Although the esports landscape is largely ruled by MOBAs, shooters, and battle royales, there’s a large dedicated following for fighting game esports. Fans in the fighting game community love the fast-paced action of competitive fighting games- some players even compete in multiple games at once. Here are 5 of the best fighting game esports everyone should check out.

5. ARMs

ARMs is one the best Nintendo Switch esports games, and while it’s far from the biggest fighting esport, it gets a lot of points for being unique. The game lets you use motion controls to box against your enemies at long range. It’s one of the highest-selling Switch games and has featured in many tournaments, including Evo Japan 2018.

4. Tekken 7

The legendary fighting game franchise is still going strong. The latest installment of Tekken is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the PC. You can pick favorites like King, Heihachi, Law, Kazuya or try out new characters like Negan from The Walking Dead. If you want to see some crazy combo-chaining gameplay, check out the Tekken World Tour Finals 2018 on December 1st.

3. DragonBall Fighter Z

DragonBall Fighter Z is the newest game on the list but it’s growing fast- Evo 2018 had more applicants for DBFZ than any other game! Fighting game prodigy SonicFox won the tournament against GO1 using a tag team of Bardock, Fused Zamasu, and Android 16. All the classic characters like Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, and Cell are also available.

2. Street Fighter V

Street Fighter is naturally a staple game in the fighting game community, and SFV is the biggest yet. Players have won over $2.2 million in total across tournaments such as Evo and the Capcom Cup. Top characters include Akuma, Guile, and Menat, but the recent return of Sagat could change things up.

1. Smash Bros Melee

Every Smash Bros game has taken off as an esport, but Melee is the biggest fighting game esport of all time. The game was released over 16 years ago, and the homegrown esports community built around it has lasted pretty much just as long.

The Smash Brothers Documentary does a great job at covering the rich, long-running history of the scene. Smash Bros for WiiU also had a strong scene, but it looks like Smash Bros Ultimate will be the next big esports game and elevate the series to a new level.

More Fighting Game Esports: Injustice 2, Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, Project M, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Brawlhalla

For more fighting games, check out some of the best games like Smash Bros.

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