Month: July 2015

Every year, one of the biggest questions surrounding the Evolution Championship Series is which titles will have their finals play out on Sunday. As the last day of the tournament, time slots on Sunday are regarded as more prestigious as their Friday and Saturday counterparts and generally give the games chosen greater visibility than if they were placed earlier in the weekend.

In addition to opening up tentative pools for review, event organizer Joey “Mr. Wizard” Cuellar recently made it known how Evo 2015’s Sunday finals will play out. Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- will occupy the “anime slot” by opening up the day’s competition, followed by fellow newcomer Mortal Kombat X. After that, Super Smash Bros. Melee’s wide array of talent will pave the way for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and the three gods potentially poised to take home the gold. And finally, Ultra Street Fighter IV is scheduled to once again close out the day.

Of course, you’re never going to satisfy everyone, and Cuellar was inundated with replies as soon as the announcement was made. One in particular regarding the possibility of switching Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Super Smash Bros. Melee drew a reply from the series’ co-founder, who said Marvel has consistently provided the highest viewing numbers over the past four years. In terms of participation numbers, the title ranks in as the fourth-lowest.

Evo 2015 is scheduled for July 17-19 in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, be sure to head on over to the event’s official website.

Source: Joey Cuellar

While many may look upon Mad Catz’ Daigo Umehara as a pure Street Fighter player (apart from a brief departure into Marvel vs. Capcom 3 a few years back), his lengthy history in the fighting game community also includes some notable Guilty Gear success. Much like with Street Fighter IV, the Beast was a two-time Evo champion in Guilty Gear XX in 2003 and 2004, and was also part of the team that placed third at Tougeki 2003.

As you know, Umehara would go on to compete almost exclusively in Street Fighter titles, but he’s planning to make a grand return to Guilty Gear at Toshin-Gekitotsu, a Sony-organized Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- event scheduled for August.

Umehara is set to head up a team of other professional fighting game players against Guilty Gear gods like FAB and Nage. Their ranks will be filled by specially-chosen but as of yet undisclosed competitors as well as the winners of online qualifiers scheduled for the next few weeks. The champions of the respective Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- tournaments at ARC REVOLUTION CUP 2015 and Evo 2015 will also be invited to participate, rounding out each team with ten players apiece.

Despite only three players having been revealed so far, Toshin-Gekitotsu is shaping up to be a ridiculous event for the Guilty Gear community. Will Daigo be able to jump back into the series and find the same success as he did in his youth, or has the Beast been away too long to make a difference? You’ll have to tune in to find out!

Toshin-Gekitotsu is scheduled for August 22 in Tokyo, Japan. Keep an eye on the event’s official website for further announcements.

Source: Toshin-Gekitotsu via Dengeki Online