Smash: Panda party after being accused of sabotage, the CEO gives his version


The Smash Bros scene has been back for a few weeks. The esports competitions planned for this end of the year will not take place, the fault of several combinations of circumstances which led in quick succession to the cancellation of the main events. First the Smash World Tour, more or less blacklisted by Nintendo who did not wish to issue him an official license. Then the Panda Cup, whose CEO was accused by the SWT organizers of having lobbied to sabotage the event. If everyone had commented on these news, it still lacked the opinion of Dr. Alan, the director of Panda.

In a long message on Medium, he wished to give his truth when he has just left his position within Nintendo’s partner organizer to organize official tournaments since 2021. Dr. Allan had been accused of telling players that the SWT was going to close, thus causing bad press and competition for another tournament, while Nintendo announced to be interested in all possible partners (but did not want to formalize the SWT all the same).

I am no longer CEO of Panda. I will no longer be part of the Smash community. I don’t want to come back. The community deserves the truth and I’m not afraid to call the names I need to call. Private information about me and Panda members has been leaked online. It’s gone too far.

In 30 pages, he talks about the agreement he obtained with Nintendo to organize the Smash scene, with the announcement of the Panda Cup in 2019. Alan Bunney claims in particular that the way things happened with the unofficial tournaments allowed the organizers to place themselves in the position of victim in the event of cancellationas was the case.

To recap: SWT executives were well aware that Nintendo was working on an officially licensed circuit with Panda months before launch. They were told to wait for approval but announced it anyway, and knowingly did several things that prevented Nintendo from licensing events before.

The former CEO also claims that the organizers were largely prepared to be shut down by Nintendo since the launch of the SWT, and that she had threatened to bring down Panda and the Panda Cup. In other words, a blackmail that Dr. Alan denounces. Before concluding:

Panda and I, as former CEO, have done absolutely nothing to harm SWT in any way, or to sabotage SWT’s business efforts, licensing efforts or otherwise. Period.

In the rest of his press release, he also gives his version on Beyond the Summit and the constant efforts of former producer Ken Chen to put a spoke in his wheels. Finally, he recalls at the end of the document that Nintendo has spent more money helping the community outside of the Panda Cup than anyone else in the world. Dr. Alan now asks the community not to harass any organization online and to raise the Smash community, whose image is tarnished following the cancellation of the Panda Cup for security reasons…





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