The beginning months of the year means that it’s once again time to begin cultivating hype for the most prestigious fighting game tournament in the world: EVO 2018!

EVO founder Joey Cuellar was joined by Mark “MarkMan” Julio Tuesday evening to announce the titles that will be featured at this year’s fighting extravaganza.

8 titles will be featured at this year’s event, ranging from anchored mainstays like Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, and Super Smash Bros. Melee, to extremely hot games like Dragon Ball FighterZ, EVO 2018’s lineup does a good job of representing the diversity available in the genre right now.

Here are the 8 games that will be featured at EVO 2018:

NerdBacon’s pick for best fighting game of 2017 makes its return at EVO 2018! Tekken 7 has proven to be a fantastic resurgence for the series, and continues to gain in popularity.

A fighting game tournament like EVO 2018 wouldn’t be complete without some form of Super Smash Bros. It will be interesting to see how this competition takes shape now that Smash’s virtuoso, ZeRo is taking a competitive hiatus.

Now here’s a surprise.

BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle will make its debut showing at EVO 2018, and it isn’t even out yet! We won’t get our hands on it until June 5th, so there won’t be a lot of time for people to get used to the game prior to the big tournament; however, that lack of time to become familiar with the game might make for some big surprises once the competition gets underway.

Super Smash Bros. Melee is the game that just won’t die. Not that it’s a bad game by any means; it’s just that we are already two versions beyond this 2001 release. But, as long as there is love for the game, it will have a home at EVO. Hopefully Nintendo will one day figure out how to bring together the two Smash camps into one satisfying title.

The second year for Injustice 2 will see FGC prodigy, Sonic Fox battle to reclaim his crown as the god of NetherRealm fighting games.

There’s no Roman Cancelling this game’s popularity! (That’s a Guilty Gear joke)

Guilty Gear Xrd 2 has provided a few years of thrilling action. A new balance patch will be out in March, so that should shake things up once EVO 2018 comes around.

What can we say? It’s not EVO without the granddaddy of all fighting games!

Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition is the major revision that fans have been praying to see for Street Fighter V. It adds a number of new balance changes, as well as a second V-Skill for each fighter, which opens up a whole new world of options for players and makes the game feel extremely fresh.

Dragon Ball FighterZ is without a doubt, the hottest new fighter on the planet right now, so it’s no surprise to see it in the EVO 2018 lineup!

Everything about this title has so far been fantastic! It has an alluring visual presentation that’s authentic to the beloved anime and the combat is fast-paced, but inviting enough to attract a ton of new players from all sections of the fighting game community and beyond.

We wouldn’t be surprised to see Dragon Ball FighterZ top the 5k mark for entrants at EVO 2018.

With recent releases like Dragon Ball FighterZ, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, and upcoming titles like Soul Calibur VI, the fighting game scene is absolutely radiating with energy right now, which could make EVO 2018 one of the biggest event’s in the tournament’s history.

EVO 2018 takes place  August 3 – 5th at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas Nevada, and NerdBacon will have all the action for you!

What are your thoughts on the EVO 2018 lineup? Does it make you giddy with anticipation, or are you shedding tears in anguish as your soul cries out, “WHERE’S MAHVEL???”

Take solace in our comments section below.