SXSW has dabbled in the world of esports in recent years, but this year it’s set to do something special for one of the scene’s most enduring communities. The annual tech and music festival will host a $25,000 Super Smash Bros. Melee invitational featuring the game’s five best players—its “gods”—in nearly two weeks.
Called the The Battle of Five Gods, the invitational will include 20 top Melee players. Though a full player list has yet to be determined, the gods—Armada, Mango, Hungrybox, PPMD, and Mew2King—have been confirmed.
Stay tuned for the full #FiveGods player list (it’s NUTS). More info here: https://t.co/MPyP3ruOpZ pic.twitter.com/gqSaJuOFjL
— The Crimson Blur (@OXY_Crimson) February 25, 2016
Headed to Texas next month for @SXSWGaming event! I’ve been doing my best to get better and will keep it up.
— Kevin Nanney (@EG_PPMD) February 25, 2016
Another event in America for @ArmadaUGS to win! @sxsw #FiveGods with $25,000. https://t.co/FkHZ8mWaS7 #sxswgaming pic.twitter.com/aCd3RsU2Bj
— Alliance (@theAllianceGG) February 25, 2016
Feeling good about this one.
— Juan DeBiedma (@LiquidHbox) February 25, 2016
Several other big players have tweeted that they’ll be attending, Zac “SFAT” Cordoni will be in attendance.
(Sorry, this embed was not found.)It’s not clear if the so-called godslayer, William “Leffen” Hjelte, the one player who regularly posts good results against the gods, will attend. He’s had ongoing visa issues that have prevented him from competing in the U.S. since last summer.
We’ll see.
— William Hjelte (@TSM_Leffen) February 25, 2016
Some top players weren’t invited, for reasons that aren’t clear. Hugo “HugS” Gonzalez did not receive an invite, although he’s ranked no. 20 on Melee it on Me’s top 100 Melee players of 2015.
The 20 players were selected via a collaboration between Curse, Twitch, and SXSW, according to D’Ron “D1” Maingrette, who’ll be commentating the event. The tournament will have five groups of round robin pools of four competitors each.
The Battle of Five Gods will take place at the Austin Convention Center from March 17-19. To attend, a guest pass is required, which can be obtained for free.
