For the first time, the Evolution Championship Series is holding its own awards show as a completely separate event, and it seems they plan to make a full spectacle out of it.
The Evo Awards are slated to go down with weekend featuring nominees and guests from across the fighting game community as well as a wealth of announcements.
Their showcase is set for this Saturday, February 15 with a pre-show beginning at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET with the main event scheduled to start at 7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET.
Guests for the pre-show include Maximilian Dood, A.K.I. voice actor Faye Mata, Justin Wong, IFC|YipeS, Sanford Kelly, Duc Do, Mike Ross, and GoldenBoyNeo.
The press release also confirms a number of game reveals are taking place during the evening.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, Hunter x Hunter: Nen Impact and Under Night In-Birth 2 are all listed as having news for the show.
SNK’s upcoming fighter is set to receive an open beta the following weekend, so perhaps we’ll learn more about the included roster there at least.
Award categories include Best Pop Off, FGC Content of the Year, FGC Meme of the Year, Comeback of the Year, Match of the Year, Best On-Air Duo, Player of the Year, Moment of the Year and more.
Legends Tokido, John Choi and Alex Valle will be inducted officially into the Evo Hall of Fame as well.
The Evo Awards can be watched on the official Evo Events YouTube and Twitch channels, and you can find more information about the show itself and awards below.
5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET – The Evo Awards Pre-Show hosts Tasty Steve and Hollywood RobTV kick-off the evening that will stream live on Evo’s Twitch Channel and Evo’s YouTube Channel. Additional special guests include Maximilian Dood, Faye Mata and Evo Award Nominees.
5:15 p.m. PT / 8:15 p.m. ET – Pre-Show continues with Arcade Carpet Interviews and the Marvel vs Capcom 2 “Tournament of Champions” featuring FGC Legends Justin Wong, Michael “IFC Yipes” Mendoza, Sanford Kelly, and Duc Do and commentated by Mike Ross and GoldenBoyNeo.
6:45 p.m. PT / 9:45 p.m. ET – Pre-Show wraps up with major announcements about Evo 2025 including ticketing, hotels, special guests and more game reveals.
7:00 p.m. PT / 10:00 p.m. ET – The Evo Awards presented by Qiddiya Gaming hands out the first of 22 Awards that include Player of the Year, Match of the Year and Moment of the Year.
Best Pop Off
• Nominees: Hayao NoahtheProdigy, Nitro, AK, Punk
FGC Content of the Year
• Nominees: Tekken 8 Tutorials, Marvel vs Capcom 2 Streams, Sajam Tekken Slam, Will It Kill?, Trash Talk Podcast
FGC Meme of the Year presented by Chipotle
• Nominees: The Wazzler, Hand Heart & Thumbs Up, Hayao Does The Splits, Let’s Go Gambling, Attacks IRL
Comeback of the Year presented by NACON
• Nominees: Hayao, Arslan Ash, G_Conceptz, SonicFox, Yagami
Match of the Year Award
• Nominees: Punk vs Big Bird, Hayao vs FrankieBFG, Xiao Hai vs Kusanagi, Nitro vs Tatuma, Arslan Ash vs ATIF
Best On-Air Duo
• Nominees: IFCYipeS + Sajam, RIP + Tasty Steve, Sajam + Tasty Steve, Justin Wong + IFCYipeS, Vicious + Justin Wong
Best Commentary
• Nominees: That is a Worthless Button!, This Could Be Game… And It Is, Arslan’s Gonna Do It! He’s So Close! He’s So Close, Steve!, That Could Be an Evo-Losing Anti Air, Break His Guard!
Best Custom Hardware presented by Chipotle
• Nominees: C.O.M.B.O. Extension Buttons, Snack Box Micro, MPress Nano, Custom Claiomh Solais Arcade Stick, Haute Pad T-Series
Best FGC Cosplay
• Nominees: Chonibu, MSValentine, Chiba Josui, Onesaya, Kryrayne
Best Dressed presented by Zenni
• Nominees: Tasty Steve, Logan Sama, Vicious, Hollywood RobTV, IFC|YipeS
Best Button of the Year
• Nominees: Dragunov Ignition Switch (QCF+4), Luke Crouching Medium Punch, Dash Light Attack, Johnny Cage Forward 3, Ken Crouching Medium Kick
Tech of the Year
• Nominees: Pro KO Leverless, SWORL Arcade Controller, Hit Box Ultra, Sapphire Leverless Controller, LVL Controller
Marketing Campaign of the Year
• Nominees: Evo + SFG + Tekken 8, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves X Cristiano Ronaldo, 2XKO, Street Fighter 6 Season 2, ECT Commercial
Fighting Game Release of the Year
• Nominees: Tekken 8, Street Fighter 6 Season 2 downloadable content, Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade series, Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes, Rivals of Aether II
They’ve Got Next presented by PlayStation Tournaments
• Nominees: EnzoTheHokage, Booce, NoahtheProdigy, KingReyJr, Blaz
Best FGC Local
• Nominees: Tatakai Tuesday, NLBC, Abou Dojo, FGC Meetups, Ozimeme
Invitational of the Year
• Nominees: Red Bull Kumite, Sajam TEKKEN Slam, Crazy Raccoon Cup, Red Bull Golden Letters, Topanga Championship 5
Best Online Series
• Nominees: CasaBunch, TNS Online, Saltmine League, The Kolosseum, Can Opener
Content Creator of the Year
• Nominees: Sajam, Justin Wong, Brian_F, Broski, Diaphone
Commentator of the Year
• Nominees: IFCYipeS, Tasty Steve, Sajam, Rynge, Vicious
Player of the Year presented by Qiddiya Gaming
• Nominees: Punk, Arslan Ash, MenaRD, Xiao Hai, Nitro
Moment of the Year presented by Qiddiya Gaming
• Nominees: Punk Wins Street Fighter 6 at Evo, Hayao “Moment 38,” Xiao Hai Wins Esports World Cup, Lilypichu vs Harada at Evo Showcase, MenaRD Wins His First Evo
Source: Event Hubs
