The Ludwig Smash Invitational is Cursed

Time Stamp: October 22, 2022 2:26 PM

The Ludwig Invitational has kicked off with its opening rounds this weekend.

This tournament might not be a part of the Panda Cup or Smash World Tour, but it looked like one of the biggest Smash events ever before it kicked off. Each event featured a prize of $30,000, although sourcing those funds have proven to be a bit of a problem for new organizer Ludwig. Along with the roofs. And the equipment. Fans have ended up calling the Ludwig Smash Invitational cursed after its many problems in the lead-up.

This event has had sponsors pull out, physical leaks in the venue making playing difficult, and even more problems, including one that complicates the actual gameplay even with the tournament underway already. However, the Ludwig Smash Invitational has managed actually to get going, and at least for half of the events, it’s been pretty exciting so far. This is what’s happening at the Ludwig Smash invitational and why the event might be cursed.

Ludwig Smash Invitational

The Ludwig Invitational has been upcoming for a little while as a huge Smash Bros event coming from former player Ludwig. He’s gone on to be one of the most successful streamers, and is turning his attention back to Smash Bros with this Invitational.

The event has a prize pool of $30,000 in all. What’s really exciting heading in is the roster. This is one of the most stacked Smash Bros events in a long time. In attendance are most Major winners this year, including mKLeo, acola, light, Glutonny, Dabuz, Kola, Riddles, Tweek, Sonix, Onin, Maister, Cosmos, MuteAce and more.

The tournament was going to be held in the normal format for Smash. Separate events for Melee and Ultimate, each with pools followed by a bracket. Pools are being played in a swiss format since the roster is smaller than your average major. Players were divided into two groups with swiss rounds played until everyone has 3 wins or 3 loses. Those with wins advance, and those with losses are eliminated.

On the surface, it’s one of the most exciting Smash events in a while. Even with a semi-official tournament series running through the year, the Ludwig Smash Invitational looked impressive. That’s where the problems started.

Sponsor Drop-Out of Ludwig Smash Invitational

The first thing to befall the Ludwig Invitational was the apparent drop out of a sponsor. It seems the title sponsor of the event backed out, at the last minute. Smash tournaments aren’t known for rising huge sums. Even with Ludwig’s sway, it seemed this meant that the tournament was set to lose money.

Ludwig did say he planned to continue with the tournament regardless.

Thankfully, this is one problem that was resolved relatively quickly when another streamer stepped in.

In-Steps Mr Beast

MrBeast is a name that’s synonymous with throwing money at problems. He’s stepped up to replace the funding for the Ludwig Smash Invitational. At least, that’s what the player seems to say on Twitter.

It isn’t fully clear if he’ll be actually replacing the sponsorship money. This could just be a Twitter interaction. For the most part, though, it does seem like the kind of thing that he normally does. With Ludwig just being generous with the Slicker victims, this is a nice gesture.

Venue Problems at the Ludwig Smash Invitational

With a sponsor pulled out but successfully replaced, what’s the problem with the Ludwig Smash Invitational? It hasn’t just been the sponsor. Another major problem has hit the tournament, the venue itself. It seems the venue was not properly set up for the tournament.

The Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is hosting the Invitational. However, just before the tournament, it seems the venue had a major problem. A decent amount of water was spotted leaking through from the ceilings. Not a drip, but a significant amount. Hungrybox captured some of the problems on Twitter:

He went on to say that a tarp has been put up, and setups switched off for the time being. It didn’t bode well for the opening, though.

Ludwig Misses Flight to the Ludwig Smash Invitational

The Ludwig Smash Invitational also nearly kicked off one more person down. Ludwig himself has said he was running late and might miss some early portions of his own tournament.

This is far from the biggest problem before it started up, though. It’s also worth noting this is pretty much the exact same gag that was pulled with the Ludwig-produced xQc gameshow, where the host was also “late” in a viral moment. So maybe not something to take so seriously compared to the other problems.

The Ludwig Invitational’s Controller Problems

All of these issues would often be enough to cancel a tournament. The event is managing to go ahead, it seems. Although, staff at the venue have had to step in to try and get the venue in shape in time. The tournament has already played through some early games, and the event is in full swing

Even with the problems, there’s already been more entertainment complicated for the cursed tournament. Such as Shroomed taking a shot mid-set after during his match with n0ne.

It’s not all been fun, though. There’s also been controversy over third-party controller adapters being used. Picking up enough of these for a tournament is going to be a bit of a cost, but they are important. There seem to be major problems with the choice of adapter so far. Multiple sets have had controller disconnections, including multiple times in single games.

One player, frawg, has even said the adapter caused long-term damage to his controller.

Safe to say there have been some problems at the Ludwig Smash Invitational, even once it got running.  The tournament has delivered on the promise of a huge roster and prizes. However, the actual running and organization of the event seem to have left a bit to be desired. Even with experience in other tournaments, it does seem Ludwig’s big entry into Smash organization has been a learning curve. There will be some deserved criticism for how it has been run. It’s hard to say the tournament isn’t entertaining, though.

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