EVO 2026 numbers: Street Fighter 6 tops 7,000 entrants as Tekken rebounds
Registration data, the games that grew, and what it means for the fighting-game calendar.
Nico FairbourneEsports · Updated October 2, 2026 · 2 min read
Porch summary
- Registration data, the games that grew, and what it means for the fighting-game calendar.
- Schedule times are listed in your local time zone where the broadcaster supports it.
- Odds quoted are the consensus at time of writing and move fast.
- Arcade Porch does not take bookmaker sponsorship.
Registration data, the games that grew, and what it means for the fighting-game calendar. This is the Arcade Porch esports desk’s full preview — the format, the teams and the three storylines we will be following from the first match.
Format and schedule
Sixteen teams enter, split into four groups of four in a double-elimination group stage. The top two from each group advance to an eight-team single-elimination bracket; every playoff match is best-of-three until the grand final, which is best-of-five. The opening day runs from mid-afternoon to late evening local time, with the final scheduled for the Sunday.
The teams to watch
The favourites are the favourites for a reason: the deepest map pool, the most settled roster and a coach who has won here before. Behind them sits a cluster of four teams separated by almost nothing in the Arcade Porch power rankings. The dark horse is the team that qualified last, through the play-ins, with a stand-in who has quietly posted the best rating of the qualifying stage.
Grand finals are won on the third map. Everything before that is information.
The storylines
- Can the defending champions handle being the hunted for the first time?
- The roster that broke up in spring now meets in the group stage.
- A veteran in-game leader’s final event before coaching — he has said as much.
Follow the Arcade Porch esports desk on X for live bracket updates; the full results page will be updated after every series.
