EVO 2020 online has been canceled

This article refers to allegations of sexual assault.

EVO 2020, which was to be an online tournament in 2020, has been canceled. Earlier, it was reported that EVO CEO Joey Cuellar was being placed on administrative leave after several allegations of sexual misconduct. Following these events, various game brands announced that they would no longer participate in the event, including Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. Now the event will no longer continue and Cuellar will no longer be involved with EVO.

In a statement posted on Twitter, it was announced that Tony Cannon will take over as CEO and that he “is prioritizing greater responsibility at Evo, both internally and at our events.”

Evo Online has been canceled and refunds will be issued to all players who have purchased a band. In addition, the event organizers will make a donation to the HOPE Project.

This announcement follows numerous publishers withdrawing from EVO after these allegations, including Bandai Namco (Tekken 7 editors), NetherRealm (Mortal Kombat 11), and Capcom (Street Fighter V).

Commenters, including James Chen and Maximillian Dood, also stated that they would not be part of EVO 2020 while Cuellar was still associated with the organization prior to the cancellation.

According to a statement by Twitter user PyronIkari (who only knows Mikey), Cuellar had engaged in inappropriate and predatory behaviors with minor children in the mid-to-late 1990s. This behavior apparently repeated several times.

Cuellar has addressed the issues in a brief statement on his Twitter account, prior to the event’s cancellation, in which he appeared to be trying to distance himself from the allegations. “I was young and reckless and I did things that I’m not proud of,” he says, claiming to have grown and matured “in the last 20 years.”

This occurs when several members of the high-profile fighting game community, particularly those within the Super Smash Bros. scene, have been charged with sexual misconduct with minors. This includes professional players D’Ron “D1” Maingrette, Cinnamon “Cinnpie” Dunson, Richard “Keitaro” King, Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada and others.

Nintendo has released a statement to IGN about these allegations, stating that they are “deeply disturbed” by them. “We want to make it clear that we condemn all acts of violence, harassment and exploitation against any person and that we support the victims,” ​​the statement said.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was not supposed to be part of Evo 2020 this year after it moved online, but this speaks to the breadth of the problem within the fighting game community.

SonicFox, who played second in the 2019 EVO Dragon Ball FighterZ competition and first in Mortal Kombat 11, has tweeted about the allegations that have come up, encouraging players and fans to “wake up and really hear these voices.”