Super Smash Bros. Ultimate esports scene sick of Steve takeover

The amount of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players that used Steve at Cavalier Clash 6 this past weekend has frustrated the esports community.

Some of the best Ultimate players in the world showed up to Cavalier Clash 6, a small tournament held in Charlottesville, Virginia on March 2nd and March 3rd. The tournament caught the attention of the Smash community — but not for the pros who competed, rather the amount of Steves who placed in Top 64.

On X, Melee God Juan ‘Hungrybox‘ DeBiedma pointed out the amount of Steve players that made it to Cavalier Clash 6’s Top 64. In the tweet, Hungrybox said that the difference was so jarring that the preview didn’t even show the discrepancy due to how far Steve and the next character were.

In the Top 64, there were 12 Steves. The next most-used character was Mr. Game & Watch at three players. Most characters in the Top 64 showed up just once or twice.

The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate community responded with frustration. Ever since Steve was introduced as DLC, the Minecraft character has been consistently dominant in the competitive scene. He is currently the undisputable best character in the game, according to an updated official tier list.

With crazy frame data, tons of kill moves and fast, broken combos, many have even called on tournament organisers to ban Steve altogether — but Nintendo has fought against this in some cases.

One major to ban Steve was Let’s Make Big Moves in 2024. The TO’s surveyed the competitive Smash community, which resulted in many competitors and viewers voting for Steve to be removed. Some argued that the ban would impact top player Mashita ‘acola‘ Hayato, but the majority called the decision a W overall.

There have been plenty of majors and other big tournaments where relatively unknown players have made it to the Top 8 (or further) playing Steve, causing many to claim Steve carries whoever plays him. This has made tournaments less fun to watch — and even led to fans boo’ing during one Smash Con Top 8 against Steve and Sonic.

With Super Smash Bros. Ultimate not receiving any more updates, Steve will likely never be patched, leaving the Ultimate esports community to deal with him for now.