Galint Gaming has announced its debut online tournament, the Galint Melee Open. The organization tweeted the announcement on November 29. This event is set to be the first major Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament of 2021.
Can't wait for 2021? Neither can we. Introducing the Galint Melee Open: a Super Smash Bros. Melee Major happening January 9th-10th 2021 via Slippi.
🌎Canada & USA
👥512 entrant cap
🔌Ethernet requiredRegister open at https://t.co/C68Px0YELm#FreeMelee #SaveSmash #gmo2021 pic.twitter.com/rgedQ68TEA
— Galint Gaming Inc. (@galintgaming) November 30, 2020
Galint Gaming is a Canadian organization based in Vancouver. Its tournament organizers previously worked on national tournaments in Canada like Battle of BC and Play With Heart. Galint Melee Open will allow up to 512 participants, and only competitors from the United States and Canada can enter.
On the Smash.gg page, Galint Gaming says its “goal is to focus on the experience of the average event participant.” As a result, the event will include events catered toward more casual players. This will include an all-day matchmaking ladder, allowing entrants to play several matches, even if they go 0-2 in the main bracket.
Within the bracket itself, Galint Melee Open will feature best-of-five sets beginning in top 128. Typically, even the biggest offline majors do not switch from best-of-three to best-of-five until top 64. In addition, the Smash.gg page advertises a content creator package and “Saturday night special entertainment.”
Nintendo and Galint Gaming’s debut tournament
Considering the recent cancellation of The Big House at Nintendo’s request, the fate of Galint Gaming’s event seems uncertain. While Slippi doesn’t require illegal copies of Melee like Nintendo claims, Nintendo still has the legal right to control who streams its games. As a result, the company can restrict streaming access for Super Smash Bros. games for any reason.
Notably, Smash Summit 10 Online managed to dodge a Nintendo cease and desist. This may be because the event removed all references to Slippi from its marketing. In fact, commentators joked throughout the event that matches were played using really long cables, rather than being played online. Conversely, Galint Gaming advertised its use of Slippi in the Galint Melee Open announcement tweet.
Many fans hoped Nintendo would quickly reverse its decision to stop The Big House, as it did with Evo 2013. However, after more than 10 days, Nintendo has not yet budged on the issue. Nevertheless, barring any interference from Nintendo, Galint Melee Open will take place from January 9 – 10.
