Super Smash Con announced on Tuesday that James “Osiris197” G. would be banned from attending Super Smash Con 2019. Unlike Zack “CaptainZack” Lauth, who can attend but not compete, Osiris197 will not even be allowed to enter the venue.
Osiris197’s ban is rooted in an incident during CEO, where he got into a drunken fistfight with Michael “RiotLettuce” Heilman. After the altercation, Osiris197 vowed not to drink at tournaments anymore to prevent such a debacle from happening again. However, he will not get the chance to prove he has changed his ways at Smash Con.
Initially, Osiris197 was allowed to attend Super Smash Con on a “VERY strict one-strike policy.” With this initial plan, Osiris197 would have been kicked out if tournament organizers believed he was doing anything questionable. Osiris197 agreed to these stipulations and made plans to come to Smash Con with this in mind.
However, Super Smash Con backtracked on its initial decision about Osiris197 following complaints on Twitter. The negative traction began with RiotLettuce in a tweet where he encouraged attendees to “be careful.”
Security Update and Announcement: pic.twitter.com/ggb62DVvpW
— Super Smash Con (@SuperSmashCon) August 6, 2019
Osiris197’s Smash Con ban
Osiris197 responded to his Smash Con ban in a TwitLonger post. He suggested that the tournament organizers’ decision disappointed him, especially since they had told him weeks earlier that he could attend. Osiris197 stated that “what happened at CEO does not reflect” who he is. He also claimed that such an incident had never happened before CEO 2019. However, players like Eric “ESAM” Lew and Antony “MuteAce” Hoo have described negative experiences with Osiris197 before, albeit not violent confrontations.
Osiris197 further mentions changes he has made to himself since CEO. He claims to have enrolled in therapy and described disciplinary measures put in place by his college. He also claimed he offered to pay for RiotLettuce’s controller, which he broke at CEO 2019. The TwitLonger finished with Osiris197 asking at what point people will believe that he has learned his lesson.
In the official statement about Osiris197, Smash Con also described other security measures at the event. All Super Smash Con 2019 attendees will have to go through a bag check and a metal detector. There will also be additional security personnel present on site. These preventative measures are new since last year, likely in response to the Madden tournament shooting in August 2018.
