COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on competitive Smash

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic. The list of authors can be seen in their page's history. As with SmashWiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The 2019–20 COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The outbreak was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019 and recognised as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11th, 2020. COVID-19 have been reported in more than 200 countries and territories, with major outbreaks in mainland China, Europe, Iran, South Korea, and the United States. On March 13th, the WHO stated that Europe had become the new epicentre of the pandemic. Public health responses have included national pandemic preparedness and response plans, travel restrictions, quarantines, curfews, event postponements and cancellations, and facility closures.

This pandemic has also affected the competitive Super Smash Bros. community through numerous tournament cancellations and postponements for public health safety.

Coronavirus disease 2019

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Common symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Muscle pain, sputum production and sore throat are less common. While the majority of cases result in mild symptoms, some progress to pneumonia and multi-organ failure. The primary mode of transmission is via respiratory droplets that people exhale, for example when coughing or sneezing. Droplets stay suspended in the air for only a short time but may stay viable and contagious on a metal, glass or plastic surface.

List of tournaments affected by the pandemic

This page documents information about a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

Below is a list of tournaments that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic through either cancellations, postponements, or major player drop outs.

March

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Umebura SP 8	March 7th, 2020	Japan	Ultimate	>800	Cancelled	PGRU A-tier prior to cancellation
Emerald City 9	March 7th, 2020	Washington	Melee, Ultimate, Project+	470	Cancelled	PGRU C-tier prior to cancellation. Project+ was still run.	[1]
CEO Dreamland 2020	March 13th-15th, 2020	Florida	64, Melee, Brawl, Smash 4, Ultimate	971	Affected	Several players dropped out; no longer Gold stop for SWT.
Poravaunu 9	March 14th-15th, 2020	Finland	Melee, Ultimate	~80	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[2]
Shack Smash Ultimate invitational	March 20th-21st, 2020	Texas	Ultimate	16	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date.	[3]
Rock N' Roll	March 21st, 2020	Spain	Ultimate	144	Postponed	Postponed to May 16th; PGRU C-tier prior to postponement.	[4]
Confluence	March 21st, 2020	Illinois	Melee, Ultimate, Project+	115	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date.	[5]
Home Sweet Home	March 21st, 2020	Alabama	Melee, Ultimate	187	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[6]
PRESS LESS 2020	March 21st, 2020	Canada	Melee, Ultimate	231	Postponed	Postponed indefinitely. PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus; SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[7]
Smashmania XIII	March 21st, 2020	Texas	Melee, Ultimate	???	Postponed	Postoponed to an unknown date; SWT Silver prior to postponement.	[8]
Smash 'n Warp 4	March 21st, 2020	France	Ultimate	???	Cancelled	SWT silver prior to cancellation	[9]
DAT BlastZone 31: Revival	March 21st, 2020	England	Ultimate	128	Postponed	Postponed indefinitely. PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus.	[10]
Sumabato SP 13	March 22nd, 2020	Japan	Ultimate	320	Postponed	Postponed twice, first to April 4th, then to an unknown date; PGRU B-tier prior to postponement.	[11]
Final Round 2020	March 20th-22nd, 2020	Georgia	Ultimate	64	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation	[12]
CT Gamercon 4	March 21st-22nd, 2020	Connecticut	Melee, Ultimate	157	Postponed	Postponed to September 12th-13th; PGRU C-tier prior to postponement.	[13]
WANTED Saison 3 - Chap 8: Invasion de l'Ouest II	March 21st-22nd, 2020	France	Ultimate	146	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[14]
NCS Major: Smashdown	March 21st-22nd, 2020	Colorado	Ultimate	80	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[15]
Smashdown 2020	March 21st-22nd, 2020	Colombia	Melee, Ultimate	149	Postponed	PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus; SWT Silver prior to postponement.	[16]
BIT MASTER MTY 10	March 27th-28th, 2020	Mexico	Ultimate	264	Postponed	Postponed to a later date; SWT Silver prior to cancellation, and PGRU B-tier prior to PGRU hiatus	[17]
Michigan M@sters 2020	March 27th-29th, 2020	Michigan	Ultimate	???	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation	[18]
Full Bloom 6	March 28th-29th, 2020	Indiana	Melee, Ultimate	485	Cancelled	PGRU C-tier prior to cancellation.	[19]
CGN OPEN	March 28th, 2020	Germany	Ultimate	105	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date. SWT Silver prior to initial cancellation. An online alternative was also created.	[20]
Seibugeki 5	March 28th, 2020	Japan	Ultimate	138	Cancelled		[21]
HFLAN Melee Edition 2020	March 28th-29th, 2020	France	Melee	193	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown fall date. Originally first SWT Platinum event.	[22]
2GG: Final Saga	March 28th-29th, 2020	SoCal	Ultimate	732	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date. PGRU S-tier prior to PGRU hiatus.	[23]
Union	March 28th-29th, 2020	England	Ultimate	128	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date. PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus; SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[24]

April

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Pound 2020	April 3rd-5th, 2020	MD/VA	Melee, Ultimate	911	Cancelled	PGRU B-tier and SWT Platinum prior to cancellation. Later replaced by Pound Online.	[25]
Invasion	April 4th, 2020	England	Ultimate	192	Postponed	All Italians dropped out; renamed from "Invasion: Italy". Later postponed to November 14th.	[26]
Smash Clash Munich	April 4th, 2020	Germany	Ultimate	46	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[27]
HSTSP Extend	April 4th, 2020	Japan	Ultimate	192	Cancelled	PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus	[28]
Golden Flame	April 4th-5th, 2020	France	Ultimate	64	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date.	[29]
NorCal Regionals 2020	April 10th-12th	NorCal	Ultimate	37	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation	[30]
Smash Odyssey: Ghent 2	April 11th, 2020	Belgium	Ultimate	34	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date, hopefully June or July.	[31]
Tech Republic V	April 11th-12th, 2020	Spain	Ultimate	218	Cancelled	PGRU B-tier prior to cancellation.	[32]
Atlantis	April 18th, 2020	Netherlands	Ultimate	66	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date. SWT Silver prior to postponement.	[33]
Collision 2020	April 18th-19th, 2020	New Jersey	Ultimate	390	Postponed	Postponed to August 22nd-23rd. PGRU A-tier prior to PGRU hiatus.	[34]
Boss Battle Remix	April 24th-25th, 2020	Indiana	64	31	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date.	[35]
Nick Yingling Experience	April 25th, 2020	Arizona	Melee	70	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[36]
Karisuma SP 9	April 25th, 2020	Japan	Ultimate	160+	Cancelled	PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus.	[37]
OVERDRIVE	April 25th-26th, 2020	France	Ultimate	106	Cancelled	Solary Circuit frozen as well.	[38]
Polish Smash Phoenix 2	April 25th-26th, 2020	Poland	Melee, Ultimate	48	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date. SWT Silver prior to postponement.	[39]

May

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Kings of Hali 5	May 1st-3rd, 2020	Canada	Melee, Ultimate, Project+	201	Cancelled	PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus; SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[40]
ICARUS VI	May 2nd-3rd, 2020	Italy	Ultimate	217	Postponed	Postponed to October 9th-10th.	[41]
Umebura Japan Major 2020	May 4th-6th, 2020	Japan	Ultimate	?	Cancelled	SWT Platinum then removed from SWT prior cancellation.	[42]
Crown II	May 9th-10th, 2020	Utah	Melee, Ultimate	117	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[43]
Stunfest 2020	May 15th-17th, 2020	France	Melee, Ultimate	156	Cancelled	PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus	[44]
Get On My Level 2020	May 15th-17th, 2020	Canada	Melee, Ultimate	?	Postponed	Postponed indefinitely. PGRU S-tier prior to PGRU hiatus; SWT Platinum prior to SWT hiatus.	[45]
MomoCon 2020	May 21st-24th, 2020	Georgia	Melee, Ultimate	?	Cancelled	SWT Gold prior to cancellation.	[46]
Smash Contest: DoKomi 2020	May 23rd-24th, 2020	Germany	Ultimate	166	Postponed	Postponed to September 12th-13th. PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus.	[47]
Battle Arena Melbourne 12	May 29th-31st, 2020	Australia	64, Melee, Ultimate, Project+	~100	Postponed	Postponed to 2nd Half 2020; SWT Platinum prior to postponement.	[48]

June

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Double Down	June 5th-7th, 2020	Nevada	Melee, Ultimate	???	Postponed	Postponed until further notice. SWT Platinum prior to postponement.	[49]
Smash Ultimate Summit 3	June 11th-14th, 2020	SoCal	Ultimate	16	Postponed	Postponed until further notice.	[50]
CEO 2020	June 26th-28th, 2020	Florida	Ultimate	???	Postponed	Postponed to December 11th-13th, 2020. SWT Gold prior to postponement	[51]

July

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
COLOSSEL 2020	July 11th-12th, 2020	France	Ultimate	348	Cancelled	2020 iteration cancelled.	[52]
EVO 2020	July 31st-August 2nd, 2020	Nevada	Ultimate	?	Cancelled	Replaced with online event, but Smash was cut from lineup	[53][54]

Tournament series

The following tournament series have also been put on hold for the time being:

• Smash @ Xanadu - Being held online
• The Grind - Being held online
• Mega Smash Mondays - Took a month and a half hiatus, now being held online
• Nimbus
• Xeno/XenoSaga
• Hax's Nightclub
• Gainesville Stock Exchange
• Monthlies and weeklies in Strasbourg.
• Fusion
• DNA
• Platinum Star Weekly/Monthly
• Bombs
• The Forge
• Raceway Fridays
• Final Smash Fullerton
• Cyber Smash Saturday
• SmashLAN'd
• Hollywood Action Tuesdays
• Angry Burly Bros Weeklies/Monthlies - Being held online
• Meteor Smash Mondays/Space Jam
• The Spire/Smashurai Monthly
• UpTilt/UpSmash - Being held online
• Weekly Wave/Revenge of the 6ix
• Hong Kong Smash Bros. Club Weeklies/Monthlies
• Orbitar

Effects on the metagame

The 2020 MPGR and Spring 2020 PGRU are currently frozen as of March 12th, 2020. No further events, including CEO Dreamland 2020, will count towards player ranking. Depending on the length of the freeze, this may lead to only one ranking at the end of the year.

Likewise, the Smash World Tour 2020 circuit announced that there will be no 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 canceled or postponed independent of Smash World Tour's rulings. Missed point opportunities were planned to be made up later. A TO relief fund shop was later opened on Smash.gg.

Online tournaments

While online tournaments had been a part of the scene for years, the cancellation of several high profile offline tournaments led many players to turn to online play for their tournament fixes. Many weeklies such as Xeno and Xanadu moved online, while tournaments such as the bunker down series and 2GG Crisis Core: Final Saga served as online fundraisers to help recoup losses. Tournaments that were cancelled held online alternatives, including Pound Online and the upcoming Collision Online and EVO 2020.

YouTubers Alpharad and Cr1tical started hosting The Quarantine Series, a 4-month long circuit of major and minor tournaments that has a prize pool ranging from $5,000 for minor tournaments to $10,000 for major tournaments, with a planned $50,000 for the finale. In the first minor tournament, over 5,000 entrants registered to play, making it the largest known online Smash tournament without factoring in disqualifications, defeating Soaked Series Invitational's record from a month earlier. This record was later defeated by Hungrybox's tournament The Box, which currently has over 8,000 entrants.

As online play rewards different tactics from offline play, the new online tournaments differ greatly from in-person tournaments; the added input delay and lag has allowed characters such as Sonic, Cloud, and Roy to see much more success. Some controversy came about when players from distant regions such as Tarik participated in these tournaments, specifically Pound Online, with many players believing tournaments should be region locked to reduce latency. As a result, all further tournaments in The Quarantine Series (and others such as The Box) were region locked to the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and the prize pools were extended from the top 8 to top 16 to reduce the added stress with playing online. With many more players relying on online play, frustration with the game's online service grew to a peak; the hashtag "#FixUltimateOnline" became the number one gaming trend on Twitter on April 23.