Another pillar of the community enters the market as a free agent.
The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate scene is facing its second surprising announcement of the past seven days with the release of another top player from a tier-one organization.
TSM has released Gavin Tweek Dempsey, its sole Smash Ultimate player, after three years together, the org announced today.
Before joining TSM, Tweek first represented Phoenix1 in 2017 alongside Zach Captain Zach Lauth for Wii U and James Duck Ma for Melee. Tweek claimed his first premier tournament win on Nov. 4, 2017, at MKLeo Saga, alongside four more titles in Wii U, before leaving Phoenix1 on May 17, 2018.
On Dec. 29, 2018, Tweek transitioned into Ultimate as a free agent, entering his first major tournaments and continuing his prior dominance at Lets Make Moves and Glitch 6 before being picked up by TSM on Jan. 19, 2019, joining Smash Melee legend William Leffen Hjelte and coach Charles Thoren. Tweek was the first and only Smash Ultimate player to represent the organization after the departure of Gonzalo ZeRo Barrios to Tempo Storm in 2018.
Tweeks fame within the Ultimate scene continued to grow after his signing, including wins at Frostbite 2019, his first tournament with the organization, and Smash Ultimate Summit 3, his first invitational event. During his three years with TSM, Tweek claimed seven Major tournament titles, most recently including Supermajor Lets Make Big Moves 2023.
Tweeks performances kept him in the top echelon of players throughout Ultimate, ranking as high as second place in the 2019 Spring PGRU, the global player leaderboard, only falling behind Leonardo MKLeo Lopez Perez. Tweek continued his dominance over the years, finishing the most recent UltRank 2022 in eighth place.
Following TSMs announcement, Tweek confirmed his free agent status, which is now shared with MKLeo, who also parted ways with T1 last week. Both players will be attending Smash Ultimate Summit 6 on March 23 to 26, the first tournament since their release and possibly the last tournament for Beyond The Summit, which plans to shut down after the event.
The decision between TSM and Tweeks mutual parting brings up many questions about the future of Smashs competitive scene, with two of the greatest players in Ultimate history now orgless. Many organizations have subsequently dropped teams and players, with BTS co-founder, David LD Gorman, citing the esports winter as a major contributing factor for many large organizations’ recent decisions and layoffs.
Despite TSM dropping its only remaining Ultimate player, the org has not left the competitive scene entirely, still retaining Leffen, who first signed in 2015, marking an eight-year tenure and the sole representative of TSM in the entire Smash scene.