EVO 2020 tournament canceled after sex misconduct allegations
The Evolution Championship Series fighting game tournament has been canceled.
Evo announced the cancellation after allegations of sexual misconduct against Evo co-founder and president Joey Cuellar surfaced.
The allegations were made by Mikey Pham, who goes by @PyronIkari on Twitter and is better known as CrackPr0n online. Among the allegations included a 2001 incident, when Pham said he was 17.
Evo tweeted on Thursday that Cuellar will no longer be involved with Evo.
The company released a statement on Twitter, saying “Effective immediately, Joey Cuellar will no longer be involved with Evo in any capacity. We are currently working towards his complete separation from the company and have relieved him of all his responsiblities.”
— EVO (@EVO) July 3, 2020
Cuellar released a statement on Twitter, saying, “I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone. I was young and reckless and did things I’m not proud of. I have been growing and maturing over the past 20 years, but that doesn’t excuse anything. All I have been trying to do is become a better person. Once again, I’m truly sorry.”
I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone. I was young and reckless and did things I'm not proud of. I have been growing and maturing over the past 20 years, but that doesn't excuse anything. All I have been trying to do is become a better person. Once again, I'm truly sorry.
— Joey Cuellar (@MrWiz) July 3, 2020
Players who purchased badges will receive refunds, and Evo said it will donate the equivalent of the proceeds to Project HOPE.
Prior to the announcement, several high-profile players, including SonicFox, and multiple developers announced they were dropping out of Evo’s online event.
Evo’s online event was scheduled to begin on Saturday. The event, usually held at Mandalay Bay, was to be held online due to COVID-19.
Contact Lukas Eggen at leggen@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0261. Follow @LukasEggen on Twitter.