The Super Smash Bros Ultimate community is debating banning Steve from tournament play after a game-breaking new tech was discovered.
Minecraft’s Steve has been a controversial fighter since his release and a big reason why is just how many unique options the character has when optimized.
Despite calls to ban the fighter earlier in the post-lockdown era after Japanese Smash prodigy Acola’s dominance with Steve, the Minecraft rep has remained legal, but that could soon be about to change.
A new tech known as ‘Phantom MLG’ lets Steve get out of combos, cancel hit stun, and strike back against opponents who don’t have the same counterplay. This revolutionary tech has sent shockwaves through the community and pros are pushing for a ban more than ever.
Smash community wants Steve banned
After the discovery of the tech, discussions began about potentially banning the tech itself, but that created problems due to enforcement and even players potentially performing it by accident.
As explained by LarryLurr, there are all sorts of issues that could arise if the player accusing another of doing the tech is wrong, especially if it happens in an off-stream match.
Elsewhere, Mexican Smash stars FaZe Sparg0 and recent free agent MkLeo seemed to push for a ban.
Sparg0 tweeted out “ban Steve” while MkLeo pondered “what if we ban Steve?” after first laughing at the new tech when he saw it.
Zomba also appeared to call for a ban in a Twitlonger, accusing Steve of “killing the game.”
Moist esports’ Light, however, had a different approach and wondered if not banning the fighter would ruin the game so much that Nintendo would have no choice but no make an emergency patch.
So far, some events have seemingly banned the fighter. Montreal Gaming Center tweeted that Steve will be banned from multiple events and “will last until March 25 with a follow-up for future events and Battle of Z : Light Games.”
We’ll have to wait and see what more TOs decide to do going forward. Liquid Hungrybox has stated that his decision to ban the fighter from Coinbox events would be revealed on stream later this week.