With the coronavirus quickly assuring most major game tournaments will see a significant delay, many esports fans have been desperately looking for some form of online gaming competition to be broadcast in the coming weeks. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the likes of the League of Legends Championship Series, Apex Legends Global Series, Fifa 20 Global Series, and Pokemon Championship Series have all been canceled, with events like the Overwatch League also delaying its broadcast as well.
It seems fans of the year's biggest gaming tournaments are in luck, however, with Nintendo recently announcing a new series of Super Smash Bros Ultimate tournaments that will start later this month. Titled "Online Open," the event will be taking place over a month, with events occurring every weekend starting next Saturday, May 30, and ending on June 21.
Each weekend will see different regions battle in a tournament, so players will need to gain access to Battlefly to register and receive their region code prior to their respective tournament. Preliminary fights will be held on each Saturday, with the final series of battles being premiered live on Nintendo's Twitch channel on Sunday. Players must be aged 13 or over to take part, with the winner of each tournament receiving a free copy of Arms and Splatoon 2, as well as Super Smash Bros Ultimate's Fighter Pass 2.
As for what matches contenders can expect to be put into, the tournament will see combatants entered into 1 v 1 bouts, with all weapons removed to make things fair. It seems the tournaments will be a true test of skill, with players not allowed to rely on the game's powerful suite of Nintendo-inspired weaponry. Naturally, it seems as though the event is a fantastic distraction for players currently stuck at home with nothing to do, as they prepare to wage war and show off their superior Smash Bros skills when they duke it out in the coming weeks.
As for the prize, many will no doubt find a lot of value in Fighter Pass 2, especially as rumors appear to be swirling that it'll contain some truly exceptional additional roster members. Included in the rumors have been the likes of Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy's Sephiroth, the Doom Slayer, Spyro the Dragon, Steve from Minecraft, Dante from Devil May Cry, and Sora from Kingdom Hearts. While it seems unlikely many of the names will actually make it into the game, it's clear that Fighter Pass 2 is definitely an exciting prospect for any Super Smash Bros Ultimate fan.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate is out now exclusively on Nintendo Switch.
