SIE, Endeavor in a joint partnership to operate the tournament; online tournament scheduled for August
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) announced on Thursday that it and the venture led by Endeavor RTS acquired the fighting championship tournament brand Evolution Championship Series (Evo), along with its assets and properties, from the company Triple Perfect operated by the co-founders of Evo. SIE and RTS will operate the tournament as a joint partnership.
The first tournament of the event under this new partnership will take place as an online event from 6 to 8 August and from 13 to 15 August, with free tickets open to players from North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Open tournaments will be held for the Tekken 7, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate, and Guilty Gear -Strive- games.
SIE mentioned in its announcement that Evo co-founders and brothers Tony and Tom Cannon will still be “intimately involved as key advisers” for the event, and the event will also involve Mark Julio as Head of Business Development. Julio recalled that the event “remains open to all platforms”, alluding to Evo’s tradition of holding fighting games tournaments independent of the console, especially highlighted with Nintendoin Super Smash Bros. games, which have regularly attracted the largest number of participants since their regular annual inclusion in 2014.
RTS is a new electronic sports venture by Endeavor, a media company that, among its many holdings in sports, advertising and entertainment, is also a partial owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and owner of Miss Universe.
The Cannon brothers, Joey Cuellar and Seth Killian held the first “Battle of the Bay” tournaments from 1996 to 2001, and the event changed to its current name in 2002. Participation has steadily increased with each annual tournament, and has remained an open tournament. that hosts several games over the years. Games enter and leave the series every year, although the most recent version of CAPCOMin Street Fighter the series is regularly included.
Last year, the tournament was scheduled for an online event after the in-person event was canceled due to the new coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19), but was later canceled after the Cuellar controversy admitting allegations of child abuse and sponsors and developers. of games leaving the event later. Since then, he has been removed from the company and is no longer involved in Evo’s operations.
The organizers held Evo Japan, the first Evo tournament held in Japan in January 2018. He returned with a second tournament in 2019, although the venue has moved to Fukuoka. The 2020 tournament in January 2020 again moved to Makuhari Messe in Chiba.
Sources: Sony Interactive Entertainment via Gematsu, Evo website, Mark Julio’s Twitter account