• News

Panda Cup 2022 Finale postponed, esports org's CEO steps down

Additionally, top-tier FGC competitors such as iBDW, Plup, TKBreezy, and Punk have already announced their exit from the company.

TJ Denzer

December 5, 2022 7:05 AM

1

It’s been a very tumultuous time for Panda Global as the esports organization has dealt with allegations of sabotage and strong-arming in relation to Super Smash Bros. esports. In the wake of these allegations, one of the main supposed perpetrators, Panda Global CEO Dr. Alan Bunney, has stepped down from his positions within the company. The Panda Cup Finale has also been postponed in light of recent events.

Panda Global announced these various decisions in a recent additional statement posted on the organization's main Twitter on December 4, 2022. In this recent statement, the company announced that Dr. Bunney would be stepping down as CEO and exiting leadership of the organization. A consortium of inside and outside advisors will act as a “Interim Management Committee (IMC)” to address concerns and move forward. It is, however, not noted if Dr. Alan is completely out of the company or still retains majority ownership. The identity of the committee members is also being kept under wraps due to ongoing harassment against the Panda Global organization.

Nonetheless, the IMC laid out its priorities in the statement:

Some players have already made moves to exit Panda or have announced intention to do so. Among them were top-tier competitors like Melee’s Cody "iBDW" Schwab and Justin "Plup" McGrath as well as Ryan "Saint Cola" Collins, Zak "Coney" Zeeks, Terrence "TKbreezy" Kershaw, and Victor “Punk” Woodley.

After a week of thought, I’ve come to the not so difficult decision to imminently become a free agent

I’m currently the #2 ranked SSBM player worldwide, and looking for a team and home to chase #1 with and especially to grow with through content

RTs appreciated, thank you <3

— Panda | iBDW (Cody Schwab) (@iBDWSSBM) December 3, 2022

While one might expect that Dr. Alan Bunney is keeping his head down in light of the recent allegations, that is not entirely the case. The former CEO shared a brief follow-up to Panda’s recent statement, stating that he would be issuing a further statement with evidence addressing two matters: that the Smash World Tour organizers allegedly lied about its complaints against Panda Global and that the Beyond the Summit organizers “put the community in jeopardy.”

It's been a messy fall-out since the Smash World Tour canceled its 2022 Finals and 2023 events, and it seems like it’s going to get messier before it moves towards any semblance of cleaning up. Stay tuned as we continue to follow for further updates and details on this story.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.