EVO 2020 tournament cancelled following sexual misconduct allegations against CEO

The gaming world has been hit with a recent string of accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct, from notable streamers to key employees at companies like Ubisoft.

Now, it’s been reported that this extends to the prominent and yearly fighting game tournament EVO, which was to be taking place online tomorrow, featuring a variety of fighting titles like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Tekken 7.

CEO and co-founder of EVO, Joey Cuellar has been accused of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour towards a number of teenage boys in the 90s and 00s.

Fighting game player Mikey ‘Crackpr0n’ Pham revealed on Twitter that Cuellar, also known as ‘MrWizard,’ would pay young boys in tokens to ‘take off their clothes and jump in the water hazard pools for certain amounts of times.’

Pham also recounts how Cuellar made a bet with him to see how big Pham’s penis was.

Cuellar acknowledged the accusations with an apology tweet, where he expressed regret over his past actions

‘I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone,’ he wrote. ‘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.’

These allegations led to multiple publishers, including Capcom, Bandai Namco, and NetherRealm withdrawing from the event, as well as several players and commentators, who expressed a desire to no longer be part of EVO.