EVO Japan 2024] GBVSR Winner is IBUSHIGIN|Rookies! In an exclusive interview immediately after his victory, he talks about the support from his wife.

The winner of the " Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising" (hereafter, GBVSR) at EVO Japan 2024, a fighting game festival being held from April 27 (Friday) to 29 (Monday), 2024, is IBUSHIGIN|Rookies! The winner is IBUSHIGIN|Rookies!

【EVO Japan 2023】GBVS優勝はgamera選手！EVO 2022に続く連続優勝！

The previous champion also won the final!

In the "GBVSR" final...

Kino!
IBUSHIGIN|Tororo (Tororo)
IBUSHIGIN|Rookies(Rookies)
PGW Ren(Ren)
Takodot player
GS gamera(gamera)

Six players (names are based on start.gg ) advanced. While we saw a showdown between IBUSHIGIN, the Grand Final was a showdown between rookies and gamera.

The rookies and gamera, who is without a doubt one of the strongest players in Japan. Always looking somewhat sleepy and showing a solid game, he is the champion of EVO 2022 and EVO Japan 2023.

Opposing him was Rookies, who won the Winners' Tournament. He will take on the previous champion with a 9-match unbeaten streak.

Despite advancing from Routers, gamera showed no signs of pressure. The rookies used both Sys and Belial, but couldn't reach gamera's neck...

うつむくgamera選手※ストレート勝利した直後です — gamera is looking down* right after winning in straight games.

The Grand Final is reset with a straight victory for gamera! The winner of the next match is the winner of the Grand Final.

The next set was also won by gamera, and the audience was excited. The audience is watching to see who wins.

But the rookies were not to be outdone. The rookie player completes the next round with a perfect score, making it 1-1!

The rookies, who had struggled up to this point, showed their mettle. After a battle of reads to break gamera's defense, the winner is...

The rookies won 3 sets in a row! The winner was the Rookies!

At one point in the Grand Final, it looked like the game was going to go Gamera's way. In the end, the rookies showed their silver medalist skills.

The Rookies received a trophy, a commemorative arcade controller, and 1,000,000 yen in prize money! Congratulations to the winners!

The final results are as follows

1st place: rookies
2nd place: gamera
3rd place: Tororo
4th place: Ren player
5th place: Takodot player
5th place: Kino player

Q. What did you think of today?

Rookies: There were many strong players this time, and to be honest, I thought I was not as good as them, but I wondered if I could make it because it was a tournament. But I thought I could make it because it was a tournament. I couldn't deny that I wasn't well prepared, but I put a lot of energy into each match, and before I knew it, I had won the tournament (laughs).

Q. You went undefeated and made it to the Grand Final.

Rookies: I lost to Takodot and Ren all the way back in the GBVS, and I lost to Takodot in the "GBVS Cygames Cup Special 2024. I thought it was going to be a tough road again, but I am very happy to have overcome such fierce opponents and won today.

Q. Your opponent in the grand final was gamera, the previous champion.

Rookies: I have a good record against gamera. But gamera was very strong today. He lost to Ren's Sisu (in the Winner's Quarterfinals), so I thought he might not be good at it, but he made some adjustments today! I changed my character in the middle of the game, but I thought, "This guy is too strong! (laughs) Then I decided to go for it without regrets, and the path opened up for me.

Q. What were you thinking when the game was brought to a reset?

Rookies: I lost 0-3, so I honestly thought it was impossible.... But I remembered my wife's encouragement before the match, "Don't give up until the end," and I thought, "I'll give it my all! I was determined to give it my all.

Q. Finally, what are your ambitions for the future?

Rookies: There are so many strong players in this game that I thought it would be hard to keep up with them. But today's result has given me confidence, and I feel that if this happens, I will not let anyone down (laughs).