The organizers of the Evo tournament have announced that Super Smash Bros. will not be part of the upcoming Evo 2022 tournament in March because Nintendo apparently shut it down.
In a statement, Evo said, “Since 2007, we’ve seen historic Super Smash Bros. moments created at Evo’s events. We are saddened that Nintendo has chosen not to continue that legacy with us this year.”
It added: “In the future, we hope to once again celebrate the Super Smash Bros. community alongside them.”
Even so, Evo 2022 is still going ahead, as a live, in-person event this year in Las Vegas. It’s scheduled for March 8, starting at 5 PM PT. The full lineup of games is yet to be confirmed.
— EVO (@EVO) February 26, 2022
Sony announced in March 2021 that it was buying Evo, and Nintendo confirmed plans to work with Panda Global for its own Smash tournaments. Whether or not any of these moves played a role in the decision to drop Smash from Evo remains to be seen.
Source: Gamespot
