TOs confirm EVO Japan 2023 stage setup negatively impacted competitors
Serious delays and lack of communication contributed to a negative experience for competitors at EVO Japan 2023.
Following events at EVO Japan 2023 held from March 31 through April 2, some interesting and also dismaying details have come to light in regards to this year’s setup. As expressed by a number of tournament organizers and attendees, the event could have been handled better, with many walking away with less than stellar things to say about their time at EVO Japan 2023.
As shared by @PunkDaGod, a lot was put into attending the tournament with them having spent over $2,000 and a 16-hour plane flight to get there. With this, Punk notes that it was disappointing to arrive and see things like match delays as long as 4 hours. Chiming in, @whatiskami confirmed that many matches experienced delays, with a 2-hour delay causing them to have to play one of their final matches off stream.
I spend over $2000 with my back hurts on a 16 hour flight to come to this tournament i have every right to feel how i feel when my lost is not in my control all week i have been nice even with my strive WFs pool match delayed 4 hours i say nothing but this is unacceptable
— Punk (@PunkDaGod) April 2, 2023
Further support came from the likes of @TheHadou who stated the importance of confirming that Punk and others were right, and that the “Evo Japan 2023 stage setup negatively impacted players. It is is also necessary to confirm it was the stage and stream design itself, not the INZONE monitors.”
It is important to confirm that Punk and others were right, the Evo Japan 2023 stage setup negatively impacted players. It is also necessary to confirm it was the stage and stream design itself, not the INZONE monitors. We will prove that to you at other events this year. https://t.co/ds8CoYCP7k
— Rick (@TheHadou) April 3, 2023
The EVO account went on to say that, “We are committed to making great player experiences globally. Our US team will work closely with our partners in Japan to align this event series with community expectations. Evo Japan has limitless potential as an experience and destination. We will ensure it reaches it for you.”
The official accounts for EVO acknowledged the flawed experience after receiving a fair amount of backlash for it, apologizing for the “flawed competitor experience” before promising that it’ll never happen again.
Evo Japan 2023 excited an incredible number of players and viewers with its new location, presentation, and expanded activities this year. We also know that the event produced a flawed competitor experience throughout the tournament. That imbalance will never happen again.
— EVO (@EVO) April 3, 2023
Overall, it certainly sounds like a frustrating experience for those who attended EVO Japan 2023, though it’s nice to see this being openly acknowledged. Have you heard any negative reports out of EVO Japan 2023? Let us know in Chatty! For more on EVO, be sure to read through some of our previous coverage as well, including an overview of EVO Japan’s 2023 schedule, brackets, prize pool, and games.
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replyMorgan Shaver posted a new article, TOs confirm EVO Japan 2023 stage setup negatively impacted competitors
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There were a lot of people saying punk was just talking shit, but the guy has been on the losing end of big, on-stage competitions before and never stopped things to complain about controller lag. It sounds like he was having major problems, partially because of how handheld controllers were interacting with the system they had in place. All his previous matches up until that point were played on single screen, off stream rigs with a more standard setup.
Pretty shitty for things to turn out that way.-
True, but he didn't do himself any favours by throwing his controller and going on a big twitter rant.
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Agreed. But it's hard for me to tell someone to react perfectly to a charged emotional situation. I don't know how much he put into this tournament or how much it meant to him.
Just the disappointment of flying halfway around the world, making it to top 8 in one of the most stacked SF5 tournaments ever after having beaten some of the best players in the world, only to land on stage and not being able to perform to your abilities because of a technical glitch that should never have happened?
An outburst isn't surprising, even if it isn't the optimal reaction.
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