Less than 48 hours after it was announced, the Avyd Fighting Game Championship is already undergoing a big change.
Street Fighter V will no longer be part of Avyd’s $100,000 event, the company announced in a press release on Saturday. The tournament will still include the five other games that were initially announced on Thursday: Mortal Kombat XL, Killer Instinct, Guilty Gear Xrd, and two Super Smash Bros. titles: Melee and WiiU.
The company also stated that this weekend’s NorCal Regionals, of which Avyd is the title sponsor, would not be a qualifying event for any of the championship’s games. The event was set to serve as a qualifier for both Street Fighter V and Mortal Kombat XL. Michael “SiNiSt3r” Stafford won the MKXL tournament on Saturday, while the SFV event is scheduled to conclude tonight.
The reason for the change was not given. However, all four circuit events that were to serve as Street Fighter V qualifiers—NorCal and SoCal Regionals, Combo Breaker, and CEO—are already part of the Capcom Pro Tour. All but Combo Breaker are Premier events, which offer a $15,000 pot bonus to be split amongst the top eight finishers, and direct qualification to Capcom Cup for the tournament winner.
A request for comment from Capcom was not immediately returned on Sunday, possibly because it is an Easter holiday.
Despite the removal of Street Fighter V from its championship’s lineup, Avyd still hopes to work with Capcom in some capacity. “We still very much want to be involved with Street Fighter V and we feel we have much to offer to such a powerful community,” the company said in its press release. “We will be actively discussing a partnership with Capcom in the coming weeks and months and we hope to come together and be able to offer even more to its fanbase.”
The announcement was a big blow to the image of the new event, which was already facing a high level of scrutiny within the fighting game community. Before Thursday’s announcement of the championship event, the only news on Avyd’s website was an introductory press release made two days earlier, which spoke of big plans but included few details. Some made comparisons to events such as the Video X-Games and Epic! Gaming Lounge, both of which promised big prizes but failed to pay out some, or all, of what they promised.
The reception was not all negative, however. Many who are skeptical of Avyd have expressed faith in the events that make up the qualifying circuit. NorCal Regionals and SoCal Regionals are two of the most storied fighting game events in the world. Combo Breaker, CEO, and CEOtaku are all widely considered to be among the best-run events of the year within the general fighting game community, and The Big House is held in similar esteem among Smash Bros. fans.
Besides the removal of Street Fighter V from the qualifying lineup, Avyd’s partnerships with the other events on the circuit are unaffected by the change. “We are still committed to supporting all of the events that we have partnered [within] the Fighting Game Community, including this weekend’s [NorCal Regionals] event,” said Avyd’s chief experience officer Nick Scuilla.
Avyd says it will update the qualification structure over the next few weeks.
Image via Avyd
