North American esports organisation Golden Guardians has announced The Golden Gauntlet, a Super Smash Bros. Melee offline event.
The Golden Gauntlet will be the first event hosted at the organisation’s facility in Playa Vista, California.
Set to commence February 5th, the event features six matchups designed to showcase ‘top’ global Super Smash Bros. Melee players. Already announced as competitors are Golden Guardians’ Zain ‘Zain’ Naghm and Edgard ‘n0ne’ L. Sheleby. The event will be live-streamed on Golden Guardians’ Twitch channel, featuring commentary from Kris ‘Toph’ Aldenderfer and Kevin ‘PPMD’ Nanney.
Golden Guardians’ 10,700-square-foot esports facility was first announced in June 2022 with the venue officially opening in the Fall. The facility features player stations, a creative studio, player lounge, team operations office and kitchen.
Golden Guardians is the esports branch of NBA team Golden State Warriors and has been active in esports since joining the North American League of Legends Series (LCS) in 2017. The organisation has then gone on to expand into titles such as Super Smash Bros. and World of Warcraft.
The Super Smash Bros esports ecosystem concluded last year in turbulent fashion, with the Smash World Tour cancelling its 2022 season after Nintendo refused to grant a licence to the company.
Smash World Tour organisers in particular highlighted involvement from esports company Panda Global. This news also prompted Popular content creator Ludwig to create his own Smash Bros. tournament called The Scuffed World Tour.
In December, Alan Bunnay of Panda Global stepped down from his position following community backlash regarding the organisation’s partnership with Nintendo. The Panda Cup was subsequently postponed and has yet to receive a new date.
