Hikari wins 2XKO tournament at EVO Japan 2026, SF6 hits 7,100 players

This first weekend of May takes place in Tokyo with EVO Japan, one of the most important events in the FGC, the Fighting Game Community, which brings together all fighting games, from niche titles like Melty Blood Type Lumina to giants such as Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6. It is on the latter that the 2026 edition set a historic record, with more than 7,100 players taking part, the vast majority of them Japanese, just for the SF6 tournament.

On the 2XKO side, Riot Games’ fighting game saw a more modest turnout, with only 428 entrants, making it the sixth largest game at EVO Japan 2026 in terms of players. It also marked its first real appearance within the Evolution Championship Series circuit, after being featured in Nice at EVO France as a side tournament. Since the start of the year, the North American publisher has launched an official circuit in partnership with local organizers worldwide, and within these Competitive Series, EVO plays a key role, hosting three of the five majors across Japan, Las Vegas in late June, and Nice in early October.

For this first true outing, Jo'siah "Hikari" Miller, an American player representing M80, claimed the title after defeating fellow American Steve "Supernoon" Carbajal of Evil Geniuses in the grand final. Using his Akari/Ahri duo, Hikari dominated the competition, dropping only two sets out of the 22 he played across nine matches. Only Supernoon, in the winners bracket final, and the Japanese player “doropon” in Round 2 managed to seriously challenge the eventual champion.

As for the rest of the standings, French Gentle Mates star Marwan "Wawa" Berthe completed the podium, just ahead of "bleed", who finished fourth and had won the first Major of 2026. FGC legend William "Leffen" Hjelte placed in the Top 5/6 alongside Naoki "Ikoan" Izumi, the highest-ranked Japanese player. French player Mohamed "Kayne" Sobti and Shunsuke "poka" Abe rounded out the Top 8 of this first true EVO for 2XKO.