Author: Franz "d3v" Co

As the most popular game at Evo 2018, Dragon Ball FighterZ has a large field of competitors all gunning for the prize. Despite the large number of competitors however, there is still a list of a select few players who are expected to go far — or even win the tournament outright.

During Dragon Ball FighterZ‘s first few months, there were two players who were dominating headlines. CO|GO1, and Echo Fox|Sonic Fox. Both players dominated tournaments in their respective regions, leaving people waiting breathless in anticipation for their inevitable confrontation. Even after said confrontation happened, this hasn’t stopped the story around them: both have fought each other multiple times in the past few months, usually in the later stages of tournaments. With both attending Evo, it’s likely that we’ll see another chapter in this story unfold in Las Vegas.

Of course, aside from Sonic Fox and GO1, other players have started to make their names as dominant forces in Dragon Ball FighterZ. In fact, a number of these players were already doing strong early on, while the rivalry between the former two was hogging the spotlight. Looking back at some of the earlier tournaments (such as Final Round 2018, the same tournament where GO1 and Sonic Fox first met), we can see many players who’ve continued to thrive and do well in the game over the past few months.

Joining GO1 from Cyclops Athlete Gaming, we have Dogura and Fenriti. Both of these players have tended to finish in the top 8 of most tournament they attend. Fenriti even edged out GO1 during the Summit of Power, taking third over the latter’s fourth. Meanwhile, Dogura is no stranger to the Evo main stage, placing 2nd at BlazBlue Chrono Phantasma back in 2014.

There are other players from Japan coming in aside from the Cyclops squad. Arguably the player with the most momentum after his win at CEO 2018 is Gods Garden Pro’s Kazunoko.  Already considered one of the best players in a number of games, Kazunoko achieved multiple top 8 finishes in the past months, before finally taking the win at CEO 2018 (creating a new generation of Yamcha players in the process).

Other Japanese players to look out for include Echo Fox’s Momochi, who — while more known for playing Street Fighter — has also made top 8 in Dragon Ball FighterZ tournaments. PONOS’ Moke is also another player who’s been doing well in the game, consistently finishing in the top 8 of tournaments (and still staying in the top 16 most of the time he doesn’t).

Of course, there are non-Japanese players (aside from Sonic Fox) are big threats as well. Panda Global’s Nakkiel was one of the early favorites coming into the game at launch, eventually earning himself an invite to last month’s Summit of Power. Speaking of the Summit of Power, many have also seen the event as the beginning of the rise of NRG’s HookGangGod. This victory was a long time coming though, with Hook already having a number of good finishes — including 5th place at Combo Breaker 2018.

Other American players include Evil Geniuses’ NYChrisG. While more known for the Marvel Vs. series, Chris has done well in Dragon Ball FighterZ, albeit not as consistently as some other players here. Other Marvel players who’ve made the transition include UYU’s Cloud805 and Echo Fox’s Punk and dekillsage, all who’ve also done well in the game. Speaking of which, any list of former Marvel player’s who’ve crossed over is incomplete without Beastcoast’s ApologyMan. While he was always just on the cusp of greatness in Marvel (always overshadowed by the “gods” of those games), it seems that he’s found much better footing in Dragon Ball FighterZ.

Speaking of players coming from other games, it would be remiss not to mention Team SoloMid’s Leffen. While known primarily as a Super Smash Bros. player, Leffen has dedicated himself to Dragon Ball FighterZ and has the results to show it, most recently being top 16 finishes at Combo Breaker 2018, CEO 2018, and the Summit of Power.

Of course, with such a large field of competitors, it would be impossible to try to cover everyone worth watching. Aside from those mentioned above, there are numerous other players from different national and regional communities. The beauty of an open tournament such as Evo is that anyone can come in, and through their own skill and effort, make a name for themselves. This is even more true with a game as new and with as a large a player base as Dragon Ball FighterZ!

Will Sonic Fox and GO1 continue their epic story and go at it at grand finals? Will HookGangGod, Kazunoko, Dogura, Fenriti, or the like overtake the former two and claim the title of champion? Or will a new player carve out the beginning of their own legend? Find out more when Evo 2018 rolls around this weekend.

Evo 2018 is shaping up to be one of the biggest iterations of the event yet. A good part of this is thanks to the number of big side tournaments being officially hosted at Evo 2018, drawing in a large number of competitors. One notable company hosting a couple of side tournaments is Team NINJA, who’s doing so for Dead or Alive 5: Last Round and their upcoming Dead or Alive 6.  The latter is the second in-development game to get a big side tournament at Evo 2018 — alongside after SoulCalibur VI — and it’s arguably the one with more momentum, considering that it’s following Dead or Alive 5‘s competitive run.

Dead or Alive 5‘s tournament scene, including Team NINJA’s own competitive tour, has fostered a number of great players both in and out of the series’ traditional American player base, including players from Japan and Korea. It’s a credit to the series — and both Team NINJA and the competitive scene — that many of the top players to look out for in this years event aren’t American.

Japan alone is sending three great players to look out for. Among these is Siologica, the winner of the 2017 Dead or Alive 5 Battle Royal. This Gen Fu player is known for making top 8 in just about every tournament he joins, with a calculated playstyle that helps him psyche opponents out. He’s not the only Battle Royal winner coming though, 2015 Battle Royal winner YOSHIMOTO|JC Akira is also flying in. This Akira specialist uses the fear that a good Akira can generate in his opponent to set the pace and generate a lot of momentum. This is a character for whom regaining momentum against is difficult at best, so watching an Akira master at work should be quite a treat.

Joining the two Japanese Battle Royal champions is COMP|TeruRock, the Lei Fang player who also competed at the Battle Royal Grand Final, making it to 5th place. In addition to this, he also made 2nd at the DOA Festival, and is one of the top-ranked arcade players. Finally, the list of Japanese players is rounded out by Tanii. This Hitomi and Zack player is as known for his high-octane — some would say reckless — playstyle as for his consistent top 8 finishes. Definitely a guy whose matches viewers need to look out for.

Now, Japanese players aren’t the only international competition coming into Dead or Alive at Evo 2018. From Korea, we have Play Monsters|Soy who’s made it out to DOA tournaments in North America before, as well as the DOA Festival in Japan. This Helena and Christie player personally considers himself to be only the 6th best player in Korea, though seeing as the other 5 aren’t on the registration list as of the time of writing, he’s their best shot at the event. Meanwhile, from Australia we have CW|Berzerk, a Lei Fang player with a history of finishing in the top 3 of their tournaments. Despite this, he’s never competed in America or Japan, due to being busy organizing tournaments, as such it’ll be exciting to see how he fares at Evo.

Of course, America has a sizable contingent of Dead or Alive players joining — the US is, after all, the home of competitive DOA. To start things off, we have the 2016 Battle Royal winner, FSD|Rikuto. This veteran was actually the first-ever champion for Dead or Alive 5, and the fact that he’s still considered one of the series’ top players shows his dedication to it. His Bayman will be another thing to watch out for in these tournaments. Joining him from Free Step Dodge is Matt Ponton. Matt is known more for organizing and being one of the faces behind the tournament scene, but his Bass and Mai still tend to take him to top 8.

While his more-famous brother has branched out to other fighting games, Mr_Kwiggle has dedicated himself to Dead or Alive 5. Sonic Fox’s brother is considered one of the top 2 players in the US, and one of the best in the world, especially whenever he brings Christie out. He placed 2nd at last year’s Battle Royal, and was also the inaugural DOA Festival champion. The other player considered part of the top 2 in the US is XCaliburBladez. While most people likely know him for playing Dragon Ball FighterZ, Dead or Alive 5 was the game he first made his mark in. This multi-character specialist — using Eliot, Helena, and Alpha-152 — is known for having great strategy, on top of having good reaction and fast adaptation.

Another player known for fast adaptation is CrazySteady, who has been widely considered to be one of the best players from the US West Coast. Aside from winning almost every tournament in the West Coast with his Sarah and Jacky, he also does well when he flies over to the East as well.

UGS is sending a couple of their players over for DOA, Jager and BlackMoonRising. Both of these players have done well in multiple tournaments, oftentimes just shy of actually winning them. Jager is known as one of the few Rig players in the US, and is known for approaching the game very analytically, while being able to adapt to his opponents quickly. BlackMoonRising — who some may also recognize for playing Lucky Chloe in Tekken 7 — is one of the more active players from the Carolinas. Like his teammate, he’s also known for being analytical and being able to adapt quickly.

Rounding out this list is Punishere. Another veteran who’s been active in the scene even before Dead or Alive 5, Punishere hasn’t been as active in offline competition as of late. That said, he still maintains an impressive presence online. As such, he’s another dark horse in this tournament, and likely another player to watch out for.

Of course, the above apply mostly for Dead or Alive 5: Last Round. Since Dead or Alive 6 is an in-development title with new mechanics and properties — and whose build at Evo 2018 will not have every character available — the field is much more wide open. With Japan and other countries outside the US having much more established competitive scenes for Dead or Alive now than they did when DOA5 launched, DOA6 represents the first time the US may lose the lead in this game. Could we see the beginnings of that at Evo 2018? Only time, and a lot of tournament play, will tell.

Shoryuken would like to thank Matt Ponton, Rikuto, and Deathofaninja for their contributions to this article.