Evo 2022 kicked off Day 1 with a bang. There were many different panels, events, and of course, tournaments. It’s hard to keep track of everything during the action-packed weekend, but Upcomer is here to give fans a compact recap of the major events happening each day. Here are the best moments from Evo 2022 Day 1.
Gulity Gear Strive takes a look at the past, present, and future
To kick off the events of Evo 2022, some of the developers behind the most popular title at Evo 2022, Guilty Gear Strive, held a panel to show off what the franchise has gone through to get to the peak where they are today. The panel showcased early character designs and never-before-seen photos of character sketches for some of their most iconic characters including Ramlethal and Faust.
The team also fielded questions from Twitter asking them about things from favorite characters to more juicy gameplay-related questions. Although they did not outright confirm anything, the team did talk about how they would like the add-in the fan-favorite “Instakill” mechanic to GGS but no promises.
As for the future, the team revealed a roadmap showcasing what is coming to the game for the rest of the year including the announcement of new characters, although it’s not known which ones, as well as lag improvements alongside a cross-play beta that will allow even more players to enjoy GGS in the future.
First off we have a special Guilty Gear -Strive- Panel featuring many ArcSys directors and developers pic.twitter.com/JDH0oa2BeV
— Warren Younger (@WarrenYounger95) August 5, 2022
Daigo and Justin Wong puts on a show in SF4 exhibition
New to Evo this year is the introduction of a special series of exhibitions reviving and reliving classic Evo moments over the years. The most exciting one was definitely the Evo 2009 Grand Finals rematch between the two biggest names in the entire scene, Justin Wong and Daigo Umehara.
Playing the exact same characters in the exact same Street Fighter 4 build, the two duked it out in a best-of-five battle. And although Justin Wong got the upper hand in this match, Game 3 was a delight to fighting game fans across the world.
The showmatch went 3-0 in Justin Wong's favor but the ending went down to the wire! pic.twitter.com/ZReYEYtdSK
— Warren Younger (@WarrenYounger95) August 5, 2022
SonicFox wins Skullgirls 2nd Encore at Evo 2022
Despite being the smallest game at Evo and being the first of the nine Top 8s at the event, the Skullgirls Top 8 put on a show worthy of its 2nd Encore title. Just in the first half of the Top 8 alone, two sets went the distance as players were battle-tested to see who would move on. However, winners finals pitted the Evil Geniuses duo Jon “dekillsage” Coello and Dominique “SonicFox McLean as the two backed up their top two seeds by outclassing their competition.
It's time for Skullgirls 2nd Encore Top 8 here at Evo 2022. pic.twitter.com/WBVaLnbAuo
— Warren Younger (@WarrenYounger95) August 6, 2022
Towards the end of the day, the top four seeds at the start of the tournament were the only ones still standing. The second half of the tournament was one to remember; Dekillsage ended up double-eliminating the number one seeded “PenPen” in another five game thriller to set up an all-EG Grand Finals. The crowd even got a bonus set after Dekillsage reset the bracket and then went the distance. With the entire tournament coming down to the very last possible game, SonicFox clutched it out for what he said was his all time favorite win in Evo history.
IM GAY AND THE BEST SKULLGIRLS PLAYER ON THE PLANET!!!
— SonicFox @ MFF (@SonicFox) August 6, 2022
Although the tournament only had 295 entrants, the hope is that the hype and storylines behind this event will invite more players to join the scene with the goal of coming back to Evo as an official title next year.
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