I had plans to go to LVL UP EXPO, but was sadly unable to head to Las Vegas for the action. Still, you know I’ll be tuning in on Twitch for this one. Some of the biggest names in the FGC will be there, making the entire weekend action-packed across multiple titles.
LVL UP EXPO is taking place from April 24th to April 26th in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. In addition to the tournaments, there are vendors, cosplayers, and live entertainment. There is even an anime-themed rave and a battle bot challenge. Last year, over 144,000 FGC fans attended over the three-day weekend.
Here’s how to follow along at home.
What Tournaments are at LVL UP EXPO 2026
The main draw of the LVL UP EXPO is the console tourneys. Here are the tournaments taking to the main stage:
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Street Fighter 6
- Tekken 8
- 2XKO
- Guilty Gear -Strive-
- Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
- Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
- Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Here are the console side tournaments:
- Hunter x Hunter
- Ultra Street Fighter 4
- Undernight In-Birth II
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Mario Party Superstars
- Rock Paper Scissors
There are also PC tournaments, like Counter-Strike 2 and Minecraft, and retro tournaments, including Smash Bros. 64, Halo 2, and Tetris. It’s safe to say that there’s plenty for everyone.
Pro Players Heading to LVL UP EXPO
LVL UP EXPO recently shared a pretty cool graphic on X (formerly Twitter) that showed a wide range of pro players heading to Las Vegas. Most of the tournaments are stacked. The biggest games to watch at LVL UP EXPO are Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Tekken 8, Street Fighter 6, and 2XKO.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has top players from North America, Europe, and Japan fighting for the $10,000 prize pool. Japan’s Acola and Hurt are among the best in the world and will defend their title at LVL UP EXPO, but many hope to take down Acola’s Steve once and for all. R.O.B. player Salvatore “Zomba” DeSena is returning after a wild run at GENESIS X3, and Mr. Game & Watch player Miya is looking to move to the top spot of UltRank after taking second in 2025.
Tekken 8’s top player in the world, Arslan Ash, will be looking for another championship title ahead of Evo Las Vegas. He recently moved to Japan to focus even harder on competitive gaming, so he should be at the top of his game. That will be intense to watch.
Big personalities are also coming to LVL UP EXPO to shake up the bracket. Controversial top player Victor “Punk” Woodley will be competing in Street Fighter 6, and Dominique “SonicFox” McLean is continuing their 2XKO journey after an emotional showmatch in Dragon Ball FighterZ.
LVL UP EXPO 2026 Schedule
Welp, I was just digging everywhere, and I couldn’t find the exact schedule for LVL UP EXPO. There doesn’t seem to be an official schedule online anywhere. The next step? Download the LVL UP EXPO app, which seems a bit like torture when you’re not actually going.
That unlocked a ton of hilarious panels and meetups, including “So you want to put an anime girl on your car?” and “The Ultimate Character Smash or Pass 18+.” But still no tournament information.
I think I just have to cobble it together myself with the help of Start.gg’s brackets:
Street Fighter 6
- Pools: April 24th, 12 PM PST
- Top 24: April 25th, 3 PM PST
- Top 8: April 25th, 4 PM PST
Tekken 8
- Pools: April 25th, 12 PM PST
- Top 24: April 26th, 12 PM PST
- Top 8: April 26th, 3 PM PST
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Pools: April 25th, 12 PM PST
- Top 24: April 26th, 11 AM PST
- Top 8: April 26th, 1:30 PM PST
2XKO
- Pools: April 25th, 2 PM PST
- Top 16: April 25th, 6 PM PST
- Top 8: April 26th, 11 AM PST
How to Watch LVL UP EXPO
It seems that VGBootCamp will broadcast LVL UP EXPO’s tournament streams. Since the tournaments overlap one another, you’ll have to find the specific channels for each title you’re interested in.
It’s shaping up to be a week of chaos and excitement, that’s for sure.