The last big hold out for the Fighting Game Community has finally folded. Combo Breaker 2020 was officially canceled today due to the team’s concern regarding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
This is a huge blow for the FGC and tournament organizer Rick “The Hadou” Thiher since he and his team now have to deal with the fallout of not running one of the biggest tournaments of the year.
All attendees who purchased a Competitor or Community Pass will be eligible to receive refunds. They’ll be processed starting on April 20. There will be some notable exclusions from what can be full refunded, such as taxing fees that were made non-refundable already, but you can view a full breakdown in Combo Breaker’s announcement post.
“The Combo Breaker team is gutted to announce that, following government guidance and our own judgment regarding COVID-19(coronavirus,) Combo Breaker 2020 is canceled,” The Hadou said. “We recognize the significant impact this decision has on our attendees, partners, sponsors, staff, venue, and community, but believe it is currently the only move to make. May we collectively make it through this difficult time as passionately as when we all began.”
Anyone who was planning on staying at the Schaumburg Renaissance Marriott, the event’s host hotel, has had their room reservations pushed to 2021 for next year’s Combo Breaker. The hotel will also be taking calls about cancelations regarding the event starting on April 3 if you’d rather get your deposit back.
Travel plans can’t be refunded by the tournament staff, so each individual attendee will need to take care of any rescheduling or cancelations on their own.
After all of the refunds have been processed, the Combo Breaker team has committed to mailing every would-be competitor a package of appreciation gifts, which features most of the items included with the purchase of an event ticket. The event badge, lanyard, commemorative magazine, and pin will be shipped out in May.
If you want to support Combo Breaker, the event’s merchandise will still be available on its web store and attendees who don’t want to be refunded can reach out to The Hadou individually on Twitter.
“Our entire event team is crestfallen,” The Hadou said. “That said, we remain committed to bringing you more COMBO BREAKER events in the future. All in together now, ‘til it breaks. No Coast, No Kings.”
Despite the cancelation, The Hadou said that Combo Breaker 2021, which will be sponsored by Astro Gaming, is going to be moving ahead with production in hopes that everything will be ready to go for next year.
