Back for its fourth year at Evo Vegas, GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- brings together hundreds of eager fighting game players ready to blame the beasts. Strive’s been an Evo mainstay since its debut in 2022, and its competitive scene is more lively than it’s ever been. Let’s take a deep dive into the competitive storylines and regional rivalries that have erupted over the past year of competition!
Strive, as expected, underpins the Arc World Tour this year, and Evo remains one of its flagship Platinum events, where the winner of the event will receive direct qualification to the Arc World Tour finals at the beginning of next year. In fact, there’s only one situation where this year’s Evo champion won’t be the one earning an Arc World Tour slot - and that’s if Daru I-No wins the bracket. It’s not too out there to call Daru a contender for the most dedicated character specialist in fighting game history. Throughout three mainline iterations of Guilty Gear, Daru’s stuck with his girl I-No for over twenty years, and his character loyalty was finally rewarded with an Evo trophy of his own at this past Evo Japan. Not satisfied with simply qualifying for Arc World Tour finals, Daru’s hungry for the twopeat - and he’s willing to travel all the way across the Pacific for it.
Daru’s Evo win was, of course, more than well earned, but I can imagine it comes with a slight hangup on his end - that being how his grand finals set with RedDitto was marred with technical difficulties. RedDitto’s no stranger to high pressure competition - after all, he’s the defending Arc World Tour champion, having won the whole event from the LCQ. Ditto’s been at the forefront of Ramlethal’s meta for the entirety of the game’s lifespan - and I’m sure after coming as close as he did back in May, the Teamfight Tactics enthusiast is looking for an Evo gold of his own.
Of course, Daru’s not the only Strive Evo champ returning to the bracket this year. Leffen, Evo 2023’s champion, makes his return to Vegas this year in good form, bouncing between Europe and North America in his tireless pursuit for AWT points, finding himself in grands of last June’s CEO.
CEO, in particular, marked a breakout performance for one of North America’s fastest up-and-comers, with Kshuewhatthemoo and his Johnny taking it over the field in Orlando. Kshue’s been a standout competitor in North America for the past few years, but in this past year, he’s taken his results to the next level, bringing home a third at Frosty Faustings alongside a fourth at Combo Breaker to supplement his CEO ring. Kshue’s been on a sharply upwards trajectory - all eyes are on if he can continue his momentum with a strong result here at Evo.
Strive, in particular, manages to be one of the most uniquely international fighting games currently out there. Sure, there’s top level talent in North America, Europe, and Japan filling this bracket up to the tippy top, but Strive’s top level competition has notably been shaped by two international competitors making a return to Evo to take another stab at etching their name into fighting game history. Stalwart Saudi Arabian May specialist Slash is taking another trip back to Evo, having silvered at Strive’s inaugural Evo back in 2022. Similarly, this year’s Frosty Faustings champion and 2023’s Arc World Tour champion Verix is taking the long flight up from Senegal alongside his trusty Nagoriyuki for his third attempt at claiming the Evo crown. In fighting games, though, the most intimidating competitors are the ones that come off as the most normal. Which is why, in a game and competitive scene full of larger than life characters, it’s so starkly hilarious that the name most netplayers fear the most is a Happy Chaos simply by the name of Jack. Jack’s first offline major was last Evo, where he wasted no time adjusting to the offline major environment and found his way to a fifth place finish. Since then, he’s been on the cusp of a win domestically - inches away from beating Verix at Frosty’s, silver at Combo Breaker as well - but this might be the year that Jack keeps up with the character’s legacy and continues the Happy Chaos dynasty over Evo.
North America’s legacy talent in Strive have more than proven themselves time and time again, but as the meta evolves, it’s always impressive how players like Hotashi, Razzo, SQ, Lord Knight, and more show up time and time again. They’ve defined the competitive and cultural landscape of the game for so many years - but don’t sleep on any of them; their sheer skill at the game precedes all of that.
As Strive approaches the end of its fourth season, it’s critical to look back at the legacy the game’s cultivated and the generation of players it introduced to fighting games. It’s been confirmed that Evo will show us the final character of Season 4, Cyberpunk Edgerunners’s Lucy. It’s grown from a scrappy young meta to one of the most legendary games in the entire genre, and it’s going to be yet another high octane year full of venue speakers blasting “counter hit.”
