For lovers of Tekken, Street Fighter, and more, EVO Japan is the biggest fighting game event for both competitive players and fans alike!
As a competitive Tekken player myself, I thought it was about time to put my skills to the test. I booked my flight to Tokyo in May to compete at EVO Japan 2025, the biggest FGC (Fighting Game Community) event of the year!
EVO Japan was a three-day event between May 9th and 11th. It took place at Tokyo Big Sight, also known as the Tokyo International Exhibition Center. This huge convention hall is where international events of all sorts take place, and it is just around the corner from Odaiba, Tokyo’s artificial island of entertainment.
Get Ready for the Next Battle!
As a competitor, you are obliged to purchase the three-day pass as a precaution should you proceed to the later rounds. The best part is that even if you get knocked out, you can still enjoy spectating the matches and finals ahead and enjoy the event’s festivities.
I had a solid run that lasted to Day 2, winning 3 out of my 5 played matches. It was a great experience fighting against some of the best players in Japan and the world, but getting knocked out meant being able to enjoy the event in peace! Fellow fighting gamers will know what I mean when I say competing in a game like Tekken can be as sweaty and heart-pounding as an actual sport!
Awesome Photo Props!
EVO Japan is so much more than a gaming tournament, it’s a whole celebration of all things in pop culture and gaming.
Props are set up where you can take iconic photos like on the Mishima Dojo throne from Tekken, or you can pose on Juri’s motorbike from Street Fighter.
Friendly EVO staff will be happy to take your picture for you, capturing the best possible angles for your social media profiles!
Cool Cosplays!
One of my favorite aspects of EVO Japan 2025 is the amazing cosplay event that takes place alongside the competitive tournament.
Fans of Tekken, Street Fighter, and Japanese pop culture in general dress up as their favorite characters and even compete in the EVO cosplay tournament for a prize!
Even though Tekken is where my heart’s at, I couldn’t resist posing with some of the Street Fighter cosplayers whose outfits were just on point.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a cosplay of my favorite character and main in Tekken, the taekwondo master Hwoarang, so I had to settle for the next best thing and go for Juri, the taekwondo representative of Street Fighter. In any case, I couldn’t call myself a true Tekken fan without at least one photo with a Tekken cosplayer, even if that meant settling for Armor King, a character that gives me a hell of a lot of trouble online!
Controller Museum
For the sentimental folk, the EVO Arcade Controller Museum takes you back in time to the first arcade sticks and how they’ve evolved in functionality and design over time. An intriguing exhibit indeed, you can appreciate the timeline of the fighting game industry and see how we’ve changed as a community in terms of our technological advancements and aesthetic preferences.
Personally, I’m more of a PlayStation controller user, but even I could appreciate the amazing artworks on some of these arcade sticks. There are also descriptions of each exhibit that give a background to the events that sparked the development of each new arcade stick and the motivations behind the designs.
The Tekken Shop!
The Tekken Shop is a haven of exclusive Tekken merchandise, much of which you can’t purchase online.
From plush toys to action figures, T-shirts, hats, accessories, and more, you’re sure to find something you love at EVO’s Tekken Shop!
However, I suggest doing all your shopping on Day 1 of the event, because items go out of stock fast!
Meet the Pros!
If you’ve been following the professional gaming scene in the FGC, you’ll be shocked at how many familiar faces pop up here at EVO Japan. They may not be so well-known to the general public, but in the fighting game community, they are like celebrities! I was fortunate enough to run into the man I’d regard as the best Hwoarang player in the world, “Rest” from Korea, who was more than happy to take a quick snap with me.
Leave Your Mark!
A true work of art, this mural is a cool feature of the event that lets everyone leave their mark at EVO Japan 2025. Markers are provided to leave a message to the world or simply share a cool doodle sketch that everyone can appreciate. Seeing all the flags that people drew up made me realize how big the global fighting game community really is, with players, spectators, and fans coming in from every continent of the world (probably not Antarctica though…)!
Fair Result, More Experience Needed!
Placing 193rd out of 982 competitors for Tekken 8 is not such a bad outcome for my first EVO event, though truthfully, I hoped to do a little better. In any case, it was a wonderful learning experience that taught me the difference between online play and offline tournaments, the latter requiring a much greater degree of mental fortitude, composure, and nerve management.
I’ll be sure to get more involved in the offline tournament scene and hopefully will get a lot further next time. EVO Japan 2025 proved to be an extraordinary event for me both as a Tekken competitor and as a fan of fighting games in general. I hope to return to this event stronger than ever and ready to do some real damage against the best players in the world!
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