In the Super Smash Bros. Melee community, how you play can matter far more than who you are. Recently, a top Melee player made his grand re-entry into the game's competitive scene a little over a year after assaulting a Florida gas station clerk, causing a rift among fans and pros over whether it's proficiency or personality that matters most.

After showing off their first original fighting game in decades last April Fool's Day, respected Japanese game studio Arika arrived at Evo 2017 this past weekend ready to demo the project for the genre's most passionate fans.

Victor "Punk" Woodley has had a tough week. After months of first-place finishes on the Street Fighter 5 competitive circuit, most notably the $US150,000 ($188,533) top prize in the Eleague SF5 invitational, Punk experienced serious heartbreak in the Evo 2017 finals this past Sunday.

On Sunday night local time, ESPN aired Evo 2017's Street Fighter 5 finals. During Ryota "Kazunoko" Inoue's match, in which he played as the character Cammy, ESPN requested that Kazunoko change the character's costume from her default thong leotard to her formalwear DLC outfit. (Cammy does not wear pants in this formal outfit, either, but she does wear a full-coverage pair of black briefs, rather than the thong that her other costumes feature.)

Two titans of Street Fighter 5 clashed in Mandalay Bay, one on an undefeated streak and the other pressing on through the gauntlet of the loser's bracket. After a bracket reset, longtime Street Fighter pro Tokido beat Punk 3-0 to take home the Evo 2017 championship trophy.

While Dragon Ball FighterZ and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite were being demonstrated in Evo 2017's raucous convention hall, the folks at Wavedash Games were quietly showing off their first official project, Icons: Combat Arena, in a private hotel room. After two years of development, they were on the verge of finally unveiling their game to the world, one they hope can be recognised as a "platform fighter" instead of a "Smash clone."

There are a lot of great Tekken 7 players, but the masters of the game still hail mostly from South Korea. In a grand finals that pitted countrymen and fellow Echo Fox players Jin Woo "Saint" Choi and Hyun Jin "JDCR" Kim against one another, it was the latter who managed their first Evo championship win.

This year's Evolution Championship Series started with a bang last night as King of Fighters XIV wrapped up its one-day competition with an intense finals bracket. Spectators crowded the exhibition hall to see the weekend's first champion crowned among the impressive mix of players from across Taiwan, China, Mexico, Pakistan, Japan, and the United States.

Every fighting game competitor wants to play under optimal conditions, or at least as close to their home training experience as possible. But what are they to do when an event's setups begin to fail? And how do the organisers rectify such a situation? These questions became incredibly important during the BlazBlue: Central Fiction tournament at Evo 2017 this weekend.

The company is working on a new BlazBlue game. Why should you care? Well this one will include Persona 4's protagonist, Yu Narukam, from the Persona 4 Arena fighting game in addition to a bunch of other characters.

Going late into the night, the Smash Bros. Melee championship at Evo 2017 saw Sweden's Adam "Armada" Lindgren silence any remaining critics as he battled his way to a second ever victory at the event.

Marvel vs. Capcom has always been known for its flashy style and brutal comboing, two things that were on full display at the game's final Evo tournament.

In a grand finals match that almost went the full distance, Ryusei Ito has emerged as the victor of Evo 2017's BlazBlue Central Fiction tournament.

Super Smash Bros. For The Wii U made two big debuts today: One, its first Evo Sunday showing, and the second on national TV, as it aired live on Disney XD and ESPNU.

While the main event continued over the weekend, AnimEvo has many side tournaments, including the puzzle game Catherine.

Dragon Ball FighterZ made a huge impression when it was first revealed at E3 in June, but it's currently undergoing the greatest test of all: Rigorous competition from some of the fighting game community's best players.

That guy on the right is Lee "Infiltration" Seon Woo. You might remember him from last year's Evo Street Fighter V tournament,which he won. A veteran of the scene who's been competing since 2010 with Super Street Fighter IV, he's now housing energy drinks in-between matches to help pay the bills.

Super Smash Bros. Melee players Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma and Zachary "SFAT" Cordoni both accrued yellow cards for receiving mid-set coaching TKduring their match in the top 16 at Evo 2017.

Every year, the Evolution Championship Series descends on Las Vegas, bringing with it the largest collection of fighting game players in the world. Evo serves as a reflection of the best the fighting game community has to offer, and players who manage to become champions in the sweltering Las Vegas desert are regarded as having reached the pinnacle of their craft. This year's festivities are shaping up to be mighty special.