While Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising has a history with Evo with its exhibition tournament in Evo 2023 and its featured tournament in Evo Japan 2024, the title finally launches its first Evo Las Vegas tournament at Evo 2024. TORORO, SHINKU, VERMILLION, AARONDAMAC, KOJICOCO, and ARTORIAS lead the Top 6, earning their placements after battling among over a thousand players. We will now crown the first Evo Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising Champion. Evo 2024 is also a Platinum Event in the Arc World Tour 2024, making a multifaceted victory for our champion.

TORORO and SHINKU and  launch the first Evo 2024 Day 3 set with Percival and Beatrix. TORORO begins with a solid start, continuing their record of not dropping a single game in the tournament. SHINKU was not given a single opportunity to react as TORORO maintained their dominance. TORORO  will move forward to the winners finals to await the victor of the next match.

The second match featured VERMILLION and AARONDAMAC in the winners semifinals, using 2B and Vermillion, respectively. AARONDAMAC delivered a perfect first round, but don’t count VERMILLION out; they returned in kind, nearly attaining a perfect round for themselves. AARONDAMAC reached out and grasped victory with a clean 2:0 win. They pushed VERMILLION into the corner and kept them there nearly every round. AARONDAMAC will face off against TORORO in the winners finals later in the tournament.

SHINKU returns to the stage to face off against ARTORIAS, maintaining Beatrix and utilizing Siegfried, respectively. ARTORIAS is one of the most consistent online players, making their appearance in the Top 6 all that more exciting. ARTORIAS established exhaustive pressure immediately. While SHINKU took as many openings as possible, there was no room for them to breathe in the first Game as ARTORIAS took the win. SHINKU flipped the table and the sides of the stage, putting ARTORIAS in the corner, earning their first Round win. While ARTORIAS returned to get Round 2, SHINKU claimed their own perfect, bringing the score 1:1. ARTORIAS knew this was their last opportunity to move forward. They weren’t going home yet, taking the next Game in the blink of an eye to proceed to losers semifinals.

The next losers quarterfinal featured VERMILLION and KOJICOCO, sticking to 2B and choosing Nier, respectively. KOJIKOKO kept their offense going, forcing VERMILLION to block their onslaught of attacks. They could only take the barrage for so long, as KOJCOCO takes a swift and definitive victory. KOJICOCO proceeds to losers semifinals.

AARONDAMAC and TORORO face off in the winners final, with an iconic Percival and Belial matchup. TORORO kept AARONDAMAC on their toes, placing fire traps throughout the stage, but AARONDAMAC took the first Game off of TORORO in the entire tournament to this point. TORORO didn’t take that loss kindly, answering back immediately with a swift 2:0 in rounds for Game 2. They maintained this momentum through the next Game, bringing the total score to 2:1, but the winners finals weren’t over yet.

The road to the Grand Finals was on the line, and AARONDAMAC wasn’t ready to head to the losers bracket yet. They took the second Game win against TORORO in the tournament to bring the score to 2:2. With every action, you could feel the pressure on both sides. They both want to win with every fiber of their beings. The winners finals went all the way to the final round, and AARONDAMAC sent TORORO to the losers bracket after an awe-inspiring display of skill. AARONDAMAC triumphantly progresses to the Grand Finals.

ARTORIAS and KOJICOCO runback after an earlier match in the tournament. KOJICOCO also lost to ARTORIAS in Korea last month in the Super Tournament, so these players are incredibly familiar with each other. With a single pixel of health, KOJICOCO turned the tide of the first round, locking in and setting the tone for the match while taking the first Game overall. ARTORIAS seemingly found inspiration in the next Game, effectively bringing the score to 1:1. KOJICOCO learned from their missteps, to keep the necessary distance and close in to take the win and head to losers finals.

We’ve seen two runbacks for KOJICOCO, with them following up against TORORO and maintaining Nier and Percival, respectively. Both players came out swinging with full-on offense. KOJICOCO was determined to defeat TORORO after losing at the Super Tournament in Korea, taking the first Game win. TORORO swiftly evens the score, as they both unleashed devastating combinations, keeping things close. However, KOJICOCO could see the Grand Finals on the horizon, bringing the score to 2:1. TORORO took every opportunity to neutralize KOJICOCO’s Death puppet, allowing them to open windows to extraordinary damage.

Now, at 2:2, there was only one more opportunity to progress to compete for the Evo Championship title in the Grand Finals. TORORO was determined to runback against AARONDAMAC and took advantage of a whiffed grab by KOJICOCO, giving them the perfect opportunity to earn a definitive victory. Both the winners and losers finals were incredible displays of skill, and all players deserve recognition for their performance.

So many layers have been determined between these two players. The winners finals were already an incredibly close match. We have TORORO facing off against AARONDAMAC again with the runback, maintaining Percival and Belial. TORORO was as warmed up as Percival’s flames after running through the losers bracket, maintaining their momentum from their previous matches, and winning two games with electric efficiency. AARONDAMAC saw the Evo Championship title drifting from their grasp, inspiring them to return to win the next two Games, denying the speedy reset and bringing the score to 2:2. Tournament Point and Reset were on the line. AARONDAMAC’s determination brought them the win to become the first Evo Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising Champion!

Evo 2024 Final Results:

1. AARONDAMAC

2. TORORO

3. KOJICOCO

4. ARTORIAS

5. VERMILLION

5. SHINKU

Cygames took the stage after the Top 6 to reveal the first gameplay trailer for Versusia, Version 1.50, character adjustments and updates, and new story content. All the latest content will be available in the game on August 20th, 2024. We also looked at Vikala, the last character for Character Pass Season 1, which will be released on October 20th,2024. The highly requested Sandalphon will headline Character Pass Season 2.

Guilty Gear -Strive- takes the stage for the next Top 6 tournament. Follow along on Twitch.tv/evo to experience every moment live. We aren’t finished yet!