The Best Moments of Evo 2017

Mike Andronico
Jul 20, 2017 · 4 min read

Another Evolution Championship Series is in the books, leaving a whole lot of unforgettable matches in its wake.

We saw up-and-comers take down old gods, incredible comebacks from low-tier heroes, and countless displays of raw emotion that proved just how much this tournament means to fighting games’ elite. Here are a handful of those special moments.

HoneyBee’s Injustice 2 Run

Tim “HoneyBee” Commandeur has long been one of the best Injustice and Mortal Kombat players in the globe, and while he didn’t win Evo, it sure felt like he did. In a tournament packed with folks leaning on high-tier characters like Aquaman and Black Adam, Commandeur stuck to his guns and made top 8 with his signature Flash play. And he damn near took the whole thing.

Commandeur’s top 8 run was filled with clutch moment after clutch moment, culminating in an incredibly smart super combo finish against EchoFox’s Theo that secured him a spot in the grand finals. Up against Ryan “Dragon” Walker’s imposing Aquaman, HoneyBee performed a rare counterpick and also swapped to the King of Atlantis. Down 0–2 in the mirror match with nothing left to lose, Commandeur switched back to his trusty Flash and brought the series to 2–2 with a string of incredibly thrilling comebacks that saw the competitor make full use of Flash’s time-slowing combos and hard to block mixups. While Dragon ultimately prevailed, Commandeur left Evo 2017 as the Injustice 2 people’s champion — and still the fastest man alive.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3’s Fond Farewell

With Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite right around the corner, Evo 2017 marked the end of competitive Marvel vs. Capcom 3 as we know it. And while it wasn’t quite the most hype Marvel finals ever (remember 2013?), Capcom’s crazy crossover title still went out with a bang.

Highlights include an explosive 4th place run by Southern California’s Paradigm, whose wacky Haggar teams proved that there’s still hope for unorthodox playstyles in the era of Vergil and Doctor Doom. But the real main event was the storybook grand finals between RyanLV and defending champ Chris “NYChrisG” Gonzalez.

To many Marvel fans, this showdown seemed inevitable. Chris G is largely considered the best to ever play the game, while RyanLV quickly rose to the top of the ranks over the past year by iterating on the strong Morrigan keepaway game that Gonzalez first put on the map. Hot off of his win against Chris G last month at CEO 2017, it was time for the new face of UMvC3 to face the old guard once more.

While Chris G came extremely close to resetting the bracket, Ryan’s clutch Dark Phoenix play ultimately prevailed at the end of the 3–2 set. RyanLV’s Evo 2017 win was definitive proof that the new generation of Marvel is here to stay, making us even more eager to see who rises to the top once Infinite hits this September.

Filipino Champ’s Thrilling Street Fighter V Performance

Seeing former Evo champ Ryan “Filipino Champ” Ramirez make an Evo top 8 isn’t surprising. Seeing him do it in Street Fighter V is a whole different story. While he’s known more for Marvel vs. Capcom these days, the NorCal veteran proved why he’s one of SFV’s best Dhalsim players, making brilliant use of the yoga warrior’s zoning abilities while mixing in some unpredictable rushdown.

Ramirez was ultimately taken out of the tournament, but not before putting on one of the best performances of the night in a thrilling 5-game set against eventual champ Hajime “Tokido” Tanguichi. Will Ramirez stick to SFV when MvC Infinite drops? We can only hope.

Street Fighter V Grand Finals: A Battle of Generations

Going into Evo 2017, all eyes were on Victor “Punk” Woodley. While Street Fighter ‘s top champs typically come from overseas, the past year of absolute dominance from Punk — an 18-year-old who recently won TBS’ $150,000 ELeague tournament— had many convinced that this was America’s Evo to win. And he came so damn close to making it happen.

After a swift winners bracket run that saw him take out Kazunoko with his ferocious Karin and Itabashi Zangief with a surprise Nash pick, Punk found himself in grand finals against Japanese veteran Tokido — a frequent presence in top 8 every year who never quite managed to snag the gold in Street Fighter.

That all changed in a blistering 20-minute set, in which Tokido took full advantage of Akuma’s dizzying fireball game, devastating V-Trigger abilities and high-damage combos to reset the bracket and eventually take the Evo gold. It was an incredibly thrilling finals that ended in a long-deserved victory for Tokido, while also proving that America is closer to the top than ever.

People Playing Games

Stories about people who make the world of games awesome.

)
Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade