The first day of the Evolution fighting game tournament is in the books, and two of the games on offer have reached important points in the road. The tournament for Persona 4 Arena Ultimax actually started and finished today, and the top 8 is as follows (keep in mind there are ties, as EVO does not play a fifth place or seventh place match):
- 1. KSB|Chou
- 2. NB|Tahichi
- 3. Hagiwara
- 4. Aguro
- 5. NB|Souji
- 5. Koichi
- 7. JEO
- 7. NB|Okusan
The other big event of the day was cutting to the top eight of Ultra Street Fighter IV. EVO is such a huge tournament that it starts with several different pools that fight to make the cut. Only the top eight come away with a paycheck, so competition is cutthroat and many extremely good players do not even get a chance to compete past the pool stages. Here’s the group of killers still in the competition, along with the characters they play. These matches will all take place on Sunday, after every other tournament has finished. EVO is a double elimination tournament, so people in the winner’s bracket can still lose a match before elimination. Players on the loser’s side have to run the table in order to take home the trophy on Sunday night.
Winner’s bracket matches:
- EG|Momochi vs. MCZ|Tokido
- AiAi vs. Infiltration
Loser’s bracket Matches:
- AvM|GamerBee vs. Liquid|NuckleDu
- EG|PR Balrog vs. BE|Nemo
Each one of those names hold some serious weight in the Street Fighter community. Sunday’s Ultra Street Fighter IV top 8 is shaping up to be a very interesting mix of styles and philosophies. In order to see what’s on the agenda for the streams tomorrow, you can view the official schedule here. Tomorrow, three games will find new EVO champions: Super Smash Bros for WiiU, Tekken 7, and Killer Instinct. Sunday will see the remaining games find their champions, with Ultra Street Fighter IV closing out the show. Keep tuning into the streams on Twitch and check back with The Nerd Stash for further updates as Evolution 2015 continues.
