Considered by many to be the biggest (and most important) fighting games event every year, the Evolution Championship Series (Evo), is seeing a surprising surge of participants for the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate game on the Nintendo Switch.

The game took top spot after early bird registration concluded on April 8, with more than 1,000 participants signing up, reported Eventhubs. Evo 2019 is set to be played at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from August 2 to 4.

Joe “Mr Wizard” Cuellar, one of the organizers of Evo, also mentioned in a separate tweet that this could be a record-breaking year for the franchise.

With Evo always changing each year, some fans will feel left out with certain games like Marvel vs Capcom Ultimate, Dead or Alive 6, and Super Smash Bros. Melee not making the cut for the main stage despite all three games having their own strong followings. Instead, Evo’s appears to be aiming for new audiences by making a heavy push for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Credit: Game Clips and Tips

A surprise entrant this year is Samurai Shodown, given that it was only just revealed during PAX East 2019 in March. Since that, it’s appears to have gained a large following in the short amount of time. The rest of the current EVO game line up will consist of Under Night In-Birth, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, Soulcalibur VI, Mortal Kombat 11, and Dragon Ball FighterZ.