Sony Entertainment and RTS announce their acquisition of fight game esports tournament organiser Evo
Published: Mar 19, 2021 - Last Updated: Mar 22, 2021
A partnership between Sony Interactive Entertainment and RTS, a new venture born out of Endeavor’s esports business, has announced that they acquired the assets and properties of the Evolution Championship Series.
The acquisition deal
As part of the acquisition deal, the original co-founders of Evo, Tony, and Tom Cannon, will continue to be a part of the organisation. They are staying on as key advisors to make sure that the Evo esports tournaments stay on course and maintain the same grassroots competitive scene that their fans have come to expect.
While Evo will become technically a Sony PlayStation event, they have committed to keeping the tournaments open to all platforms. It would be a major deficit to esports betting fans if huge parts of the Evo community became excluded just because they do not own a Sony console.
Comments from the organisations
Steven Roberts, VP, Global Competitive Gaming, SIE commented on the acquisition:
“Fighting games have been a vital part of PlayStation’s legacy and our community since the very beginning, and we’ve been thrilled to partner with Evo over the years. This joint acquisition with RTS marks a new chapter of collaboration with Evo’s co-founders, Tom and Tony Cannon, and their passionate community of fighting game fans.”
RTC CEO, Stuart Saw, added in the same announcement:
“Evo is a unique and iconic community unlike any other in the fighting game space, and we’re proud to be partnering with the SIE team and the legends that are Tom and Tony—as well as Mark Julio as Head of Business Development—to help grow Evo. We’ve got so many exciting plans in store for this year and beyond.”
Finally, Tony Cannon, co-founder of Evo, also wrote:
“Tom and I are incredibly excited by the partnership with SIE and RTS. Both companies bring a wealth of experience and share our passion for what makes the fighting game community so great. We are looking forward to working with them to launch Evo to the next level while remaining true to our roots.”
The next Evo event
Last year, the major Evo event, the Evolution Championship Series 2020, was canceled after sexual misconduct allegations against co-founder and president of Evo, Joey Cuellar. He was placed on administrative leave, many game publishers refused to let their games be played at the event, and the event was canceled.
Now, they are bringing the event back as Evo Online for 2021. It is a fully online competition taking place on August 6 – 8 and 13 – 15. Entry will be free, and players in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America will be able to take part.
Here is the list of games that will be played at the event
- Tekken 7
- Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
- Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate will only operate in North America, Europe, and Latin America regions.)
- Guilty Gear™ -Strive-
This will be an exciting event for anyone interested in Streetfighter betting or just fighting games in general. We can only hope that by keeping on some of the original founders of the event that the new acquisition will not affect the community-focused and beginner-friendly nature of the Evo events.
Featured Image Credits: Sony Interactive Entertainment
