EVO 2026 Kicks Off Friday With 5,774 Competitors and 2XKO Arena Debut

EVO 2026 is here. The biggest fighting game tournament on the planet opens Friday at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The numbers are staggering. 5,774 competitors will battle across 12 different fighting games. That's a lot of brackets to run.

Street Fighter 6 Still Leads

No surprise here. Street Fighter 6 has the most entrants for the fourth year in a row. The game set a Guinness World Record at EVO Japan earlier this year. It shows no signs of slowing down.

Capcom is playing it smart with announcements. They're staying quiet until Sunday. That means any big SF6 news drops during the grand finals. Maximum eyeballs. Maximum hype.

2XKO Gets the Big Stage

Riot's tag-team fighter earned its spot. 2XKO will have its finals in the Arena for the first time. That's a huge deal for a newer title.

The game has been building momentum since launch. An Arena Finals slot at EVO is validation. The FGC is taking it seriously.

What to Watch

Friday kicks things off with pools across all 12 games. The real action heats up Saturday and Sunday as brackets narrow down.

Sunday is the day to clear your schedule. That's when champions get crowned. That's when Capcom talks. That's when EVO delivers its best moments.

Las Vegas is about to get loud.