Evo France 2025: Summary

This past weekend, the fighting game community (FGC) witnessed history as the Evo 2025 Championship Series. The event hosted its first-ever European event in Nice, France. 

We all saw mainline titles, including Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and Guilty Gear -Strive-, alongside highly anticipated tournaments for 2XKO, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and more niche games.

Here is a breakdown of the results for the main-stage events.

Street Fighter 6

The Street Fighter 6 finals delivered one of the most dramatic moments of the tournament: a full bracket reset. DRX’s Leshar looked unstoppable, having torn his way through the Winners bracket to sit in the Grand Finals, seemingly one clean set away from the trophy.

But 2Game Esports’ Blaz, fresh off a monster run through the losers bracket, had other plans. Blaz stunned both Leshar and the crowd, taking the first set to force the bracket reset. Suddenly, the script was flipped, and it was anyone’s game. In the second, decisive set, however, Leshar proved why he has dominated 2025. He composed himself, adapted, and decisively shut down Blaz’s momentum with a 3-1 victory to clinch the first-ever Evo France title and the €9,200 prize.

Tekken 8

Tekken was hot, and not because of the producer’s and director’s appearance, but because the long-lost love of all Tekken players was once again resurrected on a stage. Official announcement of Armor King and a new trailer for an animal-lover newcomer, Miary Zo. Harada-san was kind enough not to pronounce any “s” words on stage this time.

For the tournament, Arslan’s commitment makes him the Evo champion again. The last fight was tense, with a reset for winner JeonDDing and his Eddy. 

Arslan Ash battled his way through the losers’ bracket, despite all Aska’s players who tried to stop him.

Guilty Gear -Strive-

The Strive bracket was pure chaos and all about the comeback. ONi Global’s Tiger_Pop looked like he was on a mission, but VICE’s PataChu stopped him cold in the Winners Semis. This only seemed to fuel Tiger_Pop, who went on an absolute tear through the losers bracket, eliminating Evo 2024 champ Nitro along the way. He earned his rematch against PataChu in Grand Finals and, in a masterful display of adaptation, took two straight sets to steal the championship.

2XKO

Riot’s 2XKO wasn’t just a side tournament; it was a main event showcase for the future. The French crowd had their hero, Marwan “Wawa” Berthe, and he did not disappoint. Wawa, an Evo champ in DBFZ, showed his skills are universal. He tore through a bracket stacked with legends like SonicFox and Leffen. He met Twisted Minds’ Supernoon in Winners Finals and sent him to losers, only to beat him again in the Grand Final to become the first-ever 2XKO Evo champion. The crowd, predictably, went insane.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

The DBFZ community proved the game is far from dead, with a final that was a story of pure revenge. BMS ESPORTS’ Hikari, a dominant force in the scene, was shockingly sent to the losers bracket by Gropis. Undeterred, Hikari surgically dismantled the lower bracket to earn a runback in the Grand Final. He didn’t just win; he dominated, resetting the bracket 3-2 and then closing out the tournament 3-0 to claim his “double Evo” victory.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising

In GBVSR, Freesias of Eden’s Usagi put on a clinic. After a strong year with solid placements at other majors, this was her breakout moment. She met the Italian player Pixi in the Grand Final and showed absolutely no mercy, dispatching him with a clean 3-0 victory to take home the gold. It was a dominant, decisive, and well-deserved championship.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves

The return of Fatal Fury brought out the old guard in full force, and it doesn’t get more “old guard” than Xiaohai. The Chinese legend, representing Team Falcons, had a rare stumble and was sent to the losers bracket. This led to a classic “losers run” narrative, as Xiaohai eliminated opponent after opponent. He met fellow Falcons member Kindevu in the Grand Final, where he showcased his veteran composure, reset the bracket, and won the whole thing.

Official Sources

For more details on brackets, player information, and future events, please refer to the official Evo and tournament registration pages.

• Official Evo Event Page: https://evo.gg/events/2025-france/ 
• Official Tournament Brackets: https://www.start.gg/evo-france 
• FGC Wiki (Tekken 8 Results): https://liquipedia.net/fighters/Evolution_Championship_Series/2025/France/T8 

What’s Next for Evo: Schedule

With the trophies from Evo France now secured, the FGC pilgrimage for 2026 is already locked in. The tour is heading straight back to the two most sacred stops on the calendar. First up is the “lion’s den,” where the world’s best will challenge Japan’s legendary veterans on their home turf.

After that, the entire community makes its annual trip to the desert for the big one—the world championship in Las Vegas. The message is clear: get back in the lab.

• Evo Japan 2026: May 1-3, 2026 (Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo)
• Evo Las Vegas 2026: August 7-9, 2026 (Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas)

Official Info: https://www.evo.gg/