The Steve conteoversy is not yet over as the character has been banned in a hefty Smash Ultimate tournament in Denton, Texas alongside a character that hasn’t seen bans on bigger tournaments yet, Kazuya.
Kazuya has been one of the characters in contention to be banned alongside Steve. His intangible wave dashes and strong zero-to-death combos were and still are a huge bane to players who play the game competitively.
Smash Ultimate is popular for its grassroots scene which means that the pro scene isn’t centralized and there are no universal rules that tie the game down. If a tournament organizer wishes to ban a certain character from the locals for the foreseeable future, they can simply do that, which is what happened in this Denton local.
Kazuya’s ban in this local might bring up discussions about whether others should also consider the ban, but it seems unlikely as most of the players don’t really think of him as a problem in major tournaments. The only Kazuya player that’s reaching the top 8 in majors is Riddles, quite the contrast to Steve players who can easily make up half of the top 8. That’s a big testament to just how strong Steve is.
There are also discussions on Twitter regarding the release of Fighters Pass 2 which includes the characters above. Players think that the introduction of these DLCs was a detriment to the professional scene of the game and that the game would be much more balanced if they just ban the entirety of Fighters Pass 2.
As of now, major tournament organizers feel that the only character deserving of the ban is Steve and even this isn’t a unanimous decision. CEO 2023 is still considering the ban while other major tournaments haven’t announced their decision.
