Evo 2024 Viewer's Guide: THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV
Evo Las Vegas welcomes back the King of Fighters series for the eighth time as a main game, and the third time for the current installment, THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV. Last year, Xiao Hai came out on top to pick up his second King of Fighters Evo championship, adding it to his 2014 trophy for THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII and his Evo Japan 2023 win in THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV earlier in the year.
Evo 2024 is expected to be the biggest tournament of the year for THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV, but that's not all that's on the line. Once again, Evo 2024 will be a qualifier for the next SNK World Championships coming up in March 2025. Only one spot is available, so you know the competition will be fierce as the best King of Fighters players duke it out. Today, we'll take you through the major players and storylines of King of Fighters at Evo 2024.
SETTING THE STAGE
The week after Evo 2023, new character Nadj joined THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV, and since then, Duo Lon and Hinaka have joined the cast. None of these characters managed to break through to top 8 in recent major tournaments Evo Japan 2024 or the SNK World Championships, but . Another universal mechanic was added as well: Advanced Strike, which offers players an option to beat throws and a meaty option to use against the opponent's wakeup.
About a month later, a major balance patch hit the game, shaking up the tier list and leading many top players to significantly shift up their team compositions. Gone are the days of Anchor Krohnen vs. Anchor Krohnen, like we saw between Xiao Hai and E.T. in Grand Finals last year.
If Evo Japan 2024 was any indication, you can expect to see more Geese Howard (on all four top placing teams) and Isla (on all three top placing teams), but beyond them, recent top-level tournaments have seen a good amount of character mix. Laggia's seventh place team of Yashiro, Ryo and Sylvie was completely unique to Evo Japan 2024's Top 8. He went on to win the SNK World Championships with this same team, proving there are multiple ways to succeed in this meta.
MAJOR STORYLINES
One player will be going for a third KING OF FIGHTERS XV Evo title, while two others will be trying for their second. Of course, the Evo 2024 bracket for King of Fighters has drawn strong competition from all across the world. It's been all Taiwan and China at the top of Evo brackets so far in THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV era. Will the trophy remain in Southeast Asia? Or can Latin America bring home its first Evo title in the latest King of Fighters entry? Here's a look at some of the strongest contenders for this year's crown.
Xiao Hai is the only player with two KING OF FIGHTERS XV Evo Championships, as he took both Evo Vegas and Evo Japan in 2023. After a third place finish at the SNK World Championships, he came just shy of the Evo three-peat at Evo Japan 2024, falling to E.T. in Grand Finals to place 2nd. Those are great results by any normal standards, but Xiao Hai had won his past five consecutive major offline events prior to the SNK World Championships. That's an unfathomable level of dominance in this era of fighting games, where there are so many international competitions and the level is consistently so high. In Season 2, Xiao Hai has kept Isla on the team and swapped out Krohnen and Kyo for Geese and Benimaru. He's experimented with a few characters in 2024, though, so we'll have to see what he has cooked up as he goes for his third KING OF FIGHTERS XV Evo title.
E.T. was stopped by Xiao Hai in Grand Finals at both Evos in 2023, which must have made his victory at Evo Japan 2024 that much sweeter. There were some scary moments, as Xiao Hai reset the bracket in a five-game first set, but E.T. gathered himself to win the reset 3-1 to take his first THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV Evo title, nearly seven years after his first Evo win. E.T. took the Evo 2017 title in THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV, also over Xiao Hai. Like Xiao Hai, E.T. has been using Geese and Isla in 2024, but he switched his third from Heidern to Clark between the SNK World Championships, where he placed fifth, and his Evo Japan 2024 win.
Lacid is the strongest South Korean representative for THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV at Evo 2024, with wins at Thaiger Uppercut and Fighter's Spirit 2023 under his belt. He finished ninth at the SNK World Championship earlier this year, and that's despite a truly horrendous draw, losing to the two Evo Champions mentioned above, Xiao Hai and ET. Expect a unique team from Lacid, who brought Meitenkun, Shermie and Ash to the SNK World Championships. The only other player to even use one of those characters was Xiao Hai with Shermie, and she wasn't on his main squad. Lacid was a finalist at his last Evo, placing 5th at Evo 2023, and he's a strong bet to reach that placing again, if not exceed it.
SCORE has been one of Japan's strongest King of Fighters players for some time now. He picked up his first Evo medal all the way back in Evo Japan 2019's THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV bracket, and has made Top 8 at every Evo bracket he's entered since: AnimEVO 2019 for THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV (3rd) and Evo 2022 (5th) and Evo Japan 2024 (5th) for THE KING OF FIGHTERS VX. He's coming off a fourth place finish at the SNK World Championships, a particularly impressive performance considering he had to play his way in through the LCQ. He rocked a team of Orochi Yoshiro, Chizuru and Heidern this patch at both Evo Japan 2024 and SNK World Championships, and will try to bring another strong result with that trio in Las Vegas.
mok will get his chance to make it three THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV finals appearances in a row at Evo Vegas thanks to his win in the Road to Evo: East Asia bracket. He placed 7th at Evo 2022 with Kukri, B.Jenet and Krohnen and rose to 3rd after going against the meta and swapping out Krohnen for Luong. Outside of his Road to Evo win, his best result in 2024 came at Evo 2024, where he teamed up his trusty Kukri with Shun'ei and Isla. He's one of Japan's most consistent players in King of Fighters and should be a favorite to return to the finals stage yet again.
FKang went from a 33rd place finish at Evo 2022 to a 7th place finish at Evo 2023, and his performances ever since have shown that improvement was extremely real. In 2024, he has traveled from Brazil to North America to take two big tournaments, Frosty Faustings XVI and Battle of Z x UMAD 2024. He won Frosty Faustings with a team of Kyo, Najd and Chizuru, one of the few top players currently using Season 2 addition Najd in high-level tournament play, and has also been seen using Sylvie, Ryo, Benimaru and Joe, so opponents will have a lot to prepare for at Evo 2024.
ViolentKain has been hard at work representing Mexico at tournaments in the United States over the past year, taking 2nd at CEOtaku 2023 and winning East Coast Throwdown 2023 as well as his two most recent events, COMBO BREAKER 2024 and CEO 2024. In Season 2, he has kept Kyo and Iori on his team and replaced B.Jenet with Ryo, to great effect. He's looking to build on a 13th place finish at Evo 2023, and if recent returns are any indication, he has a great shot to make it happen.
KoferoHonesto, also known as Layec, is entering his second decade as one of Mexico's strongest King of Fighters players. After a 2023 where he attended just a few tournaments but snagged the trophy at Animecon Mexico 2023, KoferoHonesto showed up to the SNK World Championships in March and played his way into the Top 8, including a 2-0 win over the first Evo Champion in THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV, ZJZ. His squad included Ryo, Yamazaki and his unique selection of Orochi Chris as the anchor, which made some huge comebacks for him at the World Championships. He'll look to carry that momentum to a Top 8 appearance at his first Evo since 2017.
Tamago is another longtime King of Fighters veteran hailing from Mexico. The CEOtaku 2023 champion is coming off of 9th place finishes at both the SNK World Championship and Evo Japan 2024, the latter of which included a win over former Evo champion ZJZ. Since the new patch, Tamago has been using a team of Blue Mary, Benimaru and Rock. After finishing just one set away from Top 8 at consecutive major events, you know Tamago will be hungry to push even further at Evo 2024.
Freenicius, a Brazilian player currently based in Canada, earned his trip through the Road to Evo North America bracket. He has had excellent results at Canadian tournaments, winning Toryuken 2023, Battle of Z x UMAD 2023 and WEMAD 2024. He used Benimaru, Rock and Iori to take the Road to Evo bracket, but has also used Ralf, Ryo, and Yamazaki in his Season 2 tournament wins.
