Evo Awards preview: date, categories and what to watch for

Evo Awards nominations have closed for the 2026 ceremony, with the fighting game community (FGC) now waiting to see which moments, players and creators make the final shortlist.

The Evo Awards are operated by the Evolution Championship Series (Evo), the long-running fighting game tournament series. Evo previously announced that the 2026 show will take place in Los Angeles on March 28th.

Evo listed 20 categories for the 2026 edition, spanning everything from competitive highlights to community culture.

With nominations completed, several categories typically become focal points for discussion because they cut across multiple parts of the scene — from tournament play to grassroots organisers and creators.

Evo used its social channels to spotlight Best Local during the nomination window, encouraging fans to nominate the community events they attended and supported.

It is also one of the categories that tends to represent the widest range of regions and organisers, since locals vary from long-running weekly brackets to newer community meetups. For an awards show that is positioned around celebrating the FGC as a whole, it is often one of the most community-driven categories on the ballot.

For Best Game Release, nominations typically covered titles that meaningfully shifted what the FGC played over the year, whether through a brand-new launch or a modern reintroduction of legacy games.

Several 2025 releases fit that profile. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves marked SNK’s return to the franchise with its first mainline entry in decades, arriving with contemporary online features and an immediate competitive push.

Capcom also featured prominently through Capcom Fighting Collection 2, which bundled multiple classic fighters into a single release and lowered the barrier for locals and online events to run older titles.

Elsewhere, licensed and revival projects also entered the conversation, including HUNTER×HUNTER NEN×IMPACT, which introduced a team-based format tied to the anime’s Nen system, and SEGA’s Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage, an expanded edition that refreshed one of the genre’s longest-running competitive staples for modern platforms.

This is a personal favourite category, shining a light on something that makes the FGC special. Pop-offs have long been a show of excitement and passion after a player wins a match on stage, resulting in some exhilarating, emotional, and hilarious moments.

Who could forget Zain Naghmi doing a cartwheel after winning against Juan ‘Hungrybox’ DeBiedma at Get On My Level: Forever?

Celebrating the community and its traditions is what makes the fighting game one of the most special esports scenes.