COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on competitive Smash

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The COVID-19 pandemic was a 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 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 regions 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 Fighters Pass Vol. 2 continued without many issues. It notably caused Mr. Sakurai Presents "Min Min", "Steve & Alex", and "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.

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

Impacts on the competitive scene

The 2020 MPGR and Spring 2020 PGRU were frozen on March 12th, 2020. No further events, including CEO Dreamland 2020, would count towards player ranking.

The 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 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 Terry and ending with 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.

The Lake, widely considered to be the best Melee Zelda player in the world, died due to COVID-19 and pre-existing health conditions in October 2022.

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. Several tournament series held online alternatives, including Pound Online, Collision Online, and Get On My Line 2020.

YouTubers Alpharad and Cr1TiKaL started hosting The Quarantine Series, a 4-month long circuit that has a prize pool ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 per tournament and a planned $50,000 for the finale. In the first tournament of the circuit, 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 had over 8,000 entrants. Due to lots of players attending online tournaments, this led Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5 to make its rankings from 50 to 75 players.

Smash World Tour 2021 was then announced on February 20th, 2021, with online qualifiers, offline regional qualifiers, and an offline finale.

As online play rewards different tactics from offline play, the new online tournaments differ somewhat from in-person tournaments; the added input delay and lag have allowed characters such as Sonic, Cloud, and Roy to see 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 2, 2020. Possibly as a response to this outcry, in update 8.1.0 online play stability was slightly improved, by increasing the tick rate and slightly decreasing input delay.

After Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5 rankings, subscriber tournaments were now included, making monthlies like The Box: Lunch Box, M-Kolosseum (series), and Frame Perfect Series: ONLINE titles ongoing. Despite including subscriber tournaments, decreased player attendance in online tournaments made its ranking from 75 to 50 players.

As Super Smash Bros. Melee does not have native online play, players have to use netplay mods for emulators in order to compete online. The Dolphin emulator mod Project Slippi is one of such mods, and since June 2020 it features rollback netcode for Melee, allowing for stable online play across even long distances. However, the use of this mod has sparked controversy following the cancellation of The Big House Online, in response of a cease and desist from Nintendo. Regardless of these concerns, Project Slippi has continued to be very popular, and numerous online Melee tournaments have been hosted using it.

Reopening

In mid-2020, in regions with relatively few cases of COVID-19, such as Japan, Taiwan, Australia, the Middle East, and New Zealand, or that otherwise allowed large gatherings, such as France and Germany, offline play resumed, although with smaller entrant numbers and safety precautions enforced.

In early 2021, vaccines for COVID-19 began to roll out, and by May 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced fully vaccinated adults could stop wearing masks and social distancing. Despite continued safety concerns, some American locals reopened during this time with safety precautions. The first national tournament in the United States and worldwide for Ultimate since the beginning of the pandemic was InfinityCON Tally 2021, held in Florida on June 5th-6th, where 422 people attended, by a large margin the highest amount of any tournament since CEO Dreamland 2020, almost 14 months prior. It was followed by numerous other large scale tournaments like Kagaribi 4, Temple: Hermès Edition and Riptide. The Smash World Tour 2021 regional finals were also held during this period, though many faced delays and other significant issues; the South American and Oceanian offline finals were cancelled, while the Southeast Asia players were unable to attend the East Asia Regional Finals in Japan. To make up for this, the qualified players for the Championships were selected either via an online qualifier (Br1 AV for South America Ultimate) or by the tournament organizators (Chape and HP for South America Melee, Sora and Jdizzle for Oceania, and XIFL for Southeast Asia). The Smash World Tour 2021 Championships were eventually able to be held at the planned date without any significant issues, besides some of the previously qualified players being unable to attend.

By comparison, Melee's tournament scene has been more sparse and limited to small locals and invitationals until 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 Low Tide City 2021. Brawl and Smash 4 were both already largely dormant before the pandemic and were not featured at a major until 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 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. All remaining restrictions on public events were lifted, meaning all Smash tournaments can now operate as they did pre-pandemic.

List of offline tournaments during the pandemic

The following is a list of notable tournaments that were held offline during the pandemic, starting from the PGR freeze period on March 12th, 2020.

Tournament	Dates	Location	Attendance	Games
Don't Stomp On Me	March 14th, 2020	Corsicana, Texas	89
CEO Dreamland 2020	March 13th-15th, 2020	Orlando, Florida	970
Keystoned IV	March 14th-15th, 2020	Hatboro, Pennsylvania	50
RFTV DOJO - LA DESPEDIDA: Thanks For Playing	March 14th, 2020	Mexico City	138
Kurobra 20	March 21st, 2020	Fujisawa	64
Super Smash Stadium 1	July 25th, 2020	Villeneuve-d'Ascq	144
Bour'pif Arena 6	August 30th, 2020	Thonon-les-Bains	128
Sumabato SP 13	September 20th, 2020	Osaka	65
TWELVE I - 2020	September 26th, 2020	Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois	121
Smash Contest: DoKomi 2020	September 26th-27th, 2020	Düsseldorf	150
WANTED SAISON 4 - 3 Years Anniversary	October 10th, 2020	Créteil	179
Sumabato SP 14	October 11th, 2020	Osaka	96
Eastern Powerhouse Invitational FINAL	October 24th, 2020	Kanto	12
4o4 Monster Smash Halloween Tournament	October 31st, 2020	Atlanta, Georgia	47
Maesuma TOP 4	October 31st-November 1st, 2020	Osaka	128
Sumabato SP 15	November 15th, 2020	Osaka	160
Kanto 2020	November 22nd, 2020	Tokyo	41
Mēsuma	November 29th, 2020	Aichi Prefecture	128
Kagaribi	December 13th, 2020	Tokyo	133
Pissmas 2	December 20th, 2020	Peachester	131
TSC 13	December 26th, 2020	Miyagi Prefecture	136
Sumabato SP 16	December 26th, 2020	Osaka	128
TNT Nak 2021	January 24th, 2021	Lima	20
Sumabato SP 17	March 7th, 2021	Osaka	128
Kagaribi 3	March 26th-27th, 2021	Tokyo	132
LEVELUP Arena Premier Tournament	April 27th, 2021	Overland Park, Kansas	192
Speedy Summit 3	May 15th, 2021	Provo, Utah	26
Super Smash Stadium Édition Battlefield	May 29th, 2021	Lille	139
Super Smash Stadium Édition Peach Castle	May 30th, 2021	Lille	135
InfinityCON Tally 2021	June 5th-6th, 2021	Tallahassee, Florida	422
The Dungeon	June 5th-6th, 2021	Colorado Springs, Colorado	186
Momentous	June 12th, 2021	New York City, New York	16
Keystoned 4.5	June 19th-20th, 2021	Hatboro, Pennsylvania	42
Maji Georgia Invitational	June 19th-20th, 2021	Johns Creek, Georgia	16
WANTED SAISON 4 - Chapter 2	June 20th, 2021	Créteil	267
The New Norm #1	June 20th-21st, 2021	Los Angeles, California	69
Bourbon State Gaming: Stop Your Friendlies	June 26th, 2021	Lexington, Kentucky	200
MUERTE AL ONLINE	June 26th, 2021	Monterrey	12
Ronin Rumble Cup	June 26th, 2021	Alachua, Florida	183
Kagaribi 4	June 26th-27th, 2021	Tokyo	386
TWELVE II - 2021	June 26th-27th, 2021	Paris	187
GI Carnival	July 3rd, 2021	Tokyo	8
Maesuma TOP 5	July 3rd-4th, 2021	Osaka	128
Coupe DitootiD 2	July 3rd-4th, 2021	Narbonne	120
LEVELUP Arena 2	July 10th, 2021	Overland Park, Kansas	239
Battle Arena NightClub	July 11th, 2021	Melbourne	128
Smash Summit 11	July 15th-18th, 2021	Los Angels, California	16
Sumabato SP 18	July 23rd, 2021	Osaka	128
Sumabato SP 19	July 24th, 2021	Osaka	128
Push the Limit 12	July 24th, 2021	Waitham, Massachussets	129
No Man's Land	July 24th-25th, 2021	Wichita Falls, Texas	149
CROSSxUP	July 25th, 2021	Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania	194
The Comeback	July 31st, 2021	Laurel, Maryland	243
Battle of Z: Toronto Strikes Back	July 31st, 2021	Montreal	153
Cherry's Glasmine 001	July 31st, 2021	Pachuca	64
Warlock in The Multiverse of Hex	August 7th, 2021	Mexico City	16
Anime Houston 2021	August 6th-8th, 2021	Houston, Texas	113
Smash Contest: DoKomi 2021	August 7th-8th, 2021	Düsseldorf	318
Invasion	August 14th, 2021	Birmingham	193
Ultimate WANTED 3	August 12th-15th, 2021	Créteil	532
Hold That L #6	August 14th-15th, 2021	Chicago, Illinois	149
DATEV Ultimate Series - Prelude 5	August 21st, 2021	Nuremberg	126
Spiral Mountain	August 21st, 2021	Houston, Texas	137
SWT: Central America Ultimate Regional Finals	August 21st-22nd, 2021	unknown	16
Mega Smash Mondays 240	August 23rd, 2021	La Mirada, California	320
Back in Blood	August 28th, 2021	Portland, Oregon	223
TGM Brawl 1	August 28th, 2021	Mainz	128
Smash Ultimate Summit 3	August 26th-29th, 2021	Los Angeles, California	16
SWT: Central America Melee Regional Finals	August 28th-29th, 2021	unknown	16
Bour'pif Arena 7	August 28th-29th, 2021	Thonon-les-Bains	128
Kamp Kone	August 27th-30th, 2021	Derby	134
Temple: Hermès Edition	September 4th-5th, 2021	Villeneuve-d-Ascq	863
Le Big Hub	September 5th, 2021	Moncton	143
Undertow	September 11th, 2021	Sandusky, Ohio	195
Riptide	September 10th-12th, 2021	Sandusky, Ohio	1,776
CT Gamercon 4	September 18th-19th, 2021	Montville, Connecticut	370
SWT: Europe Ultimate Regional Finals	September 18th-19th, 2021	Vienna	16
LEVELUP Arena 3	September 18th-19th, 2021	Overland Park, Kansas	207
Homecoming: See Me Offline	September 18th-19th, 2021	Concord	161
BIG LAB: Awakening	September 25th, 2021	Croydon	138
Glitch 8.5 - Konami Code	September 24th-26th, 2021	Laurel, Maryland	421
Smash in Tuilière	October 2nd, 2021	Lausanne	128
Battle of Z: Art of Izaw Edition	October 2nd, 2021	Saint-Luc	137
Low Tide City 2021	October 1st-3rd, 2021	Round Rock, Texas	1,406
Vulcan	October 9th, 2021	Liège	138
Pinnacle 2021	October 8th-10th, 2021	Vancouver	321
SWT: NA West Ultimate Regional Finals	October 9th-10th, 2021	Laurel, Maryland	16
Edgeguard	October 9th-10th, 2021	Las Vegas, Nevada	133
Seibugeki 8	October 10th, 2021	Tokyo	192
Super Smash Con: Fall Fest	October 15th-17th, 2021	Herndon, Virginia	1,030
Kings of Fields 95	October 16th-17th, 2021	Paris	116
DAWN 1	October 17th, 2021	Tokyo	48
Maesuma TOP 6	October 23rd, 2021	Osaka	320
Ascension: Welcome Home	October 23rd, 2021	Phoenix, Arizona	238
DATEV Ultimate Series - Conquest	October 22nd-24th, 2021	Nuremberg	114
SWT: NA West Melee Regional Finals	October 23rd-24th, 2021	Laurel, Maryland	16
SWT: Europe Melee Regional Finals	October 23rd-24th, 2021	London	16
Ryusou Tiger Fight 2	October 24th, 2021	unknown	8
DAT BlastZone 31	October 30th, 2021	London	128
WANTED X ZEVENT	October 29th-31st, 2021	Cretèil	260
Kagaribi 5	October 30th-31st, 2021	Tokyo	512
First Attack 2021	October 30th-31st, 2021	San Juan	174
CyPhaCon Mini Esports	October 30th-31st, 2021	New Orleans, Louisiana	253
Port Priority 6	October 30th-31st, 2021	Tukwila, Washington	647
Don't Kick Chairs 2: Revenge of the Chairs	November 6th, 2021	Nepean	210
Just Roll With It! 13	November 6th-7th, 2021	Morrisville, North Carolina	323
SWT: NA East Ultimate Regional Finals	November 6th-7th, 2021	Laurel, Maryland	16
Seibugeki 9	November 7th, 2021	Tokyo	192
Mainstage 2021	November 12th-14th, 2021	Ontario, California	1,330
GatorLAN Fall 2021	November 20th, 2021	Gainesville, Florida	242
VCA 2021	November 20th-21st, 2021	Vienna	512
HFLAN Melee Edition 2020	November 20th-21st, 2021	Noisy-le-Grand	206
Sumabato SP 21	November 27th, 2021	Osaka	192
Back in Blood 2	November 27th, 2021	Portland, Oregon	218
DOSE2SEL INVASION 2021.11	November 27th, 2021	Lyon	166
SWT: East Asia Ultimate Regional Finals	November 27th-28th, 2021	Tokyo	16
KRBanger 01	December 4th, 2021	Gentilly	129
CreationMyth	December 4th, 2021	Fukuoka	192
Roll The Tape	December 4th, 2021	Québec City	145
Bourbon State Gaming: Double Barreled V	December 4th, 2021	Lexington, Kentucky	207
CEO 2021	December 3rd-5th, 2021	Orlando, Florida	777
Eastern Powerhouse Invitational 2 FINAL	December 11th, 2021	Kanto	12
Anime World Coliseum	December 12th, 2021	San Pedro Sula	142
Set Count: 2-0	December 18th, 2021	Leander, Texas	229
Smash World Tour 2021 Championships	December 17th-19th, 2021	Orlando, Florida	718
Smash Masterclass	December 18th-19th, 2021	Modena	161
WANTED PREDAT8RS - Offline	December 22nd-23rd, 2021	Créteil	194
Sumabato SP 22	December 25th-26th, 2021	Daito	199
HST SP Extend 2021	December 26th, 2021	Sapporo	192
Invasion: January 2022	January 8th, 2022	Birmingham	192
Let's Make Big Moves 2022	January 7th-9th, 2022	New York City, New York	687
Kagaribi 6	January 8th-9th, 2022	Tokyo	768

List of tournaments affected by the pandemic

Below is a list of tournaments that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic through cancellations, postponements, or major players dropping out.

March 2020

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Umebura SP 8	March 7th, 2020	Japan		>800	Cancelled	PGRU A-tier prior to cancellation
Emerald City 9	March 7th, 2020	Washington		470	Cancelled	PGRU C-tier prior to cancellation. Project+ was still run.	[1]
CEO Dreamland 2020	March 13th-15th, 2020	Florida		971	Affected	Several players dropped out; no longer Gold stop for SWT.
Poravaunu 9	March 14th-15th, 2020	Finland		~80	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[2]
Shack Smash Ultimate invitational	March 20th-21st, 2020	Texas		16	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date.	[3]
Rock N' Roll	March 21st, 2020	Spain		144	Postponed	Postponed initially to May 16th, but current status unknown; PGRU C-tier prior to postponement.	[4]
Confluence	March 21st, 2020	Illinois		115	Cancelled	Postponed to an later date, ultimately cancelled.	[5]
Home Sweet Home	March 21st, 2020	Alabama		187	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[6]
PRESS LESS 2020	March 21st, 2020	Canada		231	Postponed	Postponed indefinitely. PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus; SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[7]
Smashmania XIII	March 21st, 2020	Texas		???	Postponed	Postoponed to an unknown date; SWT Silver prior to postponement.	[8]
Smash 'n Warp 4	March 21st, 2020	France		???	Cancelled	SWT silver prior to cancellation	[9]
DAT BlastZone 31: Revival	March 21st, 2020	England		128	Postponed	Postponed to October 31st, 2021. PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus.	[10]
Sumabato SP 13	March 22nd, 2020	Japan		320	Postponed	Postponed thrice, first to April 4th, then to July 24th, finally held on September 20th; PGRU B-tier prior to postponement.	[11]
Final Round 2020	March 20th-22nd, 2020	Georgia		64	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation	[12]
CT Gamercon 4	March 21st-22nd, 2020	Connecticut		157	Postponed	Postponed to September 12th-13th, 2020, then later March 13th-14th, 2021, then to September 18th-19th, 2021; PGRU C-tier prior to postponement.	[13][14] [15]
WANTED Saison 3 - Chap 8: Invasion de l'Ouest II	March 21st-22nd, 2020	France		146	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[16]
NCS Major: Smashdown	March 21st-22nd, 2020	Colorado		80	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[17]
Smashdown 2020	March 21st-22nd, 2020	Colombia		149	Postponed	PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus; SWT Silver prior to postponement.	[18]
BIT MASTER MTY 10	March 27th-28th, 2020	Mexico		264	Postponed	Postponed to a later date; SWT Silver prior to cancellation, and PGRU B-tier prior to PGRU hiatus	[19]
CGN OPEN	March 28th, 2020	Germany		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		138	Cancelled		[21]
Michigan M@sters 2020	March 27th-29th, 2020	Michigan		???	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation	[22]
Full Bloom 6	March 28th-29th, 2020	Indiana		485	Cancelled	PGRU C-tier prior to cancellation.	[23]
HFLAN Melee Edition 2020	March 28th-29th, 2020	France		193	Postponed	Initially postponed to an unknown fall date. Later postponed to March or April 2021, then November 20th-21st, 2021. Originally first SWT Platinum event.	[24][25][26]
2GG: Final Saga	March 28th-29th, 2020	SoCal		732	Cancelled	Postponed a couple of times prior to its eventual cancellation. PGRU S-tier prior to PGRU hiatus.	[27][28][29]
Union	March 28th-29th, 2020	England		128	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date, later to 2022. PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus; SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[30][31]

April 2020

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Invasion	April 4th, 2020	England		192	Postponed	All Italians dropped out; renamed from "Invasion: Italy". Later postponed to November 14th. Later postponed again to June 26th, 2021. Later postponed again on August 14th, 2021.	[32][33][34]
Smash Clash Munich	April 4th, 2020	Germany		46	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[35]
HSTSP Extend	April 4th, 2020	Japan		192	Cancelled	PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus	[36]
Pound 2020	April 3rd-5th, 2020	MD/VA		911	Cancelled	PGRU B-tier and SWT Platinum prior to cancellation. Later replaced by Pound Online.	[37]
Golden Flame	April 4th-5th, 2020	France		64	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date.	[38]
Smash Odyssey: Ghent 2	April 11th, 2020	Belgium		34	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date	[39]
NorCal Regionals 2020	April 10th-12th	NorCal		37	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation	[40]
Tech Republic V	April 11th-12th, 2020	Spain		218	Cancelled	PGRU B-tier prior to cancellation.	[41]
Atlantis	April 18th, 2020	Netherlands		66	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date. SWT Silver prior to postponement.	[42]
Collision 2020	April 18th-19th, 2020	New Jersey		390	Cancelled	Initially postponed to August 22nd-23rd. PGRU A-tier prior to PGRU hiatus.	[43][44]
Boss Battle Remix	April 24th-25th, 2020	Indiana		31	Cancelled	Postponed to an unknown date, later cancelled.	[45][46]
Nick Yingling Experience	April 25th, 2020	Arizona		70	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[47]
Karisuma SP 9	April 25th, 2020	Japan		160+	Cancelled	PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus.	[48]
OVERDRIVE	April 25th-26th, 2020	France		106	Cancelled	Solary Circuit frozen as well.	[49]
Blacklisted 6	April 25th-26th, 2020	Massachusetts		N/A	Postponed	First postponed to October 17th-18th, 2020, then to April 24th-25th, 2021; then to November 6th-7th, 2021.	[50][51][52]
Polish Smash Phoenix 2	April 25th-26th, 2020	Poland		48	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date. SWT Silver prior to postponement.	[53]

May 2020

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Kings of Hali 5	May 1st-3rd, 2020	Canada		201	Cancelled	PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus; SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[54]
ICARUS VI	May 2nd-3rd, 2020	Italy		217	Postponed	Postponed to October 9th-10th, but current status unknown.	[55]
Umebura Japan Major 2020	May 4th-6th, 2020	Japan		?	Cancelled	SWT Platinum then removed from SWT prior cancellation.	[56]
Crown II	May 9th-10th, 2020	Utah		117	Cancelled	SWT Silver prior to cancellation.	[57]
Stunfest 2020	May 15th-17th, 2020	France		156	Cancelled	PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus	[58]
Get On My Level 2020	May 15th-17th, 2020	Canada		N/A	Cancelled	Initially postponed indefinitely; every GOML North American Open tournament states that Get On My Level 2020 will not happen. PGRU S-tier prior to PGRU hiatus; SWT Platinum prior to SWT hiatus.	[59]
MomoCon 2020	May 21st-24th, 2020	Georgia		?	Cancelled	SWT Gold prior to cancellation.	[60]
Smash Contest: DoKomi 2020	May 23rd-24th, 2020	Germany		166	Postponed	Postponed to September 12th-13th, then finally held on September 26th-27th. PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus.	[61]
Battle Arena Melbourne 12	May 29th-31st, 2020	Australia		~100	Postponed	Postponed a threetimes, eventually to May 13th-15th 2022; SWT Platinum prior to postponement.	[62][63][64][65]

June 2020

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Double Down	June 5th-7th, 2020	Nevada		???	Postponed	Postponed to March 25th-27th, 2022, then July 8th-10th, 2022. SWT Platinum prior to first postponement.	[66][67][68]
COST 2020	June 7th, 2020	Ohio		173	Cancelled		[69]
Smash Ultimate Summit 3	June 11th-14th, 2020	SoCal		16	Postponed	Initially postponed, later cancelled, then later reopened for August 26th-29th, 2021.	[70][71]
Battle of BC 4	June 19th-21st, 2020	Canada		158	Cancelled	SWT Gold prior to cancellation.	[72]
e-Caribana	June 21st, 2020	Switzerland		16	Cancelled	2020 iteration cancelled. PGRU B-tier prior to PGRU hiatus.
CEO 2020	June 26th-28th, 2020	Florida		???	Cancelled	Postponed to December 11th-13th, 2020 and later cancelled. SWT Gold prior to cancellation.	[73][74]

July 2020

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Low Tier City Expo 2020	July 10th-12th, 2020	Texas		330	Cancelled	2020 iteration cancelled. SWT Platinum prior to cancellation	[75]
COLOSSEL 2020	July 11th-12th, 2020	France		348	Cancelled	2020 iteration cancelled.	[76]
Fête 2020	July 23rd-26th, 2020	United Kingdom		N/A	Cancelled	SWT Gold prior to cancellation.	[77]
Smash Factor 9	July 24th-26th, 2020	Mexico		N/A	Postponed	Postponed indefinitely. SWT Platinum prior to postponement.	[78]
EVO 2020	July 31st-August 2nd, 2020	Nevada		N/A	Cancelled	Replaced with online event, but Smash Ultimate was cut from lineup. Online event was later cancelled due to sexual misconduct allegations.	[79][80]

August 2020

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Super Smash Con 2020	August 6th-9th, 2020	Virginia		N/A	Cancelled	SWT Platinum prior to cancellation.	[81]
FESTA	August 16th-22nd, 2020	Sweden		N/A	Postponed	Postponed to August 15th-21st, 2021, then later to July 17th-23rd, 2022.	[82][83]
Biggie III	August 21st-23rd, 2020	New Zealand		87+	Postponed	Postponed to February 5th-7th, 2021 due to confirmed community transmmission in New Zealand.	[84]
Shine 2020	August 28th-30th, 2020	Massachusetts		N/A	Cancelled		[85]

September 2020

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Standoff 2020	September 4th-6th, 2020	Texas		N/A	Cancelled		[86]
DreamHack Montreal 2020	September 11th-13th, 2020	Canada		N/A	Postponed	Postponed until 2021, will likely keep current name.	[87]
Riptide	September 11th-13th, 2020	Ohio		N/A	Postponed	Cancelled, then reopened for September 10th-12th, 2021	[88][89]
Smash Dream Cup	September 12th-13th, 2020	Mexico		48	Postponed	Postponed until March 13th-14th 2021, but current status unknown.	[90]
Glitch - Infinite	September 19th-20th, 2020	MD/VA		N/A	Postponed	Postponed to an unknown date, then January 14th-16th, 2022, then February 18th-20th, 2022. SWT Gold prior to postponement.	[91][92][93]

October 2020

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
The Big House 10	October 2020	Michigan	N/A	N/A	Postponed	Scheduled for October prior to cancellation. It was then replaced by The Big House Online. The Big House Online was then canceled by Nintendo of America, due to the usage of Project Slippi. This caused heavy backlash towards the cease and desist from Nintendo, with the trending use of #FreeMelee. The tournament was later announced to be held on October 7th-9th, 2022.	[94][95][96]
Ultimate Fighting Arena 2020	October 4th-6th, 2020	France		N/A	Cancelled		[97]
Phoenix Revengeance	October 10th-11th, 2020	Chile		40	Postponed	Postponed to October 9th-10th, 2021, SWT Silver prior to postponement	[98]
The Script Trilogy	October 10th-11th, 2020	Maryland		N/A	Postponed	Postponed indefintely, SWT Gold prior to postponement	[99]
DreamHack Rotterdam 2020	October 16th-18th, 2020	Netherlands		N/A	Postponed	Postponed to 2021	[100]
Overlords of Orlando: OCTOBERLORDS 2	October 16th-18th, 2020	Florida		N/A	Cancelled		[101]
Revival: A SmashUK Invitational	October 17th-18th, 2020	United Kingdom		16	Postponed	The tournament, which was to feature some of the United Kingdom's best players, was announced hours before the United Kingdom government restricted social gatherings to 6 people. The decision to postpone indefinitely was announced the next day.	[102]
Mainstage 2	October 23rd-25th, 2020	SoCal		N/A	Postponed	Cancelled, then Mainstage 2021 was later held on November 12th-14th, 2021.	[103]
First Attack 2020	Octoer 24th-25th, 2020	Puerto Rico		N/A	Cancelled	Replaced by Online event of the same name.	[104]
United LAN 2020	October 23rd-27th, 2020	Germany		52	Postponed	Postponed to Summer 2021.	[105]
Port Priority 6	October 31st-November 1st, 2020	Washington		N/A	Postponed	Postponed to October 2nd-3rd, 2021, later to October 30th-31st. SWT Gold prior to postponement	[106][107]

November 2020

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
DreamHack Atlanta 2020	November 13th-15th, 2020	Georgia		N/A	Cancelled	2020 iteration cancelled and moved to 2021	[108]
Apex 2020	November 20th-22nd, 2020	New Jersey		N/A	Postponed	Postponed to 2021. SWT Gold prior to postponement.	[109]

December 2020

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
2GG 5th Anniversary Saga	December 5th-6th, 2020	SoCal		N/A	Cancelled	Postponed to an unknown date, later cancelled.	[110]
Crossover Summit	December 10th-13th, 2020	SoCal		32	Cancelled		[111]

January 2021

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Sumabato SP 17	January 9th, 2021	Japan		N/A	Postponed	Initially cancelled due to a state of emergency from a surge of infections. Later held on March 7th.	[112]
Kagaribi 1.5	January 10th, 2021	Japan		N/A	Cancelled	Cancelled due to a state of emergency from a surge of infections.	[113]
Kagaribi 2	January 24th, 2021	Japan		N/A	Cancelled	Cancelled due to a state of emergency from a surge of infections.	[114]

February 2021

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Maesuma TOP 5	February 23rd, 2021	Japan		N/A	Postponed	Delayed repeatedly, finally set to take place on July 3rd-4th, 2021.	[115][116][117][118][119]

April 2021

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Sumabato SP 18	April 24th, 2021	Japan		N/A	Postponed	First postponed to May 29th, then postponed until further notice. The final date was announced to be July 23rd, 2021, with Sumabato SP 19 to be held the very next day.	[120][121][122]
Kagaribi 4	April 25th, 2021	Japan		N/A	Postponed	First postponed to May 22nd, then postponed to June 26th-27th.	[123][124]

May 2021

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
15th Kanto	May 2nd, 2021	Japan		N/A	Cancelled	Cancelled due to an emergency declaration in Tokyo. Now planned to be held in summer or autumn.	[125]
Temple: Hermès Edition	May 29th-30th, 2021	France		N/A	Postponed	Postponed to September 4th-5th, 2021.

June 2021

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
SWT: Oceania Melee & Ultimate Regional Finals	June 25th-27th, 2021	Australia		32	Cancelled	Postponed to August 27th-29th, 2021, then postponed to November 12th-14th prior to cancellation. Sora for Melee and Jdizzle for Ultimate were invited as finalists.	[126][127][128]

July 2021

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
SWT: East Asia Ultimate Regional Finals	July 3rd-4th, 2021	Japan		16	Postponed	Postponed to September 25th-26th, 2021, then to November 6th-7th, 2021, then to November 27th-28th, 2021. The eight players from Southeast Asia were unable to attend due to travel restrictions. Eight competitors from SWT: Japan Ultimate Online Qualifier took their place while XIFL was invited as the sixth qualifying spot, bringing the total number of qualifying spots for the finals to five.	[129][130][131][132]
SWT: East Asia Melee Regional Finals	July 10th-11th, 2021	Japan		16	Postponed	Postponed to October 2nd-3rd, 2021, then postponed to November 20th-21st, 2021, then anticipated to November 13th-14th, 2021.	[133][134][135]
SWT: Europe Ultimate Regional Finals	July 17th-18th, 2021	Europe		16	Postponed	Postponed to September 18th-19th, 2021.	[136]
Kagaribi 5	July 31st, 2021	Japan		N/A	Postponed	Postponed to August 29th, 2021, then postponed to October 31st, 2021.	[137][138]
SWT: South America Melee & Ultimate Regional Finals	July 30th-August 1st, 2021	South America		32	Cancelled	Cancelled due to severe COVID-19 transmission in South America. Ultimate finals were held online on August 1st. Melee finals cancelled, Chape and HP selected as the finalists by the Melee panel.	[139]

August 2021

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
SWT: Europe Melee Regional Finals	August 7th-8th, 2021	Europe		16	Postponed	Postponed to August 14th-15th, then to October 23-24th.	[140][141]

September 2021

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
SWT: Central America Melee Regional Finals	September 4th-5th, 2021	Central America		16	Anticipated	Anticipated to August 28th-29th, 2021 due to the rescheduling of other tournaments.	[142]
SWT: NA West Ultimate Regional Finals	September 25th-26th, 2021	United States		16	Postponed	Postponed to October 9th-10th, 2021.	[143]

January 2022

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
The Function 2	January 15th, 2022	New York		N/A	Postponed	Postponed to Spring 2022, then held on May 7th, 2022.	[144]
Reta Mítica 2022	January 15th, 2022	Mexico		64	Postponed	Postponed to April 2022.	[145]
GENESIS 8	January 28th-30th, 2022	NorCal		4,444	Postponed	Postponed to April 15th-17th, 2022. A charity event called GenAssist was made to help the GENESIS 8 crew with the six-figure cost of postponing GENESIS 8, which partnered with the online Melee tournament Ludwig Ahgren Championship Series 4.	[146]

February 2022

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
McSmashter 5	February 12-13th, 2022	Canada		N/A	Postponed	Indefinitely postponed. Project+ national tournament prior to postponement.	[147]
Seibugeki 10	February 13th, 2022	Japan		N/A	Postponed	Cancelled with its original dates, then held on May 3rd, 2022. A Seibugeki event for March 19th, 2022 was still under consideration between being held and postponement, and was later cancelled.	[148][149]

May 2022

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Smash Summit 13	May 12th-15th, 2022	SoCal		16	Affected	Broadcast postponed after a COVID-19 outbreak on Day 3, DarkGenex, Sora, and Blue dropped out which resuled in a final bracket of 13 players, Plup took Day 3 off, and several events were cancelled, like the VIP bracket stopping at top 8.	[150][151]

July 2022

Tournament	Original Dates	Region	Games	Tentative Attendance	Status	Notes	Source
Seibugeki Rising 1	July 23rd, 2022	Japan		N/A	Postponed	Postponed to September 25th, 2022. At Seibugeki 11, COCOA, a COVID-19 contact reporting app in Japan, notified some attendees of positive COVID-19 cases near them. Though the app might have been inaccurate and there were no reports of positive COVID-19 cases, there was still the chance there was an infection, making Seibugeki Rising 1 postponed.	[152][153]