Smash Bros has had a bit of a rocky week with organizers shutting down and now even more players leaving teams. Some of the best Smash Bros players have left their teams recently. First, MKLeo, and more recently, Tweek has also left his org.
These changes show that even being on the highest end of earnings for Super Smash Bros doesn’t secure players a spot. Is this going to cause bigger problems for the overall Smash Bros scene?
Source: @MkLeo Twitter / IG: uncorderonegro
MKLeo leaves T1, Tweek Leaves TSM
Tweek is a Smash Bros player with one of the best recent records in the game. He took 2nd at the recent Scuffed World Tour, and won Let’s Make Big Moves 2023. His earnings are some of the highest in the last few years. Tweek has still been let go from TSM recently though. The player is back to being a free agent.
Thank you to TSM for allowing me to chase my dreams. It was a great run and I put in extra effort every day to try to make them proud to have worked with me. I am now a free agent. Once again, I have dreams and I will continue to work and sacrifice for them. Thank you.
— Gavin Dempsey (@TweekSsb) February 28, 2023
MKLeo is widely held up as the best Smash Ultimate player and one of the better fighting game players around at the moment. The player still parted ways with T1 just earlier in the week though. MKleo looks solid to get picked up by another org given his talents in the game. However, with so many players left as free agents and the current state of Smash competitive, the future looks uncertain.
Players leaving teams a bad sign for competitive Smash?
Tweek and MKLeo leaving teams raises some questions about Smash Bros, but it hasn’t come out of nowhere. The end of last year saw the competitive scene kind of implode with the breakdown of Panda Global and shut down of many long-standing circuits. Things have bounced back, but with organizers like Beyond the Summit shutting down, Smash Bros is still contracting.
Smash Bros might be experiencing a period of less institutional support. Fewer major organizers and orgs are involved. This isn’t a death sentence though. More than a lot of other games, Smash has always thrived as a community-driven game.
Without support from a publisher, Smash Bros has managed to build up a healthy esports scene in the past. If newer orgs and organizers don’t step in to fill the void, a fan-driven scene will surely build back up again over the coming years.