![]() ![]() SWT quickly responded, stating that the timeframe of Nintendo's actions did not make sense if they intended to let the Smash World Championships proceed. Allegations regarding Bunney's conduct were not addressed. They also reaffirmed their commitment to Panda as a partner, and stated how "Panda continues to advocate on behalf of the Super Smash Bros. In a second statement given to IGN on December 2, 2022, Nintendo claimed that "when we notified the SWT that we would not license their 2022 or 2023 activities, we also let them know verbally that we were not requiring they cancel the 2022 finals event". Per SWT, Nintendo's written notice reads as follows: ![]() Nintendo did not request any changes to or cancellation of remaining events in 2022, including the 2022 Championship event, considering the negative impact on the players who were already planning to participate." SWT disputed this, stating that Nintendo had confirmed both verbally and in writing that the 2022 Championships and any 2023 circuit were not to proceed. Nintendo responded to SWT's claims via Kotaku, stating: "Unfortunately after continuous conversations with Smash World Tour, and after giving the same deep consideration we apply to any potential partner, we were unable to come to an agreement with SWT for a full circuit in 2023. Tracy "nazhjin" Parkes, Director of Partnerships for Golden Guardians, further confirmed the claims of misconduct. David "LD" Gorman corroborated this claim, publicly stating that Alan had been "basically running a protection racket" and that "BTS will absolutely never participate in a circuit led by Alan". SWT claimed that Bunney threatened BTS' ability to operate in Smash, citing his connections to Nintendo. The Panda Cup's official status was also used in an attempt to seize broadcasting rights from Beyond The Summit for several tournaments partnered with the production company. This was allegedly done to secure exclusivity for the Panda Cup, a competing circuit hosted by Panda and officially licensed by Nintendo. According to SWT, Bunney tried to discourage major tournament organizers from joining the Smash World Tour, claiming that the circuit would be shut down. SWT accused Alan "SamuraiPanda" Bunney, CEO and co-founder of Panda, of attempting to sabotage the Smash World Tour. Due to existing contracts and obligations, SWT estimated the cost of this cancellation to be "hundreds of thousands of dollars". According to SWT, "Nintendo expects us to only operate with a commercial license, and that we would not be granted one for the upcoming Championships, or any activity in 2023". On November 23, another meeting was held between SWT and Nintendo, in which Nintendo officially denied their application. ![]() SWT submitted an application for this license, but still had not received formal approval from Nintendo by November. In further discussions, Nintendo suggested that a single event license for the Smash World Championships being held in December would suffice. Nintendo appeared supportive of these efforts, but formal approval had not been achieved by the time the circuit was launched in March. In their official statement, SWT claimed that numerous talks were held with Nintendo throughout 20 in hopes of getting an official license for the 2022 circuit. They also announced the cancellation of the planned (but then-unconfirmed) Smash World Tour 2023. On November 29, 2022, less than two weeks before the Smash World Championships on December 9-11, the organizers of the Smash World Tour announced the abrupt cancellation of both the Melee and Ultimate events, and therefore the immediate and premature end of the Smash World Tour. As such, Apex 2022, held on November 20, retroactively became the de facto conclusion of the circuit.Ĭancellation Announcement However on November 29, 2022, the Melee and Ultimate Championships were both cancelled, with the organizers claiming they had been instructed to do so by Nintendo the 2023 edition of the circuit was also cancelled. The circuit was meant to culminate with the Smash World Tour Championships in San Antonio, Texas, from December 9-11, 2022. Announced on March 9, 2022, the circuit featured over 6,400 offline tournaments held around the world from March 12 to November 20, with the organization estimating over 325,000 in-person entrants in total, making it the largest esports tour in the history of any game. It was the second and last edition of the circuit, following the 2021 circuit. The Smash World Tour 2022 was a Melee and Ultimate tournament circuit hosted by Beardog Events. If this is not true or the circuit has been re-established, please update this page. ![]()
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