Another Nintendo Direct, another disappointment. I didn’t even bother watching the livestream, and I’m glad I didn’t: just a bunch of remakes, DLC, and a bunch of other crap we’ve already seen before. No Super Smash Bros. 6.

We already knew this, of course. Masahiro Sakurai has essentially confirmed another Smash is coming, but given no details. He only works on one game at a time and has just finished his passion project, Kirby Air Riders. This means he only started working on the long-awaited fighter this year.

Of course, there’s a reason the Smash esports community is anxiously waiting. It needs this game.

I recently shared an interview with former Call of Duty Multiplayer Creative Director Greg Reisdorf that discussed the downfall of Call of Duty esports. What has made this esports scene fail to grab attention despite the games being so popular?

Reisdorf believes it’s due to Call of Duty’s annual releases, which dilute the game’s competitive intensity and integrity. When esports pros have to relearn the game time and time again, the buildup is gone. The inconsistency undermines any sense of prestige or elitism. It feels a bit chaotic.

“It always came up in development: why are we doing this over and over again? It’s always a topic of conversation with the players and within the devs because you are redoing it over and over again,” he expressed at the time.

So, you may be thinking: Why do you want Smash 6?

Well, Smash is built different. Unlike other games, the Smash scene has remained quite grassroots, without the massive production or franchising that other scenes have. It’s less linear. Nobody is forced to move forward, forgetting older games along the way.

At GENESIS X3, Ultimate was featured and had the largest bracket. But Melee, a game from 20ish years ago, was featured right along with it. Brawl and Smash 64 also had tournaments, albeit smaller. But that didn’t stop passionate competitors from flying out for them.

“I just f***ing love playing this game,” said top Brawl pro Christina “Chia” Korsak to Esports Insider. “It’s weird how it can still trap my attention, even more than the current titles. More than every other game. I’ll get sucked into a Zelda game for, like, three hours these days. But if you sit me in front of a Brawl bracket, I’m hooked forever.”

While the games may feel alike to casual players, there are so many differences that the games are practically nothing alike to the pros. I remember playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with Josh Brody. He’s considered one of the best N64 players out there. I beat him at Ultimate. He has spent so much time grinding Smash 64 that he’s used to that controller, those moves, those frame rates…

Every Smash game has its own distinct scene with their own personalities, rivalries, and vibes. It’s always been entertaining to see the constant drama between the Ultimate and Melee scenes. The games and their players couldn’t be more different. Melee pros are often calling out Ultimate for being less technical, while Ultimate fans often call Melee repetitive to watch.

When Smash 6 comes out, everyone will try it. Chia will undoubtedly take a break from Brawl to play it. Melee God Juan “Hungrybox” DeBiedma will grind it on Twitch. Many Ultimate players will switch over permanently. In fact, Smash 6 may take over Ultimate’s spot depending on how the gameplay is.

But the older games will live on. And Smash 6 will fuel them more. There will be more attention on Smash when the new game comes out, bringing in new fans and players. And that means more people checking out Melee, Brawl, and all the other games.

While Ultimate has often been given top billing, the game’s popularity has allowed other tournaments to exist. Now that Ultimate hype is dying out, Smash 6 will become the game that provides funding, attention, and fans for Smash, providing the other scenes with tourneys to compete in. The more Smash 6-focused events that pop up, the better, since they will also likely have brackets for Melee and other titles.

Let’s just hope there are no characters like Steve. We need fun battles again. We need fun rivalries again. We need consistent top players to follow again. Smash 6 is the Ultimate scene’s chance to feel hype, intense, and passionate like Melee. And that will only make the other scenes stronger.

Last week, we saw a previous king crowned yet again, a rising star challenge the throne, and some good *ss Tekken. However, what seemed like an exciting week was marred by yet another reminder that the Smash community still has its share of weird people.

While the allegations were retracted by the tournament organizers, people over at Reddit are saying that it’s getting harder and harder to defend the Smash scene because of what seems like a never-ending stream of sexual allegations thrown left and right.

And if you’re familiar with the fighting game scene, you’d see all this and say: Sounds like just another week in the FGC! Here are some of the highest and lowest moments, from epic tourneys to controversial issues.

Let’s get the uncomfortable stuff out of the way. On June 5th, the GeorgiaSmash Twitter account released a statement regarding Ryan “L4st” Krichbaum. In the statement, they retracted their allegations against L4st back in May.

They mentioned that a law firm contacted them on behalf of L4st, saying that the allegations provided to them were “largely unsubstantiated and categorically false.”

“Since the publication of our initial statement, Mr. Krichbaum admitted to an incident in 2023 that led to him being uninvited from an event. However, this recent letter states that our ‘reckless publication’ could be interpreted to falsely charge Mr. Krichbaum with the commission of a crime and (were) calculated to injure his reputation in his trade and profession within the esports and gaming industry,” the statement said.

People over on Reddit shared their opinions about the situation, and most of them are saying that L4st essentially lawyered up and strong-armed a volunteer group into retracting their statement, or risk getting sued. 

What bothers me here is the fact that L4st admitted to an incident in 2023. However, GeorgiaSmash didn’t mention what kind of incident it was, but the fact that he was uninvited to an event because of it speaks volumes regarding its severity.

Before this, L4st had already been privately banned from several tournaments in Georgia in 2024, which means that the allegations weren’t new. The details in this case are sparse and will remain so, especially since lawyers have stepped in.

Real or not, cases like these always leave a bad taste in the FGC, especially since the scene is already getting a lot of attention from outside. I wouldn’t be surprised if sponsors see the scene as problematic and not touch the Smash community with a 10-foot pole, which is very sad, considering that it was the first fighting game I competed in.

Saul Leonardo “MenaRD” Mena II, also known as “The Bull,” has finally won a major Street Fighter 6 tournament in his home country. Blink Respawn happened over the weekend, where global talents such as Noah “NoahTheProdigy” Solis, Victor “Punk” Woodley, and Michael “Riddles” Kim tested their mettle.

However, in the end, it was MenaRD who rose on top and defeated them all in front of his own people.

Blink Respawn has always eluded MenaRD since the release of Street Fighter 6. In 2023, he placed 5th; in 2024, 7th; and in 2025, only 17th. It seemed like a curse had been placed on him, winning every single huge tournament such as Evo 2025, Evo Japan 2025, and Evo Japan 2024, but he just couldn’t seem to get the title in front of his countrymen.

However, what happened on June 7th was one for the books.

The tournament featured a very hot NoahTheProdigy tearing through the bracket. He sent both Punk and MenaRD down to the loser’s bracket and waited for his challenger in the Grand Final. This meant that MenaRD and Punk had to fight each other in the loser’s bracket, which gave us some of the craziest games of the tournament.

I also think it’s worth noting that there’s only one Japanese player in the top 8 of this year’s Blink Respawn, compared to last year’s 5.

Riddles notably showed up and let everyone know that he’s still him, the Michael Kim, in his match against Lenny “Crossover” Almanzar, which featured a dash-up OD Rising Tackle to secure the game. I mean, just watch this. This guy’s built different.

In the end, though, it was MenaRD in the finals against NoahTheProdigy. Despite defeating MenaRD earlier in the bracket, some adjustments from MenaRD made it seem like NoahTheProdigy had lost the fight against him. MenaRD ended the tournament quickly with a 3-1 bracket reset and another 3-1 to close it out, finally being crowned the victor in his country. With this win, MenaRD finally qualifies for the Capcom Cup 13.

MenaRD is very hot right now. If he keeps his streak going, there’s no doubt that it’s his time to claim the Capcom Cup, a tournament he already won twice. Funnily enough, the last time he won the tournament was back in 2023, when it wasn’t the million-dollar event with atrocious prize distribution that it is right now.

Over to Tekken 8, Park “Mangja” Geon-ho finally shows us what good *ss Tekken really is. While Blink Respawn was happening in the Dominican Republic, SOOP Super Tournament 2026 was happening in Korea, on the other side of the globe. There, a 232-man Tekken 8 tournament happened, and Mangja reigned over them all.

Mangja’s records have always been solid. Second at the Tekken World Tour Finals 2025, 9th at Evo Japan 2026, and third at Combo Breaker 2026. It always seemed like he was the bridesmaid but never the bride. However, all of that changed after winning quite possibly one of the hardest Tekken 8 tournaments to date.

Just to give a little context, attendees include Evo Japan 2026 champion Kim “iKARi” Min-kyu, Tekken legend Bae “Knee” Jae-Min, and Tekken World Tour Finals 2025 champion Yoon “LowHigh” Sun-woong. That’s the level of competition he’s facing. So, who met him in the Grand Finals? None other than another player who’s suffering the same fate as him: Takaba Keisuke.

Keisuke has been competing since 2013 and has delivered great results. Second in DreamHack Atlanta 2026, second in CEO 2024, and 7th in Battle Arena Melbourne 15. Again, just like Mangja, he has yet to get his maiden Tier 1 win in Tekken 8.

The finals between Keisuke and Mangja have reached the maximum of 10 games. A 3-2 Grand Finals reset allowed Keisuke to have a real chance of taking the trophy away. However, in the final round of the final game, Mangja played much more solidly than him, which led to his loss. 

As a Keisuke fan, this is heartbreaking, as a single combo starter could’ve been him raising the trophy. However, I also can’t get mad at Mangja because this is his maiden Tier 1 win in Tekken 8 after always getting second.

Ultimately, I think the viewers are the real champions in this tournament. All throughout the event, amazing Tekken was shown. Glimpses of punishes, neutral, and movement were seen across matches, which pleases my Tekken heart.

Finally, some good *ss Tekken.

Now back to Smash! But Super Smash Bros. Melee, you know, the unproblematic one. While all of these tournaments are happening, Battle of BC 8 was also in progress. Kurtis “moky” Pratt has been a top player in Melee for quite some time now, and of course, if you’ve reached that level of play, you’re going to run into the only remaining active God of Melee: Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma.

If you’ve been in the scene long enough, you know how Hungrybox plays. Slow and methodical. Some people say lame, but hey, that’s their opinion. Anyway, a match between Moky and Hungrybox happened over at Battle of BC 8, where Hungrybox won 3-1. So, like any other competitor, Hungrybox offered a handshake after the set, but Moky denied it, insisting for a fistbump instead.

This shouldn’t be a huge problem; those are the common ways of showing sportsmanship before and after the set, after all. However, Moki posted something on Twitter shortly after.

In the tweet, he mentioned that he “lost in the lamest ways possible” and “the audacity to go for the handshake is insane there though.” He finished the tweet by saying that he has no respect for people playing “like that.”

Then, he doubled down:

I know how he feels. It’s always frustrating to get “lamed out” and lose to zoners or very defensive players. The FGC also prides itself on being raw and unfiltered at times, so showing your frustration in times like that shouldn’t be a big deal. Players are people too, and there will be times when things don’t go their way.

Let’s just be thankful that Hungrybox didn’t win the tournament, or his pop-off might’ve spelled the end of the universe.