ZeRo Announces Controversial Banned Players Tournament Series for Smash
Shunned Smash Ultimate pro Gonzalo “ZeRo” Castro is hoping to re-enter the Smash scene by hosting his own tournaments.
According to a recent video from the controversial content creator, many people have asked him to host his own tournaments since he’s been banned from all other Smash tournaments after being accused of inappropriately interacting with minors online.
Said ZeRo: “The community can’t control what I do.”
ZeRo posted a YouTube video that explained how he would host his own tournament and provide his own prize pool. It will be be invite only at the moment and start with just eight high level players. ZeRo will use the tournament for content for his YouTube channel and later implement a livestream.
But who will be attending the tournament?
According to ZeRo, the tournament won’t become a place for banned players to come together and compete. He said that he didn’t plan to “invite a bunch of criminals” and won’t be allowing anyone to play if they are banned for “horrible things.” On the other hand, there are certain players that ZeRo feels should be allowed to play but their ban “doesn’t make sense.”
For now, he’s letting fans tell him who they’d like to see compete in the comments. But “be reasonable,” ZeRo added, stating that some top players wouldn’t be able to play in his event or they’d lose sponsors, like Leonardo “MkLeo” Perez.
Down the line, the tournaments will get bigger and also have crowdfunding to raise the stakes. But for now, the idea is just to allow ZeRo to be a part of the community once again. He explained that he’d become bitter about the Smash community but recently had the chance to play against high level players once again, which helped him rediscover his passion.
“What happened with me and the Smash community gave me a sour taste on Smash in general. But I’m not a bitter person and I didn’t like how bitter I’ve been. [...] I remembered why it’s so fun and why it means so much to me. It rekindled the love I have for the game,” ZeRo said.
You can expect the Smash tournament to happen within a few weeks, giving ZeRo some time to set it up.
Smash Community Reacts to ZeRo Tournament
The response on YouTube has been largely positive, with many of ZeRo’s fans noting how excited and happy he seemed about the tournament. Many were also enthusiastic about the idea of seeing him and others compete once again.
Said one fan: “Great man! I love your ideas and the message you promote that people can make mistakes and move on, which is part of life. Huge respect to you for pushing forwards to better yourself in multiple ways, even when times get hard.”
Over on Twitter, the Smash community reacted with concern and frustration. A lot of people felt as though they had fought hard to run ZeRo out of the scene but he has continued to return in different ways. Initially, ZeRo came back as a YouTuber and even said he would be playing other games outside of Smash.
ZeRo was shunned from the Smash scene in 2020 when he was accused of harassing a 15-year-old, showing her inappropriate hentai and flirting with her at the Sky House. Screenshots revealed that ZeRo, 19 at the time, was aware how young the girls are when he said flirty things to them.
Ashamed of his own behavior, ZeRo banned himself from Smash tournaments. Despite his decision to leave the Smash community, Smash players continued to troll him. His appearance and behavior was constantly mocked online to the point that ZeRo attempted to take his own life. Even after this was revealed, the Smash community created memes about that.
ZeRo completely left the online world at this time. He started working out, losing weight, and focusing on his family and friends. When he returned, he announced that he would be making content on YouTube. Now, he will be hosting tournaments.
You can choose if you participate or not, watch or not. But some in the Smash community still don’t want him to have this opportunity after what he allegedly did. Why can’t he just leave the Smash scene alone, some wonder. And should he be forced to, others have questioned.
Olivia is a long-time esports journalist and editor who covers just about every game but has a deep love for the FGC. Her goal is to find community-driven stories that bring a new perspective to the esports scene. In the past, she has worked for Team Liquid, Rogue, Inven Global, Dot Esports, Upcomer, and more. Outside of esports, Olivia enjoys Kirby, Pokemon TCG, Fallout, and writing science fiction. She can be found trying out new foods, traveling, or hanging out with her two orange cats. Fun fact: Olivia can do some video game and cartoon impressions!