The year’s been full of surprises for Smash Bros, one of the biggest though has to be the Gamescon 2023 Smash Invitational. As part of the major video game show, we’ve seen announcements and trailers for tons of upcoming games including some of 2023’s biggest fighters. One of the other surprises is for a bit of an older title though, Super Smash Bros Ultimate. The game is getting an Invitational event on August 26th, and it’s officially sanctioned by Nintendo.
The Gamescon Invitational is bringing six of the top players to one tournament. Hosted by Vermilion, this official Nintendo event ensures Smash still has a showing at Gamescon. This is what we know about this late-notice event happening on Saturday.
Gamescon 2023 Smash Invitational
The Invitational taking place at Gamescon is an invitational showcase. A selection of 8 top players from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are all coming together to compete in a new Invitational event. This is a top 8-only tournament, no wider pools like this weekend Smash event at Shine 2023. Players will be competing in a bracket together to find the best player out of these.
Das Super #SmashBrosUltimate gamescom 2023 Invitational steigt nächsten Samstag auf der @gamescom in Köln!
Acht lokale Top-Spieler begegnen sich auf der Nintendo-Stage, um in einem packenden 1-gegen-1 Turnier anzutreten.
Setzt einen Livestream-Reminder: https://t.co/pD09ULLsNT pic.twitter.com/hzjTrBio45
— Nintendo DE (@NintendoDE) August 19, 2023
These are the players you can expect to see at the Gamescon 2023 Smash Invitational.
Youssef
RobinGG
SkWiirrel
Ente
Longo
Tarik
Destany
quiK
These players will all be playing in the Invitational. You can catch the tournament on the official stream from Nintendo DE, starting at 3 PM Saturday, August 26. It’s a little strange that this tournament is officially sanctioned by Nintendo, especially considering their recent history with competitive Smash.
Nintendo isn’t a huge supporter of Smash Bros esports. Last year they ventured into this territory with their official Panda Global circuit. After a complete meltdown from Panda though, it got cancelled. Seemingly sealing the fate of official events. Nintendo held out for decades. Then their big circuit to try and get involved went horribly. Yet, here we are with their once again trying their hand at getting involved in Smash Bros esports. Granted with just a minor invitational.