With the big announcement of both Ibuki and Balrog being legal to play at this year’s Evo, a lot of people have been discussing whether this decision is necessarily a good idea. Historically, characters that have been released so close to Evo have usually been banned from usage during the tournament, just in case players discovered game-breaking tech that would ruin the spirit of the competition. However, other players argue that realistically, if you aren’t good enough to beat someone’s 2-week-old Balrog when you’ve had since February to finely hone your Ryu or Nash, you’re probably not destined to go that far at Evo.
Eager to weigh in on the topic, PND’s Ketchup and Mustard have made a short discussion video on ESL UK, going over the pros and cons of both sides of the legality argument. They bring up examples of character loyalists like Evil Geniuses’ PR Balrog finally being able to play their long standing mains with the release of these two fighters, along with the previously mentioned issue of veterans of the game not being able to beat a character that’s only been out for 2 weeks.
Having these new characters playable at Evo is also a great marketing strategy, as it allows the best of the best to show off what these fighters can do and may sway a couple of on the fence fans to buy Street Fighter V. However, there could also be a problem if there is a notable glitch or exploit that sees abuse at the event, like Ibuki’s period of invincibility after a whiffed air throw. Luckily, Capcom have stated they are fixing the air throw glitch as soon as possible, but it is unknown whether this will come into effect before Evo.
Source: ESL UK