With His Job Gone And 80 Percent Of His Staff Resigned, Former Panda Global CEO Gives Teaser Statement

This is one sad panda.

The "Smash World Tour" controversy involving Panda Global and Nintendo that has engulfed the Super Smash Brothers community in recent days and led to the cancelation of the Smash World Tour saw major developments before the stroke of midnight Sunday evening.

As Mainstage, the weekend's major tournament, wrapped up, Panda Global released a second, markedly different statement from the one it released Friday that many accused of being a giant "nothing burger."

Whereas its first statement echoed Nintendo's statement, accusing the Smash World Tour of lying about being strongarmed into canceling the 2022 championship and implying its intent to continue operating as if nothing happened, its second statement declares much more material action, including the removal of Dr. Alan Bunney as CEO of Panda Global.

In addition to the removal of Dr. Alan as CEO, Panda announced that its interim management committee would work with any staff or talent that desire to resign, including helping them find homes in other organizations. Additionally, the Panda Cup finale has been postponed, with Panda citing "security concerns."

Last week, VGBC, the team behind the Smash World Tour, announced that they had to cancel their 2022 championships two weeks before they were set to happen because Nintendo had essentially sent them a cease and desist.

In their letter, they mentioned that Dr. Alan of Panda Global, an organization that secured a partnership with Nintendo, had threatened other independent organizations like BTS (Beyond The Summit) by implying he would use his influence with Nintendo to get their events shut down unless they joined the Panda Cup. They did not directly accuse Dr. Alan of working with Nintendo to get the Smash World Tour shut down, but other tournament organizers corroborated these claims, leading many to assume he had some role in Nintendo's devastating C&D.

This led to an intense backlash against Panda as an organization, with many stating their intent to either not watch or not attend Panda tournaments, including their upcoming Panda Cup championships. Over the following days, reportedly 80 percent of Panda staff resigned, including high-profile community members Coney, WaDi, TK Breezy, VikkiKitty, Little Z, Plup, Punk and others.

Panda's second statement started to earn the organization back some goodwill, with many praising its dedication to helping former talent find new homes, but Dr. Alan apparently does not intend to remain silent.

Shortly after Panda released its statement, Alan released what can only be described as a "teaser" of a statement of his own. In a tweet, he said he stepped down as Panda CEO and had "evidence" that "SWT lied" and "BTS leadership put the community in jeopardy."

The statement, ironically similar to Papa John promising a 'day of reckoning' (Papa John's is a sponsor of BTS Smash), foretells a chaotic future for everyone in the Smash scene, with a "he said/they said" battle of accusations incoming.

At the moment, Smashers can look forward to a Ludwig-hosted tournament in the place of the Smash World Tour finals, as the YouTube mogul offered to hold a tournament featuring the Smash World Tour leaders and some invitees.

The tournament was set to take place at the same time as the Panda Cup finals, though Panda's postponement of its tournament now frees up the weekend for any who can attend.