Evolution 2019 was the tournament to be at over the weekend. With controversial upsets happening in the early parts of the tournament, to the hype and rage of each game’s top eight matches, EVO 2019 was certainly the place to be at. Unfortunately, not everyone was able to attend the tournament or watch it on Twitch or YouTube while the tournament aired. Fortunately, for those who weren’t able to do either of these things, we have all of the information on who won each grand final for the games from this year’s event. Without further ado, here’s the hype and round-up from EVO 2019.
Soul Calibur 6 Grand Final
Bluegod vs. Yuttoto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXWxoQ3-1lg
Kicking-off EVO 2019 on Friday night was the grand final for Bandai Namco’s Soul Calibur 6. Competitors Bluegod, from America, and Yuttoto, from Japan, duked it out to see who was truly number one for Soul Calibur 6‘s first year at EVO. Bluegod, starting out in the loser’s bracket, came out strong in the beginning by resetting the bracket and sending Yuttoto to losers after winning the first set with a three-win to one loss turn out. However, Yuttoto, being the professional that he is, turned it right around with his crazy ‘Voldo’ comeback with a three straight win streak that earned him the title of EVO 2019 Champion for Soul Calibur 6.
UNIST Grand Final
Clearlamp_O vs. Oushuu-Hittou
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Di3vACJYEo
After Friday night came the Saturday night line-up of top eight matches and kicking-off these matches was the game Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[st], developed by Arc System Works. This match was a major upset for Oushuu because he almost had the bracket reset, which would have sent Clearlamp to losers. Unfortunately, while Oushuu was round away from doing this, Clearlamp had a massive comeback which sent the game to both, reset point and tournament point. Clearlamp ended up taking the tournament while staying in the winner’s bracket throughout the weekend.
Dragonball Fighter Z Grand Final
Sonicfox vs. Go1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm8PT07pdyA
The second set of finals for Saturday night was the highly beloved DBFZ. Undisputed champions Sonicfox, from America, and Go1, from Japan, had a runback from last year’s, EVO 2018, grand finals where Sonicfox took the title. However, this year, while staying in the winner’s bracket, Go1 took that title from Sonicfox with an amazing comeback. Losing two games in a row, with Sonicfox at reset point, Go1 turned on the machine and went to town with a three-win streak comeback and became EVO 2019’s champion. Will there be another runback next year? Maybe, these two seem to own this game.
Samurai Shodown Grand Final
Infiltration vs. Kazunoko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypon47TYj48
It was Samurai Shodown‘s first year at EVO and what an exciting grand final this game gave us. South Korean competitor, Infiltration, completely annihilated Japanese competitor, Kazunoko, from the losers bracket. Infiltration just didn’t let Kazunoko breath at all. Every step of the way, he was in his opponents face applying all kinds of pressure that left Kazunoko confused and questioning, and when Infiltration wasn’t in his opponents face, he was throwing projectiles and continuing that pressure. It was a decisive victory for Infiltration.
Mortal Kombat 11 Grand Final
Sonicfox vs. Dragon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuZ1h5VpuiQ
This was Mortal Kombat 11‘s first year at EVO and the competitors who were in grand finals was not surprising. We’ve seen these two, Sonicfox and Dragon, battle it out in grand finals for Mortal Kombat almost every year since MKX began and the outcome was the same; Sonicfox took the title with a fast and brutal three-win streak over Dragon. Sorry Dragon, maybe next year.
Blazblue Cross Tag Battle Grand Final
Shinku vs. Kyamei
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kio6eIBTpQE
Kicking-off the Sunday night grand finals was Arc System Works’ BBXTB. Competitors Shinku, from America, and Kyamei, from Japan, had a quick and exciting six-match set. Kyamei started off strong by sending Shinku to the losers bracket with three straight wins. However, Shinku decided that he wanted to give Kyamei a taste of a three-win streak victory and ended up coming out on top of EVO 2019 as the victor for BBXTB.
Street Fighter V Grand Final
Bonchan vs. Big Bird
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov73zjmSZBM
With a change in the line-up this year, Street Fighter V ended up taking the number two spot of grand finals and this year didn’t feature competitors like Tokido, Punk, or Daigo in grand finals; instead, this year’s grand finals showcased competitors Bonchan and Big Bird. This grand final was exciting to watch. Both competitors brought their A-game to this three out of five-set. Big Bird started off with a two-win streak, even scoring a “Perfect” on Bonchan; however, at the start of the third match, Bonchan turned it all around. He brought it all the way back to a match four, scoring his own “Perfect”, and ended up being a bracket reset point or tournament point. Bonchan ended up taking the win and became the EVO 2019 Champion for Street Fighter V.
Tekken 7 Grand Final
Arslan Ash vs. Knee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McDvKKvzy4o
If you want to see an amazing grand final match, then watch Tekken 7‘s. Competitors Arslan Ash, from Pakistan, and Knee, from South Korea, go for each others jugulars in this match-up. Knee, one of the best (if not the best) players in the world, gets taken for a ride by the unknown player, Arslan Ash. Ash takes the first matches in the set, which forces Knee to change characters from ‘Kazuya’ to ‘Devil Jin’ (this is unheard of from Knee). Knee then takes two of his own matches, evening out the playing field in this grand final. With both players having two victories, the turn out of match five is crucial cause it could either mean a bracket reset or a tournament win; it ended up being a tournament win for Arslan Ash.
Super Smash Brothers Ultimate Grand Final
Tweek vs. MKLeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXGwry99O8Y
The last set of grand finals belonged to Nintendo’s Super Smash Brothers Ultimate; featuring the competitors Tweek, from America, and MKLeo, from Mexico. In this exciting set, Tweek started off really strong, making all the correct reads and taking a couple of early stocks with his chosen character ‘Pokemon Trainer’. Being up two matches, people were sure that Tweek was going to end MKLeo’s firm hold on Ultimate‘s tournament scene; however, this wasn’t the case. After Tweek’s two victories, MKLeo decided to start playing again. With his character ‘Joker’, MKLeo brought the whole thing back with a five-win streak. He sent Tweek into the loser’s bracket and then proceeded to win the next set of matches with relative ease it seems. MKLeo was crowned EVO 2019 Champion for Smash Ultimate.
This year’s EVO turned out to be exciting, Filled with upsets and comebacks, it was never boring to be a spectator or a participant. Can’t wait for next year.
