Dragon Ball FighterZ may be the new challenger, but it sure isn’t acting like it. Despite being only four months old, Dragon Ball FighterZ currently has the most entries for Evo 2018, even leading over huge hits likes Super Smash Bros. Melee and Street Fighter 5.
Evo tournament producer and director Joey “Mr. Wizard” Cuellar tweeted the current standings today:
- Dragon Ball FighterZ
- Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition
- Tekken 7
- Super Smash Bros. Melee
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
- BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle
- Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2
- Injustice 2
While Evo doesn’t start until August 3rd and the order could change, this is still a stark contrast from last year’s standings. Street Fighter 5 led the pack in 2017, almost doubling the amount of entries for the game with second most amount of participants, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
It’s also worth noting the strong consistency of Tekken 7 and huge drop off for Injustice 2. Bandai Namco Studios’ popular fighter has jumped up one slot while NetherRealm’s has fallen all the way to the bottom despite being the only game there with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Injustice 2‘s fall could be because of NetherRealm’s biennial release cycle that conditions players to move on every other year.
Dragon Ball FighterZ hovers in a unique space that’s both enjoyable to play and watch for almost any skill level. Being rooted in one of the most beloved anime series helps too as it helps bring people in, but it has to be fun to watch. That’s important in a tournament of this scale and Arc Systems Works knows how to make deep combat systems that professionals can dig into. There’s a reason they have three games in the top eight slots.
