EVO Japan 2026 begins May 1 with the best fighting game players in the world competing across multiple events.
As one of the biggest events for the fighting game community (FGC), this year’s tournament will feature at least 12 tournaments, including Street Fighter, Tekken, 2XKO, and Guilty Gear.
In addition to major prize pools, a lot of these events will act as qualifiers for the Esports World Cup and other major fighting game tournaments.
EVO Japan 2026 Prize Pool
In addition to each tournament’s individual prize pool, EVO Japan will also give ¥30,000,000 (around $200k) in prize money spread out across all the events.
EVO Japan will boost the prize pools of every game, with more going towards the titles that attract the most sign-ups.
The top eight of every tournament will receive this prize money, with the winner of the most popular tournament receiving an extra ¥4,000,000 ($25k).
EVO Japan 2026 Headline Games
Street Fighter 6
Street Fighter 6 is possibly the biggest fighting game today, as it helped shatter EVO Japan’s sign-up record last year.
Of the 8,795 participants, over 1000 more than any previous iteration of the event, more than 6,500 were SF6 players.
This year’s SF6 event at EVO Japan will feature a $44k prize pool and is part of both the Esports World Cup and Capcom Pro Tour.
The winner will qualify for EWC 2026 and the highly prestigious Capcom Cup 13.
Tekken 8
Another of the major titles in the FGC, the best Tekken 8 players will also be in attendance at EVO Japan.
The tournament will feature a $30k prize pool and will also see the top four qualify for the big-money Esports World Cup.
Plus, the EVO Champion 2026 Tekken 8 champion will also advance to the Tekken World Tour Finals.
2XKO
One of the newer games on this list, with a strong history in esports, Riot Games is taking 2XKO’s competitive scene very seriously.
The 2XKO event at EVO Japan will feature a massive $87k prize pool, boosted by the Frame Perfect in-game skin bundle.
This will be the second 2XKO Major of the year, with a third coming up at EVO Las Vegas in June.
Fatal Fury City of Wolves
Fatal Fury’s competitive scene will continue at EVO Japan with a significant $40k prize pool.
The event will also feed into the SNK World Championship circuit and will see the top four qualify for this year’s Esports World Cup.
Guilty Gear Strive
Guilty Gear Strive was released back in 2021, yet the game has changed significantly following the 2.0 update.
The event is a staple of EVO Japan and will feature a $20k prize pool.
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising
Another title from Arc System, Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising will also feature at EVO Japan with a $20k prize pool of its own.
Other Expected Games
- Vampire Saviour
- King of Fighters XV
- Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O
- Melty Blood Type Lumina
- Under Night In-Birth II [SYS:Celes]
- Hokuto no Ken
What event at EVO Japan 2026 are you most excited for? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord.
And in other FGC tournament news, Red Bull announced ‘Knockout’ a new country-based 2XKO event.
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