[Disclaimer: Read the first three parts by clicking on Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 if you haven't already.]

EVO 2010

On July 9-11, 2010, EVO 2010 took place. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix returned as part of the main lineup, while Super Street Fighter II Turbo returned as a side tournament. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 returned to the lineup for the final time. Super Street Fighter IV was added to the lineup in place for Street Fighter IV. New additions to the lineup are Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, Tekken 6, and Melty Blood: Actress Again. Playstation 3 were the official tournament standard for fighting games, with the exception of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, and Melty Blood: Actress Again (which ran on Arcade, Wii and Playstation 2 respectfully).

• Daigo Umehara continues his win streak by taking 1^st place in Super Street Fighter IV (using Ryu).
• For the Women’s Invitational tournament for SSF4, Marie-Laure “Kayane” Norindr took 1^st place (using Chun-Li).
• Snake Eyez took 1^st place in Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (using Zangief).
• Justin Wong took 1^st place once again in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (using the team of Storm/Sentinel/Cyclops).
• Martin “Marn” Phan took 1^st place in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars (using the team of Alex/Zero).
• Hyun “Nin” Park took 1^st place in Tekken 6 (using Steve).
• Yoichiro “Garu” Aruga took 1^st place in Melty Blood: Actress Again (using H-Kohaku and H-Sion).
• Finally, Damien “Damdai” Dailidenas took 1^st place in the Super Street Fighter II Turbo side tournament (using O. Ken).

Noticable Moments & Facts

With only 1,800 players (800 more than Street Fighter IV at EVO 2009) and $20,000 prize pot, the numbers at EVO continues to grow. Most noticeable moments in Super Street Fighter IV tournament were Justin Wong (Rufus) being eliminated by Gamerbee (Adon), a Taiwanese player. If you guys remember months before EVO 2010, Wong predicted that Adon would be a low-tier character. Gamerbee proved him wrong when he used Adon.

However, Wong winning 1^st place in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was a proper sendoff to the game, since Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was coming out for consoles one year later.

Thanks to a voting poll on Shoryuken.com, fans voted for Melty Blood: Actress Again to be part of the roster, beating out Street Fighter III: 3^rd Strike, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, SoulCalibur IV, and The King of Fighters XII in the process.

Speaking of Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Blazblue Calamity Trigger was intended to be part of the lineup for EVO 2010. But because Blazblue Continuum Shift was released at the time and the community jumped ship to that game, it was later replaced with Marvel vs. Capcom 2.

EVO 2010 was live streamed online, while G4 provided live coverage of the event. As an added bonus, Adam Sessler of X-Play provided commentary for the Super Street Fighter IV finals.

Seth Killian (Then-Capcom’s Community Manager), Mr. Wizard (one of the three men behind EVO), and Maj (Combo video maker) received the Cannon Awards at EVO 2010.

EVO 2011

Rio Las Vegas was where EVO 2011 took place on July 29-31 2011. 44 countries and the USA were represented for this event. EVO 2011 was streamed on Playstation Home for Playstation 3 owners and UStream. Returning to the lineup are Tekken 6, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo (although SSF2T and GGXXAC are both side tournaments). Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition joined the lineup in place for Super Street Fighter IV. Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Mortal Kombat (2011), and Blazblue Continuum Shift made their EVO debut, while Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, and Melty Blood: Actress Again retired from the roster. Console standard for tournaments were strictly Playstation 3 (with Super Street Fighter II Turbo played on an Arcade cabinet and Guilty Gear XX Accent Core played on the Playstation 2).

• Virtua Fighter player Fuudo took 1^st place in Super Street Fighter IV (using Fei-Long).
• Marvel veteran Jay “Viscant” Snyder took 1^st place in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (using the team of Wesker/Haggar/Phoenix).
• Perfect Legend took 1^st place at Mortal Kombat (2011) (using Kung Lao).
• Rene “DJ KOR” Maistry took 1^st place in Tekken 6 (using Bob). Spark took 1^st place in Blazblue Continuum Shift (using Hakumen).
• Daigo Umehara took 1^st place in the High Roller’s Casino Side Tournament for Super Street Fighter II Turbo (using Balrog [Boxer/M. Bison]).
• And finally, RF took 1^st place in the Guilty Gear XX Accent Core side tournament (using Faust).

Noticable Moments & Facts

EVO 2011 was the most watched event in its history with over 2 million viewers tuned in at the time. Street Fighter series producer Yoshinori Ono and Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada were both at attendance for EVO 2011. Ono announced the free update patch for Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition (titled ver. 2012), while Harada shown off the new mechanics for the upcoming Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and SoulCalibur V. Also, previews of Street Fighter III: 3^rd Strike Online Edition, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, King of Fighters XIII, and Skullgirls surfaced live. Speaking of Skullgirls, there was a side tournament for that game in which the winner would receive a Skullgirls-themed fightstick.

There were noticeable moments at EVO 2011. In the semifinals of Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, it was Poongko (a Korean player) vs. Daigo Umehara. At the second round of the match, Poongko (using Seth) got a perfect on Daigo (using Yun), sending him to losers. From there, Daigo was eliminated by Latif’s C. Viper later on. That moment was called EVO Moment #13: The Beast… is TAMED!

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 had several moments at EVO 2011. There was EVO Moment #51: Clutch, where PR Balrog pulled a clutch win on Viscant.

Justin Wong’s Wong Factor kicked in once again where he made a comeback win against Richard Nguyen using only one character and on low health. It was shades of what Wong did against IFC Yipes back in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 at EVO 2007. That was EVO Moment #108, and it was similarly titled like Pro Tip #7.

During a match between Mike Ross and DR Ray, Ray had Ross on the ropes with his Deadpool combos… right until he abused the teleport, causing himself to blow up and also costing the match.

But what got everyone in the FGC talking was the eight-year old prodigy, Noah. Using the team of Hulk/Sentinel/Wesker, Noah made a perfect in less than ten seconds. He was later defeated by Chris G in the tournament. Giant Bomb did an interview on Noah and his Father, so I’d give it a read. He was also awared the Rising Star Award at EVO 2011.

Madcatz’s Mark “Markman” Julio received the Cannon Award at EVO 2011.

EVO 2012

EVO 2012 took place at the Caesars Palace on July 6-8, 2012, livestreamed on Twitch. Seven months before the event, Mr. Wizard announced the six games that will be part of the lineup: Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition ver. 2012 (replacing AE), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (replacing MvC3 Vanilla), Mortal Kombat (2011) (returning), SoulCalibur V (new), King of Fighters XIII (new), and Street Fighter x Tekken (new). Tekken 6 retired from the roster. A couple months later, SEGA announced that Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown will appear at EVO 2012 as a side tournament, with $15,000 up for grabs. The console standard for all games in the tournament were Playstation 3.

• WW.MCZ|Infiltration, who had one hell of a performance at EVO 2012, took 1^st place in Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edtion ver. 2012 (using Akuma [Gouki] and Gouken).
• col.CC|Filipino Champ took 1^st place in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (using the teams of Magneto/Dormammu/Dr. Doom and Magneto/Dr. Doom/Phoenix).
• The Western Wolves team, which consists of WW.MCZ|Infiltration and WW.MCZ|Laugh, took 1^st place in Street Fighter x Tekken (using the team of Rolento/Ryu).
• Perfect Legend continues his win streak by taking 1^st place in Mortal Kombat (2011) (using Kung Lao).
• CafeID|MadKOF took 1^st place in The King of Fighters XIII (using the team of Duo Lon/King/Kim/Chin).
• Shining Decopon took 1^st place in SoulCalibur V (using Tira).
• Finally, Fuudo (now sponsored by Razer) took 1^st place in Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown (using Shun-Di).

Noticable Moments & Facts

EVO 2012 was the year that South Korea made a bigger impact in games such as Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition ver. 2012, Street Fighter x Tekken, and The King of Fighters XIII. Also, Mortal Kombat producer Ed Boon was in attendance to show off the new game, Injustice: Gods Among Us, a fighting game based off of characters from the DC Universe.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo returned to EVO 2012 as part of Tournament of Legends, featuring the old school (and some new school) players. Used on an arcade cabinet, Mao took 1^st place in this tournament.

While it didn’t make the main lineup at EVO 2012, there was a side tournament for Skullgirls. Duckator took 1^st place in that game, winning $900 and the custom-made Marie Fightstick.

During that same year, EVO and Shoryuken introduced the EVO Annual $10,000 scholarship for Gamers, in which viewers can donate money into the scholarship.

At Day 2 of the event, there was a marriage proposal that took place on stream. The crowd went wild as she said “yes”!

Skullgirls’ creator MikeZ and Big E Gaming’s Shin Blanka received the Cannon Award at EVO 2012.

That's all for today, guys. Come back tomorrow for the conclusion of the 5-Part Blog series when we focus on EVO 2013 and the present. EVO is TOMORROW!!!!

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