2XKO’s second Major begins in a few hours at Evo Japan, where the game’s top players will spend one frantic day fighting for the biggest prize yet in the title’s still-young competitive scene. The tournament starts at 6 p.m. PT on April 30 from Tokyo, and fans can watch it at twitch.tv/2xko or youtube.com/@2XKO.
That sets up a high-stakes marathon with three powerhouse regions in the mix: the US, Japan and France. The matchup history favors the Americans, but 2WINz Haru and Toshi have home-field advantage, and they are among the frontrunners alongside SonicFox and INZEM. Hundreds of hungry local hopefuls are also in the bracket, making this the first open 2XKO Major in Japan.
The local field gives the event real depth. Players such as ikoan, poka and the 2WINz are in the mix, while GO1 and Fenritti are on the signup sheet. On the other side, bleed arrives after winning Frosty Faustings in January and then stringing together weekly online wins at TNS and FlyQuest’s Fight Series with Ekko and Illaoi.
France, too, comes in with momentum. Wawa, WADE, Noka, Kayne, Senshii and yasha have been leading that scene, which topped Season 1 of the EU Community Series with a win against Spain. Wawa also has a line in the history books already: he is 2XKO’s first official tournament champion.
Akali adds another layer to the bracket. She was added to 2XKO a couple of weeks ago, and Hikari’s Akali won the recent LVL UP EXPO tournament, a result that instantly raised the bar for everyone else trying to keep up with the game’s newest tools.
Evo Japan also closes out Season 1’s competitive action before a new Fuse arrives, so the winner will not just take a Major title but also leave with the last big statement of the season. If someone comes through this field and beats the likes of SonicFox, INZEM and the home team in Tokyo, it will be a result the scene remembers for a long time.
