When news surfaced that the official lineup for 2020 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Evolution Championship Series (EVO) had snubbed 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mortal Kombat 11, competitive players and esports observers were disappointed, though not altogether surprised. The most frustrating🌄 aspect of the situation is not only the exclusion of a great game, but as always, the total silence from official organizers explaining their decision-making process.
Whatever the reasons are for the move, the silence leaves a bad impression and a lack of professionalism in what is supposed to be a community-driven event for the Fighting Game Community (FGC). Mortal Kombat 11 may not be everyone’s cup of tea, nor should one game be a perfect fit for everyone, but it cannot be denied that it is well-made, balanced, and has see🉐n a constant stream of d𒀰eveloper support that continues to challenge its own meta through updates and new characters.
A History Of Mistreatment
NetherRealm Studios, the developer of Mortal Kombat 11, is used being mistreated at EVO events. For nearly a decade, it has had a game present at each yearly tournament, alternating between Mortal Kombat and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Injustice titles. However, the past few years have been indicative of its presence being little more than tolerated compareಞd to other fighting games.
This can be seen in the time slots set aside for each game, and the scheduling of top 16 𝔍and 8 final showdowns. Over the past few years, top competitors for these games can recount how, at worst, the setups for their final matches would be little more than a single console and monitor with no additional feeds for spectators to view. In some cases, this led to groups of people trying to huddle directly behind the main competitors to see what was happening on screen.
In other cases, top competitors would be forced to begin their final brackets before the top 8 were e🙈ven finalized, leading to confusion and frustration, all to ensure that other games could stay on schedule. Such disrespect has become the norm over the past few years, so to see the game excluded completely is not surprising, only disappointing.
Popularity Does Not Indicate Inclusion
A quick peek at the number of registered competitors and viewers for Evo 2019 reveal that Mortal Kombat 11 was right in the middle in terms of participation. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is in a league of its own, but the next four games all have compatible numbers among 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Samurai Shodown, and Mortal Kombat 11.
Beyond that, Mortal Kombat 11 beat out Unist, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:DragonBall FighterZ, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Soul Calibur 6, and BlazBlue: CTB, in some cases by more than double the number of participants. The lack of communication from EVO organizers is thus even more frustrating since these four games appear less popu🅰lar. There is no sense, however, in arguing about which games are “better," but it only adds fuel to the fire of speculation as to why the lineup looks the way it does this year.
Is This A Political Decision?
We won’t speculate much here, because the silence from the decision makers leaves little room for us to make educated guesses. At best, we can look to the best Mortal Kombat 11 players in the world to gauge their reactions.
Dominique McLean, better known as SonicFox, was the 2019 Evo ch🌳ampion for the game and has since demonstrated several commanding victories over their opponents at tournaments around the world. Their r👍eaction echoes the speculation that there were some political maneuverings behind the scenes, none of which we are access to.
Still, those who follow SonicFox know that they are one of the best competitors in the world, and they are still travelling to EVO 2019 to compete in several other games, including Tekken 7, DragonBall FighterZ, and likely others as well.
Other competitive players for Mortal Kombat 11 have tweeted or discussed their reaction to the snub at EVO 2020 in videos, 🍃and all echo the same sentiments.
The Competitive Scene is Alive And Well In Combo Breaker, And Final Kombat Is Coming Soon
Despite the snub at EVO 2020, the silver lining is that Mortal Kombat 11 is alive and well, both for casual and competitive players. Combo Breaker 2019 saw an outstanding venue and performance for several fighting games, and Mortal Kombat 11 had a great showing there.
Final Kombat, the true world championship for Mortal Kombat 11, is for March 2020. In 🅠many ways, this is the event to watch, as the top sixteen players in the world will get together for a final showdown to share in a $100,000 USD prize pool. EVO may not want the game, but that isn’t going to🔴 stop the best players in the world from showing us their skills on the international stage.
Whatever the reason for snubbing Mortal Kombat 11 at EVO 2020, it is clear that the game isn't dead. While it makes the or💖ganization look unprofessional, the community is still ready to support the game, and many fans are looking forward to the true even at Final Combat in March.
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