With the Overwatch League’s inaugural season firmly in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to move on to the fighting game world. This weekend’s Evo is the biggest tournament of the year, starring street fighters, smash brothers (and sisters), and a crap ton of Gokus.
Evo 2018 will be home to a number of heated rivalries and underdogs looking to break out as top level competitors, but it’ll also feature the biggest Dragon Ball FighterZ tournament since the game released in January. As one of the youngest games at the event, the field of DBZ competitors and viable strategies for success remains wide-open.
Then there’s Super Smash Bros. Melee, the oldest game at the tournament, but still one of the most exciting to watch as four of its most veteran players vye once again for the annual title.
I’m not a big fighting game connoisseur, but despite that Evo is probably my favourite competitive gaming event because of how easy it is to sit down, watch, and admire what’s going on. Two players on either side of the screen try to beat the crap out of each other until one of them goes flying off the screen or hits the ground and doesn’t get back up.
Below you’ll find when and where to watch all of the major tournaments at Evo 2018 as well as other notable esports events taking place this weekend. All times are AEST.
Evo 2018
Street Fighter 5: Pools on Sunday at 5:00AM followed by the semifinals at 9:00AM. Finals on Monday beginning at 12:30PM.
Tekken 7: Pools on Sunday at 9:00AM followed by the semifinals at 1:00PM. Finals on Monday beginning at 3:30AM.
Dragon Ball FighterZ: Pools on Sunday at 5:00AM followed by the semifinals at 9:00AM. Finals on Monday beginning at 9:00AM.
Injustice 2: Finals at 5:00AM on Sunday.
BlazBlue Tag Battle: Finals at 9:00AM on Sunday.
Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2: Quarter finals on Sunday at 9:00AM followed by the semifinals at 11:00AM. Finals on Monday beginning at 1:00AM.
Smash Bros. Melee: Pools on Sunday at 1:00AM followed by the semifinals at 5:00AM. Finals on Monday at 3:30AM.
Smash Bros. Wii U: Pools on Sunday at 5:00AM followed by the semifinals at 9:00AM and finals at 1:00PM.
All of the finals will be streamed on Evo’s main Twitch channel. You can find a full list of which channels earlier matches will be streamed here.
GSL vs. The World
StarCraft 2 has its second big global competition of the year this weekend in South Korea. At stake is a roughly ₩105 million ($126,450) prize pool and the WCS points crucial for placement in the finalist bracket at Blizzcon. The quarterfinals begin Saturday at 4:00PM with the grand finals slated for Sunday at 7:00PM. The event can be streamed live, or watched as a VOD, here.
Fortnite Summer Skirmish
Competitive Fortnite, having now appeared to have found its footing, returns for the fourth week of Summer Skirmish Saturday morning at 7:00AM and on Sunday at 3:00AM. Once again there’s over $US500,000 ($675,575) on the line and sure to be plenty of unexpected mayhem.
If it’s anything near as good as last week’s dramatic finish, when duos team Williams “Zayt” Aubin and SKT Saf clinched a dramatic win, it shouldn’t disappoint. It’ll all be streamed here.
League of Legends Championship Series
Team Liquid and 100 Thieves managed to edge into the top of the table after last week’s victories with only a handful of matches left before the end of the 2018 summer split. Matches start on Sunday at 7:00AM with the two going head-to-head in what’s sure to be a lively series. Then on Monday the action kicks off with Team Liquid vs. FlyQuest at 5:00AM. All of the matches will be streamed on Twitch.
IEM Shanghai Counter-Strike
China’s first IEM CS:GO tournament is underway with $US250,000 ($337,787) on the line. Only four teams remain, the first two of which, NRG Esports and Gambit Esports, will meet Saturday at 2:00PM in the semifinals. The grand finals, meanwhile, will begin on Monday at 1:00PM. The event can be watched live or on rebroadcast here.
Heroes of the Storm Copa América
Phase 2 of the HGC Copa América wraps up this weekend across North and South America. One more day of group play beginning at 12:00PM Saturday will decide who faces each other in the finals on Sunday at 11:00AM, with Ball Breaker and Thunder Predator currently leading the charge in the North Region.
In the South Region the remaining matches start at 9:00AM Saturday morning with the finals slated for Sunday at 7:00AM. Those games can be streamed here.
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