The rise of Kshuewhatdamoo in Guilty Gear -Strive- has been nothing short of meteoric. In 2024, he finished 25th place at both major tournaments he attended, Frosty Faustings and COMBO BREAKER. One year later, he was crowned the Evo 2025 Guilty Gear -Strive- champion, the last one standing out of 1,514 entrants and the first victor of Evo 2025's Championship Sunday.

Kshuewhatdamoo dropped only two games on the road to Top 8, one of which came in his Winners Quarterfinals victory over Evo 2024 champion NitroNY. He kept all that momentum rolling through Sunday's finals, taking out Daru_I-no 3-1 and Aboii's Potemkin in a thrilling reverse 3-0. After a swift 3-0 from RedDitto in Grand Finals, it looked like Kshuewhatdamoo would come up just short after an incredible Winners side run. Instead, he bounced back immediately and responded with a 3-0 of his own to claim his first Evo Championship in not only his first opportunity on the finals stage, but his first Evo, period.

RedDitto has been one of the most consistently great players in Guilty Gear -Strive- for the past year. Since his third place finish at Evo 2024, RedDitto hadn't missed a Grand Finals, a streak that looked to be in jeopardy after he fell 3-0 to Aboii in Winners Semifinals. Jack pushed him to the brink in Losers Quarterfinals, but RedDitto pushed through to win 3-2, and that win gave him nigh unstoppable momentum. He then took out Tatuma 3-1 and managed to pull out the runback against Aboii, barely avoiding a reverse 3-0 to advance to Grand Finals. Despite a ridiculously fast win in the first set of Grands, RedDitto couldn't quite close it out, bowing out at second after Kshuewhatdamoo won the reset 3-0. RedDitto will take home his third Evo medal to go with the ones he earned for second place earlier this year at Evo Japan 2025 and third at Evo 2024.

Aboii was the clear breakout player of Evo 2025's Guilty Gear -Strive- bracket. The last time he entered Evo for the game in 2023, he finished 65th place. This year, his Potemkin was utterly unstoppable in Winners bracket, clutching up a pair of Game 5s against JunoMustDie and Tatuma, and winning every other set on his way to Sunday's finals with a 3-0 count. The early call time for Sunday's finals didn't bother him at all, as he opened Top 8 with a huge 3-0 over RedDitto to guarantee a spot in Top 3. Sadly, that would be the end of the line, as he fell just short against Kshuewhatdamoo and couldn't repeat his Winners side performance in the runback against RedDitto, resulting in 3-2 losses in both sets. Still, he'll go home with his first Evo medal after a stunningly deep run as just the 22nd seed of the event.

Tatuma brought his world-class Sol Badguy back to Las Vegas for another Evo after finishing second last year, but after falling 3-2 to Aboii in Winners Quarterfinals, it looked like there was a chance he wouldn't even make the final stage. But Tatuma held strong in Losers bracket, taking out Afaneia to reach Sunday's finals. Against Verix's Nagoriyuki, Tatuma fell down 2-0, and even though he forced a game 5, things looked dire. Down a round and down to his last sliver of health, Tatuma clutched up, forced the final round, and finished the reverse 3-0 to advance to Losers Quarterfinals, where he took out Daru_I-no 3-1. He fell to RedDitto 3-1 in Losers Semifinals to bow out at fourth, but he'll go home with a second Evo medal after another fruitful trip to the desert.

Daru_I-no, the reigning Evo Japan 2025 Guilty Gear -Strive- champion, steamrolled his way to Winners side Top 8, winning all eight of his sets to get there by either a 3-0 or 3-1 count, including wins over Uwabami, Cheryo, and Precho. Unfortunately for him, Sunday was a brand new day, and the momentum he rode through Saturday didn't last. He fell to Kshuewhatdamoo 3-1 in Winners Semifinals and 3-1 to Tatuma in Losers Quarterfinals to bow out at fifth place. It was another strong performance for Daru, who hasn't missed a Top 8 at a major tournament yet in 2025 and will take home his third Evo medal for his efforts, in addition to the ones he earned for his Evo Japan 2025 win and his third place finish at Evo 2023.

Jack made the longest Losers run of anybody to make the finals stage in Guilty Gear -Strive-. Despite falling to Aboii in Winners Top 24, Jack clutched up, taking out Uwabami and Aneema 3-0 before winning a Game 5 set over Evo 2024's champion NitroNY to reach Sunday's finals. He kept it going for one more set, taking out Precho's Goldlewis 3-1 before falling to RedDitto 3-2 to go out at 5th place. Ever since placing 5th at Evo 2024, Jack has been one of the most consistent GGST players in the world, and he'll add a second Evo medal to his collection for his efforts this year.

Verix's back was put against the wall early after a loss to Precho in Winners Top 24. Regardless, the 2024 ARC World Tour champion didn't give up, taking out Zaye, Cheryo, and MjKurase to reach the finals stage for the third straight year. The Nagoriyuki player wasn't able to keep it going in Top 8, falling immediately to Tatuma for 7th place, but he'll go home with his perfect record of reaching the Evo Finals stage intact.

After spending much of the last two years as one of Europe's top Guilty Gear -Strive- players, Precho made her first trip to Evo on a mission to reach the finals stage. Her Goldlewis crushed the competition, taking out Lasagna_Slayer, Classified, and Verix en route to Winners Quarterfinals. There, Daru_I-no sent her to Losers, but she took out Lolo 3-1 to punch her ticket to the finals stage at her very first Evo. Unfortunately, the run ended there after a 3-1 loss to Jack, but the last Goldlewis standing at Evo 2025 will take a coveted Evo medal back to the UK for her efforts.