
After Nintendo demanded that the Smash World Tour cancel its next championship tournament and 2023 World Tour, the event organizers have announced that they will no longer be operating.
According to The Verge, the championship tournament was set for December 9-11.
Smash World Tour stated that “In 2022 alone we connected over 6,400 live event worldwide, with more than 325,000 entrants, making it the largest esports tournament in history, for any title,” Smash World Tour said.
It added that the Championships would have also had the largest prize pool in Smash history, at more than $250,000.
This offer was made just after the Japanese gaming giant revealed the Panda Cup, its only licensed tournament circuit in Super Smash Bros. in collaboration avec esports company Panda.
“They made it clear that Pandaa’s partnership wasn’t exclusive and they stated it had not gone unnoticed, that we had infringed their IP regarding games modifications and had represented Nintendo’s values well,” read the open letter from SWT.
According to the statement, Panda CEO and cofounder Alan Bunney is accused of sabotage. He misinformed the organizers of the Smash World Tour 2022 tournament that the event was being cancelled.
Nintendo responded to the open letter from the SWT team by saying: “Unfortunately, after continual conversations with Smash World Tour and after giving the same deep consideration that we give to any potential partner,” Nintendo said.
“Nintendo didn’t request any changes or cancellations of the remaining events in 2022 including the 2022 Championship, due to the negative impact on players who were already planning for participation.”
According to the report, the Smash World Tour estimated that the shutdown would cost hundreds of thousand of dollars. However, it assured all attendees that they will be refunded in full.