Thousands of people packed into Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena last month to watch fighters from Pakistan and South Korea duke it out. Spectators craned their heads and some elbowed each other over key movements, likely wondering if they could replicate the moves at home – on their gaming consoles.

Attendees were there to watch this year’s Tekken Fighting Championship, part of the Evolutionary Championship Series, or EVO, which is considered one of the largest annual tournaments for fighting games like Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter and Tekken.

EVO has been held in Las Vegas for about 10 years, except during the pandemic when it was on paused for two years.