the execution of a tricky combo, this culmination of fans’ commitment to the fighting game community brings together different scenes over a shared love for the genre. Look forward to a record-breaking number of upsets, underdogs, and unforgettable moments at these highly accessible events. Register today on the PlayStation Competition Center or the Events tab on your PS4 console.
This is really cool. PlayStation easily could have just run EVO as a regular tournament and waited until the convention aspect of it was back to bring back the popular side tournaments, but instead, they’re giving everyone a chance to participate in it in an organized fashion.
It will be interesting to see if this becomes the norm in the future. While everyone will, of course, want to see tournaments return to an in-person format in the future, it would be cool to see PlayStation use the EVO name to host even more online tournaments throughout the year. Maybe an eSports circuit of some kind is on the way? The sky is the limit for what PlayStation can do depending on how well this tournament performs.