The Kagaribi 8 tournament is going to be kicking off this weekend. This is the seventh event in this series, and it was due to bring some of Japan’s biggest players together to fight it out in Smash Bros. However, the tournament has had some pretty major setbacks. A decent number of players have already dropped out of the event due to rising Covid cases in the country.
Kagaribi 8 still looks set to go ahead. However, current numbers of playing are pointing towards a significantly neutered tournament. This is how the event was due to take place, and what’s happened with the lead-up.
Kagaribi 8 Smash Bros Tournament
The Kagaribi 8 tournament is a Japanese Major Smash Bros tournament. This series of events has been running since 2012. It’s a recent tournament, but this one is a Premier tier event for Smash Bros. It’s part of the Smash Bros World Tour. While the Panda Circuit is still ongoing, the Smash World Tour is still one of the biggest circuits in Smash Bros.
The tournament is due to take place from July 30-31th. While there’s no prize pool there are points in the overall series on offer. The tournament is still taking place, but it’s had some major setbacks as the date has gotten closer. A good number of players have been disqualified from Kagaribi 8 due to the ongoing Covid situation. The tournament still looks set to take place, but it’ll instead have a diminished roster.
COVID Cancellations at Kagaribi 8
The Kagaribi 8 Smash bros tournament has had a pretty major setback with rising covid cases in Japan. While most of esports have largely returned to in-person events, cases are on the rise in Japan. The current number of cases is well over the last peak of the disease. Naturally, this has become pretty disruptive. Over 200 players out of the total 563 competing have been deregistered from the tournament.
This is a pretty major setback. The roster of players in the competition isn’t going to compare to what was originally planned for the tournament. This might leave some weird match-ups! With such a large and indiscriminate deregistration, some of the most anticipated players have already been DQed.
Which Players are de-registered for the Tournament?
With more than 200 disqualified, there are too many players leaving Kagaribi 8 to list. However, these are some of the most notable DQs:
Acola
Dio
Earth
Floyd
Hikaru
Huto
Koma
Lea
Luminous
Munekin
MASA
Nata
Omuatsu
Rido
Tea
These are some big names stepping away from the tournament. Earth in particular is a disappointment to us, especially after the extreme hype that was built ahead of the event.
Tournament days however, still seems to be on schedule. That might change if these deregistrations continue to escalate. It’s possible that a few days before the tournament we’ll be looking at only half the players being actually in attendance. If the tournament still goes ahead with that sized roster, it’s going to be a bit strange to watch.
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