The biggest weekend on the fighting game calendar is in the books. EVO 2026 wrapped up at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Sunday, June 28, and after three days and a record-setting turnout across a dozen titles, the championship Sundays delivered exactly the kind of drama the community shows up for - including an all-Blanka Street Fighter 6 grand final and a milestone that may stand for decades.
MenaRD makes it four - in an all-Blanka grand final
Dominican superstar Saul "MenaRD" Leonardo capped off another EVO run by defending his Street Fighter 6 crown, and he did it the hard way. In a grand final that turned into a mirror match of pure chaos, MenaRD faced Japan's Shigematsu with both players locked in on Blanka - the electric, hopping wildcard that turns neutral into a guessing game.
Shigematsu, fighting up from the losers' bracket, took the first set 3-1 to reset the bracket and force a winner-takes-all second set. But MenaRD slammed the door shut, sweeping the reset 3-0 to seal the title. It is his fourth EVO championship - all of them won in Street Fighter 6 - and a back-to-back repeat of his 2025 victory. No other player has stacked up four EVO titles within a single Street Fighter game's competitive lifespan.
Arslan Ash rewrites the record books in Tekken 8
If MenaRD's run was about consistency, Pakistan's Arslan Ash made history. His Tekken 8 win at EVO 2026 was the eighth EVO championship of his career, making him the most decorated competitor in the event's 30-year history. From his breakout in 2019 to now, Arslan has turned Tekken into his personal proving ground, and the Vegas crowd knew exactly what they were watching as he closed out the bracket.
Riot's 2XKO crowns its first EVO champion
The weekend also belonged to the new blood. 2XKO, Riot Games' free-to-play 2v2 tag fighter, made its EVO main-stage debut to one of the most packed brackets of the event - and it was Hikari who emerged from the field to take the inaugural 2XKO crown. For a game still proving it belongs among the genre's heavyweights, a chaotic, hype-soaked grand final on EVO Sunday was the best possible advertisement.
With Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and 2XKO all delivering on the main stage - and the rest of the lineup from Guilty Gear Strive to Marvel Tokon keeping side brackets buzzing - EVO 2026 leaves the FGC with fresh champions, a new historical benchmark, and plenty of momentum heading into the back half of the year.
