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Rick Thiher (GM) and Stuart Saw (CEO, RTS) recently discussed EVO 2023 with Sportskeeda after the event transpired. Evolution Championship Series is a tradition for many fighting game players, myself included. Even if you can’t make it out to Las Vegas to watch live, it’s an event that has grown in popularity and importance over time.
This year, the event shattered all metrics and made history. The importance of the fighting game tournament was even recognized by the Mayor of Las Vegas, giving the organization the Key to the City, and even recognized EVO Day as a holiday.
It was a genuine pleasure to chat with Rick “TheHadou” Thiher and Stuart Saw about EVO 2023, and what makes it such a special event. There’s never been a better time to be a fighting game fan. Tons of great games are either out or on the way out soon. Here’s what Rick Thiher and Stuart Saw had to say about the Evolution Championship Series.
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Rick Thiher and Stuart Saw discuss their favorite matches, EVO 2023’s success, and more
Q. Thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Can you introduce yourselves to our audience?
Rick Thiher: Rick Thiher, General Manager, Evo.
Stuart Saw: Stuart Saw, CEO, RTS.
Q. How does it feel to have shattered all previous EVO records with 2023's attendance and performance?
Rick Thiher: It’s an uplifting moment for fighting games as a whole and a validation of the decades of great efforts the FGC has put into building our playerbase and fandom.
Stuart Saw: It's a really exciting event to look back on and enjoy the community coming together in such a big way. Everyone associated with the event is over the moon.
Q. Do you have the metrics from the Twitch/YouTube streams as well? How did they perform compared to previous year's events?
Stuart Saw: Globally (including China) we’re looking at about 91% growth year on year. We also saw our Twitch peak concurrency jump by a third to 400K. Pair that with 72% growth of onsite attendees and we have been truly blown away by the support and engagement.
Q. EVO 2023 was such a massive success that the event is now an official holiday in the state of Nevada. What does it feel like to have such recognition from the government for a fighting game tournament?
Rick Thiher: Being able to celebrate accomplishments and receive recognition for work put in is part of what defines the spirit of competition that Evo is built around. To have our event’s co-founders be able to stand on stage and have Evo’s now multi-generation brand officially recognized by the state is an unexpected, but deeply appreciated way of permanently recording the success of their, and our efforts to promote the excitement of fighting games.
Q. You were also given the key to the city as thanks for all the work and effort done for EVO as an event. Did you ever think that, after all this time, EVO could grow to such lengths?
Rick Thiher: I can’t say that a key to the city was something I viewed as a realistic aspiration, but having now seen the brand receive one, I love the unexpected reality we’re living in. It’s very cool.
Q. Do you have any favorite moments or match-ups from this year's event?
Rick Thiher: The fireflies moment in the arena as everyone turned on their cell phone lights was something I’ve never seen at a tournament before. So, that stands out. For match-ups, I loved being able to catch Angrybird vs. Mena in Street Fighter 6, JimmyJTran vs. Jing in Melty Blood: Type Lumina, Nicholas vs. Ninjakilla in Mortal Kombat 11, and Joey Fury vs. Knee in TEKKEN 7 live this year.
Stuart Saw: The fans make Evo and everything about Sunday memorable. From cheering for every Chipotle ad, through to the key to the city & fireflies, the atmosphere they created in that arena was truly electric.
Q. Though EVO 2023 was surely a massive success, there were issues this year - such as the melting ports on PS5's. Is there anything you think you can do to improve upon the negatives from this year?
Stuart Saw: Every Evo event serves as a valuable learning experience, and we are totally committed to delivering the best possible experience for every attendee. Live events inherently come with unforeseen challenges, but our goal is to always refine our events year after year, as we want to learn and grow just like the players.
We’ve already started planning for next year’s Evo and can assure you we’re taking concrete steps to ensure next year’s event runs as smoothly as possible for every competitor and fan.
Q. What about fighting games for you two? What are your favorite games? Are you keeping up with the announcements for upcoming games like Tekken 8?
Rick Thiher: I still play as many fighting games as I can fit into my schedule. Currently, that is a lot of Street Fighter 6 and Killer Instinct. TEKKEN 8 and Mortal Kombat 1 are both looking incredible though, so I’m looking forward to investing a bunch of time into them soon.
Q. The Main Stage is usually reserved for the biggest, most important games, but if you could put one of the other, smaller games in that spotlight, what would it be? Hokuto no Ken, BlazBlue, MVC2, or perhaps something else?
Rick Thiher: Vampire Savior.
Q. What would you say attributed the most to EVO 2023's landmark success?
Stuart Saw: I think the authenticity of the new Evo team is at the root of its success. Yes, Evo has new owners in RTS and PlayStation, but Rick is the captain of our ship and he’s surrounded himself with people from the FGC. That team made this event the success it is.
Q. It sounds like you guys were teasing something major for the 2024 season - could we see a third venue, perhaps in Europe? Any details to share?
Rick Thiher: Nothing new to share yet today.
Q. What does the future of EVO look like? Is it possible to top this year's performance?
Rick Thiher: The future of Evo is triaging dreams and figuring out how to make them a reality. There’s always room to refine and improve. In that regard, performance can always be topped.
EVO 2023 shattered all records and was an incredible success with the fighting game community. While we do not know what is next for the event, it's clear that the future of the tournament is bright. You can find a list of all winners of the Evolution Championship Series 2023 here.
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