The Evolution Championship Series, or “EVO” for short, has spent well over 20 years being the last stop on the calendar for professional fighting game tournaments. All competitors around the world, from the casual fan to the most diehard expert, fly in to Las Vegas during the summer for a chance to win it all at the biggest eSports event of the year.
But this isn’t an event just for the pros. It’s also mostly turned into a convention of sorts for fans of anything vaguely nerdy. There are several weekend-long live streams, three whole days of panels, interviews, access to free arcade machines, art galleries, game announcements, and even an arena to spectate the finals on the big stage. It’s like the Masters, Wimbledon, the Super Bowl, and Stanley Cup Finals all rolled up into one thing.
The most entered game with the most viewers is almost always the most recently released “Street Fighter” title. Thousands of entrants try, but only one person ends with the trophy. And a whole lot of money, too. That helps. That’s the series I’ve played my whole life, it’s the one I know the best, and the one I’m covering today. If you’re interested in the other 11 games at EVO, find somewhere else to get your not gambling advice.
So let’s figure out who to root for, who I predict will win, and who you should be looking out for if you just want get deeply invested in the drama. Just keep in mind that this is not real gambling advice. These are not real odds. This is all for the love of the game, and not a way to make money. So don’t blame me for losing you hundreds or thousands when somebody big gets knocked out. Which is inevitable.
Here’s the problem with this year’s EVO: the fucking date changed! This shit moved up earlier into the summer, and traditionally CEO is in June and EVO is in August. CEO is the second biggest tournament and is a great predictor/indicator of who will perform well at EVO, and who are the favorites. Not this fucking time! This year those two tourneys swapped their dates, so now everything is ass backwards and much harder to predict.
Here is what happened the last few years:
- iDom wins CEO 2022, comes in second at EVO 2022
- MenaRD wins CEO 2023, comes in second at EVO 2023
- Punk wins CEO 2024, wins EVO 2024
- Leshar wins CEO 2025, comes in seventh at EVO 2025
Can’t do that shit this year! Makes me angry. But it’s okay, we have a zillion more EVO tournaments now. There’s EVO Japan, EVO, EVO France, EVO Singapore, and I’m sure there’ll be one in Hoboken, New Jersey at this rate any day now, or bumfuck Wyoming. Will having multiple EVO champions inform who wins the next one? Who knows! Will it lead to confusion and water down the champion’s claim to best in the world? Yes, undoubtedly.
The field this year is much more muddled, erratic, and doesn’t have a consistent or heavy favorite like in previous years. So many different players and characters are performing well at certain events, but not others. Where’s the continuity? The dominance? The………..broken S+ tier counter picks???
Your Favorite Players, like Daigo and Justin Wong, along with anyone else who entered +5000
Your GOATs are washed. They commentate, do YouTube and Twitch streams now. They write books. They’re brand ambassadors, not top competitors. This is just a catchall for anyone who isn’t going to win, so don’t bother throwing your money away.
Gachikun, Kazunoko, Tokido, Momochi, GO1, Dogura, Hibiki, YHC-Mochi, Sahara, Takamura, Mister Crimson, ChrisCCH, Jr., and Hinao +4000
These are all longer shots, which is a bizarre thing to write because you have multiple-time EVO winners in this list as well as some GOAT nominees. If you want to splurge, place some bets and see if you win a boatload, but don’t go more than $10 because the smart money is on recent players doing well and not the old guard. This is a young man’s game, and OG Tokido is not walking through those doors come June 26.
Noah the Prodigy, NL, Ryukichi, Angry Bird, Big Bird, EndingWalker, Leshar, DualKevin, JAK, Riddles, Phenom, and Kakeru +2500
This section has some EVO winners, EVO runner-ups, and other Top 3 finishers. I haven’t seen them do that well in the past six months leading up to EVO, but they no doubt are serious threats in the brackets. I would find it hard to place money on them individually, but collectively I would not be stunned to see any of these gentlemen win outright.
Oil King +2200
The king of Rashid has been around the block for a while, and is a solid ass player. The results listed below don’t do his career justice, but as far as recent accomplishments, it’s light. Still, I know he has the skills to be a Top 8 threat for the final day, but I can’t see a win coming his way until he proves it. Love his hats, though.
Major “SF6” Accomplishments: 1st at BeePro Cup 2025, 5th at Combo Breaker 2026, 9th at DreamHack Birmingham
Micky +1900
I have no memory or recollection of this man getting 3rd place at EVO last year. None. Came out of nowhere, beat AngryBird, and did phenomenally. To say he can’t win would be a lie, but I just don’t know too much else about this kid other than he PLACES and does it so often that I have to list him above previous EVO winners who have cooled off in recent years.
Major “SF6” Accomplishments: 1st at 2025 Asian Youth Games, 3rd at EVO 2025, 5th at GTW 2026, 5th at SwinGo Cup 2026, 5th at Capcom Cup 12, 2nd at DreamHack Birmingham 2026, 4th at DaFei Cup, 3rd at Zz1tai Cup, 7th at Combo Breaker 2026
Yamaguchi +1900
This guy just won EVO Japan over Punk. I cannot knock that win; it’s a major upset for him to take the whole thing. Can he do it again? History says no, but then again he has the right character and as long as people don’t have enough experience/game tape on him, you never know!
Major “SF6” Accomplishments: 1st at EVO Japan 2026, 4th at Topanga Championship 6, 17th at Blink Respawn 2025, 13th at EVO 2025, 9th at EVO France 2025
Nephew +1900
Nephew broke onto the scene in “Street Fighter 6” with his Juri, and became a fan favorite. His YouTube videos and happy demeanor might have overshadowed his actual placements in tourneys, but this year has been a different story. I don’t think Juri is a good enough character to win, but maybe if enough people don’t know the match-up he can slide his way into a Top 8.
Major “SF6” Accomplishments: 2nd at DreamHack Atlanta 2026, 2nd at CPT 2026 World Warrior US-Canada, 9th at Blink Respawn 2026, 13th at DreamHack Birmingham, 33rd at Combo Breaker 2026
Vxbao +1600
2026 might be the year that China cements itself in the “Street Fighter” scene. Between Xiao Hai (more on him later), Hope and Oil King (from Taiwan), HotDog29 and Micky (from Hong Kong), Jiewa, and DCQ, there are a lot of players from that region who are crushing it right now. And you can’t knock the consistent Top 8 finishes all of this year. Will he win it all? I don’t think so, but will I expect him to be there Saturday night on winners side as we go from 64 to 32 to 16 to 8? Vxbao will be there, for sure.
Major “SF6” Accomplishments: 1st at CPT 2025 World Warrior China, 1st at Zz1tai Cup, 5th at SwinGo Cup 2026, 5th at Capcom Cup 12, 9th at DaFei Cup, 4th at DreamHack Atlanta 2026, 7th at Combo Breaker 2026
Blaz +1600
The teenager from Chile has been on a tear, taking a couple of big tournaments in the past twelve months. But when it comes to EVO? The results aren’t quite there yet to be a favorite for 1st place. But his time will come, and I would not be shocked to see a Top 8 placement. He’s just that solid.
Major “SF6” Accomplishments: 1st at CPT 2025 World Warrior South America, 1st at GTW 2026, 1st at SwinGo Cup 2026, 3rd at Capcom Cup 12, 13th at EVO Japan 2026
Kilzyou +1600
This French neophyte is akin to the Victor Wembanyama of fighting games. He’s been up and coming for a few years now, but people should be very afraid of his skills. Could he finally take a major? The biggest one of the year might be too much too soon, but if you’re bullish on the French then don’t let me stop your enthusiasm.
Major “SF6” Accomplishments: 2nd at Capcom Cup 12, 9th at EVO Japan 2026, 9th at DreamHack Atlanta 2026, 13th at Combo Breaker 2026, 1st at CPT 2025 World Warrior France
Random player from Japan you’ve never heard of before +1200
Every year there is inevitably a Japanese player who comes out of the blue and just beats the hell out of people. They later go onto become household names for nerds, but in the FGC there is always a killer lurking behind the sticks, a no name who is ruthless and will upset everybody you love. Trust me. It is inevitable.
NuckleDu +1200
I love NuckleDu. I love his Guile, I’ve followed his career since the beginning, and I first got to talk to him at a Popeyes across the street from a CEO once. Du Dang is a man I’ve met when he was a teenager, who has beat my ass at many locals, and has grown into a man with a child and a lot of wins to his name.
He is a soft spoken but fierce competitor, and is ruthlessly aggressive in his offense. He’s won at Capcom Cup, he’s come close in a lot of EVOs before, but I trust him to have all of the counter picks in his pocket to make it through thousands.
Major “SF6” Accomplishments: 1st at CPT 2025 World Warrior US, 7th at DreamHack Atlanta 2025, 5th at LVL UP EXPO 2026, 7th at EVO Japan 2026, 13th at Combo Breaker 2026
Kobayan +1200
This is the year of Zangief! So many Gief players are crushing it, and he’s a scary ass character to go against now. I’ve never heard of Kobayan until a few months ago, when he just starting sweeping the floor with people! He’s a relatively new hot shot, but man, do the results speak for themselves. But experience matters, and it’s hard to just win the biggest tournament of the year out of nowhere without a lot of grinding and training.
Major “SF6” Accomplishments: 1st at DreamHack Atlanta 2026, 4th at Combo Breaker 2026, 3rd at EVO France 2025, 4th at DreamHack Birmingham 2026, 9th at Blink Respawn 2026, 17th at EVO Japan 2026
Fuudo +1000
Fuudo is the baby faced assassin. He won EVO 2011 in “Street Fighter IV” for crying out loud! You can joke he looks like Japan’s Harry Potter, but this guy has the best defense in the world. He is having a second career resurgence lately, and I have no doubt he will be a tough out come late June.
Major “SF6” Accomplishments: 5th at Combo Breaker 2026, 5th at Capcom Cup 12, 5th at Esports World Cup 2025, 5th at EVO 2025, 1st at Blink Respawn 2025, 1st at Topanga Championship 6, 9th at Combo Breaker 2025
Higuchi +1000
He doesn’t have any major wins under his belt yet, but I’ve never seen a Guile player do this well at so many events since Nuckle Du’s prime years. And while I am biased (I’m a Guile main), I know how hard it is to win with a charge character in the modern age of drive rushes and throw loops. I am personally rooting to see him win, but he has a ways to go to prove it to me. Although 2026 is trending in the right direction for him!
Major “SF6” Accomplishments: 1st at CPT World Warrior Japan #5, 3rd at SwinGo Cup 2026, 4th at Capcom Cup 12, 4th at VOLTAGECUP 2026, 5th at Zz1tai Cup, 3rd at EVO Japan 2026, 5th at Blink Respawn 2026
MenaRD +1000
MenaRD has claim to be the best SF6 player of all time. He’s won it in Las Vegas, he’s won it in Japan, he’s beaten Daigo in a first to ten, and has accomplished everything. So why is he so low? 2026 has not been his year…so far.
You have to respect him at the largest tournaments, so he’s still in the top echelon of favorites. The only BIG thing he won in 2026 was the recent Blink Respawn, but that was in his home base of the Dominican Republic against a strong but not overly international slate. I do think he will be a threat to place in Top 8 yet again, but can he stay hot in June with only so many days to go?
Major “SF6” Accomplishments: 1st at EVO 2025, 1st at EVO Japan 2025, 1st at Blink Respawn 2026, 3rd at Red Bull Kumite 2025, 9th at Esports World Cup 2025, 9th at Capcom Cup 12, 13th at Combo Breaker 2026
Xiao Hai +900
Xiao Hai is so fucking good. At everything, too! It aggravates me how effortlessly he wins at everything he touches. This guy has won at so many games, for so long, and has six EVO championship belts/trophies/golden joysticks. But he’s coming for “Street Fighter” after leaving King of Fighters in the dust. And he might be getting hot at the right time, which lends me to think he has more than a puncher’s chance at taking another title home.
Major SF6 Accomplishments: 1st at Combo Breaker 2026, 2nd at Zz1tai Cup, 4th at SwinGo Cup 2026, 2nd at GTW 2026, 9th at DreamHack Atlanta 2026, 9th at DaFei Cup, 7th at DreamHack Birmingham 2026
Punk +700
Do I feel great about this placement? No, not at all. In fact, as much as I love the first American player to win a “Street Fighter” at EVO, I had a very hard time finding anyone to place as the betting favorite. But ultimately, Punk has no pressure on him. He’s already won, he’s doing well this year, and if there’s anyone who is just consistently and thoroughly dominant at this game, it’s him.
I would not personally place my money on him winning, but somebody HAS to be on the top, and it might as well be him! He’s earned it. Strong character, strong player, strong results, and so likable. We have to root for him. He hasn’t cooled off at all, and still does extremely well at every tournament he enters. He’s my favorite but only by the slightest of margins.
Major “SF6” Accomplishments: 1st at EVO 2024, 9th at EVO 2025, 1st at Frosty Faustings XVIII, 2nd at GENESIS X3, 1st at LVL UP EXPO 2026, 2nd at EVO Japan 2026, 3rd at Blink Respawn 2026
Image Credit: YouTube
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