Super Smash Bros. series

COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on competitive Smash

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The COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing pandemic of a disease called coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 for short, caused by a virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (abbreviated to 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. COVID-19 has been reported in more than 200 countries and territories, with major outbreaks occurring in mainland China, Europe, Iran, Latin America (especially Brazil), and the United States. On March 13th, the WHO stated that Europe had become the new epicenter of the pandemic. Public health responses have included national pandemic preparedness and response plans, travel restrictions, quarantines, curfews, event postponements and cancelations, and facility closures.

Despite the pandemic forcing the employees of Nintendo into working from home, development of Fighters Pass Vol. 2 was still able to continue without many issues. However, this caused Masahiro Sakurai to have to present the fighters from his house instead of his studio (with the exception of Sephiroth).

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

Coronavirus disease 2019

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Common symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, and loss of smell and taste. While the majority of cases result in mild symptoms, some progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) possibly precipitated by cytokine storm, multi-organ failure, septic shock, and blood clots. The time from exposure to onset of symptoms is typically around five days, but may range from two to fourteen days.

The virus is primarily spread between people during close contact, most often via small droplets produced by coughing, sneezing, and talking. The droplets usually fall to the ground or onto surfaces rather than travelling through air over long distances. However, the transmission may also occur through smaller droplets that are able to stay suspended in the air for longer periods of time in enclosed spaces, as typical for airborne diseases. Less commonly, people may become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their face. It is most contagious during the first three days after the onset of symptoms, although spread is possible before symptoms appear, and from people who do not show symptoms.

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.

Likewise, 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 1, 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. Afterwards, Smash World Tour 2021 was announced on February 20th, 2021, with online qualifiers, offline regional qualifiers, and an offline finale.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the evolution of the metagame in offline contexts has been largely unproven. This includes characters that received major changes during updates, but especially downloadable characters that were released shortly before or during the global pandemic, such as Terry, Byleth, Min Min, Steve, Sephiroth, Pyra, and Mythra. This also applies to the legality of the stages Small Battlefield, Minecraft World, and Northern Cave, which were added to the game during this time.

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.

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 have 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 2, 2020

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. Patch 8.1.0 made online slightly better, making it better for improvements in online. Despite including subscriber tournaments, decreased players attending online tournaments made its ranking from 75 to 50 players.

Reopening

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

List of tournaments affected by the pandemic

Current.png 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 COVID-19 pandemic through cancelations, 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 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 initially to May 16th, but current status unknown; PGRU C-tier prior to postponement. [4]
Confluence March 21st, 2020 Illinois Melee, Ultimate, Project+ 115 Cancelled Postponed to an later date, ultimately cancelled. [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 July 24th; 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, 2020, then later March 13th-14th, 2021; PGRU C-tier prior to postponement. [13][14]
WANTED Saison 3 - Chap 8: Invasion de l'Ouest II March 21st-22nd, 2020 France Ultimate 146 Cancelled SWT Silver prior to cancellation. [15]
NCS Major: Smashdown March 21st-22nd, 2020 Colorado Ultimate 80 Cancelled SWT Silver prior to cancellation. [16]
Smashdown 2020 March 21st-22nd, 2020 Colombia Melee, Ultimate 149 Postponed PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus; SWT Silver prior to postponement. [17]
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 [18]
Michigan M@sters 2020 March 27th-29th, 2020 Michigan Ultimate ??? Cancelled SWT Silver prior to cancellation [19]
Full Bloom 6 March 28th-29th, 2020 Indiana Melee, Ultimate 485 Cancelled PGRU C-tier prior to cancellation. [20]
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. [21]
Seibugeki 5 March 28th, 2020 Japan Ultimate 138 Cancelled [22]
HFLAN Melee Edition 2020 March 28th-29th, 2020 France Melee 193 Postponed Initially postponed to an unknown fall date. Later postponed to March or April 2021. Originally first SWT Platinum event. [23],[24]
2GG: Final Saga March 28th-29th, 2020 SoCal Ultimate 732 Postponed Postponed to an unknown date. PGRU S-tier prior to PGRU hiatus. [25]
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. [26]

April 2020

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. [27]
Invasion April 4th, 2020 England Ultimate 192 Postponed All Italians dropped out; renamed from "Invasion: Italy". Later postponed to November 14th. Later postponed again to June 26th, 2021. [28] , [29]
Smash Clash Munich April 4th, 2020 Germany Ultimate 46 Cancelled SWT Silver prior to cancellation. [30]
HSTSP Extend April 4th, 2020 Japan Ultimate 192 Cancelled PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus [31]
Golden Flame April 4th-5th, 2020 France Ultimate 64 Postponed Postponed to an unknown date. [32]
NorCal Regionals 2020 April 10th-12th NorCal Ultimate 37 Cancelled SWT Silver prior to cancellation [33]
Smash Odyssey: Ghent 2 April 11th, 2020 Belgium Ultimate 34 Postponed Postponed to an unknown date, hopefully June or July. [34]
Tech Republic V April 11th-12th, 2020 Spain Ultimate 218 Cancelled PGRU B-tier prior to cancellation. [35]
Atlantis April 18th, 2020 Netherlands Ultimate 66 Postponed Postponed to an unknown date. SWT Silver prior to postponement. [36]
Collision 2020 April 18th-19th, 2020 New Jersey Ultimate 390 Cancelled Initially postponed to August 22nd-23rd. PGRU A-tier prior to PGRU hiatus. [37][38]
Boss Battle Remix April 24th-25th, 2020 Indiana 64 31 Postponed Postponed to an unknown date. [39]
Nick Yingling Experience April 25th, 2020 Arizona Melee 70 Cancelled SWT Silver prior to cancellation. [40]
Karisuma SP 9 April 25th, 2020 Japan Ultimate 160+ Cancelled PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus. [41]
OVERDRIVE April 25th-26th, 2020 France Ultimate 106 Cancelled Solary Circuit frozen as well. [42]
Polish Smash Phoenix 2 April 25th-26th, 2020 Poland Melee, Ultimate 48 Postponed Postponed to an unknown date. SWT Silver prior to postponement. [43]

May 2020

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. [44]
ICARUS VI May 2nd-3rd, 2020 Italy Ultimate 217 Postponed Postponed to October 9th-10th. [45]
Umebura Japan Major 2020 May 4th-6th, 2020 Japan Ultimate ? Cancelled SWT Platinum then removed from SWT prior cancellation. [46]
Crown II May 9th-10th, 2020 Utah Melee, Ultimate 117 Cancelled SWT Silver prior to cancellation. [47]
Stunfest 2020 May 15th-17th, 2020 France Melee, Ultimate 156 Cancelled PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus [48]
Get On My Level 2020 May 15th-17th, 2020 Canada Melee, Ultimate 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. [49]
MomoCon 2020 May 21st-24th, 2020 Georgia Melee, Ultimate ? Cancelled SWT Gold prior to cancellation. [50]
Smash Contest: DoKomi 2020 May 23rd-24th, 2020 Germany Ultimate 166 Postponed Postponed to September 12th-13th, then again to September 26th-27th. PGRU C-tier prior to PGRU hiatus. [51]
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. [52]

June 2020

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. [53]
COST 2020 June 7th Ohio Melee, Ultimate 173 Cancelled [54]
Smash Ultimate Summit 3 June 11th-14th, 2020 SoCal Ultimate 16 Cancelled Initially postponed. [55]
Battle of BC 4 June 19th-21st, 2020 Canada Melee, Ultimate 158 Cancelled SWT Gold prior to cancellation. [56]
e-Caribana June 21st, 2020 Switzerland Ultimate 16 Cancelled 2020 iteration cancelled. PGRU B-tier prior to PGRU hiatus.
CEO 2020 June 26th-28th, 2020 Florida Ultimate ??? Cancelled Postponed to December 11th-13th, 2020 and later cancelled. SWT Gold prior to cancellation. [57][58]

July 2020

Tournament Original Dates Region Games Tentative Attendance Status Notes Source
Low Tier City Expo 2020 July 10th-12th, 2020 Texas 64, Melee, Ultimate, Project+ 330 Cancelled 2020 iteration cancelled. SWT Platinum prior to cancellation [59]
COLOSSEL 2020 July 11th-12th, 2020 France Ultimate 348 Cancelled 2020 iteration cancelled. [60]
Fête 2020 July 23rd-26th, 2020 United Kingdom Melee N/A Cancelled SWT Gold prior to cancellation. [61]
EVO 2020 July 31st-August 2nd, 2020 Nevada Ultimate N/A Cancelled Replaced with online event, but Smash Ultimate was cut from lineup. Online event was later cancelled due to sexual allegations. [62][63]

August 2020

Tournament Original Dates Region Games Tentative Attendance Status Notes Source
Super Smash Con 2020 August 6th-9th, 2020 Virginia 64, Melee, Brawl, Smash 4, Ultimate, Project+ N/A Cancelled SWT Platinum prior to cancellation. [64]
FESTA August 16th-22nd, 2020 Sweden Melee N/A Postponed Postponed to 2021. [65]
Biggie III August 21st-23rd, 2020 New Zealand Melee, Ultimate 87+ Postponed Postponed to February 2021 due to confirmed community transmmission in New Zealand. [66]
Shine 2020 August 28th-30th, 2020 Massachusetts Melee, Ultimate N/A Cancelled [67]

September 2020

Tournament Original Dates Region Games Tentative Attendance Status Notes Source
Standoff 2020 September 4th-6th, 2020 Texas Ultimate, Project+ N/A Cancelled [68]
DreamHack Montreal 2020 September 11th-13th, 2020 Canada Melee, Ultimate N/A Postponed Postponed until 2021, will likely keep current name. [69]
Riptide September 11th-13th, 2020 Ohio Melee, Ultimate, Project+ N/A Cancelled [70]
Smash Dream Cup September 12th-13th, 2020 Mexico Ultimate 48 Postponed Postponed until March 13th-14th 2021. [71]
Glitch: Infinite September 19th-20th, 2020 MD/VA Ultimate N/A Postponed Postponed to an unknown date. SWT Gold prior to postponement [72]

October 2020

Tournament Original Dates Region Games Tentative Attendance Status Notes Source
The Big House 10 October 2020 Michigan N/A N/A Cancelled 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. [73], [74]
Ultimate Fighting Arena 2020 October 4th-6th, 2020 France Ultimate N/A Cancelled [75]
Phoenix Revengeance October 10th-11th, 2020 Chile Ultimate 40 Postponed Postponed to October 9th-10th, 2021, SWT Silver prior to postponement [76]
The Script Trilogy October 10th-11th, 2020 Maryland Melee N/A Postponed Postponed indefintely, SWT Gold prior to postponement [77]
DreamHack Rotterdam 2020 October 16th-18th, 2020 Netherlands Melee, Ultimate N/A Postponed Postponed to 2021 [78]
Overlords of Orlando: OCTOBERLORDS 2 October 16th-18th, 2020 Florida Melee, Ultimate N/A Cancelled [79]
Blacklisted 6 October 17th-18th, 2020 Massachusetts Project+ N/A Postponed Postponed to April 24th-25th, 2021. [80]
Revival: A SmashUK Invitational October 17th-18th, 2020 United Kingdom Ultimate 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. [81]
Mainstage 2 October 23rd-25th, 2020 SoCal Melee, Ultimate N/A Cancelled [82]
United LAN 2020 October 23rd-27th, 2020 Germany Ultimate 52 Postponed Postponed to Summer 2021. [83]
First Attack 2020 Octoer 24th-25th, 2020 Puerto Rico Ultimate N/A Cancelled Replaced by Online event of the same name. [84]
Port Priority 6 October 31st-November 1st, 2020 Washington Ultimate N/A Postponed Postponed to October 2nd-3rd, 2021, SWT Gold prior to postponement [85]

November 2020

Tournament Original Dates Region Games Tentative Attendance Status Notes Source
DreamHack Atlanta 2020 November 13th-15th, 2020 Georgia Melee, Ultimate N/A Cancelled 2020 iteration cancelled and moved to 2021

[86]

Apex 2020 November 20th-22nd, 2020 New Jersey Melee, Ultimate N/A Postponed Postponed to 2021. SWT Gold prior to postponement. [87]

December 2020

Tournament Original Dates Region Games Tentative Attendance Status Notes Source
2GG 5th Anniversary Saga December 5th-6th, 2020 SoCal Ultimate N/A Postponed Postponed to an unknown date. [88]
Crossover Summit December 10th-13th, 2020 SoCal Melee, Ultimate 32 Cancelled [89]

January 2021

Tournament Original Dates Region Games Tentative Attendance Status Notes Source
Sumabato SP 17 January 9th, 2021 Japan Ultimate N/A Postponed Initially cancelled due to a state of emergency from a surge of infections. Later held on March 7th. [90]
Kagaribi 1.5 January 10th, 2021 Japan Ultimate N/A Cancelled Cancelled due to a state of emergency from a surge of infections. [91]
Kagaribi 2 January 24th, 2021 Japan Ultimate N/A Cancelled Cancelled due to a state of emergency from a surge of infections. [92]

April 2021

Tournament Original Dates Region Games Tentative Attendance Status Notes Source
Sumabato SP 18 April 24th, 2021 Japan Ultimate N/A Postponed Postponed to May 29th. [93]
Kagaribi 4 April 25th, 2021 Japan Ultimate N/A Postponed Postponed to May 22nd. [94]