The Big House 10 Is Allegedly The Latest Smash Major to Not Pay Players
The Big House 10 occurred back in October of 2022, a massive tournament with a lot of iconic moments that have changed Smash Bros. history. It’s been called one of the most stacked tournaments in Melee’s 20-plus year history. This storied celebration of competitive Smash is a respected event — but some Smash players have come forward with serious accusations against the tournament organizers.
Maister Calls Out The Big House 10 For Not Paying Smash Players
On Twitter earlier today, Enrique “Maister” Solís tweeted that he hasn’t been paid for his Super Smash Bros. Ultimate doubles victory. The top Mr. Game & Watch player was supposed to split the prize money with his teammate Juan “Skyjay” Palbo, a fellow competitor from Mexico.
Maister told Esports Illustrated that the prize money for the doubles tournament was $500. But the money has yet to be seen.
In a follow-up tweet, Maister added that it’s been seven months since he’s been paid. From his tweet’s wording, it sounds like The Big House TOs have told him he’d get paid multiple times only to fall through.
“Probably not going to another big house if it keeps going this way cause this is ridiculous,” Maister tweeted.
Smash commentator Phillip “EE” Stewart responded that Maister probably doesn’t have to worry about not going to a Big House again, alluding that The Big House may not be lasting much longer.
While some Smash players were confused by EE’s comments and begged for more context, it’s no secret that the competitive Smash scene has been struggling. The Smash World Tour, which had once created an organized circuit for pros that included a lot of iconic majors, was recently forced to shut down. Panda Global’s esports circuit sponsored by Nintendo also collapsed after it was revealed that Panda’s CEO was possibly behind the forced shut-down of SWT.
It wouldn’t surprise anyone if The Big House’s TOs went bankrupt before they are able to pay Maister and other winners back.
Either way, the Smash community is frustrated at yet another tournament struggling to pay back the competitors and staff. It’s even more unfortunate that it’s such an iconic major that’s so well-respected in the competitive Smash scene.
The Big House has yet to make a public statement regarding the accusations.
