It was only yesterday that we reported that Nintendo president Shuntaro Furakawa was committed to esports as a way to connect with fans, and now the Japanese company has announced a brand new European tournament for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
The European Smash Ball Team Cup 2019 will host squads from all over Europe before a live final this spring, with teams of three fighting it out in best-of-three and best-of-five stock matches with no items apart from the Smash Ball. This has been included in order to give intense moments and allow underdogs a comeback. As for match types, expect to see 2v2 Smash, Smashdown, and 3v3 Squad Strike.
National qualifiers will be taking place in the following countries:
United Kingdom & Ireland
France
Germany
Spain
Portugal
Italy
Russia
Netherlands
Belgium
Austria
Switzerland
The Nordics, comprising Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden
The winning squads from these national qualifiers will advance to the final for the chance to become champions, with more information on qualification events and the finals promised soon.
We don't know many details other than that, but at least we're getting more official esports support from Nintendo following on from similar competitions last year with the likes of Splatoon 2.
This also means that the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate scene is gathering momentum as well, as we've just received the rules for the event at Genesis 6. With the Smash esports community as active as it is though, we can expect way more competitions for the game, especially since there are so many fighters to choose from.
Will you assemble a squad and sign up?