This weekend at the Evolution Championship Series (EVO) in Las Vegas, the world’s best competitive fighters will compete in search of a title.

These are not MMA fighters or boxers, though. They are esports competitors.

So what should you know about this growing sport?

1. EVO is the world’s largest fighting game event, featuring tournaments for nine games. These include Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros. 4, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mortal Kombat X, among others.

2. At EVO 2015, the prize pool for the seven largest events was a combined $280,070. The top prize pool last year was for Ultimate Street Fighter IV, which paid out $72,270. This year’s pool is expected to be larger for some games.

3. The tournaments at EVO are generally built into three stages: qualification pools, the semifinal bracket and the tournament finals. In the qualification stage, players are divided into pools of at least eight and play in a double-elimination format until two are left. In the semifinal bracket, the top two from each pool compete in a double-elimination format. It's important to note that a loss carries over from the qualification pool, so there is a "winner's" and "loser's" side of the bracket as the round starts. The top eight from this round move onto the tournament finals. In that round, losses again carry over. The gaming continues until only one is left standing.

4. The largest event at EVO will be the Street Fighter V tournament, which has more than 5,000 registered competitors. The final of the tournament will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and WatchESPN at 10 p.m. ET on Sunday.

The history of EVO

EVO is a major esports event that features fighting games, a genre that typically focuses on one-on-one combat between players. This year marks the 15th annual edition of the competition.

EVO 2002, the original version of the competition, featured tournaments for three games -- Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Capcom vs. SNK 2 -- compared with this year's nine.

Prize money is awarded to the top eight finishers in each tournament. First place will take home 60 percent of the prize pool. Second place will get 20 percent, and third place leaves with 10 percent.

Last year, 17 players won at least $10,000 in prize money.

Story behind the biggest games at the tournament

Although many esports events feature new games that might not be well-known to the mainstream population, EVO will feature games that provide a high potential for nostalgia.

Street Fighter V

The original Street Fighter was released to the world on Aug. 30, 1987. Since then, the franchise has become Capcom’s second-best selling franchise (behind Resident Evil).

The latest edition, Street Fighter V, was released in February and will be the focal point of EVO 2016.

Even those who have never played Street Fighter have probably heard a reference to “Hadouken,” a powerful move used by different fighters in the game.

Super Smash Bros.

On Jan. 21, 1999, Nintendo released the original Super Smash Bros., a fighting game featuring characters from some of Nintendo’s most popular franchises.

At EVO 2016, tournaments will be held for the franchise’s second installment (Melee) and its fourth installment (referred to as Super Smash Bros. 4 as well as Super Smash Bros. for Wii U).

The latest installment has expanded the roster to 58 playable characters, including the original 12, which can be used in one-on-one fights, larger free-for-alls or two-on-two team matchups.

Pokkén Tournament

This game is based on the characters from the Pokémon universe, featuring elements from the Tekken fighting series. In the game, players fight one-on-one using different Pokémon.

The Pokémon franchise is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Pokkén Tournament was released for the Wii U in March and joins two others, including the release of Pokémon Go (a popular mobile app game) and a seventh generation of games for handheld announced for November.

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3

This franchise, under the brand “Marvel vs Capcom,” features characters from Capcom’s video game franchises, such as Street Fighter, as well as characters from Marvel Comics (such as Iron Man, Thor, The Incredible Hulk and Captain America).

The original game in the franchise, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, was released in 1996 as an arcade game. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is the sixth installment in the franchise and was released in November 2011.

Athletes, celebrities and esports

Esports have expanded to draw investors and fans from across the world of sports. Below are some notable stories and examples of sports personalities and their involvement in esports.

Bill Walton (Street Fighter V)

The basketball Hall of Famer tested himself on Street Fighter V at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this June in Los Angeles, drawing a huge crowd.

Shaquille O’Neal, Alex Rodriguez, Jimmy Rollins (NRG esports)

This spring, the trio was involved in the most recent round of investments in NRG esports, an esports organization that has teams that compete in games such as Counter-Strike and League of Legends (Rollins is also a League of Legends player).

Mark Cuban and Ashton Kutcher (Unikrn)

Cuban and Kutcher are investors in Unikrn (pronounced like “unicorn”), a company that runs legalized betting on esports competition.

Rick Fox (Echo Fox)

The former North Carolina player and first-round pick by the Celtics in the 1991 NBA draft founded an esports team known as Echo Fox. The team competes in League of Legends, Counter-Strike: GO and other games. Fox’s team also includes Mew2King, one of the top Super Smash Bros. Melee players in the world.