{{Infobox sport tournament | name = 2012 Evolution Championship Series | year = | image = Evo Championship Series logo cropped.png | caption = | location = Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | start_date = July 6 | end_date = 8 | administrator = | tournament_format = Double elimination | venues = Caesars Palace | participants = | purse = | champions = {{Plainlist| * '''''SSF4AE2012''''': Seon-woo "Infiltration" Lee * '''''UMvC3''''': Ryan "Filipino Champ" Ramirez * '''''KoFXIII''''': Kwang-noh "MadKOF" Lee * '''''MK9''''': Carl "Perfect Legend" White * '''''SFxT'' 2v2''': Seon-woo "Infiltration" Lee and Ryan "Laugh" Ahn * '''''SCV''''': Naoaki "Shining Depocon" Yanagihara }} | attendance = | previous = 2011 | next = 2013 }}
The '''2012 Evolution Championship Series''' (commonly referred to as '''Evo 2012''' or '''EVO 2012''') was a fighting game event held at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas on July 6–8. The event featured a major tournament for six fighting games, including ''Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition'' and ''Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3'', as well as various smaller-scale competitions.
==Background== [[File:DSC33134, Caesar’s Palace Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (5206208992).jpg|thumb|right|Evo 2012 was held in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.]] Held in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Evo 2012 featured over 3,500 entrants among its six major tournaments. The tournaments held at Evo 2012 were livestreamed through the Twitch online video service.<ref name="VentureBeat">{{cite web |last=Hoadley |first=Chris |date=July 6, 2012 |title=GamesBeat's Evolution 2012 viewing guide |url=https://venturebeat.com/2012/07/06/gamesbeats-evolution-2012-viewing-guide/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120706174221/https://venturebeat.com/2012/07/06/gamesbeats-evolution-2012-viewing-guide/ |archive-date=July 6, 2012 |work=VentureBeat}}</ref> A "Road to Evo" tournament series started in January 2012, in which competitors could earn seeding points for the main event.<ref>{{cite web |last=Walker |first=Alex |date=July 13, 2012 |title=Frag Reel Friday: Evolution 2012 Championships |url=http://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2012/07/13/3545138.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111192740/http://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2012/07/13/3545138.htm |archive-date=January 11, 2016 |work=abc.net.au}}</ref>
==Games== Six major tournaments were held at Evo 2012. The games played were: *''Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition 2012'' *''Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3'' * ''Street Fighter X Tekken'' * ''Mortal Kombat'' * ''The King of Fighters XIII'' * ''Soulcalibur V''
Evo 2012 was the first event in the Championship Series to include a major ''King of Fighters'' tournament. The 2011 reboot of the ''Mortal Kombat'' series benefited from multiple balancing updates after its release, allowing the game to be popular among the fighting game community where earlier games in the series weren't. The ''Mortal Kombat'' tournament featured the second-largest prize pool at Evo 2012, after ''Street Fighter IV''. Spin-off ''Street Fighter X Tekken'', meanwhile, was unpopular among the fighting game community at the time. The game featured various bugs and unbalanced aspects.<ref name=VentureBeat />
The event also featured various smaller-scale competitions, such as an exclusive ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'' tournament, and side tournaments for ''Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown'' and ''Skullgirls''.<ref name=VentureBeat /> Sony showcased a playable demo for ''PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale'', while NetherRealm Studios revealed gameplay footage of ''Injustice: Gods Among Us'' at Evo 2012.<ref name="NeonTommy">{{cite web |last=Parra |first=Eric |date=July 14, 2012 |title=Gamer Roulette: What is EVO? |url=http://www.neontommy.com/news/2012/07/gamer-roulette-what-evo |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725072254/http://www.neontommy.com/news/2012/07/gamer-roulette-what-evo |archive-date=July 25, 2012 |work=Neon Tommy}}</ref>
==Tournament summary== While the recent release of ''Street Fighter x Tekken'' caused players to juggle between more familiar aspects of the characters and the game's more unusual features, the ''King of Fighters XIII'' tournament was praised by commentators for its high-level play, unexpected for such a new game. Meanwhile, Brenna Hillier of ''VG247'' described the ''Mortal Kombat'' tournament at Evo 2012 as a "mixed bag", featuring plenty of unusual play styles.<ref name="VG247">{{cite web |last=Hillier |first=Brenna |date=July 9, 2012 |title=EVO 2012: SSFIVAE goes to Infiltration, UMvC3 to Filipino Champ |url=https://www.vg247.com/2012/07/09/evo-2012-filipino-champ-takes-umvc3/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710022539/https://www.vg247.com/2012/07/09/evo-2012-filipino-champ-takes-umvc3/ |archive-date=July 10, 2012 |work=VG247}}</ref>
Though there was a lot of discussion regarding whether the character Phoenix in ''Marvel vs. Capcom'' is overpowered compared to other selectable characters in the game, competitor Filipino Champ won the tournament with the characters Magneto, Dormammu, and Doctor Doom. The final match at Evo 2012 was the ''Street Fighter IV'' finals, in which Infiltration defeated GamerBee to claim the title.<ref name=VG247 />
==Results== thumb|Infiltration at Evo 2012. {|class="wikitable" |- !colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"| '''''Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Version 2012)'''''<ref>{{cite web |title=EVO 2012 SSFIVAE2012 Top 32 Bracket |url=http://kyosuke.kun.free.fr/Ranking/tourneys/brackets/?id=EVO20124 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241214194222/http://kyosuke.kun.free.fr/Ranking/tourneys/brackets/?id=EVO20124 |archive-date=December 14, 2024 |publisher=ssfranking.com}}</ref> |- ! style="width:50px;"| Place ! style="width:180px;"| Player ! style="width:150px;"| Alias ! style="width:300px;"| Character(s) |- |1st |{{flagicon|South Korea}} Seon-woo Lee |WW.MCZ Infiltration |Akuma, Gouken |- |2nd |{{flagicon|Taiwan}} Bruce Hsiang |AVerMedia GamerBee |Adon |- |3rd |{{flagicon|USA}} Eduardo Pérez-Frangie |CVapor PR Balrog |Balrog |- |4th |{{flagicon|China}} Zhuojun Zeng |eLivePro Qanba Xiaohai |Cammy |- |5th |{{flagicon|Japan}} Daigo Umehara |MCZ Daigo Umehara |Ryu |- |5th |{{flagicon|Hong Kong}} Jonny Cheng |HumanBomb |Sakura |- |7th |{{flagicon|USA}} Kevin Landon |BT Dieminion |Guile |- |7th |{{flagicon|South Korea}} Chung-gon Lee |TH Poongko |Seth |}
{|class="wikitable" |- !colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" |'''''Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3''''' |- ! style="width:50px;"| Place ! style="width:180px;"| Player ! style="width:150px;"| Alias ! style="width:300px;"| Character(s) |- |1st |{{flagicon|USA}} Ryan Ramirez |coL.CC Filipino Champ | style="width:300pt;"|Magneto/Dormammu/Doctor Doom, Magneto/Doctor Doom/Phoenix |- |2nd |{{flagicon|USA}} Carlos Randay |LxG Infrit | style="width:300pt;"|Nova/Spencer/Sentinel |- |3rd |{{flagicon|USA}} Christopher Gonzalez |FC NYChris G | style="width:300pt;"|Morrigan/Doctor Doom/Akuma, Wesker/Ryu/Hawkeye, Morrigan/Doctor Doom/Hawkeye |- |4th |{{flagicon|USA}} Peter Rosas |coL.CC Combofiend | style="width:300pt;"|Nova/Spencer/Hawkeye, She-Hulk/Taskmaster/Spencer |- |5th | style="width:180pt;"|{{flagicon|Mexico}} César García |TA Frutsy | style="width:300pt;"|M.O.D.O.K./Captain America/Taskmaster |- |5th |{{flagicon|USA}} Job Figueroa |Flocker | style="width:300pt;"|Zero/Vergil/Hawkeye, Zero/Vergil/Strider Hiryu |- |7th |{{flagicon|USA}} Justin Wong |EG Justin Wong | style="width:300pt;"|Wolverine/Storm/Akuma, Spencer/Vergil/Frank West |- |7th |{{flagicon|USA}} Jay Son |Y2J | style="width:300pt;"|Wolverine/Spencer/Magneto |}
{|class="wikitable" |- !colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" |'''''The King of Fighters XIII''''' |- style="background:#ddd;" ! style="width:50px;"| Place ! style="width:180px;"| Player ! style="width:150px;"| Alias ! style="width:300px;"| Character(s) |- |1st |{{flagicon|South Korea}} Kwang-noh Lee |CafeID MadKOF |Duo Lon, King, Kim, Chin |- |2nd |{{flagicon|Mexico}} Armando Velázquez |IGL Bala |Billy, Iori, Shen, Takuma, Ralf, Clark, Benimaru |- |3rd |{{flagicon|South Korea}} Min-su Shin |CafeID Verna |EX Iori, Duo Lon, Kim, Shen |- |4th |{{flagicon|South Korea}} Pil-su Jun |CafeID Guts |Saiki, EX Iori, Vice, Shen, Mr Karate |- |5th |{{flagicon|Mexico}} José Navarrete |vVv TC Romance |King, Benimaru, Yuri, Hwa |- |5th |{{flagicon|South Korea}} Myung-gu Kang |CafeID Lacid |Ash, Kyo, Kim |- |7th |{{flagicon|USA}} Reynald Tacsuan |AS Reynald |Mr Karate, Benimaru, Kim |- |7th |{{flagicon|Taiwan}} Yang Yao Ren |Yang Yao Ren |Mr Karate, Mature, Hwa |}
{|class="wikitable" |- !colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" |'''''Mortal Kombat''''' |- style="background:#ddd;" ! style="width:50px;"| Place ! style="width:180px;"| Player ! style="width:150px;"| Alias ! style="width:300px;"| Character(s) |- |1st |{{flagicon|USA}} Carl White |EMP KN Perfect Legend |Kung Lao |- |2nd |{{flagicon|USA}} Emmanuel Brito |vVv NOS CD Jr. |Jax, Kabal, Rain |- |3rd |{{flagicon|USA}} Brant McCaskill |Pig of the Hut |Kenshi, Mileena |- |4th |{{flagicon|USA}} Malik Terry |IGL MIT |Johnny Cage, Reptile, Scorpion, Stryker |- |5th |{{flagicon|USA}} Christian Quiles |CoCo ForeverKing |Sonya, Kung Lao, Kenshi |- |5th |{{flagicon|USA}} Julian E. Escobar |EGP XBlades |Liu Kang |- |7th |{{flagicon|USA}} Mario Sako |CoCo M2Dave |Freddy Krueger |- |7th |{{flagicon|USA}} Elijah Williamson |EGP Tyrant |Jax |}
{|class="wikitable" |- !colspan="5" style="text-align:center;" |'''''Street Fighter X Tekken''''' 2 vs. 2 Teams |- style="background:#ddd;" ! style="width:50px;"| Place ! style="width:100px;"| Team Name ! style="width:180px;"| Player ! style="width:150px;"| Alias ! style="width:193px;"| Character(s) |- |1st |Western Wolves |{{flagicon|South Korea}} Seon-woo Lee<br>{{flagicon|South Korea}} Ryan Ahn |WW.MCZ Infiltration<br>WW.MCZ Laugh |Rolento<br>Ryu |- |2nd |FGTV |{{flagicon|USA}} Eduardo Pérez-Frangie<br>{{flagicon|USA}} Ricki Ortiz |CVapor PR Balrog<br>EG Ricky Ortiz |Ryu<br>Rufus |- |3rd |Mad Catz/Razer |{{flagicon|Japan}} Hajime Taniguchi<br>{{flagicon|Japan}} Keita Ai |MCZ Tokido<br>RZR Fuudo |Chun Li<br>Ryu |- |4th |Complexity Cross Counter |{{flagicon|USA}} Peter Rosas<br>{{flagicon|USA}} Mike Ross |coL.CC Combofiend<br>coL.CC Mike Ross |Julia<br>Marduk |- |5th |TotalHeads |{{flagicon|Japan}} Joe Egami<br>{{flagicon|South Korea}} Chung-gon Lee |TH MOV<br>TH Poongko |Ryu<br>Kazuya |- |5th |Eternal Rivals/PxG |{{flagicon|USA}} Richard Nguyen<br>{{flagicon|USA}} Darryl Lewis |ER MCZ Richard Nguyen<br> PxG SnakeEyes |Law<br>Zangief |- |7th |KazBon |{{flagicon|Japan}} Ryota Inoue<br>{{flagicon|Japan}} Masato Takahashi |Kazunoko<br>Bonchan |Raven<br>Ken |- |7th |Algo Cacho <br> |{{flagicon|Chile}} Victor Duarte <br>{{flagicon|Chile}} Rubén Ponce |Evil_Craa<br>Sicario |Ryu<br>Rolento |}
{|class="wikitable" |- !colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | '''''Soulcalibur V''''' |- style="background:#ddd;" ! style="width:50px;"| Place ! style="width:180px;"| Player ! style="width:150px;"| Alias ! style="width:300px;"| Character(s) |- |1st |{{flagicon|Japan}} Naoaki Yanagihara |Shining Decopon |Tira |- |2nd |{{flagicon|Singapore}} Jovian Chan |Shen Chan |Cervantes |- |3rd |{{flagicon|USA}} Omar Mohammed |Something-Unique |Pyrrha |- |4th |{{flagicon|USA}} Jonathan Vo |Woahhzz |α Patroklos |- |5th |{{flagicon|Japan}} Michio Irie |CRNA Ruka |Patroklos |- |5th |{{flagicon|USA}} Sean Paquette |Xephukai |Astaroth, Patroklos |- |7th |{{flagicon|Japan}} Takeaki Takahata |Kamaage |Mitsurugi |- |7th |{{flagicon|South Korea}} Moon-su Jang |CafeID Kura |Patroklos |}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Evo}}
Category:Evolution Championship Series Category:2012 in sports in Nevada Category:2012 in esports Category:Sports events at Caesars Palace