With massive gaming events like E3 being canceled in the wake of the coronavirus, it's easy to overlook how the pandemic is affecting smaller gaming communities. One group that the virus has hit hit particularly hard is the tournament organizers of smaller events. Grassroots TOs put a lot of their own time and money into an event, and if that event is canceled, they often have no way of recouping their losses. That might be about to change thanks to a new relief fund planned by smash.gg.
smash.gg is an esports startup that specializes in tournament technology. It started out as a tool used to track Super Smash Bros. brackets, but has since expanded, now being used by almost every esport. Its technology can be found everywhere from massive events like Evo, to small dorm room tournaments.
The announcement of the "TO Relief Fund" came through smash.gg's official Twitter account. In a tweet, smash.gg said it was starting the fund to support tournament organizers who "made investments in events that they won't be able to run." Even tournaments without $50,000 dollar prize pools are incredibly expensive to run, and TOs often float the upfront costs, hoping to make the money back at the end. The coronavirus has upended this business model, shutting down tournaments, and putting a lot of TOs at risk of going out of business. This fund should ease the burden on those who stand to lose the most.
It's unclear at this time how the fund will work, but according to Twitter, there should be more information Monday. This fund is important because it will do more than just bailout struggling TOs. Anyone who's been to an esports tournament knows that TOs are the lifeblood of the events. They're the reason that local scenes can exist, because they're willing to put in the blood, sweat, and tears required to keep a scene afloat. By helping out struggling TO's, smash.gg is making sure that local scenes are not only able to survive the coronavirus, but are able to thrive once it has passed.
smash.gg isn't the only esports company that's been moved to charity. League of Legends team SK Telecom 1 is donating to organizations fighting the coronavirus. It's fantastic to see gamers coming together in a crisis to help one another out, and it's good to know that the worst events can bring out the best in people.