Top Smash players question future majors attendance after Covid at SWT

Top figures in the Smash community are conflicted about whether or not they should take the offline majors.

Following a flurry of Covid announcements by a large number of attendees at the 2021 Smash World Tour Championship in Orlando, Florida, elite players such as Zain Naghmi and Cody “iBDW” Schwab have expressed their concerns about participation in future major tournaments like Genesis 8.

Tournament organizers have implemented strict protocols to prevent the spread of Covid since reintroducing offline tournaments earlier this year. There are several cases reported at other events such as Riptide 2021, but the number of public cases announced at SWT has generated more concern. Major figures in the community who have confirmed their infection include Kris “Toph” Aldenderfer, Luke “KirbyKid” Richmond, and Sierra “moxi” Lund. An official report on the public cases has yet to be released.

The news came after the spike Omicron . variant cases across the United States. SWT organizers have taken a number of measures to prevent the spread of Covid – requiring all attendees to present proof of full vaccinations or a negative Covid test performed not early more than December 12, 2021. In addition, a mask must be worn for the duration of the event. After learning that some SWTC attendees had contracted the virus, SWT’s social media urged other attendees to get tested for Covid.

Several community figures and tournament organizers have taken measures to ensure the safety of future events. Max Ketchum – one of the main organizers of Let’s Make Big Moves 2021 – has encouraged other tournament organizers to raise their standards to combat the spread of the virus.

“Recent negative test + full vaccination required + mask duty,” Max announced in a tweet. “All majors should follow these guidelines going forward, I’ve seen a lot of them ask for only one of the first two. If the tournaments are still going, it should be like this. No What other measures are there?”