Another packed summer of fighting game action is underway, and 12 new champions were recently named at Evo Las Vegas 2026. Pair those title runs with dozens of new announcements for games like TEKKEN 8, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, and future Evo events, the FGC’s biggest stage wasn’t caught slacking this year.
With a total of 5,774 unique competitors, 12 different games on the main lineup, and dozens of additional events going on in the venue, you likely missed at least one incredible moment from the action packed weekend. So here is a recap for every event, and all the biggest announcements out of Evo 2026.
All Evo Las Vegas 2026 Tournament Results
If you just want a quick overview of the main event and its results, here is a full breakdown of all 12 games and their grand finals.
- FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves - xiaohai 3-1 (Reset) over mi2ha4
- Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising - Kojicoco 3-1 (Reset) over Shio
- Guilty Gear -Strive- - RedDitto 3-1 over Verix
- 2XKO - Hikari 3-1 (Reset) over SonicFox and INZEM
- Street Fighter 6 - MenaRD 3-0 (Reset) over Shigematsu
- TEKKEN 8 - Arslan Ash 3-2 over Rangchu
- Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage - GentlemanThief 3-2 over Gakusei Sarah
- INVINCIBLE VS - akuri 3-2 over Zippy
- UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II Sys:Celes - BigBlack 3-2 (Reset) over knotts
- Rivals of Aether II - Plup 3-2 over CakeAssault
- Blazblue Centralfiction - Fukku 3-0 over Fenritti
- Vampire Savior - Kaji 3-0 (Reset) over nakanishi
MenaRD goes back to back in Street Fighter 6
MenaRD has been on the Evo main stage plenty of times over his career, but his performance at Evo 2026 has put The Bull in elite historic company, and makes his case for the best Street Fighter 6 player even stronger.
In the biggest bracket at Evo this year, Mena went a total of 12-1, dropping only a single set to Shigematsu when the two Blanka players met in the grand finals. In two meetings against the eventual second-place finisher, Mena tried pulling out an M. Bison to flex his knowledge of the Blanka matchup without playing the ditto, but ended up swapping back to his long-time main choice to win the entire event.
With this win, Mena is now a four-time Evo Champion, with all four of those titles coming during the SF6 era. He is also one of very few players to ever defend an Evo win in back-to-back years, now having done it twice, first at Evo Japan 2024 and 2025, and now at Evo Las Vegas in 2025 and 2026.
“This result and this amount of success is not because of just me, The Bull, it’s because I have a lot of great players around me and have a lot of family members present at Evo… and a lot of friends showing a lot of support,” Mena said after his win.
Arslan Ash makes Evo history in TEKKEN 8
Arslan Ash exploded onto the TEKKEN scene in 2018 and dominated the global stage in 2019. Now, he stands at the top of the mountain once more, completing a near impossible feat with a third straight Evo title, which puts him up there with some all-time fighting game legends as he continues to dominate TEKKEN 8.
Whenever he is in the bracket, Arslan is going to be among the favorites to win it all. And he proved why once again by going an undefeated 11-0 this year to claim his third straight Evo Las Vegas title with a 3-2 victory over Rangchu, meaning he is still the only player to win the event during the TEKKEN 8 era.
With this year’s win, Arslan joins SonicFox and Justin Wong as the only players with eight Evo championships.
“I feel like even if we have seven Evo [events] next year, I feel like this Evo [Las Vegas] is the biggest one because of the prestige and history that it has,” Arslan said. “That’s why. I want to win the biggest event in the world.”
As an extra bonus, we got to see our first full look at Bob in TEKKEN 8 too! He releases on Aug. 29, and Bandai Namco also confirmed we will see a new trailer for Roger Jr. at Evo France on Oct. 11.
Hikari makes a statement in 2XKO
SonicFox and their tag-team partner INZEM were on the cusp of making history in 2XKO. Not only would a win give Sonic their record ninth Evo championship, putting them on the board in yet another title, but it also would have proven yet again that 2XKO is a unique fighting game where players can win at the highest level playing alone or with a partner.
Unfortunately for the most prominent duo in the game, Hikari wanted another Evo title more, running all the way through the loser’s bracket to upset the top seed with a 3-1 grand finals reset. In fact, Hikari’s only loss at the event was to the other top tag players, Toshi and Haru, who sent him down to the lower bracket heading into top 24, meaning he had to beat K7Showoff, Leffen, and JakeyTheSnakey just to make it into top eight.
For Hikari, this is now his fourth Evo title and second for 2XKO, having also won Evo Japan earlier this year. His win in grand finals also avenged his Combo Breaker loss to Sonic and INZEM.
“I want to say thank you to the support of my friends and family, and this was an incredible win,” Hikari said. “I won Evo Japan, and now I won [Evo] Vegas from loser’s. It was a very, very good win.”
The fun didn’t stop there either, with Riot Games showing off both Lux and Samira as upcoming playable characters coming later this year. Lux’s full trailer will drop in Fall 2026.
RedDitto gets his runback in Guilty Gear -Strive-
While it isn’t quite a revenge story, we do love to see a good rise. And rise is exactly what RedDitto did at Evo this year, coming back to finish what he started in 2025 and finally claim the most elusive titles in his Guilty Gear -Strive- career.
Having finished second at Evo Japan and Las Vegas in 2025 despite winning the ARC World Tour Finals last year, RedDitto was on a mission at Evo 2026. He went an undefeated 10-0 through the bracket and, while we didn’t get to see a runback from last year against Kshuewhatdamoo, the grand finals clash against Verix’s Nagoriyuki that ran through the lower bracket was well worth the wait.
“No,” RedDitto said when asked if he ever felt the pressure of playing on a big stage. “I always come to tournaments [thinking] that if I didn’t prep well enough then I deserve to lose. So when I play I make my decisions [knowing] that I am going to make it no matter what. I don’t care if I’m wrong. Why should I be scared or nervous?”
In addition to all the action, we also got our first look at Robo-Ky, who is now available to play in Guilty Gear -Strive- as part of Season Pass 5. We also got a tease that a new guest character will be joining the roster in Winter 2026, making this the second guest fighter in Guilty Gear history, following Lucy from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
Plup does what Plup does best in Rivals of Aether II
Oh would you look at that? Plup popping up after months of not really competing in major events only to win arguably the biggest tournament for a game that year? Sounds a little familiar…
Even if you don’t know the history of the Plup Club, seeing Plup show out and take down many of the best Rivals II players in the world to defend his Evo 2025 crown was something to watch— since we don’t see him at offline events with how much he grinds online ranked. Especially when he had to do so by beating Stango and CakeAssault in consecutive games for a second straight year, finishing it off with a 3-2 victory and taking the final round with crowd-favorite La Reina.
“I’m just gonna quit while I’m ahead,” Plup said. “Man, CakeAssault, he was on fire. I think his Fleet was just not the character [to use] versus me. His Forsburn was like a force of nature, so I was kinda lucky I got two wins on his Fleet so he couldn’t adapt to my La Reina.”
During the top eight, Aether Studios revealed the game’s next playable fighter, Gouie, who will be added to the game on Aug. 4. Additionally, the team is once again teaming up with Yacht Club Games, and will add Mina the Hollower to the game as a guest fighter in 2027.
Kojicoco rises once more in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
Evo 2026 proved to be a strong year for players looking to run a title defense, and Kojicoco is yet another example of that as he bounced back from a late loss to finish the reset and win a second Evo title for Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising.
Kojicoco looked nearly unstoppable in the early heading into top eight, before crashing right into Shio’s Lowain in the winner’s finals and getting stopped cold. He was able to bring things back, taking a clean 3-1 win over Miraias and then nearly completing a double sweep off reset in grand finals, eventually winning it all 3-1 in that rematch.
“Yes,” Kojicoco responded when asked if he thought he could go back-to-back at Evo this year. “I think recently the competition in North America has gotten really high and I’ve also traveled to Europe, I’ve traveled to Japan for this game. I’ve competed in tournaments all over the world and I feel like I have a very good grasp of where everything is and that is an advantage that, I think, is almost exclusive to me. It’s a great privilege and I’m happy.”
Cygames had a lot to show for Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising this year, confirming that Id from Granblue Fantasy Relink will be joining the roster on Sept. 17 with a big new update that includes a new stage, system mechanic, and more. A Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game will also release on the same day.
Can anyone stop Xiaohai in FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves
While it isn’t another title defense, xiaohai did complete another back-to-back Evo title run, adding Evo Japan and Evo Las Vegas 2026 trophies to his already extensive hardware collection.
His run at Evo this year was not as clean as one might expect from the legendary SNK player, as he entered top eight in the lower bracket and had to fight his way through Dany “El Maza”, K-TOP, and Fenritti just to set up a rematch against the person who sent him down to loser’s in the first place—mi2ha4.
These two rivals had another incredibly close set, throwing it back to their top eight matchup at Evo Japan this year with how close it got, though xiohai eventually pulled away, winning a tight opener to reset the bracket 3-2, and closing things out with a 3-1 Billy finish. This marks his seventh Evo title, and his third straight FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves, having also won Evo France 2025.
“I was feeling good. Everything was under control,” Xiaohai said after winning. “After losing to mi2ha4 earlier, I made sure to review the VODs so I could understand what I lost from and could review the matchup. I was also using this tournament to prepare for the Esports World Cup, and I did what I came to accomplish. This tournament was just practice for me.”
Following the finals, SNK officially released Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star as a playable character in CotW, officially finishing Season 2’s DLC lineup. A reveal for Season 3 was teased for later in July.
BigBlack claims his Under Night In-Birth II due
After years of being considered one of the best Under Night In-Birth players, BigBlack finally got his due at Evo 2026, finishing a tough top eight run to win his first Evo title in Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes].
BigBlack is yet another case of perseverance, as he finished 7th when UNI2 debuted at Evo 2024 and then second last year as he continues to be one of the top North American players in the game. And he proved it yet again by coming back through the lower bracket after a first round upset in top eight, eventually taking down knotts 3-2 in a grand finals reset
“Last year after getting second place, I shed a few tears. But today, I get to shed happy tears,” BigBlack said.
During the top eight for UNI2, we also got our first extended look at the game’s next DLC fighter, Zohar. The Doppelganger will join the battle later this year.
Another akuri moment in INVINCIBLE VS
INVINCIBLE VS made its Evo debut in Las Vegas this year, and the field was largely dominated by North American players. However, akuri brought in some secret overseas tech that helped him seal the deal.
Using what has now been described as a hybrid Japanese and Portuguese discovery for Rexplode’s jab that he learned two days before the event, courtesy of the HUNTER×HUNTER NEN×IMPACT community, akuri was able outpace some of his opponents on his way to a clean 9-0 run through the bracket. That included a close 3-2 grand finals win against Combo Breaker champion Zippy.
“Quite frankly, [INVINCIBLE VS] is not really happening [in Japan] compared to what you have in the states, but thankfully there is a very strong community, even though its small, which is probably why I was able to make it all the way here to the Evo stage,” akuri said.
This is also akuri’s third Evo title across three games, having previously won in 2019 for BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle and at Evo France 2025 for NEN×IMPACT.
During the finals, Angstrom Levy was revealed as the third DLC fighter coming to the game as part of Season 1 later this year. Universa and The Immortal are already playable with the game’s latest update.
Darkstalkers really isn’t dead
Darkstalkers Are Not Dead. And Kaji will not lose on the biggest stage.
Making its debut as a main stage title at Evo this year, across Evo Japan and Las Vegas, Vampire Savior attracted hundreds of players to help the classic title run some of its biggest tournaments ever this year. And at both of the biggest events, Kaji came out on top over nakanishi.
At Evo Japan, the two clashed, but Kaiji bested him 3-1 in grand finals. However, at Evo Las Vegas, nakanishi was already waiting for his rival, who had to win four straight rounds just to reach the final stage, where he took the title 3-0 after a very tight 3-2 bracket reset.
Fukkuu takes BlazBlue: Central Fiction’s big return
Appearing on the Evo main stage for the first time since Evo 2017, BlazBlue: Central Fiction crowned a new champion, with Fukkuu defeating several legends to reach the top.
During his run, Fukkuu went almost completely undefeated, dropping just a single game to Rascal in top eight and putting up an 8-0 overall record. That includes two 3-0 sweeps over former Central Fiction Evo champion and fighting game legend Fenritti, on his way to winning the tournament.
To celebrate BlazBlue’s return to the main stage, ArcSystemWorks revealed that Trinity Glassfille will joining the game as a playable character, making her the first new fighter in almost a decade. Her new artwork was done by series creator Toshimichi Mori and her inclusion means all of the Six Heroes will be playable in the game when she joins the roster in the near future.
“I remember nine years ago when BlazBlue was selected as a main stage title I wasn’t able to make it to Evo, so I had a lot of regrets and feelings that were lingering. So it is amazing, the fact that it was selected as a main title again and I was able to come and win,” Fukkuu said. “And as BlazBlue goes into its next era with Trinity as a new character, hopefully more people are going to play BlazBlue and spread the love. Hopefully we can keep playing and will be back.”
North America finally gets a Virtua Fighter 5 title
Virtua Fighter might be a global game, but the competitive scene has almost always run through Japan. So as we prepare to enter a new era of VF with Virtua Fighter Crossroads in 2027, Evo has crowned its first North American VF champion.
You can’t talk Virtua Fighter 5 without mentioning the GentlemanThief, who has been competing in the game since 2012, including appearances at multiple Evo events. And now he claimed his first Evo title with a 3-2 win over Gakusei Sarah, becoming the first American player to do so at an Evo.
“It’s been a long journey. I’ve been playing this game for a very, very long time so it feels good to have all the hard work of like 20 years pay off. I actually never thought I’d be here,” GentlemanThief said.
Everything announced at Evo 2026
While we already covered many of the biggest announcements for the games actually featured at Evo, or adjacent to those franchises, in the recaps, there were plenty of other announcements that you still might have missed for other games and projects!
The biggest announcements came from games that will be featured at upcoming events like Evo France 2026—Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls and Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game.
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls showed off the final full team for the game’s Aug. 6 launch roster, the Samurai Outriders. This team, led by Ghost Rider, will feature Blade, Deadpool, and Loki. Plus, an open beta for the game hits PC and PlayStation 5 from July 24 to 26.
As for Avatar Legends, we got to see the full Year 1 DLC Pass for the game, which includes Bolin, Ty Lee, Lin Beifong, Uncle Iroh, and an additional character that will be decided by a community vote. That final slot will see players who pre-order the game voting between Amon, Kuvira, Bumi, Asami, and Tenzin later this summer. The game will be released on July 23.
SNK also had a few other details to share, with a shadow drop of NINJA MASTER’S on Steam and the announcement of Art of Fighting 3 R: Path of the Warrior, a re-release featuring rollback netcode and both Yuri Sakazaki and King joining the roster. We also got full details for a massive King of Fighters XV patch that went live on July 2, which made changes to the entire roster.
