Money match

A money match, sometimes referred to as a cash battle and abbreviated as MM, is a gambling event that occurs between two smashers who agree to play a match against each other whose winner will get a sum of real-world money in addition to an in-game victory. Often used as a method of gaining competitive sets outside of tournaments. Money matches may occur as side events at tournaments (such as in a Salty Suite) but can be played anywhere with two players and a game setup; money matches have also been performed via netplay, with electronic methods of payment being used to pay the wager. Non-monetary wagers have also been previously offered in month matches, such as tablets and food; a particularly well-known money match between players  and  at Apex 2015 had a monetary wager of $100 USD, along with the loser surrendering the "rights" to Fox's default costume. Oftentimes, pride and glory is the main concern rather than the monetary prize. In many cases, players' careers can be defined by their performance in money matches; vs. at remains one of the most famous sets in the history of Project M and Smash as a whole.

While not a requirement, money matches often feature a "theme" between the two players, with mirror matches being particularly common; EVO 2015, for instance, featured a $100 USD money match between and, two notable Melee  players.

Money matches typically have the same rules as tournament sets, such as stage and character counterpicks, and are usually best-of-three, best-of-five, or, in particularly high-stakes cases, first-to-five. Two-on-two money matches are not unheard of, but are considerably rarer than singles.

The largest amount for any money match ever done was $20,000 USD, between and NoahJ456 in a First to 5 in Ultimate at  on December 15th, 2023. Before 2023, the largest amount for a money match was $1,000 USD, shared by money matches between and  in Apex 2014's Salty Suite, Leffen and  during bracket at Apex 2015, and Leffen and  at DreamHack Winter 2015. Leffen and had also planned to have a $1,000 money match. and rival YouTuber Verlisify also planned to have a $1,000 money match in December 2018 and both spent several months practicing, but Verlisify backed out at the last minute.

Generally, money matches only occur in the North American, South American, and European tournament scenes (with exceptions, such as Norway). In Japan, money matches can be considered to be non-government-condoned gambling, and thus, have questionable legality.

Notable Money Matches

 * The $1000 Money Match: Tian Vs. Tafokints
 * SKTAR 3 - Professor Pro vs Rolex - $100 Money Match
 * Salty Suite - Leffen (Fox) Vs. Liquid Chillin (Fox) - $100 Money Match
 * Apex 2015 - C9 Mango (Falco) Vs. Leffen (Fox) - $1000 Money Match
 * - VGBC's Salty Suite - Bizzarro Flame (Ganondorf) Vs. Eikelmann (Ganon) SSBM
 * Salty Suite - MattDotZeb (Falco) Vs. Kage The Warrior (Ganondorf)
 * WTFox: C9Mango(Marth) vs. TSM_Leffen(Fox) $365 Bo5
 * TSM | Leffen Vs. SFAT - $1000 FT5
 * $6000 Money match Reckful vs Reynad
 * Pound 2019 - ESAM (Pikachu) vs. Samsora (Peach) - $500 Money Match
 * The Match - Ludwig vs NoahJ456 - $20,000 First to 5 SSBU