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Joey Cuellar, one of the head organizers of EVO, has come out and said that there will be seven games at EVO this year. This is down one from last year. Which seven games will make the cut? I make my picks and name a few that should be in the running as well!

Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition

The safest bet of the bunch, Street Fighter has been the cornerstone of EVO since its inception. With Arcade Edition being released in January, it will be interesting to see how the game fares on the big stage after its first major shake-up. Hoping that new V-Triggers and whatever other gameplay changes are in store breathe new life into this one!

Injustice 2

NetherRealm games always get one slot, and this year’s game is Injustice 2. One of the best selling titles of the year, this one is a shoo-in. Haven’t really followed the competitive scene due to not owning the game just yet, but if it’s anything like the first game, this one should be great. Side note, for the amount of copies that Injustice and Mortal Kombat sell, I feel like their hardcore communities and tournament participation numbers are disproportionately low, especially compared to the Street Fighter games which sell half as many copies but get twice as many competitors. Would love to see the NetherRealm community grow in terms of tournament participation!

Super Smash Bros. Melee AND Smash Bros. 4

Besides Street Fighter V, Melee and 4 are the next two largest games in terms of entries. Despite the similar source material, the player overlap between the games is actually quite small. It might seem redundant, but I don’t see how you leave either off the ballot due to the large and disparate player bases.

Tekken 7

Tekken 7 will return to the lineup as probably the only 3D fighter in the lineup. Having sold really well, plus having a solid community around it will keep the franchise on the bill indefinitely.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

The Marvel vs. Capcom franchise has had a presence at EVO since the year 2000. While there are no shortage of criticisms to lay at the feet of Infinite, I think it makes the cut. For one, at its core, this is a game that plays great. Two, there’s enough of a community around this game to justify its placement in the main lineup.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

And with the 7th and final slot, I’m going with a bit of a gamble. Arc System Works usually gets at least one game in the mix, whether it be Guilty Gear, BlazBlue or Persona. The gamble here is going with the still-unreleased Dragon Ball FighterZ. While those other games have stable communities that have been active participants at EVO for many years, I am banking on the hype behind the game and the franchise to carry it to heights that those other games wouldn’t come close to reaching in terms of tournament participation and sales.

Bonus Round?

Usually, Mr. Wizard likes to surprise us by opening up one additional slot that is voted on by the community. Last year, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 beat out Pokken Tournament for this final spot. Of the games I didn’t mention, here’s a short list of titles that I think could squeak into the lineup one way or another.