EVO – the largest fighting game tournament in the world, has once again come and gone. Rather than missing out in a bedroom watching over the internet, I spent this last weekend in Las Vegas where it’s held. In a plastic chair sometimes less than a few feet from the stage, I got to watch history happen over and over again. For example – I watched a guy nicknamed Infiltration take the title of Best Samurai Shodown Player In The World. It took him clearing off the rest of the bracket, including the nine time EVO champion Justin Wong.

Whether it’s Justin Wong or Infiltration or SonicFox, these players all have their own storied history. Justin Wong was on the receiving end of Moment #37. SonicFox is the best Mortal Kombat player in the world, and had his own moment-to-be-celebrated this year. Infiltration is the one being talked about all over now that the show is over.

Infiltration was a rising star at one point. Seizing victory in a handful of big tournaments worldwide early in his career, getting picked up by a South Korean gaming team and big-brand level sponsorships.
There was this other thing where he was convicted of abusing his now former wife and summarily dropped, but of course he returned to EVO this year. In addition to returning Infiltration also nabbed victory at Samurai Shodown. That victory upset some people, and their anger is rightfully placed. What does it say for inclusivity that the same weekend a panel about Women in the FGC was hosted also gave the stage to a guy like Infiltration?

EVO itself, as an organization, had no comment to make. Despite the palpable feeling of support that the event tries to muster, the FGC itself can be far from an inviting place to be. Like any community that’s been primarily dominated by men for years – you can surmise that that is especially true if you’re a woman. At an event sponsored and donated to by some of the biggest gaming companies in the world, was it additionally more disheartening that they said nothing? We don’t have to assume.

returning from what exactly

Certainly spending any amount of time being Logged On over the weekend would let you know. Dozens of people weighed in on a line posted by the official EVO twitter. Seemingly innocuous, it marks Infiltration making a “triumphant return”. Nothing that would out right endorse someone striking or abusing their spouse, but a silent voice can condone through inaction. That wasn’t all, and before the weekend closed out there would be local reports of an attendee getting roofied at an afterparty.

It can sometimes feel like there are two distinct communities here. The one that holds itself up as The FGC – and the one that’s mostly about tournaments and EVO. A cursory search of Twitter will split you down the middle with comments from very upset women and people not-a-big-dealing everything that happened.
At any rate, disappointment about what should be for everyone and exciting weekend abounds.

What can we do? EVO will doubtlessly let Infiltration continue to compete. While of course it’s not as if they publicly came out and said the behavior was acceptable, not holding Infiltration to any kind of standard is basically that aforementioned silent endorsement.

Sometimes silence can be almost worse. People that don’t know wont learn anything, unless they go looking. It splits the community down the line between people outraged and people too stubborn to care at all. The same people what-abouting it on twitter might as well be complacent, but that’d require the standard to change.

What can we do? There’s something special about the FGC that needs to be maintained. I doubt they will – but if EVO’s going to let a guy like Infiltration compete, why not take the prize money? They’re in control of their own rules. Tell a player with that kind of history that not only are they going to be an example to everyone, but the money they win is going to support battered women everywhere.

Everything doesn’t need to be negativity with no solution. We can all think of something and if enough of us speak up loud enough, change can happen faster than you would believe.
What does not help – as much as it sucks, as much as it hurts and blackens our heart, is to give up and shut down. I’d like to think the word Community in FGC can really matter.

It’s not the most inclusive community in the world – but people are more than willing to put in the work to see that change. I’d personally like to see EVO and the many giant companies that sponsor it make a statement willing to back what players already know, but it sometimes feels like that’s nothing but fantasy.

People come from all over the world to compete. I saw people cry this weekend over losing 0-2 before the afternoon was over. I also saw other players reaching out to help them improve afterwards and telling them the importance of coming back for the next fight.

I wish the crowd hadn’t clapped for it.