Smash tournament organizer 2GGaming goes on indefinite hiatus
2GGaming, an organization known for hosting competitive Smash 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournaments, announced on Monday that their events will be put on an indefinite hiatus. As a result, all of its upcoming events have been cancelled.
Prior to this hiatus, the organization hosted Mega Smash Mondays, the premier local tournament series for Southern California. In fact, MSM 240 was even used as a qualifier for Beyond the Summit’s most recent Smash invitational, Smash Ultimate Summit 3. However, 2GGaming announced on Sept. 14, without explanation, that the MSM series would go on indefinite hiatus. Likewise, the most recent announcement did not provide a specific reason for the organization’s hiatus.
“Never in our wildest dreams did we expect to grow to what we are today starting off in a friend’s garage,” the statement read. “We are eternally grateful for the support and for always showing up to our events! We will be using our reclaimed time away from 2GG to reconnect with family, friends and continue in our careers.”
2GGaming also announced the cancellation of its upcoming major tournament, 2GG: Final Saga. The organization originally scheduled this tournament for March of 2020, then postponed it to December of 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the tournament is officially canceled, the organization provided information in its TwitLonger for registered players who would like to request a refund.
2GGaming’s legacy in Smash
2GGaming’s most notable contribution to competitive Smash was the 2GG Championship Series, which was Smash 4’s most prominent tournament circuit. The circuit notably included 2GGC: Civil War, which featured 47 of the top 50 players in the world at the time, making it arguably the most stacked Smash tournament of all time. In addition, the circuit finale, 2GG Championship, had one of the largest prize payouts in Smash history. Leonardo “MkLeo” Lopez Perez received $20,000 for placing first.
The organization never began a formal circuit for Smash Ultimate. However, though it did host a handful of majors, including 2GG: Prime Saga and 2GG: Kongo Saga. In addition, 2GGaming is responsible for the SwitchFest series, the Grand Tour events that happened outside of its home base in SoCal and even a few online tournaments. 2GG also organized a handful of Melee events, most notably including The Kid, the Goat and the Mang0.
Smash community responds to the news
Numerous members of the competitive Smash community replied to 2GGaming’s announcement on Twitter to show their gratitude for the organization. Top players like MkLeo and Yuta “Abadango” Kawamura thanked the organization for all it has done for the Smash scene. Meanwhile, tournament organizer Bassem “Bear” Dahdouh said the hiatus signalled the “end of an era.”
I'll never forget everything you've done for me and the smash community, absolute goats ❤️ love you all
— LG | MkLeo (@Mkleosb) October 4, 2021
Thank you for all you have done for us!!😭
— あばだんご🍡 | SNB (@Abadango) October 4, 2021
end of an era, thank you for the great events and friends along the way
— Bear (@BearUNLV) October 4, 2021
2GGaming did not provide a timeline for when or if it will return to hosting Smash tournaments. At the very least, it noted that the organization has postponed the MSM series through the end of 2021.
