Competitive Super Smash Bros. players deserve larger prize pools at tournaments. Sadly, without the support of Nintendo and other sponsors, it’s hard to dole out adequate prizes.
But a new fundraising campaign may help change all of that.
The new GoFundMe is asking fans of the competitive Smash community to come together to raise $20,000. The raised funds would be doled out to the top 13 in Melee at Evo 2015, the largest fighting games tournament in North America, later this month.
“The Smash scene has been waiting to be this big for a long time, and I believe an appropriate pot bonus is something that we could really benefit from,” the GoFundMe organizer wrote. Even if the fundraiser doesn’t make its goal, “we could still raise enough to show other scenes that we are not to be overlooked.”
Financially, it’s not as easy being a professional Super Smash Bros. player compared to a League of Legends or Dota 2 player. The former has professional players salaried by game developer Riot while the latter can earn millions from fans for prizes at The International. What’s even more upsetting to your average Smash fan is that other fighting games with lower turnouts, like Guilty Gear and Killer Instinct, have larger prize pools. That’s because the publishers behind those games are willing to throw money at that scene to help keep it healthy and vibrant.
But the Smash community has always been very grassroots, and its fans have often shown that they can keep the pro scene vibrant, with or without corporate support.
Photo via Imad Khan
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