AMSa is currently ranked second in the world, having previously held the top seat on the Japan SSBM Rank 2018. His move to Golden Guardians signals the player’s first time playing for an esports organization away from Japan.
While the move will not end his relationship with Red Bull, it will conclude aMSa’s decade-long record as a VGBootCamp player. He signed with VGBootCamp in May 2014 and was a part of the team for more than nine years.
Besides aMSa, Golden Guardians added another famous name in the Melee community, Brandon “HomeMadeWaffles” Collier, to their lineup. The player has been in the pro scene since 2018 but is mostly popular for his content creation and commentary.
HomeMadeWaffles was ranked 77th on the 2017 SSBMRank and is known for his prowess with a majority of the cast, including Dr. Mario. His addition will help cement Golden Guardian’s growing influence in Melee.
READ: Top Esport Games To Be On
AMSa started playing Super Smash Bros with Yoshi as far back as 2013 and, in little time, climbed up the ranks to become one of the best players in the world. He recorded impressive performances at Apex, where he finished ninth and fifth in the event’s 2014 and 2015 iterations, respectively. AMSa also finished in top 32 at the EVO 2013, 2014, and 2015 and ninth during the 2018 GENESIS 5.
The player’s prowess extended to the Japan SSBM Rank 2018, where he ranked first, and the 2019 MPGR which aMSa finished in seventh place. He regularly won tournaments like the Battlegateway #30 in 2020, but aMSa’s hard work paid off in a big way in 2022. He bagged several Smash Major titles last year and won a Major at The Big House 10, becoming the first player to do so with Yoshi.
Golden Guardian’s move indicates the organization’s intention to continue being a force in the Melee community following the departure of their top-ranked player, Zain “Zain” Naghmi, earlier this week. The signing also allows the team to retain their place in the top five conversations within the community and promote their content even further.
Other players on Golden Guardian’s lineup include Kevin “PPMD” Nanney, Edgard “n0ne” Sheleby, and Kris “Toph” Aldenderfer.
]]>The players are some of the most sought-after free agents in the esports scene and have one of the most famous rivalries in modern Smash history. After years of competing against each other, Tweek and MkLeo are now signed to the same team and will help Luminosity create the “greatest smash roster of all time.”
“Everything’s happening so fast, but I never thought we’d be on the same team. It’s just crazy how all of this lined up. I’m a big basketball guy, and it feels like LeBron going to Miami,” Tweek said during an Ultimate Summit broadcast shortly after the announcement.
Tweek and MkLeo were let go from their respective teams in February following tournament organizer, Beyond The Summit and Nintendo’s decision to shut down the 2022 Smash World Tour finals. Within five days of each other, Tweek ended his four-year stint on TSM, while MkLeo concluded his three-year contract with T1.
After the players left, Smash fans were worried about the potential long-term negative effects Tweek and MkLeo’s departure would have on the esports scene. Weeks later, Luminosity swooped in to sign the players in time for the Smash Ultimate Summit 6.
The addition of the two Smash bro. legends to Luminosity’s already appealing team have placed them on top of the esports ecosystem in terms of competition. The squad also has Mr Game & Watch player Enrique “Maister” Hern��ndez Sol��s and Avery ‘Ginger’ Wilson.
At some point in their careers, Tweek and MkLeo have reached No. 1 status in the esports scene and played against each other in several tournaments’ grand finals. The gamers famously competed to win the best in the world title in 2019, shortly after the Super Smash Bros. release.
Tweek and MkLeo have faced off in the major grand finals at Evo, MomoCon, and Frostbite, with MkLeo winning two out of the three games. They last competed against each other in the finals match during the 2021 Smash Ultimate Summit 3.
Tweek and MkLeo have met in bracket numerous times; however, the latter player has broadened the gap between them. Both players have already won major tournaments this year, namely Let’s Make Big Moves and Genesis 9, and will debut on Luminosity’s lineup during the Smash Ultimate Summit 6 this weekend.
The event will be the last Summit tournament organized by Beyond the Summit, which is popular for its high-profile Melee and Ultimate tournaments. The tournament organizer is reportedly shutting down operations this year due to financial challenges.
Smash Ultimate Summit 6 kicks off on March 24 and continues over the weekend until the Ultimate singles bracket ends on March 26.
]]>The Atlanta event was initially slated for September 2021, but it was moved as a result of the restrictions that came with the COVID-19 pandemic. The gaming festival will last three days, from November 18-20, with the Georgia World Congress Center as the event��s venue.? ?
The gaming event will also have several bring-your-own-computer (BYOC) competitions. The games will be split across eight titles and boast a $35,000 prize pool.?
?Besides the previously listed tournaments, the event will also feature the DreamHack Starcraft 2 Masters. The competition will have a prize pool worth over $100,000.?
?The Atlanta event will also include a total of nine fighting-game tournaments in esports titles like Tekken 7, Super Smash Bros., Guilty Gear Strive, Street Fighter V, and several others.? ?
The tournament organizer also revealed that DreamHack��s annual Esports Summit would be held during the event, from November 17-18. The anticipated summit will reportedly afford all attendees a “comprehensive view of the entire esports ecosystem”.? ?
In a press release, the Vice President of DreamHack��s Strategy and Growth department, Shahin Zarrabi, revealed that the company was excited to be hosting the event in Atlanta once again.?
?”DreamHack loves Atlanta, and we are thrilled to be back!” Zarrabi wrote.
“This pandemic has been so hard for so many �� but gaming has always had a special way of bringing communities together both online and in person. ?
“We always strive to not only create not only a world where our community comes to life but also one where everybody can be somebody. This array of esports competitions will offer that opportunity to all, so we can��t wait to once again share our festival with the people of Atlanta.”?
?Earlier this year, DreamHack organized a similar event in Texas. Held in June, DreamHack Dallas hosted the Intel Extreme Masters CS:GO tournament as well as an amateur Fortnite event.
]]>The Invitational will be split into two different tournaments for the two Super Smash Bros. titles and will be streamed live on Ludwig��s YouTube channel. The event will include Last Chance Qualifiers in addition to the official invites that same weekend.
At the moment, only 24 players in each of the 32-player brackets have received invites to the Ludwig Smash Invitational. Some of the more popular players include Leonardo ��MkLeo�� Lopez Perez from T1 and Angel ��Onin�� Mireles. Both players will be a part of the Ultimate scene, while Cody ��iBDW�� Schwab and Juan ��Hungrybox�� Debiedma from Team Liquid will join Melee.
The Ludwig Smash Invitational has pulled in several Smash players as well as their teams. Among the 48 contestants already invited, representatives from organizations like FlyQuest, TSM, Spacestation Gaming, Cloud9, and Redbull were included.
The eight teams that come out on top at each qualifier in the last chance qualifiers will be able to enter the Invitational. The prize pool for each tournament in the event will be around $30,000 (��25,900).
Super Smash Bros. has had several notable developments in its esports ecosystem in the past year. Early this year, Nintendo revealed that it had partnered with North American esports organization Panda Global to put together an NA Super Smash Bros. circuit.
The collaboration would create a North American “officially licensed circuit for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Smash Bros. Melee.” The event was named the Panda Cup and commenced in June this year with a prize pool of around $100,000 (��79,400).
Nintendo was noticeably absent from the Evolution Championship Series this year after revealing that Super Smash Bros would not participate in the FGC competition. Prior to their absence, the Super Smash Bros. games were an integral part of the tournament and have featured in nearly every edition of the competition since 2007.
Their decision to skip this year��s tournament was not revealed. However, it could be linked to their partnership with Panda Group. Sony Group Corporation also bought out EVO in 2021.
Early this year, Ludwig also hosted a Super Smash Bros Melee tournament online, which allowed participants from all over North America to participate. Zain “Zain” Naghmi ended up winning the game after losing only twice in the entire event.
Ludwig was part of the team behind yet another esports event, the UNO! Mobile Wildcard series. The series was recently unveiled by the video game publisher Mattel163 and kicked off on August 12.
Ludwig was the host of the event for its All-Star Series. The 16-person tournament had players like Rachell ��Valkyrae�� Hofstetter, Jack ��CouRage�� Dunlop, QTCinderella, Sykkuno, and several others.
]]>The Mexican player is back in the game and prepared to re-enter the world of competitive Super Smash Bros. Ultimate play after taking a brief break from the scene to concentrate on his mental well-being. This will be the first competition that Sparg0 will participate in since The Gimvitational back in June.
Last but certainly not least…
@Sparg0ssb is our 16th and FINAL player coming to compete at #UltimateSummit 5 Presented by @coinbase
pic.twitter.com/imdt74leTU
— Beyond the Smash (@BTSsmash) September 1, 2022
After finishing in seventh place in The Gimvitational, Sparg0 made the announcement a little more than two months ago that he would be taking a break from competitive Super Smash Bros. for reasons related to his mental health. In spite of this, he started attending local competitions once more in August, and he hinted that he would be returning to major competitions very soon.
After the initial invites, the voting process, and the qualifier tournaments were completed, only 15 of the available slots were taken up. As a result of this, a number of fans speculated that Beyond the Summit had promised the champion, Sparg0, a position at the next Smash Ultimate Summit 5 tournament. It was “a hard decision,” but in the end, it was “worth giving it a try,” Saprg0 said when asked about accepting the offer.
According to the 16-year old player, he did not have high hopes for either his performance or his chances of winning the competition. Instead, all he wants to do is spend time with his pals and enjoy himself while doing the thing he enjoys doing the most, which is playing Smash.
“It makes me so happy to see so many people supporting me I’m not really looking to win or even do good (although I think winning lol), I just want to have a fun time doing what I like the most.” Sparg0 wrote.
During Genesis 8, he broke the news that FaZe Clan had signed him as the first Smash player to be endorsed by them.
Even though he did not end up winning the competition, he still managed to finish in third place, which is a very good showing. After that, he went on to triumph at GeekFest Cancun’s Relax & Smash and Low Tide City 2022, both of which he won.
Since Sparg0 is presently ranked as the second greatest player in the world, only one spot behind Leonardo “MkLeo” Lopez Perez, we may anticipate some skillful and impressive performances from him in the near future.
After the inclusion of Sparg0, the full lineup for the forthcoming invitational competition has been determined. The enlisted players below will compete at Summit, which is scheduled from September 15�C18.
�� MkLeo
�� acola
�� Sparg0
�� Paris “Light” Ramirez Garcia
�� Naoto “ProtoBanham” Tsuji
�� William “Glutonny” Belaid
�� Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey
�� Samuel “Dabuz” Buzby
�� Michael “Riddles” Kim
�� Kolawole “Kola” Aideyan
�� Brian “Cosmos” Kalu
�� Steven “Anathema” Acosta
�� Robert “Myran” Herrin
�� Jayjay “Ouch!?” Basilian
�� Dominic “T3 DOM” Carone
�� Christian “Jahzz0” Ramsay
At this point, it is unclear if he is planning to make a full comeback to the competitive scene or if he will be performing for just this tournament. Sparg0 is still yet to make any comments in this regard.
]]>Panda Global, a North American esports organization, has disclosed a slew of facts about its NA Super Smash Bros. circuit, which will kick off in June 2022.
??The Panda Cup has already been publicly revealed, a Nintendo-licensed North American circuit that will match 32 of the top Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Smash Bros. Melee players against one another across numerous dates.
??”Nintendo is not a sponsor, co-sponsor, or administrator of this competition,” the event trailer says.
As Nintendo of America senior director of product marketing, Bill Trinen, previously stated, the organization is making a concerted effort to build a more reliable, entertaining, and friendly competitive environment for Smash players. ??
Details on Panda Cup 2022 Super Smash Bros. tournaments
There will be a total of seven location stops, where participants can compete for the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Smash Bros. Melee finals.??The Ultimate and Melee events will each feature 32 participants fighting for the right to be crowned North American champions.
This will occur after competing in nine events over the remainder of the year, joining them with some online qualifiers. The circuit begins on June 24-26 at the CEO Fighting Game Championship and closes on December 15, 2022, with a last-chance qualifier.??
Offline qualifiers events will hold in the renowned Lost Tech City in Texas by September and The Big House 10 in Michigan, which is scheduled to be held in October.??
The grand finale will take place in Los Angeles from December 16-18, with a prize pool of only $100,000. The event’s regulations have been confirmed with the map option and comprehensive rules accessible on the circuit’s website.??
The schedule for the Panda Cup 2022 Super Smash Bros. Tournament ?
Listed are dates and locations for the Panda Cup circuit:
- June 24-26: CEO (Daytona, Florida)
- July 1-3: Get On My Level (Toronto)
- July 29-31: Smash Factor 9 (Cholula, Puebla)
- September 30 – October 2: Lost Tech City (San Antonio, Texas)
- October 7-9: The Big Hours 10 (Detroit)
- October 28-30: Let��s Make Moves (Miami)
- November 12-13: Saving Mr. Lombardi 3 (Irvine, California)
- November 18-20: Dreamhack Atlanta (Atlanta)
- ?December 15: Panda Cup Finale Last Chance Qualifier (Los Angeles)
- December 16-18: Panda Cup Finale (Los Angeles)
???Schedules for online qualifiers, and more details about those events and the community board, will be released closer to their various dates in July and November. On the official Panda Cup website, you can find a complete set of rules for both competitive circuits as well as additional information.
]]>ANTi was released on Friday after anonymous allegations against him surfaced on social media. This news comes at a time when many figures in the Smash esports scene are dealing with accusations of sexual misconduct and other wrongdoings dating back several years.
The allegations against ANTi accuse the 26-year-old of engaging in sexual relations with a minor back in 2016. The unnamed individual who shared her story accused ANTi and other prominent Smash figures, including Ryan “La Luna” Coker-Welch, D’Ron “D1” Maingrette and Richard “Keitaro” King Jr, of having sexual intercourse with her when she was only 15 years of age.
The accusations led T1 to terminate their contract with ANTi. The allegations have yet to be confirmed or denied at the time of writing, while the player himself has yet to address the claims.
ANTi joined T1 on April 17, 2019 as one of two inaugural members of the organisation’s fighting games roster alongside Larry “Larry Lurr” Holland. With the Korean giants, he finished 25th-32nd at Pound 2019 and Get On My Level 2019, made it to the grand finals of DreamHack Dallas 2019, finished 17th-24th at EVO Japan 2020, and ran third at DreamHack Anaheim 2020.
With all the allegations that have surfaced in recent weeks, the Smash esports scene has found itself in a dark place. Last week, Cinnamon “Cinnpie” Dunson and Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada were both accused of having relationships with minors, while EVO Online’s former CEO, Joey “Mr. Wizard” Cuellar, was recently accused of sexual harassment and acts of paedophilia.
EVO have since fired Mr Cuellar and replaced him with EVO’s co-founder, Tony “Ponnder” Cannon. The damage, however, has already been done, leading to the cancellation of EVO 2020.
��In light of the recent accusations of misconduct made against Evo organizer Joey Cuellar, Capcom will no longer be participating in Evo 2020,” read Capcom’s announcement.
“Out of respect to those who have been affected and to the current investigation, we felt this was the appropriate course of action. We apologize to the players and fans who were looking forward to these tournaments.”
This is a massive hit to the fighting game community since EVO has long been regarded as the unofficial world championship for the genre. EVO 2020 was scheduled to run from Saturday, July 4 until Sunday, August 2, featuring a marathon of online tournaments for 11 games.
]]>The North American organisation have been involved in Super Smash Bros esports since July 2017, when they signed MikeHaze and Ramin “Mr. R.” Delshad as the two inaugural members of their Smash roster.
While competing under beastcoast’s banner, MikeHaze achieved a handful of top-10 finishes as well as gold medals at Smash Valley VI and Super Smash Fight Club 3, silver at Fight For Socal V and bronze at No Fun Allowed 2. The American Smash pro has struggled in 2020, however, finishing 25th-32nd at GENESIS 7, ninth-12th at Saving Mr. Lombardi 2 and 17th-24th at DreamHack Anaheim 2020.
MikeHaze and beastcoast parted ways on February 7, 2020, leaving the team without a Melee pro up until the announcement of S2J’s arrival on Friday.
“Officially joined beastcoast, a great f***** team of LEGENDS,” said S2J.
“Excited for the future, 2020 smash going to be amazing, I hope to do the family proud.”
S2J first appeared in the Smash competitive scene in December 2010 when he attended Don’t Go Down There Jeff! There, he pocketed a top-eighth finish following a close 1-2 defeat against the eventual runner-up and fabled Fox player, Joey “Lucky” Aldama.
S2J continued competing in Smash tournaments in the months that followed and claimed some solid results along the way, including a silver medal at The Big House in 2011, as well as a third-place finish at SoCal Regionals 2014 and Super Smash Sundays 29. It was not until 2015, however, that S2J made his breakthrough.
Throughout 2015, S2J claimed silver medals at Super Nebulous 3, Super Smash Sundays 33, Mayhem October 2015, Smash the Record 2015 and Super Smash Sundays 36, to which he added a third-place finish at Mayhem September 2015 and two titles at Super Smash Sundays 32 and Mayhem July 2015.
His talent did not go unnoticed and in November 2015, S2J was picked up by Melee It On Me, where he played alongside big names such as James “Duck” Ma, former Cloud9 coach Daniel “Tafokints” Lee and prominent Smash tournament organiser Robin “Juggleguy” Harn.
S2J remained with Melee It On Me until moving to Tempo Storm in July 2016. He remained there for more than two years and claimed several accolades, including a seventh-eighth finish at EVO 2018, a silver medal at DreamHack Atlanta 2018, and first place at Don’t Park on the Grass 2018, The Roast of Hugo Gonzalez and Poi Poundaz.
After S2J left Tempo Storm in January 2019, he spent 10 months with Halocline Gaming and continued climbing the rankings. While under Halocline, he claimed top-eighth finishes at 21 different tournaments to cement himself as one of the best Melee players in the world. Now in second place on the SoCal Power Rankings, S2J is widely regarded as one of the best Captain Falcon mains in the world.
It may be a few months before we see S2J in action for beastcoast, as most of the global esports scene, including Smash, is at a standstill due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
]]>Unlike other fighting games such as Tekken, Dragon Ball FighterZ and Street Fighter, which all have their own tournament circuits, Super Smash Bros. has failed to gain any notable exposure in the esports scene. That, however, is set to change this March with the opening event of the Smash World Tour.
The new tournament series will feature over 25 events and a combined prize pool of US $250,000 – the largest in history of the Smash esports scene.
The Smash World Tour will not be associated with Nintendo, but will instead be run by community veterans, event organisers and sponsors. This is a direct response to Nintendo’s refusal to support the Smash esports scene, although SWT organisers have stated their goal is to offer the Japanese gaming giant a unified way to get involved.
The Smash World Tour will run from March to December, featuring events divided into three tiers – Platinum, Gold and Silver. Silver events will further be divided into four tiers based on the number of participants (32, 64, 96 and 128). Each tier will offer its own dedicated points distribution table to determine the players’ ranking on World Tour Leaderboard.
However, not all events will count towards the players’ ranking. Only the best three placements for Platinum and Gold as well as the best six placements from Silver events will be counted, meaning a player can attend four Gold/Platinum events and their lowest result will not count, thus improving the overall ranking.
Throughout the circuit, players will compete for Smash World Tour points and ranking on the leaderboard. Following the final tournament, the top 31 players will get a direct bye into the World Tour Championship, while the 32nd and final spot will be awarded to the champion of the Last Chance Qualifier, which will be held just before the finals.
At the World Tour Championship, the 32 participants will be divided into four groups of eight, where a best-of-five (Bo5) double-elimination format will be used to determine which 16 players (top four from each group) will advance into the playoffs bracket. There, the contestants will compete for the largest slice of the $250,000 prize pool, which will be evenly split between Melee and Ultimate. The prize pool, however, could increase, according to the organisers.
The preliminary list of events has already been released, with organisers accepting applications to host more. The Smash World Tour is also looking for applicants to host Silver-tier events, meaning anyone who meets the criteria can host their own Smash event.
The rules state that an event must feature a minimum of 32 participants, has to be played in-person and needs to take place between March 16 and November 2, 2020. Furthermore, Super Smash Bros. Melee has to be played on GameCube, while Ultimate has to be played on Switch.
The opening event of the Smash World Tour, CEO Dreamland, is set to take place between March 13-15 in Orlando, Florida, for both Melee and Ultimate.
]]>The announcement of MKLeo surfaced on T1’s official Twitter page on Thursday, February 27, with a post that featured a short introductory video and a reference to the player’s main character, Joker.
The post said: “It’s no Joke-r. T1 is officially welcoming MKLeo to our Smash roster! We��re proud to strengthen our North American presence and continue our winning legacy with this superstar on our side!”
The Mexican Smash pro began his career back in May 2016, when he finished in fixth-sixth place at Get On My Level in his debut appearance at a LAN event. By the end of the year he had won Smash Factor 5, Canada Cup 2016 and 2GGT: ZeRo Saga and run in the top three at eGames Rio de Janeiro 2016 and KTAR XIX. His impressive results caught the attention of Rick Fox, who signed the promising youngster to his esports organisation.
Since joining Echo Fox in January 2017, MKLeo has gained renown as one of the best Smash pros in the world. He is currently the top-ranked Smash Ultimate player, having won 15 tournaments, and has already achieved two big results in 2020.
At Frostbite 2020, which was played between February 21-23, MKLeo made it to the final stage, where he defeated EVO Japan 2020 bronze medallist Takuma “Tea” Hirooka, Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey and rounded up the tournament with a commanding win over his compatriot Enrique “Maister” Hern��ndez Sol��s in the grand finals to pocket his first Major of the year. Prior to that, in late January, MKLeo also won a silver medal at GENESIS 7, where he lost to Tyler “Marss” Martins in the finals.
MKLeo spent almost three years at Echo Fox until the organisation disbanded in November last year.
“As of today I cut paths with echo fox, it’s been a great journey,” said MKLeo.
“I met many good people and I also had some of the best years of my life. Thank you RickFox for the opportunity to be part of the fox family. I’ll never forget it.”
MKLeo’s arrival at T1 should not shock anyone. Given his immense success in the Smash scene and his affinity for South Korea and its culture, this signing makes a lot of sense for both parties involved.
MKLeo will become the third member of T1’s Super Smash squad, where he will join forces with Sejun “Sejun” Park and founding member Jason “ANTi” Bates.
T1 entered the Smash scene back in April 2019, when the organisation signed ANTi and Larry “Larry Lurr” Holland. Sejun joined in November and Larry Lurr left the team in January this year.
With MKLeo��s arrival, the South Korean outfit now field one of the strongest Smash rosters in the scene, further solidifying themselves as one of the leading esports organisations in the world.
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