Smash World Tour organizers blame Nintendo for championship shutdown

The best of the best will be available on Dec. 9 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Super Smash Bros. Melee players planned to convene in Texas after a year’s worth of the competition circuit leading into the Smash World Tour Championships. But on Tuesday night, just over a week from the event’s kickoff, Smash World Tour organizers made a sudden announcement: The event is canceled, alongside the entire 2023 Smash World Tour.

Smash World Tour organizers published an official statement on Medium, blaming Nintendo for the event’s shutdown. “Without any warning, we received notice the night before Thanksgiving from Nintendo that we could no longer operate,” organizers said in a statement. “This was especially shocking given our discourse with Nintendo the past twelve months. Since then, we have been working around the clock to take the proper steps logistically, as well as to prepare this statement with proper legal guidance.”

Organizers said the Smash World Tour will lose “hundreds of thousands of dollars” due to the event’s sudden halt.

The group described a drawn-out licensing application with Nintendo — essentially applying for official permission to hold the event. Nintendo targeted Smash Bros. tournaments previously, mostly events that used a modified copy of Smash Bros. Super Smash Bros. Melee that allows online play — necessary for an online event. Despite the sheer size of the competitive Smash Bros. scene, Nintendo hasn’t supported efforts in the past, and has downright restricted tournaments that use the modded version of the game. The first official tournament circuit was officially licensed by Nintendo in 2021. This surprise surprised many.

Smash World Tour organizers claimed that Nintendo approached them to license the circuit and receive official permission for events. The process, however, left some things uncertain, leading into Tuesday’s abrupt cancellation announcement.

A Nintendo spokesperson disputed Smash World Tour’s characterization of the events in a statement to Polygon. Nintendo specifically stated it had not asked Smash World Tour organizers for the cancellation of any other events.

After many conversations with Smash World tour and giving SWT the same consideration that we give to all potential partners, we could not reach an agreement for a complete circuit in 2023. Nintendo refused to request changes or cancellations of any remaining 2022 events, which included the 2022 Championship, due to its negative effect on those who had already planned to compete.

In response, organizers published a notice they received from Nintendo in which the company stated that “an approved license” is expected to be secured to run a tournament like the Smash World Tour. Although the statement doesn’t explicitly request that the event be cancelled, it does mention its intention. Nintendo also said Smash World Tour has not met “expectations around health & safety guidelines and has not adhered to our internal partner guidelines.” The full statement from Nintendo, via Smash World Tour, is below:

It is Nintendo’s expectation that an approved license be secured in order to operate any commercial activity featuring Nintendo IP. The license will be secured well ahead of public announcements. After further review, we’ve found that the Smash World Tour has not met these expectations around health & safety guidelines and has not adhered to our internal partner guidelines. Nintendo is unable to issue a license for either the Smash World Tour Championship 2022, or any Smash World Tour activity 2023.

In the last year, Super Smash Bros. Melee Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players have been qualifying for the main event, which offered a $250,000 prize — what organizers said would have been “the largest prize pool in Smash history.” There were more than 35 official stops on the Smash World Tour leading into the championships; players were required to attend these events to compete and earn points necessary for championship qualification. In the hope of qualifying, players around the world spent a lot on these events.

Numerous players have used Twitter to share their thoughts. about the investments they’ve made into the Smash World Tour. “I fucking took SWT seriously and traveled to 10 countries/3 continents just for this?,” Super Smash Bros. Ultimate pro player Santiago “Chag” Pérez Checchi tweeted. Enrique “Maister” Hernández Solís, a Super Smash Bros. UltimatePlayer on the pro-team Luminosity said he’s missed other events to prepare for the Smash World Tour.

A second Smash Bros. tournament organizer will be held on Tuesday. VGBootCampAccording to Google Docs, the company cancelled two of its planned in-person events. “At the moment, our future is uncertain in regards to running major tournaments — but as of right now, based on our recent communications with Nintendo, we would be putting ourselves at further risk if we continued forward with our current plans.”

Panda Global’s licensed Smash Bros. event, the Panda Cup Finale, is scheduled to begin Dec. 16 in Los Angeles. It’s offering a prize pool of $100,000. Although there is a prize pool of $100,000, many people and players are participating. have expressed contempt for the tournament and its organizers after Smash World Tour’s statement alleged Panda Global tried to hinder the competing circuit. Polygon reached out to Panda Global in an effort to get their comment.