The Evolution Championship Series (EVO) 2020 fighting game tournament has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but will take place digitally.
The event would have taken place on July 31st to August 2nd in Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada. However, a statement via the official EVO Twitter account states the following.
“Due to COVID-19, we are sadly cancelling Evo 2020 at Mandalay Bay and refunding all purchased tickets.
But to keep the Evo spirit alive, we’re bringing the event online this summer. More information coming soon!
The health and well-being of our community is our highest priority. We hope everyone stays safe during this time.”
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic (also known as COVID-19 officially, or Chinese Flu to others) has affected many worldwide, from businesses to public gatherings and events. This includes postponements of GDC, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and cancellations E3 2020 (including digital events), the physical event for Gamescom 2020, and Comiket 98.
We also reported on physical versions of The Wonderful 101: Remastered being delayed (including for Kickstarter backers), along with the rumor that Nintendo would cancel their June Nintendo Direct.
The Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering are mapping the virus’ spread [1, 2]. As of this time of writing, there have been over 3.321 million total confirmed cases worldwide, and over 2.041 million active cases. There have been over 237,000 deaths, however over 1.043 million people have made a “total recovery.”
In Clark Country, Nervada, there have been 4,118 total cases, and 206 deaths. Las Vegas (where EVO would have taken place) is the county seat of Clark County.
We had also previously reported that Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 would return to the tournament for the first time since 2010.
The full list of fighting game tournaments include:
- Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
- Tekken 7
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Granblue Fantasy Versus
- Marvel Vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes
- Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r]
- Dragon Ball FighterZ
- Soulcalibur VI
- Samurai Shodown
You can find the full run-down on the tournament here.
Image: YouTube