Nintendo bans Super Smash Bros. at EVO 2022

This story about upsets, boiled down, in 0.56 minutes.

What's the fuss?

Nintendo is pulling their flagship fighting game from a prestigious esports tournament after 15 years without a specific reason. One can only speculate.

The situation

Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series, a fighting game that celebrates the storied history of Nintendo characters, has an equally storied history in esports.

• The biggest annual Super Smash Bros. esports event happens at EVO, a prestigious tournament that hosts a variety of competitive fighting games with tens of thousands of dollars on the line for the victors.
• Super Smash Bros. has been present at EVO since 2007 (excluding 2012) - most years with Nintendo's blessing.
  

Seemingly out of nowhere, Nintendo has forced EVO to pull all Super Smash Bros. events from this year's tournament.

• EVO organizers have not stated a reason for the termination, leaving fans and players confused and upset.

Boiling it down

This announcement comes at a peculiar time, where two events could explain the unexpected exit.

• PlayStation acquired EVO back in March 2021, which may have caused Nintendo some trepidation by participating in a tournament owned by their competitor.
• Nintendo also announced their own dedicated Super Smash Bros. tournament circuit, so they may want to keep the spoils all for themselves.

Nintendo has a shaky history with the competitive Super Smash Bros. scene.

• The company has a history of distancing themselves from its professional tournaments and players alike, very rarely endorsing any.
• In fact, their dedicated Super Smash Bros. tournament circuit is their first one in the franchise's 23 year history.

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