New EVO Online event excludes Smash Ultimate from fighting game lineup

EVO has revealed a new five-week online event featuring a wide array of fighting game titles like Tekken and Street Fighter, but long-standing event title Smash Bros. Ultimate is nowhere to be found.

One of the most prestigious fighting game competitions in the world has announced a new online event for fans to look forward to in 2020.

Taking place across five separate weekends, the new structure will incorporate a plethora of marquee fighting games. However, Nintendo’s popular Smash Bros. series is set to be excluded for the first time since EVO 2012.

Kicking off on July 4 and continuing through the next four weekends, EVO Online looks to uphold the tradition of bringing the fighting game community together.

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Four open tournaments will be available for fans to compete in throughout the month-long event, though the exclusion of certain titles certainly stands out. Most notably, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is missing from the lineup.

Intending to return to Las Vegas for the annual event, EVO had already announced the full slate of games for 2020’s competition. From Marvel VS Capcom 2 to Smash Bros. key titles have been plucked with the transition to an online structure.

This marks the first time since EVO 2012 that a Smash Bros. title will not be featured in the global flagship FGC tournament.

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Many avid players were quick to highlight Ultimate’s ‘laggy’ netcode as the potential reason behind its exclusion. Without official comment from the tournament organizers nor Nintendo, there’s no telling for certain.

Players will be able to join open competitions across Mortal Kombat 11, Killer Instinct, Them’s Fightin’ Herds, and Skullgirls 2nd Encore. There’s no confirmation when these open tournaments will be featured throughout the five weeks. Official sign-ups should be coming in the near future though.

EVO is expected to be returning to a LAN format in 2021 as well. Keep your eyes peeled for future updates as the brand new online event draws near.