After an action-packed three days, EVOLUTION once again lives up to its name and brings a sea change to the Fighting Game Community. The biggest story coming out of EVO 2012 is the utter dominance of Mad Catz’ and Western Wolves’ Seonwoo “INFILTRATION” Lee, who won both the Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition and Street Fighter X Tekken (along with Ryan “LAUGH” Ahn) Grand Finals.
INFILTRATION was such a force in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition that he did not drop a single set to any opponent in the top 32, a feat made that much more impressive when considering the level of competition he faced on his was to winning the Grand Final. After taking out DMG‘s iPeru and Broken Tier’s Dieminion to reach the Top Eight, INFILTRATION brought that moment into Sunday, taking out Mad Catz’ Daigo “The Beast” Umehara, PR Balrog, and AVerMedia’s GamerBee in impressive fashion to walk away with the championship in his third-ever EVOLUTION tournament.
INFILTRATION’s domination was not just limited to Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition; he and LAUGH came out of the Loser’s Bracket in Street Fighter X Tekken to beat all challengers on Sunday, again without dropping a set. The “Far Eastern Wolves” advanced past Cross Counter’s Combofiend and Mike Ross and the mixed team of Razer’s Fuudo and Mad Catz’ TOKIDO to reach the Grand Final, where they defeated the FGTV team of PR Balrog and Evil Geniuses’ Ricky Ortiz to win the championship.
The EVO 2012 World Championships proved to be more entertaining, dramatic, and exciting than nearly anyone thought possible. However, it is important to remember that none of it would be possible without the hard work of the EVO staff, and the participation of the Fighting Game Community. Mad Catz is proud to be a supporter of both EVO and the FGC, and we will continue to put in work to hype gaming events to previously unseen levels.
EVOLUTION 2012 World Championships Results (courtesy of EventHubs):
1. MCZ WW|Infiltration (Akuma)
2. AVM|GamerBee (Adon)
3. CVPR|PR Balrog (Balrog)
4. eLive|Xiaohai (Cammy)
5. MCZ|Daigo (Ryu)
5. HumanBomb (Sakura)
7. BT|Dieminion (Guile)
7. TH|Poongko (Seth)
9. Kindevu (Cammy)
9. Haitani (Makoto)
9. RZR|Fuudo (Fei Long)
9. Dogura (M. Bison)
13. DMG|iPeru (El Fuerte)
13. Kyabetsu (C. Viper)
13. coL.cc|Mike Ross (E. Honda)
13. EG|Justin Wong (Rufus)
17. MCZ WW|Ryan Hart
17. DRS|Chris. (Ken)
17. Hsien Chang (Yun)
17. Hori|Sako (Ibuki)
17. John Choi (Ryu)
17. TH|Mov (Ken)
17. Uryo (Sakura, C. Viper)
17. Haz
25. Zeus
25. EG|Momochi (Cody)
25. XSK Samurai (Ryu)
25. CEO|CJ Truth (Fei Long)
25. coL.cc|Combofiend (Oni, Abel)
25. MCZ|Mago (Fei Long)
25. LU|Alex Valle (Ryu)
25. Kazunoko (Yun)
1. coL.cc|Filipino Champ (Magneto, Dormammu, Dr. Doom | Others)
2. LXG|Infrit (Spencer, Nova, Sentinel)
3. FC|NYChrisG (Akuma, Dr. Doom, Morrigan | Others)
4. coL.cc|Combofiend (Nova, Spencer, Hawkeye | Others)
5. TA|Frutsy (MODOK, Captain America, Taskmaster)
5. Flocker (Zero, Hawkeye, Vergil | Others)
7. EG|Justin Wong (Wolverine, Storm, Akuma | Others)
7. Y2J (Wolverine, Spencer, Magneto)
9. EM|Taekua (Nova, Taskmaster, Vergil)
9. FRB|Chou (Wesker, Magneto, Vergil | Others)
9. FR|TooMuchDamage (Zero, Wesker, Magneto)
9. PZPoy (Zero, Dr. Doom, Phoenix)
13. PA|Kinderparty (Taskmaster, Nova, Arthur)
13. Drew Grimey (C. Viper, Vergil, Strider)
13. AGE|Knives (Spencer, Sentinel, Akuma)
13. MA|Scrubeks (Super-Skrull, Spencer, MODOK)
17. Meep (Zero, X-23, Iron Fist)
17. NGG Stone (Zero, Wesker, Dormammu)
17. Jan (Hulk, Sentinel, Haggar)
17. CFD|Hi I’m Nastyy (Captain America, Wesker, Super-Skrull)
17. BT|IFC Yipes (Spencer, Vergil, Hawkeye | Others)
17. UVG|Noel Brown (Wolverine, Frank, Wesker)
17. DJ Huoshen (Felicia, Super-Skrull, Taskmaster)
17. FRB|Mame Spider (Spider-Man, Dr. Doom, Vergil)
25. ID
25. Sexy Mike
25. Mr. Naps (Ryu, Dormammu, Wesker)
25. CDV|White Bl4ck (Vergil, Taskmaster, Wesker)
25. Don323 (Morrigan Dormammu, Dr. Doom)
25. Apology
25. UFO|Gox (Wolverine, Ryu, Dante)
25. BT|Viscant (Wesker, Haggar, Phoenix | Others)
1. CafeID|MadKOF (Duo Lon, Chin, Kim)
2. IGL|Bala (Billy, Takuma, Shen | Others)
3. CafeID|Verna (Duo Lon, Shen, Kim | Others)
4. CafeID|Guts (EX Iori, Saiki, Shen | Others)
5. vVv|Romance (King, Benimaru, Yuri | Others)
5. CafeID|Lacid (Kyo, Ash, Kim)
7. AS|Reynald (Mr. Karate, Benimaru, Kim)
7. Yang Yao Ren (Mr. Karate, Hwa, Mature)
1. EMP|Perfect Legend (Kung Lao)
2. vVv|CD Jr. (Kabal, Jax, Rain)
3. Pig of the Hut (Kenshi, Mileena)
4. IGL|Mit (Johnny Cage, Reptile, Scorpion, Stryker)
5. CoCo|4EverKing (Sonya, Kung Lao, Kenshi)
5. EGP|XBlades (Lui Kang)
7. EGP|Tyrant (Jax)
7. CoCo|M2Dave (Freddy)
1. “Far Eastern Wolves” – MCZ WW|INFILTRATION & MCZ WW|LAUGH
2. EG|Ricky Ortiz (Rufus) & CVPR|PR Balrog (Ryu)
3. Team Mad Catz / Razer – MCZ|Tokido (Chun-Li) & RZR|Fuudo (Ryu)
4. Team compLexity / Cross Counter – coL.CC|Combofiend (Julia) & coL.CC|Mike Ross (Marduk)
5. Team TotalHeads – Mov & Poongko
5. Team Eternal Rival – ER|Richard Nguyen & ER|Tatsu
7. Team KazBon – Kazunoko & Bonchan
7. Team ? – Algo Cacho & ?
1. Shining Decopon (Tira)
2. Shen Chan (Cervantes)
3. Something-Unique (Pyrrha)
4. Woahhzz (Patroklos A)
5. CRNA|Ruka (Patroklos)
5. Xephukai (Astaroth, Patroklos)
7. Kamaage (Mitsurugi)
7. CafeID|Kura (Patroklos)
1. Mao (Vega)
2. Kusumondo (E. Honda)
3. AfroLegends (Dee Jay, Balrog)
4. MCZ|Daigo (Balrog)
5. MCZ|Tokido (Vega)
5. Damdai (oKen, oT. Hawk, oRyu)
7. Marsgatti (Guile)
7. Riz0ne (M. Bison)
1. Duckator
2. Rylander
3. JMCrofts
4. Trumpet
5. Severin
5. Grinta
7. Negus Eyoel
7. Trace
1. RZR|Fuudo (Shun)
2. Shironuko (El Blaze)
3. RZR|Itabashi Zangief (Shun)
If that wasn’t enough EVO 2012 coverage, our friends at Cross Counter TV sat down with Seonwoo “INFILTRATION” Lee to interview the champ:
Now we start on the road to the EVOLUTION 2013 World Championships!
Tags: Daigo, Daigo "The Beast" Umehara, EVO, EVOLUTION 2012, FGC, INFILTRATION, King of Fighters XIII, LAUGH, Mortal Kombat, Ryan Hart, Skullgirls, SOULCALIBUR V, Street Fighter X Tekken, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown
