Team:Panda: Difference between revisions

Panda
Location	United States
Owners	David Wu (Mashumaro)
Sponsors/Partners	GEICO; Vertagear; Twitch; Meta Threads; Toshiba ; Funimation
Other games	Dragon Ball FighterZ; Guilty Gear Xrd; Hearthstone: Heroes of WarCraft; Heroes of the Storm; Marvel Vs. Capcom; Mortal Kombat; Splatoon; Street Fighter; TEKKEN

Latest revision as of 20:54, July 4, 2024

Panda, formerly Panda Global (PG), was a professional eSports organization based in the United States. It was co-founded by Alan Bunney (SamuraiPanda) and David Wu (Mashumaro) in June 2015 as a player-centric organization looking to help their players' careers, facilitate their goals, and promote the growth of the players' esports scene.

Panda entered the Smash scene on June 24th, 2015 after sponsoring top Super Smash Bros. 4 players ESAM and MVD, as well as SS. Since then, the company signed a multitude of other players for Smash 4, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Smash 64, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as well as commentators, content creators, video editors, and statisticians, becoming one of the most prominent Smash organizations.

Aside from their competitive team, Panda had a division, known as PGStats, that handled tournament data, including running global power rankings for Smash 4 (PGR), Melee (MPGR), and Ultimate (PGRU). The PGStats team also ran a website, PGStats.com, which acted as a player database and hub for Smash news.

On November 18th, 2021, Panda announced a partnership with Nintendo to create the first officially-licensed North American competitive circuit.^[1] This circuit was officially announced as the Panda Cup on May 26th, 2022, and was meant to take place from June 24th to December 18th of that year. However, due to Alan Bunney's role in the Smash World Tour 2022 cancellation controversy, the Panda Cup was boycotted, leading to its eventual cancellation. In the aftermath of the controversy, Panda paused all competitive and content activities, releasing its last player, Marss, on January 16th, 2023. Many employees left as well, leaving only nine members on the team, and Panda remained dormant until December 4th, where their Twitter account posted a link redirecting to a a webpage that contained a merchandise section on unsold Panda Cup jackets and a single blog post informing the community of the team's current situation.

On May 28th, 2024, a teaser was posted on Panda's Twitter account, where they displayed Morse code that translated to "NOT EXTINCT".^[2] Three days later, the team officially announced that they were in the process of restructuring.^[3]

Current smashers[edit]

This article or section may be out of date. (tagged November 2023)
The editor who added this tag elaborates: Most staff left, though we don't have any information about those
You can discuss this issue on the talk page or edit this page to bring it up to date.

Juggleguy
BOAT (Merchandise coordinator)

Former smashers[edit]

Pro smashers[edit]

ID	Name	Game	Join Date	Leave Date
SS	Shane Bruce	Super Smash Bros. for Wii U	2015-06-24	2017-01-02
Trela	Alberto Miliziano	Super Smash Bros. Brawl Super Smash Bros. for Wii U	2016-06-22	2017-01-02
Rich Brown	Rich Brown	Super Smash Bros. Brawl Super Smash Bros. for Wii U	2017-01-17	2017-10-17
MVD	Jestise Negron	Super Smash Bros. Brawl Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	2015-06-24	2019-01-04
Wobbles	Robert Wright	Super Smash Bros. Melee	2015-11-02	2019-01-04
Zain	Zain Naghmi	Super Smash Bros. Melee	2018-04-12	2019-08-11
Cosmos	Brian Kalu	Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	2018-07-26	2019-08-11
SuPeRbOoMfAn	Daniel Hoyt	Super Smash Bros.	2017-01-17	2020-07-08
Prince	Unknown name	Super Smash Bros.	2019-07-19	2021-07-16
Plup	Justin McGrath	Super Smash Bros. Melee Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	2015-06-30	2022-12-02
iBDW	Cody Schwab	Super Smash Bros. Melee	2020-05-05	2022-12-02
WaDi	Chris Boston	Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	2021-04-02	2022-12-02
ESAM	Eric Lew	Super Smash Bros. Melee Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	2015-06-24	2023-01-15
Marss	Tyler Martins	Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	2019-03-22	2023-01-16

Other smashers[edit]

Alpharad (content director, joined June 30th, 2016)
Bear (Team manager, tournament director, FGC manager)
suar (PG Stats director, joined May 7th, 2016)
Zan (PG Stats analyst, joined May 7th, 2016)
Tetra (PG Stats, joined June 2nd, 2016)
juddy (PG Stats statistician, joined June 2nd, 2016)
Stimpy (Actor Asa Butterfield, content creator)
FullStream (Rivals of Aether player)
Chia (Joined May 5th, 2020)
Simply (Mario 64 speedrunner, content creator)
Tantalus (PG Tournament Organizer)
turndownforwalt (Content creator)
BobbyWasabi (Video editor)
VikkiKitty (Commentator, content creator)
TKbreezy (Commentator, content creator)
Coney (Creative Lead, commentator)
PracticalTAS (PGstats mathematician)
Daramgaria (Commentator, content creator)
Jackie Peanuts (PGstats director)
Brentos (PGstats Melee Content Writer)
Jut (Social media manager)
Jaaahsh (Community organizer, player manager)
Little Z (Content creator)
KingKirb64 (PG Hardware Engineer)
Kantrip (Influencer; joined May 2020^[4], left December 2022^[5])
Spike (PGstats designer)
Dom (PGstats writer, joined May 7th, 2016)
fyazko (content creator, joined June 2nd, 2016)
Keith (lead graphics artist, project manager)
PSI (graphics artist)

Other famous players[edit]

Justin Wong (JWong) FGC
Kyohei Lehr (MarlinPie) GGXrd
Alexandre Dub-Bilodeau (Hayatei) MK11
Bryant Benzing (Kitana Prime) MK11
Jachin Harte (SKD) BBCF, BBTag
Stephen Stafford (Speedkicks) Tekken 7
Evan Towne (Rocketek) Splatoon
Derek Bruscas (Nakkiel) Dragon Ball FighterZ
Victor Woodley (Punk) SF5
Keenan Kizzie (Kizzie Kay) GGXrd, SamSho19
Faye Mata Voice Actor
Anna Cramling Chess
Wolfe Glick (WolfeyVGC) Pokémon

PG Key[edit]

PG Key was an online tournament series organized by PG and directed by Bear. Each entry was a qualifier dedicated to a major offline tournament, with the winner being flown out as an honorary player temporarily sponsored by the organization.

Tournament	Date	Entrants	Winner	Runner-up
Key to The PG House	September 8th-18th, 2016	1994	Wrath NA Mr.R EU	Raffi-X NA Badr EU
PG Key to GENESIS 4	January 1st-5th, 2017	986	Cosmos*	Wrath*
PG Key to Frostbite 2017	February 12th-17th, 2017	740	Cosmos*	Zage
PG Key to 2GGC: Civil War	March 5th-8th, 2017	620	Sonido	CaptainZack
PG Key to Midwest Mayhem 8	March 18th-30th, 2017	450	Sonix*	lapis lazuli*

*Cosmos and Wrath were both unable to attend, so the key was passed down to the 3rd place finisher, Koolaid.
*Cosmos was unable to attend, so the key was passed down to the runner-up, Zage.
*Sonix and lapis lazuli both declined their keys, so it was passed down to the 3rd place finisher, Locus.

Gallery[edit]

Panda's former logo.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

[1] Announcement of partnership

[2] Teaser.

[3] Panda's restructuring.

[4] ttps://twitter.com/PandaGlobal/status/1257751153498087424]

[5] ttps://twitter.com/kongmunism/status/1599838305910423552?s=20

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 | image      = PandaHD.png
 | location   = United States {{Flag|USA}}
-| owners     = Alan Bunney ({{Sm|SamuraiPanda}})<br>David Wu ({{Sm|Mashumaro}})
+| owners     = David Wu ({{Sm|Mashumaro}})
 | manager    =
 | sponsors   = [https://www.geico.com/ GEICO]<br>[http://vertagear.com Vertagear]<br>[https://www.twitch.tv/ Twitch]<br>[https://metathreads.com/ Meta Threads]<br>[https://ssd.toshiba-memory.com/en-amer/ Toshiba] <br>[https://www.funimation.com/subscribe/?irgwc=1&utm_campaign=302280&utm_medium=374389&utm_source=ImpactRadius Funimation]
 | othergames =''Dragon Ball FighterZ''<br>''Guilty Gear Xrd''<br>''Hearthstone: Heroes of WarCraft''<br>''Heroes of the Storm''<br>''Marvel Vs. Capcom''<br>''Mortal Kombat''<br>''Splatoon''<br>''Street Fighter''<br>''TEKKEN''
 }}
-'''Panda''', formerly '''Panda Global''' ('''PG'''), is a professional eSports organization based in the United States. It was co-founded by Alan Bunney ({{Sm|SamuraiPanda}}) and David Wu ({{Sm|Mashumaro}}) in June 2015 as a player centric organization looking to help their players' careers, facilitate their goals, and promote the growth of the eSports scenes they participate in.
+'''Panda''', formerly '''Panda Global''' ('''PG'''), was a professional eSports organization based in the United States. It was co-founded by Alan Bunney ({{Sm|SamuraiPanda}}) and David Wu ({{Sm|Mashumaro}}) in June 2015 as a player-centric organization looking to help their players' careers, facilitate their goals, and promote the growth of the players' esports scene.
-Panda entered the world of ''Smash'' on June 24th, 2015 with the sponsorship of Florida ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' and ''[[Smash 4]]'' top players {{Sm|ESAM}} and {{Sm|MVD}} as well as {{SSB4|Villager}} main {{Sm|SS|p=Arizona}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/3b7nhd/esam_and_mvd_have_officially_signed_with_new/|title=ESAM and MVD have officially signed with new esports team Panda Gaming!}}</ref>. On June 30th, Panda took their first step in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' by signing Florida-based {{SSBM|Sheik}} player {{Sm|Plup}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pg_plup/status/615981769058316288|title=Plup joins Panda}}</ref>. On November 2nd, Panda signed the [[EVO 2013]] ''Melee'' runner-up {{Sm|Wobbles}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pandaglobalpg/status/661343133712674816|title=Panda signs Wobbles}}</ref>. On June 22nd, 2016, they picked up {{SSB4|Ryu}} main {{Sm|Trela}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/16421839/panda-global-signs-trela-compete-team-banner-ceo|title=Panda signs Trela, will compete under team banner at CEO}}</ref>. On June 30th, {{Sm|Alpharad}} joined the team as their content director<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pandaglobalpg/status/748646569436602368|title=Alpharad joins Panda}}</ref>.
+Panda entered the ''Smash'' scene on June 24th, 2015 after sponsoring top ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'' players {{Sm|ESAM}} and {{Sm|MVD}}, as well as {{Sm|SS|p=Arizona}}. Since then, the company signed a multitude of other players for ''Smash 4'', ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'', ''[[Smash 64]]'', and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', as well as commentators, content creators, video editors, and statisticians, becoming one of the most prominent ''Smash'' organizations.
-On May 7th, 2016, Panda picked up {{Sm|Dom|p=Tri-state}}, {{Sm|Zan}}, and {{Sm|suar}} as a newly-formed subteam called '''PG Stats''' which specialises in ''Smash 4'' statistics<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/4ibrb5/panda_global_announces_new_smash_4_stats_team/|title=Panda announces new Smash 4 stats team}}</ref>. They are responsible for the [[Panda Global Rankings]], a biannual list that ranks the Top 50 ''Smash 4'' players in the world. {{Sm|Tetra}}, {{Sm|juddy}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/PandaGlobalPG/status/738452493936558081|title=juddy and Tetra join PG Stats}}</ref>, {{Sm|Giant}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/ThePGstats/status/799378123833929728|title=Giant joins PG Stats as Lead Systems Engineer!}}</ref>, and {{Sm|Spike}} were later added to the PG Stats team, although Tetra and juddy later left.
+Aside from their competitive team, Panda had a division, known as PGStats, that handled tournament data, including running global power rankings for ''Smash 4'' ([[PGR]]), ''Melee'' ([[MPGR]]), and ''Ultimate'' ([[PGRU]]). The PGStats team also ran a website, PGStats.com, which acted as a player database and hub for ''Smash'' news.
-In January 2017, following SS and Trela's departure from the organization, Panda added SoCal's best {{SSB4|Mewtwo}} main {{Sm|Rich Brown}} to their ''Smash 4'' team and expanded into ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' by picking up {{Sm|SuPeRbOoMfAn}}, the best player in North America and second best player in the world according to the [[64 League Rankings]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/18493165/panda-global-signs-superboomfan-rich-brown|title=Panda signs SuPeRbOoMfAn and Rich Brown}}</ref>. On April 12th, 2018, Panda added MD/VA's best player {{Sm|Zain}} to their ''Melee'' team<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/PandaGlobal/status/984521696957870080|title=Welcome to the Plup Club: Zain joins Panda!}}</ref>. On July 26th, 2018, Panda added {{SSB4|Corrin}} main {{Sm|Cosmos}} to their ''Smash 4'' team<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/PandaGlobal/status/1022572682989199366|title=Introducing Panda's newest member, Cosmos!!}}</ref>.
+On November 18th, 2021, Panda announced a partnership with [[Nintendo]] to create the first officially-licensed North American competitive circuit.<ref>[https://www.panda.gg/news/panda-nintendo-circuit Announcement of partnership]</ref> This circuit was officially announced as the {{Trn|Panda Cup}} on May 26th, 2022, and was meant to take place from June 24th to December 18th of that year. However, due to Alan Bunney's role in the [[Cancellation of Smash World Tour 2022|Smash World Tour 2022 cancellation controversy]], the Panda Cup was boycotted, leading to its eventual cancellation. In the aftermath of the controversy, Panda paused all competitive and content activities, releasing its last player, {{Sm|Marss}}, on January 16th, 2023. Many employees left as well, leaving only nine members on the team, and Panda remained dormant until December 4th, where their Twitter account posted a link redirecting to a [https://www.panda.gg/ a webpage] that contained a merchandise section on unsold Panda Cup jackets and a single blog post informing the community of the team's current situation.
-On November 18th, 2021, Panda announced a partnership with [[Nintendo]] to create the first officially-licensed North American competitive circuit.<ref>[https://www.panda.gg/news/panda-nintendo-circuit Announcement of partnership]</ref> On May 26th, 2022, the circuit was officially announced as the {{Trn|Panda Cup}}.<ref>[https://www.panda.gg/news/panda-cup-announcement Panda Cup announcement]</ref> It is taking place from June 24th to December 18th, 2022 and features ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''.
+On May 28th, 2024, a teaser was posted on Panda's Twitter account, where they displayed Morse code that translated to "NOT EXTINCT".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/PandaGlobal/status/1806764545375113258|title=Teaser}}</ref> Three days later, the team officially announced that they were in the process of restructuring.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/PandaGlobal/status/1807821548289503329|title=Panda's restructuring}}</ref>
-On November 29th, 2022, a Twitlonger from the [[Smash World Tour 2022]] was published alleging that Panda had leveraged their relationship with Nintendo to strong-arm tournament organizers into joining the Panda Cup circuit, threatening to shut down events in 2023. The TwitLonger also alleged that they had played a significant role in the last-minute cancellation of the Smash World Tour 2022 Championships for Ultimate and Melee, claiming that CEO Alan Bunney had campaigned to have the circuit shut down. This caused significant backlash from the community, with several prominent figures criticizing Panda's and Nintendo's actions, including top players {{Sm|Sparg0}} and {{Sm|Hungrybox}} as well as notable streamers such as {{Sm|Cr1TiKaL}}, and {{Sm|Ludwig}}. Many players also dropped out of the Panda Cup as many in the community called for a boycott. In response, Panda released two responses. The first released on December 2nd and was largely criticized for lacking substance, leading to the departure of {{Sm|Plup}}, {{Sm|iBDW}}, and {{Sm|WaDi}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/PandaGlobal/status/1598741395870605312|title=Panda's first response}}</ref> The second response was released on December 5th, which was more well received due to the CEO Bunney stepping down and the team's commitment to helping team members with their departure.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/PandaGlobal/status/1599631343159480321|title=Panda's second response}}</ref>
-On December 7th, Bunney himself released a [https://medium.com/@alan_43400/my-statement-3a66fd37978a personal response] detailing his side of the story. The main points were that he and Panda never meant to harm VGBC and even defended them at points, members of Beyond the Summit were difficult to work with, and members of the community were conspiring to turn on Panda, as well as the theory that Smash World Tour was never going to happen and was only a front to be perceived as a martyr by the community. This response was met with backlash from the community, with many prominent figures, even ones not mentioned in any response up to that point, speaking up to challenge and debunk his claims. Others pointed out that Bunney may actually had good intentions, but it was ruined by his poor communication and behavior.
 ==Current smashers==
-===Other smashers===
+{{out of date|November 2023|Most staff left, though we don't have any information about those}}
-*{{Sm|Spike|USA}} (PGstats designer)
-*{{Sm|Dom|USA|c1=Villager|c2=Sheik|g=SSB4|p=Tri-state}} (PGstats writer, joined May 7th, 2016)
-*{{Sm|fyazko|USA}} (content creator, joined June 2nd, 2016)
-*{{Sm|Keith|USA}} (lead graphics artist, project manager)
-*{{Sm|PSI|USA|c1=Lucas|g=SSBU}}{{Head|Young Link|g=SSBU|s=20px}} (graphics artist)
-*{{Sm|Kantrip|Canada|c1=Diddy Kong|g=SSBU}} (Influencer)
 *{{Sm|Juggleguy|USA|c1=Captain Falcon|g=SSBM}}
 *{{Sm|BOAT|USA|c1=Toon Link|g=SSBU}} (Merchandise coordinator)
@@ Line 138: / Line 128: @@
 |''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''
 |{{head|ROB|g=SSBU|s=24px}}{{head|Mewtwo|g=SSBU|s=24px}}
-{{head|Random|g=SSB4|s=24px}}
 |2021-04-02
 |2022-12-02
@@ Line 175: / Line 164: @@
 *{{Sm|VikkiKitty|c1=Corrin|c2=Kirby|g=SSBU|USA}} (Commentator, content creator)
 *{{Sm|TKbreezy|c1=Wii Fit Trainer|g=SSBU|USA}} (Commentator, content creator)
-*{{Sm|Coney|USA|c1=Wolf|g=SSBU}} (Creative Lead, commentator)
+*{{Sm|Coney|USA|c1=Banjo & Kazooie|g=SSBU}} (Creative Lead, commentator)
 *{{Sm|PracticalTAS|Canada}} (PGstats mathematician)
 *{{Sm|Daramgaria|c1=Ness|c2=King Dedede|g=SSBU|USA}} (Commentator, content creator)
 *{{Sm|Jackie Peanuts|c1=Dr. Mario|g=SSBU|USA}} (PGstats director)
+*{{Sm|Brentos|c1=Peach|g=SSBM|USA}} (PGstats Melee Content Writer)
 *{{Sm|Jut|USA|c1=Incineroar|g=SSBU}} (Social media manager)
 *{{Sm|Jaaahsh|USA|c1=R.O.B.|g=SSBU}} (Community organizer, player manager)
 *{{Sm|Little Z|Australia|c1=Wario|g=SSBU}} (Content creator)
+*{{Sm|KingKirb64|USA|c1=Kirby|g=SSBU}} (PG Hardware Engineer)
+*{{Sm|Kantrip|Canada|c1=Diddy Kong|g=SSBU}} (Influencer; joined May 2020<ref>https://twitter.com/PandaGlobal/status/1257751153498087424] </ref>, left December 2022<ref>https://twitter.com/kongmunism/status/1599838305910423552?s=20</ref>)
+*{{Sm|Spike|USA}} (PGstats designer)
+*{{Sm|Dom|USA|c1=Villager|c2=Sheik|g=SSB4|p=Tri-state}} (PGstats writer, joined May 7th, 2016)
+*{{Sm|fyazko|USA}} (content creator, joined June 2nd, 2016)
+*{{Sm|Keith|USA}} (lead graphics artist, project manager)
+*{{Sm|PSI|USA|c1=Lucas|g=SSBU}}{{Head|Young Link|g=SSBU|s=20px}} (graphics artist)
 ==Other famous players==
@@ Line 196: / Line 193: @@
 *Faye Mata <small>''Voice Actor''</small>
 *Anna Cramling <small>''Chess''</small>
+*Wolfe Glick (WolfeyVGC) <small>''Pokémon''</small>
 ==PG Key==
@@ Line 213: / Line 211: @@
 |[[PG Key to Midwest Mayhem 8]]||March 18th-30th, 2017||450||{{Sm|Sonix|Dominican Republic}}*||{{Sm|lapis lazuli|USA}}*
 |}
-*Cosmos and Wrath were both unable to attend, so the key was passed down to the 3rd place finisher, {{Sm|Koolaid}}.
+{{*}}Cosmos and Wrath were both unable to attend, so the key was passed down to the 3rd place finisher, {{Sm|Koolaid}}.<br>
-*Cosmos was unable to attend, so the key was passed down to the runner-up, Zage.
+{{*}}Cosmos was unable to attend, so the key was passed down to the runner-up, Zage.<br>
-*Sonix and lapis lazuli both declined their keys, so it was passed down to the 3rd place finisher, {{Sm|Locus}}.
+{{*}}Sonix and lapis lazuli both declined their keys, so it was passed down to the 3rd place finisher, {{Sm|Locus}}.
 ==Gallery==

Panda

Location	United States
Owners	David Wu (Mashumaro)
Sponsors/Partners	GEICO Vertagear Twitch Meta Threads Toshiba Funimation
Other games	Dragon Ball FighterZ Guilty Gear Xrd Hearthstone: Heroes of WarCraft Heroes of the Storm Marvel Vs. Capcom Mortal Kombat Splatoon Street Fighter TEKKEN

Team:Panda: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 20:54, July 4, 2024

Contents

Current smashers[edit]

Former smashers[edit]

Pro smashers[edit]

Other smashers[edit]

Other famous players[edit]

PG Key[edit]

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

Navigation menu

Page actions

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