Evo 2019: Prize Money, Highlights for Street Fighter V, Smash and Final Winners | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Sophia Dalton Every year, thousands of fighting game enthusiasts make a pilgrimage to Las Vegas for the Evolution Championship Series. The prestigious championships create some of the fighting game community's greatest moments—and Evo 2019 was no exception.
The open-tournament format weeds players out over multiple rounds, and its prize pool is determined in part by competitor sign-ups. With an open-tournament format and thousands of participants each contributing $10 in registration fees to the prize purse, Evo 2019's total prize pool is over $200,000 (as calculated by Esport Earnings).
Game developers also support their titles by adding to prize pools, as Capcom did this year by contributing $50,000 to the Street Fighter V purse. The final eight players for each title are allocated a split of their game's prize money, with the Final winner earning 60 percent.
In order of completion, here are the winners of each game's finals and their biggest highlights this weekend.
Soulcalibur VI
Winner: Yuttoto
Yuttoto could not be denied. After pulling out the closest of wins against Skyll in the Winners Finals, he went on and dismantled Bluegod in the Grand Finals.
Tylor @theSirToastyTuned into some Soul Calibur 6 and damn - the CLOSEST possible final match. Literal PIXELS between the 2 of them in Game 5.
Kayane also placed in the top eight, thus earning a cut of the prize money. After tying for seventh, she alluded to Slayer, the gamer who said women couldn't place in the top eight at Evo last year, on Twitter.
Kayane @ EVO @KayaneWho said Women can’t make Top 8 at EVO ? 😘 #EVO2019 #SoulCaliburVI
Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st]
Winner: ClearLamp_o
ClearLamp_o did his thing, went 11-0 and defeated Oushuu-Hittou to win the visual novel and 2D fighting game's Grand Finals.
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Winner: GO1
In 2018, SonicFox defeated GO1 in the DBFZ Grand Finals. In 2019, fans rooted for a resumption of the rivalry, and the two obliged, going undefeated en route to their rematch.
After pulling off the tiebreaker, match-five win, GO1 broke down into tears, embraced his rival and turned to face his thousands of supporters with his hand held high, like a heavyweight champion, by a beaming SonicFox.
HiFight(ハイファイト) @HiFightTHCongratulations to @GO13151 for winning #EVO2019 😭😭😭😭👏👏👏
Samurai Shodown
Winner: Infiltration
Rocking a T-shirt with an adorable bear on it, Infiltration delivered a loss to Kazunoko in the Grand Finals.
Mortal Kombat 11
Winner: SonicFox
Second in DBFZ, first in MK11 after an 11-0 run and a win over Dragon. SonicFox is queer, black, a furry and a gift to the fighting game community.
EVO @EVOThe new #MK11 EVO champion @SonicFox5000 with yet another medal and trophy to his vast collection! Congratulations once more, champ! #EVO2019 #EVOPS4 #ProKompetition
FOX | SonicFox @SonicFox5000Im gay And the BEST MK11 PLAYER ON THE PLANET DONT FORGET IT
BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle
Winner: Shinku
By beating Kyamei in the Grand Finals, Shinku became the first American ever to win this title and earned enough loot to complicate his trip home.
Street Fighter V
Winner: Bonchan
The Street Fighter championship is returned to Japan, as Bonchan went 11-0 and showed some clutch composure against his fellow Red Bull teammate, Big Bird, in the Grand Finals.
EVO @EVOHe is your Street Fighter V - EVO 2019 Champion! Bonchan @katitagaribon 🇯🇵 #EVO2019 #EVOPS4 #CPT2019
Winner: Arslan Ash
With hundreds of thousands of people watching, Pakistan's Arslan Ash became the first-ever unified Evo champion—having won Tekken in both Evo Japan and Las Vegas. And it took an incredibly tight win over South Korea's Knee to earn the unprecedented honor.
Steph 📸 @ #EVO2019 @VexanieArslan Ash 🇵🇰 #EVO2019
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Winner: MKLeo
After storming through the loser's bracket, MKLeo came back from down 2-0 against the USA's Tweek in the Grand Finals and forced a Grand Finals Reset. Running Joker, he outlasted every look Tweek gave him as Pokemon Trainer, earned the 3-0 victory for the championship and immediately got on his phone to tweet out his hype.
EVO @EVOGRAND. FINAL. RESET. @Mkleosb comes back from the brink of elimination against @TweekSSB and we have a brand-new game to crown our inaugural #SSBU champion at #EVO2019! Watch it live at
FOX | MkLeo 🐞 @MkleosbI won Smash Ultimate at EVO 2019!!!! Im sooo happy