EVO Is A Lot Blacker Than I Could Ever Imagine, And I’m Here For All Of It

Like most Black kids had to deal with growing up, it wasn’t considered “cool” to outwardly profess my love of things that was considered “nerdy” or “white” (which, depending on the perspective, was synonymous with each other): comic books, anime, and fighting games. Then again, I also grew up in a city where shopping at the local swap meet was considered taboo, not living in the hood stripped you of any “street credibility,” and was so riddled with gang violence that I still — and at times unconsciously — do not pack any red whenever I go back to visit.

Nowadays, the Slauson Super Mall serves as a backdrop for Instagram influencers, the Hollywood Park Racetrack was replaced by SoFi Stadium (although, its lovably raucous casino still remains), and while you still can’t wear a Mariners/White Sox/Astros/Twins/basically any MLB hat relatively safely in certain areas that really doesn’t matter when most of the transplants who relocated from their podunk, flyover state just to work a low-paying job and live with four other people in an overpriced and undersized apartment while complaining about how bad the city is never go south of Pico in the first place.

But, I digress.

I loved — like, loved — fighting games like the next mostly isolated and socially awkward child, but aside from my cousin and a few friends I never felt like there was a community for people like me. I learned about and learned how to play games like X-Men vs. Street Fighter, The King Of Fighters, Power Stone, and Rival Schools from… well… my Asian and Pacific Islander friends. I wasn’t interested at shooters and wasn’t good at sports games (NFL Blitzand NBA/NFL Street, notwithstanding), but pulling off a 100-plus hit combo in Killer Instinct came pretty naturally.

Beyond that, the fighting game community has a reputation for being notoriously exclusive. Women are routinely treated horribly, and I’ve had to either change my online profile appearance or completely fall back on certain games due to the sheer amount of racism I’ve had to deal with. I actually, foolishly, thought that things had gotten better, until I was called the enwurd about a week prior to this piece. In Brawlhalla, of all games.

I’d known about the Evolution Championship Series, or EVO, since 2002, yet the first time I was finally able to attend was its 2019 installment… you know, in the before times. Following a three-year hiatus, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, charges of sexual misconduct against former CEO Joey Cuellar, an underwhelming online edition in 2021, and ultimately being acquired in a joint venture between Sony Interactive Entertainment and talent agency Endeavor, EVO made its way back to the Las Vegas Strip in August 2022. And, keeping it a buck? It may have been the Blackest installment to date.

While scaled down due to the effects of the ‘rona, there were still a plethora of activations, cosplayers, vendors, competitors, families, and much more. And, in my eyes, roughly one in every five people were Black. Parents, couples, fanboys, fangirls: you name it, I saw variations of it, and more. And I loved every second of it. Now that it is back at full strength for the 99 and the 2023, I expect that many, many more people that… well… look like me to be in attendance. And for those who know how it feels to be an wrongly-ostracized member of society, that inclusion and acceptance is very important.

EVO 2023 is poised to be the largest one ever with the most bracket competitors, featuring roughly 10,000 competitors from 71 countries (and counting). Games like Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear -Strive, DRAGON BALL FighterZ, Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate, and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 are among the featured games at the event. There will be a rather massive anime activation courtesy of Crunchyroll, and from the looks of some of Marvel’s recent Twitter activity they will be there in some capacity also (a new Marvel vs. Capcom installment, perhaps? Because, let’s be real, MvC: Infinite sucked).

EVO 2023 takes place Friday, August 4th through Sunday, August 6th at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. You may catch Shake and I there, too: if so, definitely say what’s up and — most importantly — come peaceful. Because we fight.

EVO Is A Lot Blacker Than I Could Ever Imagine, And I’m Here For All Of It was last modified: July 26th, 2023 by Meka