Arc World Tour 2023 winner Verix is making an appearance at EVO 2024
Being one of the biggest fighting game events in the world, the Evolution Championship Series (EVO) draws in people of all kinds, giving both veteran and upcoming players a chance to prove themselves in tournaments. Fans get to watch competitors and see what developers have planned for the near future. EVO is more than just a series of esports tournaments; it is a chance for the fighting game community to grow and celebrate the unique video game genre.
Since a good number of players in past United States-based EVO events were Japanese, EVO Japan was created to encourage more Eastern-based players to compete. This year’s EVO Japan 2024 is going to be held at the Ariake GYM-EX in Tokyo from April 27-29, 2024.
Aside from the tournaments that will be held for Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Guilty Gear Strive, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, The King of Fighters XV, and Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes, some of the participating games have events of their own to get people hyped for EVO Japan 2024. In the case of Guilty Gear Strive, one of these events is the appearance of the recently crowned Arc World Tour 2023 champion Ismaila “Verix” Gueye at the Arc System Works booth.
Known for his Nagoriyuki play, Verix burst onto the Guilty Gear scene in 2021. After winning several tier 3 InterContinental Fight Club Europe Season 2 events in his first year, Verix went on to win Ultimate Fighting Arena 2022 and The MIXUP 2022. 2023 was another great year for the Senegalese player as he won EVO Championship Series 2023 and CEOtaku 2023 before capping off with an Ultimate Fighting Arena 2023 victory. Verix’s recent win at Arc World Tour 2023 saw him triumph over Molham “Slash” Qazili’s May play in a very close 3:2 result.
Despite his reputation, Verix will not be competing in EVO Japan 2024. Instead, he will be there to play against other players in exhibition matches. Fighting other players to measure and strengthen skills is one of the pillars of growth for fighting game players, even if there is no money involved. Verix took to X (formerly Twitter) to say that he is looking forward to visiting Japan and fighting the best Guilty Gear Strive players the country has to offer.
Guilty Gear Strive’s EVO 2024 line-up consists of Japanese players such as Masaya “GOBOU” Shiratori, TY, and FAB. It will also include well-known international players like Korea’s Moon “DarkNecro” Cheol-jin, United States’ Matthew “TempestNYC” Tulloch, and Sweden’s William “Leffen” Hjelte. Even without Verix competing in the tournament, EVO Japan 2024 already has some good names bringing some good fights for the upcoming weekend.
