The video game tournament known as Evolution Championship Series had humble beginnings. Starting in California as a 40-person tournament between friends in 1996, it has since grown into arguably the world’s most celebrated fighting game tournament, complete with large cash prizes and major corporate sponsors.
Each tournament division — streamed online and sometimes even broadcasted on TV — attracts fans by the thousands, with approximately 12,000 people attending EVO 2017 to watch competitors from over 60 different countries.
A lot is on the line as players compete in some of the most intense games on the market, including Capcom’s "Street Fighter V,” Bandai Namco’s "Tekken 7" and Nintendo’s "Super Smash Brothers for Wii U.” The genre requires precise button work and quick reflexes as gamers fight one another in the form of soldiers, pandas and, yes, cute Italian plumbers.