Hikari was down. Then he wasn’t. At Evo 2026 in Las Vegas, the M80 star clawed out of the losers bracket, ran a 14-1 gauntlet, and reset the grand finals bracket to dethrone SonicFox and INZEM in a 2XKO grand final that ended with the duo taking just one game off him. It’s his fourth Evo title — and arguably the loudest statement 2XKO’s competitive scene has made all year.
The Bracket Reset Nobody Saw Coming
Grand finals resets are supposed to be rare. Hikari made his look routine. After dropping into losers earlier in the event, he tore through the bottom half of the bracket to force a second grand finals set — then closed it out 3-0, leaving SonicFox and INZEM with almost nothing to answer with. That’s not a nail-biter. That’s a statement.
SonicFox and INZEM’s Winners Bracket Warpath
Before the reset, SonicFox and INZEM looked untouchable. The duo adapted Thresh to take down the Japanese twins 2Winz Toshi and 2Winz Haru in winners semis, then swapped back to Teemo to beat Supernoon in winners finals. That’s two different characters, two different gameplans, both executed at a level that put them one win away from the title — until Hikari showed up on the other side of the bracket having gone 14-1 on the day.
The Grand Finals Reset — And Hikari’s Fourth Evo Title
When the bracket reset, SonicFox and INZEM needed to win two sets. They didn’t win one. Hikari closed it out clean, and in the post-match interview he made his ambitions plain: “I want to be a large icon, like SonicFox,” he told Esports Insider after the win. Fitting, given he just beat the guy in the biggest match of the game’s young life. This is Hikari’s fourth Evo championship overall — two from Dragon Ball FighterZ, and now his second for 2XKO after also taking the title at Evo Japan 2026.
The Numbers Behind the Moment
- 1,080 registered entrants — the third-largest event of Evo 2026 by entrant count
- $135,000 prize pool for the 2XKO bracket
- Hikari’s run: 14-1 across the full event, including the losers bracket climb
For a game that only landed on the Evo main stage this year, those numbers matter. A three-digit entrant count and a six-figure prize pool aren’t participation-trophy territory — that’s a scene that showed up and showed out.
What This Means for the 2XKO Scene
SonicFox and INZEM proved a point too: character-swapping between Thresh and Teemo mid-bracket isn’t a gimmick, it’s a legitimate top-level strategy in 2XKO right now. But Hikari proved the counter-point — no gameplan survives a player who refuses to stay in losers. With Season 1’s roster now locked and Evo behind us, expect the next major to be a referendum on whether anyone can actually solve him.
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