The story around the top eight for Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator at the Evolution Championship Series (Evo) was that of incredible talent from a dominant region overwhelming the competition.
The favorites coming into the top eight: Japan's Omito "Omito" Hashimoto, Masahiro "Machabo-" Tominaga, and Takahiro "Nakamura" Kitano. These three players were the most relevant, in the finest form, and wielded the strongest understanding of the newest technology in Guilty Gear. Although this list excludes last Evo's champion, Kenichi "Ogawa" Ogawa, this is not meant as disrespect. Ogawa made a strong showing in the tournament and made it to the top eight, but he lacked some momentum and pure understanding of the game.
The Japanese elite knew how to pressure and escape their opponent's flurries (even in mirror matches). While there were some close matches, the finals were overall a very one-sided affair. The strongest of the Japanese players utilized the unblockables, air resets, and various corner pressure options that only the best would take advantage of.
Will a threat emerge from outside of Japan?
The big question after a relatively quiet top eight without much geographic diversity was: "Can Japan be stopped?" At the moment, the short answer is simply no. The monsters on the sticks that ruled the tournament were Machabo-, Omito, and Nakamura. They distanced themselves from even their own countrymen by crushing them in either quick succession or executing ridiculous comebacks to steal all their momentum. The finals at Evo proved that Japan was not only heads-and-toes above the rest of the world, but that new talent and potential can always bubble up to the surface for this community.
The world needs to take notice. If you want to compete with these unbelievable Gears, it's time to really hustle and learn the mechanics and nuances of the game engine.
Your winner of Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator is:
Whether you'd describe Machabo- as consistent or dominant, either way the eventual champion was just too strong of an opponent and made little work of most of the competition. The power behind Machabo- is more than just character selection or understanding what makes his particular main Gear so cheap; it's his understanding of the game's mechanics and the stubbornness to enforce his will.
While the grand finals were closer than the rest of his matches, Machabo- made it very clear since the beginning of top eight that he was the monster to be feared.