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While eSports and competitive gaming in general have taken off in popularity recently, Evo has long stood as one of the biggest events in the industry, especially for players of the fighting games the event is focused on. Naturally, Smash Bros. has been represented for quite a while; the series often showed up twice in each tournament thanks to the longstanding popularity of Smash Bros. Melee. This year, however, Melee is out and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is on its own, meaning that the player base is no longer split across multiple titles.
Last year, between the GameCube and Wii U iterations of the series, over 2,700 players signed up to compete in a Smash Bros. game at the tournament. This year, with Smash Bros. Ultimate being the only option, the number has jumped up to an impressive 3,492 players, making it the most popular game at the tournament by far. Street Fighter V comes in at number 2 with a mere 1,929 contestants.
The fact that Melee was dropped from the tournament all but guaranteed Ultimate’s player base would dwarf previous games, but the massive increase in overall Smash Bros. players is quite impressive. Of course, seeing these folks play will undoubtedly be even more impressive when the tournament kicks off August 2.
Source: Siliconera
