Ludwig Smash Invitational to feature one of the biggest prize pools in discipline’s history

YouTube streamer Ludwig is set to host the Smash Invitational with supposedly one of the biggest prize pools for a Super Smash Bros. tournament! The LAN event in Las Vegas will see battles of 32 Melee and Ultimate Smash players.

Ludwig announced the event via his Twitter account on August 31, saying that the event will be the “biggest Smash invitational of all time”. However, the total prize pool for the event hasn’t yet been disclosed. So far, the highest prize pools in competitive Smash reached up to $150,000.

The event will have two separate divisions for Melee and Ultimate players which will feature 32 teams in each. Participants include Mkleo, Light, Onin, Riddles, and others. The Ludwig Smash Invitational will also host the Last Chance Qualifier on September 2. The top eight players from Last Chance Qualifiers will enter the main event and compete with top Super Smash Bros. players.

Ludwig Smash Invitational will be held on October 21-23 as a LAN tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, however, there’s no exact information on the venue. The competition will be fully broadcast on Ludwig’s YouTube channel. The format and exact schedule are set to be revealed at a later date. Ludwig will also allegedly compensate the costs of the flights to Las Vegas, as well as costs of accommodation.

Confirmed participants of Ludwig Smash Invitational

Melee: 

• William Peter “Leffen” Hjelte
• Jake “Jmook” DiRado
• Cody “iBDW” Schwab
• Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma
• Justin “Wizzrobe” Hallett
• Zain Naghmi
• Joseph “Mang0” Marquez

Ultimate: 

• Kolawole “Kola” Aideyan
• Paris “Light” Ramirez Garcia
• William “Glutonny” Belaid
• Leonardo “MkLeo” Lopez Perez
• Angel “Onin” Mireles
• Michael “Riddles” Kim
• Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey

Why community tournaments are important for Super Smash Bros. scene?

Super Smash Bros is one of the esports disciplines that are not as popular as CS:GO or League of Legends, which regularly gather millions of viewers. The most popular Smash tournament reached 245,000 Peak Viewers and it was EVO 2019. Meanwhile, the most recent big FGC event Genesis 6 only entered the top-6 events by viewership.

Community events are crucial for competitive Smash as they raise awareness in the esports field, and attract viewers, new players, and possibly sponsors to the tournaments. Given the fact that Ludwig has more than 3 million subscribers on his channel, it will undoubtedly boost the interest in the event as well as its viewership.

Another important point is that the tournament’s prize pool is expected to be way higher than the average amount of money across Super Smash Bros events. This will also affect the interest of players in the new competition. Moreover, because Ludwig already has experience with hosting Smash tournaments, the event shouldn’t be a disappointment.

Header credit: /LudwigAhgren on YouTube