After almost three years since the release, Guilty Gear Strive is as fresh and exciting as ever. The official esports season has started at Evo Japan.
Some of the best GGST players in the world traveled to Japan to face local fighting games legends. This tournament was a Platinum Qualifier for the Arc World Tour 2024, with a direct invite to the Finals event as the main prize (in addition to some cash, sure). In this post on esport.gg, we highlight the best fights and list the top characters. Let’s rock with Guilty Gear Strive at Evo Japan 2024!
GGST at Evo Japan 2024
In the first Winners Semi-Final, we could see one of the strongest competitors from the US, TempestNYC, playing against Mocchi, a Japanese player, the winner of AWT 2022. It was a match of Leo vs Sol. TempestNYC dominated from the very beginning, applying mighty pressure. Mocchi somewhat adapted in the middle of the match, but he could win only one round. TempestNYC proceeded to the Final.
In the parallel bracket, the Winners Semi-Final was between MiguMiguDokkoi from Japan, who played Jack-O’, and sanakan from Korea, with Happy Chaos. Both players chose the ranged style, but sanakan did that so much better. He left almost no chance for his opponent to plant minions. Happy Chaos' shots were so dominant, and some close-range combos helped to seal the deal. Excluding a couple of really good corner pressure situations, MiguMiguDokkoi (Migumigu Dokkoisho) had no control over the match. sanakan, who was in Top 8 of Evo Japan 2023, proceeded to the Winners Final.
In the Losers brackets, we could see a fight between two protagonists: Sol vs Ky; Mocchi played against Tyurara, another Japanese player. That was a great fight! Tyurara struggled in the beginning, but then recovered and looked dominating in game 5.
In the other Losers Quarter-Final, there also were two Japanese opponents. MiguMiguDokkoi with Jack-O’ played against GOBOU, the Evo Japan 2023 Champion, with one of the newer characters, Asuka. The fight of robot-minions and chaotic magic was super close. Only in the very last round, MiguMiguDokkoi cracked the stream of magic offense and won the match.
The 2nd King’s power
It was interesting to see how two participants of the Winners Final tried to bring their pretty different fighting styles to the match. Leo of TempestNYC is more about close-range pressure, while Happy Chaos of sanakan emphasizes mainly long-distance attacks. TempestNYC looked unstoppable! It was another dominating victory for him.
Tyurara quite confidently defeated MiguMiguDokkoi in the Losers Semi, but could do almost nothing with sanakan. Happy Chaos got one more chance to fight Leo, the 2nd King of Illyria, in the Grand Final this time.
It’s mind-blowing to not have Japanese players in the GGST Grand Final at Evo Japan. TempestNYC played against sanakan, and both stuck to their main characters.
The final score doesn’t reflect the intensity of this fight. sanakan had a fully dominating round in each game, but he could not take even a point. TempestNYC mixed and pressured to succeed when it mattered the most. He won the match.
TempestNYC is the Guilty Gear Strive Champion at Evo Japan 2024. Congratulations!
With this victory, TempestNYC has qualified for the Arc World Tour 2024 Finals.
Other qualified players are:
- Kyo — Under Night In-Birth 2
- Rookies — Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
Guilty Gear Strive at Evo Japan 2024: Results
Placement | Player | Character |
|---|---|---|
1 | TempestNYC | Leo Whitefang |
2 | sanakan | Happy Chaos |
3 | Tyurara | Ky Kiske |
4 | MiguMiguDokkoi | Jack-O’ |
5-6 | Mocchi | Sol Badguy |
5-6 | GOBOU | Asuka |
Who’s the next Guilty Gear Strive DLC character?
Arc System Works has announced that Slayer is the next Guilty Gear Strive DLC character. He joins the fights on May 30.
This fighting esports event brought us some other announcements too. Marco Rodrigues was revealed for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. We’ll keep you informed on everything exciting from Evo Japan 2024 right here, on esports.gg!