Week 1 of Evo 2021 Online featured 3,500 competitors, five games, and thirteen champions. The regional winners took home cash, bragging rights, and a spot at the offline Evo 2021 showcase in Las Vegas. Meet the players, then look forward to rooting for your favorites this fall.

Penpen - Skullgirls Asia

Country: Japan

Main Characters (Team): Ms. Fortune/Annie/Fukua

A legendary figure in Skullgirls, Penpen is one of Asia’s top players if not the very best. He didn’t drop a single game in Top 8 of Evo 2021 Online. Penpen 3-0’ed Naminori in Winner’s Semis, Rznant in Winner’s Finals, and then Naminori again in Grand Finals. This Japanese player will likely be one of the favorites to win Skullgirls at the Evo 2021 Showcase.

Disarted - Mortal Kombat 11 Europe

Country: Russia

Team/Sponsor: Mystery Esports Gaming

Main Characters: Shang Tsung, Sub-Zero

Disarted is one of the most promising talents to come out of Russia, where many of the scene’s newest stars are popping up. The Shang Tsung main qualified quickly dispatched Spain’s JavierMK 3-0, then edged out Austria’s MakoraN 3-2 with Sub-Zero in Winner’s Finals. K-Top, a Jacqui main from Greece, tore through the Loser’s side to meet Disarted in Grand Finals. Disarted lost the first set, but held strong to claim the second 3-2.

JamieTTM - Street Fighter V Europe East

Country: Russia

Main Character: E. Honda

JamieTTM became the second Russian and first female player to win an Evo Online Event. The relatively unknown Honda main advanced to Winner’s Finals before dropping her first set to Turkey’s VolcanoRosso. She then beat Finland’s DrGulag 3-2 to earn a runback with VolcanoRosso in Grand Finals. Despite falling behind 0-2, Jamie pulled off a reverse sweep to reset the bracket. She rode that momentum--along with oppressive use of Sumo Headbutt-- to a 3-0 victory for the title.

Hurricane - Street Fighter V Europe West

Country: United Kingdom

Main Character: Cammy

One of the UK’s most recognizable Street Fighter players, Claude Eric “Hurricane” Diboti has competed in tournaments since SFIV. The Cameroon-born Cammy main cruised into Winner’s Finals and a meeting with reigning Intel World Open UK Champion DC “Infexious” Coleman. Hurricane easily took the set 3-0. In Grand Finals, he faced off against another top player from the UK and former Evo champion Benjamin “Problem X” Simon. In an intense 3-2 set, Hurricane fended off the reset to win the tournament undefeated.

Trema - Guilty Gear Strive Latin America

Country: Brazil

Team/Sponsor: Venon Flow

Main Character: Chipp Zanuff

Due to technical difficulties, the LATAM regional tournament for Guilty Gear Strive went mostly unseen at Evo 2021 Online. That kept viewers from seeing Jesse “Trema” Willian’s victorious run with Chipp Zanuff. The Brazilian is an anime fighting game veteran with several first-place trophies in Guilty Gear Xrd and BlazBlue: Central Fiction. Trema won Evo Online without dropping a set and was only thoroughly challenged by Mexico’s mike_Saftig in Winner’s Finals (3-2) and Grands (3-1).

Shadow_20z - Tekken 7 North America

Country: USA

Team/Sponsor: Disrupt Gaming

Main Characters: Claudio, Zafina, Anna

Marquis “Shadow_20z” Jordan had already solidified himself as one of the US’s best Tekken players, but won his first major piece of hardware at Evo Online. The stoic Claudio main is known for his patient gameplay and ability to use multiple characters at extremely high levels. Shadow’s path to victory was especially difficult because he faced his older brother Rodney “Joonya_20z” Desjarlais in Winner’s Semi Finals. Shadow won 2-1 before squeezing out a 3-2 victory over Moon “Binchang” Changbin in Winner’s Finals. Shadow went on to drop the first set in Grand Finals against Averiey “RunItBlack” Cobb-Entin 3-2, then regained his composure for a 3-1 victory in the reset.

Book - Tekken 7 Asia South

Country: Thailand

Team/Sponsor: Talon Esports

Main Character: Lidia

Thailand’s Nopparut “Book” Hempamorn has always been a top Tekken 7 player, yet continues to level up. In early 2020 Book won Evo Japan, the last major offline event before the COVID-19 pandemic. The global lockdown didn’t stop him from competing in online tournaments like ICFC to further his progression. Now over a year later he claimed his second consecutive Evo championship. Book didn’t drop a single set. No player in the Top 8 managed to take more than one game off his Lidia as he put on perhaps the most dominating performance of Evo Online Week 1.

Gen - Tekken 7 Asia East

Country: Japan

Team/Sponsor: Donuts USG

Main Character: Lidia

Despite being only 20 years old, Genki “Gen” Kumisaka has already built a legendary Tekken career. He was 14 when he debuted at Evo 2014 in second place behind Kim “JDCR” Hyunjin. Gen took an extended break from competitions to finish school. He came back in 2019 with several Top 8 finishes, including Evo Japan 2020, but didn’t return to his peak ability until Japan’s online Topanga League. Soon he was ready to excel in Tekken 7’s strongest region at Evo Online. Gen took down Mu-jong “Kkokkoma” Kim before avenging his Evo 2014 defeat to JDCR in Winner’s Finals. The bracket concluded with Gen grueling out a victory over reigning Tekken World Tour champion Yuta “Chikurin” Take in a thrilling bracket reset.

Leffen - Guilty Gear Strive Europe

Country: Sweden

Team/Sponsor: Team SoloMid

Main Character: Chipp Zanuff

William “Leffen” Hjelte is one of the most prominent figures in all of fighting games, but not so much for his success in Guilty Gear. He built a legendary name for himself as “The God Slayer” in Super Smash Bros. Melee after becoming the first player to take sets off the game’s “Five Gods.” Leffen transitioned into traditional fighters with Dragon Ball Fighter Z and is now invested in Guilty Gear Strive. His strong fundamentals across fighting games fueled an undefeated run at Evo Online. Stiff competition from Germany’s KenDeep and Spain’s Uriel_Legion were no match for Leffen’s unrelenting rushdown and extensive tournament experience.

Konqueror - Mortal Kombat 11 Latin America

Country: Brazil

Team/Sponsor: Venon Flow

Main Characters: Sub-Zero, Rain

Latin America is often an overlooked region in the NRS community, but players like Wellington “Konqueror” de Castro make people pay attention. The Sub-Zero specialist has long been a star in his homeland Brazil but was formerly unable to travel due to visa issues. He cleared things up in time for Final Kombat 2020, then traveled to Ukraine for WePlay Dragon Temple and Ultimate Fighting League, where he showed his true skill against the world’s best players. Konqueror was the heavy favorite to win Evo Online, although it didn’t come easy. He won two straight 3-2 sets to start out Top 8 before beating his Venon Flow teammate Bruno “KillerXinok” Sousa 3-1 in Grand Finals. He even pulled out Rain to close out the tournament, showing that he has more than one character ready for any challenge.

Cloud - Skullgirls North America

Country: USA

Main Characters (Team): Valentine/Cerebella/Double

Though he is one of the best Skullgirls players in America, Daniel “Cloud” Normandia has largely lived in the shadow of fellow compatriots Dominique “SonicFox” McLean and Jon “dekillsage” Coello. Cloud outshined both these players in a rather dominating fashion and more at Evo Online. He defeated Triviality 3-1 in Winner’s Semi-Finals before meeting dekillsage, who many consider the #1 Skullgirls player in the world, in Winner’s Finals. Cloud was unfazed and won 3-1. Triviality earned a runback in Grand Finals but fell 3-0 to Cloud’s rushdown trifecta led by Valentine.

iDom - Street Fighter V North America East

Country: USA

Main Characters: Poison, Laura

For fans of Street Fighter V, there is not much that needs to be said about Derek “iDom” Ruffin. He proved himself to be one of the world's best players after a Capcom Cup title in 2019 and continues to win even now. At Evo Online, iDom breezed through to Winner’s Finals where he faced longtime rival Victor “Punk” Woodley. Thanks to patient neutral and zoning play with Poison, iDom routed Punk 3-0. Punk would quickly earn the runback in Grand Finals but iDom kept adapting to his rival and won 3-1. It’s a shame that both players couldn’t qualify for the offline showcase to continue their legendary battle for North American supremacy.

Nephew - Street Fighter V North America West

Country: USA

Main Characters: Kolin

There was perhaps no Evo Online victory in Week 1 more impressive than Alan “Nephew” Sun’s. Although he is one of America’s best players, the Kolin main was the only Week 1 winner who had to fight through Top 8 on the Loser’s Side. Nephew defeated Brian “Brian_F” Foster and iquita to advance to Loser’s Semi-Finals against Christopher “ChrisCCH” Hancock. Nephew fell behind 0-2 before completing a reverse sweep against ChrisCCH’s Sakura in one of the best sets of the weekend. He then overcame Jot in Loser’s Finals to meet Miky “Samurai” Chea in Grand Finals. Nephew edged out an intense first set with a final game switch to Rose. He then switched back to Kolin and took the second set 3-0 to qualify for the offline showcase.

Congratulations to the winners. Catch up on the Week 2 results, then remember to tune into the offline showcase this fall for the epic climax of Evo 2021.