Why is Evo 2020 CANCELED !? // What is the FUTURE of this Tournament?

Greetings, this is Cain from Game Oxygen, this time, with a quite different video and in fact, I'm not sure how to approach. Many have been asking me about everything that is happening with the EVO Tournament, specifically, the cancellation of the EVO Online 2020, and about the reasons that led to this cancellation, because all the riot started 2 days ago, when a Twitter user gave to know a series of events from his past, in which Joey Cuellar, better known as MR Wizard, the Executive Director, spokesman and co-founder of the EVO tournament, was involved.

According to this user, of which he will not say his name or show his username, both out of respect, and because I don't think it's relevant, in 2001, when he was 17 and Joey Cuellar was around 22, he was sexually harassed by Mr Wizard through a bet.

Obviously, when the matter was made public About Cuellar's past, EVO reacted with a publication in which they temporarily distanced themselves from Mr Wizard, and said that they would leave the investigation in the hands of third parties. But of course, this was not enough for the majority of the companies responsible for the fighting games that have participated in the Tournament, which, began to make public statements, that as long as Cuellar remained related to the EVO, they would refrain from Companies such as Bandai Namco, creators of Tekken, and Soul Calibur, Capcom, the parents of the Street Fighter series, and NRS, creators of MK and Injustice, made formal statements of disagreement.

And not only that, but he also modified his Twitter bio to read "Private Citizen" instead of showing his status as co-founder and CEO of EVO. Obviously, NOBODY accepted Cuellar's apology, ESPECIALLY because this character in recent times has he had established himself as the champion of values ​​within the Tournament.

Personally kicking people out of the event for racist comments, or misogynistic appeals, so again, no one made an attempt to forgive him, and instead they remarked on his hypocrisy. In light of all this, the EVO executive had no choice but to go out and give a second statement, in which they basically said that Joey Cuellar would no longer be involved with the EVO Tournament under any capacity, and that in fact, they were working.

For their complete separation from the company. In addition, according to them, they would be committed to making all the necessary changes to make the EVO a safer space. And of course, that the EVO Online 2020 was completely canceled. The issue is that many people believe that the cancellation of this event at the beginning of the end, both for the EVO Tournament, as well as for the Fighting Games Community in general, which is not so.

First, yes, Joey Cuellar IS one of the pillars that made the event what it is today, but the EVO is MUCH bigger than a single person, even if he is one of its founders. And yes, since its founding in 1996, the EVO Tournament, LITERALLY laid the foundation for many of the following events of its kind, helping to create the infrastructure for the Fighting Games community worldwide.

So we can say, without a doubt, that the global competitive scene would definitely not be the same as it is today if this tournament had not existed. But that is the point, we are no longer in 1996. Today this community can now stand on its own. Today, there are already other important tournaments, such as the Combo breaker, the Final Kombat, the Capcom Cup or the Final Round, so we will still have the opportunity to continue watching our favorite champions leave everything in combat.

And yes, it would be a shame that this Tournament will end, especially because of its tradition and importance in the origin of the community, but it would not be the end of the fighting games community .... This community has grown and has become strong over time, and some , we were lucky to see her grow from the beginning, from your small group of acquaintances of the arcadias, of whom you did not know their names, but what characters they chose, later, with the all-night challenges at your house with friends or family, until we get online, with which we can LITERALLY challenge someone half a world away ..