Absurd Smash Ultimate “xtreme” meme tournament is actually happening

Michael Gwilliam
Viral Smash Ultimate xtreme ruleset tournament

A hilarious meme in the Super Smash Bros Ultimate community is finally being realized in the form of a tournament featuring an outrageous ruleset dubbed “xtreme.”

If you’ve ever been around the Smash Ultimate community, chances are you’ve seen a photo of this ruleset at some point in time. The ridiculous tournament rules are insanely strict to the point where they’re downright restrictive.

For instance, the rules state that taunting is not allowed because “it’s rude and make opponents feel bad.” Additionally, gimping, spiking directional air-dodging, counters and complaining about the rules are not allowed.

Even more strange, certain fighters are outright banned including Pokemon Trainer, Bayoneta (for being too good), Duck Hunt and every single Echo fighter with the reasoning being “they can be confusing to opponents and don’t add anything to the game.”

Smash Xtreme tournament meme
The meme tournament is really happening.

While the rules seem like they were designed by a small child wanting an unfair advantage in their own tournament, the picture quickly spread online and into many communities.

The original ruleset stated the tournament would happen at someone’s house on February 16, 2019, with a “sharp” start time of 8:00 AM. Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing if it even ended up happening, but that isn’t stopping one tournament organizer from putting on the “Xtreme” showcase to crown a King of Smash.

Wumbo, a tournament organizer and commentator who hosts events in the Houston, Texas area has announced an online version of the Xtreme ruleset on February 13, 2021 – with some minor changes.

For one, the 8:00 AM start time has been changed to 2:00 PM CST and while no pizza or soda will be provided, the entry fee is now free for everyone. The winner, however, will still be getting pizza delivered, so there’s that!

Speaking with Dexerto, Wumbo explained that he had seen the meme of the ruleset posted a long time ago and thought it was funny.

“Now that I’m a larger tournament organizer, I like to run some off the wall events,” he added, mentioning how he had run games featuring just Legend of Zelda fighters and other weird stipulations.

Pokemon trainer in smash
Sorry Pokemon Trainer mains, your character is banned.

As for whether he thinks the creator of the original ruleset was serious, he seems unsure. “It’s really hard to tell. It seems so personal that I wanna say it was. But someone young, you know?”

In any case, this tournament could be one of the most insane events in Smash history. Considering it’s free to enter, players may want to check it out or watch the stream for all the action and potential disqualifications.

About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam