Smash legend Jason ‘Mew2King’ Zimmerman today confirmed he would not be attending Evo 2015 Championships following days of speculation that caused bitter arguments around 'top player privilege', a hot-topic in the world of Smash. In the end, Zimmerman was reported to have avoided the issue of by stumping up a $160 late registration fee, causing some dissent on Twitter from other top players who criticised what could be seen as special treatment, but he stated in a reddit post that the rumours were false and he had declined the offer made to him by Evo.

Long suffering from hand pain due in part to years of play, Zimmerman has fallen away from his previous high standards in Super Smash Bros Melee over the course of 2015, but a promising performance at WTFox had reignited calls for him to attend. While he could not win that competition, which eventually went to William ‘Leffen’ Hjelte, Zimmerman showed he is still capable of competing with the best, and his inclusion in the Melee singles bracket can only serve to add to the excitement this coming weekend. Although he had previously been playing both Melee and the newer title competitively, it seemed as though he will only play the older game at Evo, potentially to avoid further pain in his hands.

The news was initially reported on the SmashStudios stream run by Evan ‘PB+J’ Holland, a long-time friend of Zimmerman, and immediately sparked excitement across social media as fans began to salivate over a tournament with the elite six players in attendance. Moreover, the thought of Zimmerman not dividing his attention between Melee and Smash 4 is exciting for Melee fans, as there is a better chance he can channel his resources and focus, but the massive field is strong enough without him it seems, making this the first major in a while not to feature the king of modern Smash.