COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on competitive Smash: Difference between revisions

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{{ArticleIcons|series=y|competitive=y}}
{{ArticleIcons|series=y|competitive=y}}
{{Wikipedia|COVID-19 pandemic}}
{{Wikipedia|COVID-19 pandemic}}
The '''COVID-19 pandemic''' was a pandemic of {{s|wikipedia|coronavirus disease 2019}} (COVID-19), caused by {{s|wikipedia|severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2}} (SARS-CoV-2). The outbreak was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019, and recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, and as a public health emergency of international concern from January 30, 2020 until it was lifted on May 5, 2023. COVID-19 has been reported in more than 200 countries and territories, with major outbreaks having occurred in mainland China, Europe, Iran, Latin America (especially Brazil), and the United States. Public health responses have included national pandemic preparedness and response plans, travel restrictions, quarantines, curfews, event postponements and cancellations, and facility closures.  
The '''COVID-19 pandemic''' was a pandemic of {{s|wikipedia|coronavirus disease 2019}} (COVID-19), caused by {{s|wikipedia|severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2}} (SARS-CoV-2). The outbreak was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019, and recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, and as a public health emergency of international concern from January 30, 2020 until it was lifted on May 5, 2023. COVID-19 has been reported in more than 200 countries and territories, with major outbreaks having occurred in most of those countries; in its first year, the most affected countries were mainland China, Europe, Iran, Latin America (especially Brazil), and the United States. Public health responses have included national pandemic preparedness and response plans, travel restrictions, quarantines, curfews, event postponements and cancellations, and facility closures.


Despite the pandemic forcing [[Nintendo]] employees into working remotely, development of [[Downloadable content (SSBU)|Fighters Pass Vol. 2]] continued without many issues. It notably caused ''{{h2|Mr. Sakurai Presents|Mr. Sakurai Presents "Min Min"}}'', ''[[Mr. Sakurai Presents#Mr. Sakurai Presents "Steve & Alex"|"Steve & Alex"]]'', and ''[[Mr. Sakurai Presents#Mr. Sakurai Presents "Pyra/Mythra"|"Pyra/Mythra"]]'' to take place in [[Masahiro Sakurai]]'s house instead of his studio. Sakurai also revealed in a [[YouTube]] video that there were concerns over information leaking due to work being decentralized to the homes of developers. Playtesting also had to be done online, where problems arose due to connection issues.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDrNWAHaKfI=589s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate [Game Concepts]]</ref>
Despite the pandemic forcing [[Nintendo]] employees into working remotely, development of [[Downloadable content (SSBU)|Fighters Pass Vol. 2]] continued without many issues. It notably caused ''{{h2|Mr. Sakurai Presents|Mr. Sakurai Presents "Min Min"}}'', ''[[Mr. Sakurai Presents#Mr. Sakurai Presents "Steve & Alex"|"Steve & Alex"]]'', and ''[[Mr. Sakurai Presents#Mr. Sakurai Presents "Pyra/Mythra"|"Pyra/Mythra"]]'' to take place in [[Masahiro Sakurai]]'s house instead of his studio. Sakurai also revealed in a [[YouTube]] video that there were concerns over information leaking due to work being decentralized to the homes of developers. Playtesting also had to be done online, where problems arose due to connection issues.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDrNWAHaKfI=589s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate [Game Concepts]]</ref>
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The 2020 MPGR and [[Spring 2020 PGRU]] were frozen on March 12th, 2020. No further events, including {{Trn|CEO Dreamland 2020}}, would count towards player ranking.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pgstats/status/1237971902750171136|title=Effective immediately, the PGR and TTS will be frozen.}}</ref>  
The 2020 MPGR and [[Spring 2020 PGRU]] were frozen on March 12th, 2020. No further events, including {{Trn|CEO Dreamland 2020}}, would count towards player ranking.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pgstats/status/1237971902750171136|title=Effective immediately, the PGR and TTS will be frozen.}}</ref>  


The {{Trn|Smash World Tour 2020}} circuit announced that there would not be any Platinum- or Gold-tier events in March and April 2020; a later update further extended the date to June 1st, 2020. Silver events would continue as normal, however, it was recommended for sick people to stay home. Several events were canceled or postponed independently of Smash World Tour's rulings. Missed point opportunities were planned to be made up later. A [https://start.gg/league/smash-world-tour-2020/shop TO relief fund shop] was later opened on Smash.gg. With the pandemic shutting down offline tournaments for the rest of the year, the circuit was effectively cancelled. Two Silver events for ''Melee'' and three Silver events for ''Ultimate'' ended up being held.  
The {{Trn|Smash World Tour 2020}} circuit announced that there would not be any Platinum- or Gold-tier events in March and April 2020; a later update further extended the date to June 1st, 2020. Silver events would continue as normal; however, it was recommended for sick people to stay home. Several events were canceled or postponed independently of Smash World Tour's rulings. Missed point opportunities were planned to be made up later. A [https://start.gg/league/smash-world-tour-2020/shop TO relief fund shop] was later opened on Smash.gg. With the pandemic shutting down offline tournaments for the rest of the year, the circuit was effectively cancelled. Two Silver events for ''Melee'' and three Silver events for ''Ultimate'' ended up being held.  


In ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', the evolution of the metagame in offline contexts was largely unproven until offline tournaments had returned for some time by late 2021. This included characters that received major changes during updates, but especially all downloadable characters that were released shortly before or during the global pandemic, starting with {{SSBU|Terry}} and ending with {{SSBU|Kazuya}}. This also applied to the legality of the stages [[Small Battlefield]], [[Minecraft World]], and [[Northern Cave]], which were added to the game during that time.
In ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', the evolution of the metagame in offline contexts was largely unproven until offline tournaments had returned for some time by late 2021. This included characters that received major changes during updates, but especially all downloadable characters that were released shortly before or during the global pandemic, starting with {{SSBU|Terry}} and ending with {{SSBU|Kazuya}}. This also applied to the legality of the stages [[Small Battlefield]], [[Minecraft World]], and [[Northern Cave]], which were added to the game during that time.


{{Sm|The Lake}}, widely considered to be the best ''Melee'' {{SSBM|Zelda}} player in the world, passed away due to COVID-19 and pre-existing health conditions in October 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/yhs31q/the_lake_considered_by_most_to_be_the_best_melee/|title=The Lake, considered by most to be the best Melee Zelda main, passed away.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/riennezelda/status/1586857674247110656|title=Rienne's tweet}}</ref>
{{Sm|The Lake}}, widely considered to be the best ''Melee'' {{SSBM|Zelda}} player in the world, died due to COVID-19 and pre-existing health conditions in October 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/yhs31q/the_lake_considered_by_most_to_be_the_best_melee/|title=The Lake, considered by most to be the best Melee Zelda main, passed away.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/riennezelda/status/1586857674247110656|title=Rienne's tweet}}</ref>


===Online tournaments===
===Online tournaments===
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By comparison, ''Melee''{{'}}s tournament scene has been more sparse and limited to small locals and invitationals until {{Trn|Riptide}}. Even afterwards, the recovery of the ''Melee'' scene has been slightly slower, with major tournaments having a smaller scale and top players attending less often.
By comparison, ''Melee''{{'}}s tournament scene has been more sparse and limited to small locals and invitationals until {{Trn|Riptide}}. Even afterwards, the recovery of the ''Melee'' scene has been slightly slower, with major tournaments having a smaller scale and top players attending less often.


''Smash 64'' has been similarly slow to recover its scene, not being featured at a major event until {{Trn|Low Tide City 2021}}. ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4'' were both already largely dormant before the pandemic and were not featured at a major until {{Trn|Super Smash Con: Fall Fest}}, which traditionally hosts tournaments for every official ''Smash'' game.  
''Smash 64'' has been similarly slow to recover its scene, not being featured at a major event until {{Trn|Low Tide City 2021}}. ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4'' were both already largely dormant before the pandemic and were not featured at a major until {{Trn|Super Smash Con: Fall Fest}}, which traditionally hosts tournaments for every official ''Smash'' game; however, ''Brawl'' would later have its largest post-''Smash 4'' or -''Ultimate'' tournament at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2023}}.


On November 19th, 2021, the MPGR and PGRU was announced to return on January 1st, 2022 after a two-year hiatus.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pgstats/status/1461786518461288455|title=The PGR Returns January 2022}}</ref> Due to travel concerns, the rankings would be separated into three regions: North America, Europe, and Japan. Minimum activity requirements would be loosened to lessen the pressure on players to travel. PGstats stated depending on international travel restrictions, a global PGR may resume as soon as the end of 2022. On December 28th, 2021, PGstats announced the MPGR and PGRU would not be reopening on January 1st, 2022 due to the rise of COVID cases globally.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pgstats/status/1475920289548496898|title=Reopening postponed}}</ref> On February 2nd, 2022, PGstats announced they would be looking at starting the new MPGR and PGRU season on March 1st, 2022 with a four-month period spanning from March to June 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pgstats/status/1489010865042952198|title=An update on the return of the PGR}}</ref> They monitored the state of the pandemic and announced they would give final confirmation of the new start date on February 17th, 2022. Although the date came and passed without a confirmation, the season nevertheless resulted in [[MPGR Summer 2022]] and [[PGRU v3]], spanning March 1st-July 11th, 2022 and March 1st-June 13th, 2022 respectively. Between January to February 2022, a series of articles and videos titled [[PGRContenders]] were published, looking at some of the biggest PGR contenders from North America and Europe heading into the new season. Panelists of the tier list considered tournaments in 2021 for the list, and the tournaments in early 2020 remained permanently unranked.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/qxob72/the_pgr_is_returning_in_january_2022_for_melee/hlay7jj/|title=Stuart98 comment}}</ref>
On November 19th, 2021, the MPGR and PGRU was announced to return on January 1st, 2022 after a two-year hiatus.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pgstats/status/1461786518461288455|title=The PGR Returns January 2022}}</ref> Due to travel concerns, the rankings would be separated into three regions: North America, Europe, and Japan. Minimum activity requirements would be loosened to lessen the pressure on players to travel. PGstats stated that depending on international travel restrictions, a global PGR may resume as soon as the end of 2022. On December 28th, 2021, PGstats announced the MPGR and PGRU would not be reopening on January 1st, 2022 due to the rise of COVID cases globally.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pgstats/status/1475920289548496898|title=Reopening postponed}}</ref> On February 2nd, 2022, PGstats announced they would be looking at starting the new MPGR and PGRU season on March 1st, 2022 with a four-month period spanning from March to June 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pgstats/status/1489010865042952198|title=An update on the return of the PGR}}</ref> They monitored the state of the pandemic and announced they would give final confirmation of the new start date on February 17th, 2022. Although the date came and passed without a confirmation, the season nevertheless resulted in [[MPGR Summer 2022]] and [[PGRU v3]], spanning March 1st-July 11th, 2022 and March 1st-June 13th, 2022 respectively. Between January to February 2022, a series of articles and videos titled [[PGRContenders]] were published, looking at some of the biggest PGR contenders from North America and Europe heading into the new season. Panelists of the tier list considered tournaments in 2021 for the list, and the tournaments in early 2020 remained permanently unranked.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/qxob72/the_pgr_is_returning_in_january_2022_for_melee/hlay7jj/|title=Stuart98 comment}}</ref>


On May 11, 2023, the United States Department of Health and Human Services declared the COVID-19 pandemic officially over, with the rest of the world following suit by that September.<ref>[https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/end-of-phe.html Declaration of end of Pandemic by Center for Disease Control]</ref> All remaining restrictions on public events were lifted, meaning all ''Smash'' tournaments can now operate as they did pre-pandemic.
On May 11, 2023, the United States Department of Health and Human Services declared the COVID-19 pandemic officially over, with the rest of the world following suit by that September.<ref>[https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/end-of-phe.html Declaration of end of Pandemic by Center for Disease Control]</ref> All remaining restrictions on public events were lifted, meaning all ''Smash'' tournaments can now operate as they did pre-pandemic.
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