EVO Japan 2026 presented by Levtech (EVO Japan 2026), a fighting game festival, was held from Friday, May 1 to Sunday, May 3, 2026.
Saiga NAK provided on-site coverage over the three days and was the only media outlet in the world to cover all 12 main tournaments.
Here is our photo report of the main tournament's Fist of the North Star category!
Looking Back at the Fist of the North Star Main Tournament!
Arcade cabinets are being carried onto the stage...
The following eight players advanced all the way to the final tournament:
- K.I
- Sankagin
- Yuttori
- matayoshi
- Osada
- Soddo
- KG
- Mint Blancmanche
The MCs are Koori (@MasaoKoori) and Reina Kiyokawa (@kiyokawa_reina)!
Winners Semifinal: K.I vs Sankagin
Winners Semifinal: matayoshi vs Yuttori
Depending on the conditions, an infinite combo for Raoh begins the moment even a minor move connects.
Losers Round 1: Soddo vs Osada
Losers Round 1: Mint vs KG
Grand Final: K.I vs Yuttori
The players who advanced to the Grand Final are K.I and Yuttori!
Deciding where to land the first hit of a combo to transition into dribbling (an infinite combo) is key.
Active Fist of the North Star players and spectators witnessing its unique gameplay mechanics for the first time alike were glued to the big screen, captivated by the high-level psychological warfare between advanced players.
Coming from the Losers side, Yuttori reset the bracket with three consecutive wins, bringing the match back to the starting line.
The set went to a grueling 2-2, but in the final game, K.I's Rei sealed the victory with a spectacular 126-hit combo!
K.I claimed the championship!
I am very happy to be able to show the results of 20 years of dedication.
There is one thing I absolutely want to say.
Fist of the North Star is a game from 20 years ago, and we are still playing the home version on the PlayStation 2.
To all the game companies watching this, please port it to current-generation consoles! I'm begging you!
(Translated from Japanese)
- 1st Place: K.I
- 2nd Place: Yuttori
- 3rd Place: KG
- 4th Place: matayoshi
- 5th Place: Osada
- 5th Place: Sankagin
- 7th Place: Mint Blancmanche
- 7th Place: Soddo