Money match

A money match, sometimes referred to as a cash battle and abbreviated as MM, is a match that involves an element of gambling, such as the winner getting a sum of real-world money or some other prize in addition to an in-game victory. Money matches can occur at any time for any reason, often used as a method of gaining competitive sets outside of tournaments. Money matches are sometimes side events at tournaments (such as in a Salty Suite), as well as proposed in an online environment with electronic methods of payment being used to pay the wager. Non-monetary wagers are also commonplace, such as the loser paying for the winner's expenses or giving up a valuable item of some kind; a particularly well-known money match between Fox players Leffen and Chillin at Apex 2015 had a monetary wager of $100 USD, along with the loser surrendering the "rights" to Fox's default costume. Sometimes the wager is simply bragging rights, which itself can be quite valuable in a competitive sport, where public image is very important. In many cases, players' careers can be defined by their performance in money matches; Rolex vs. Professor Pro at SKTAR 3 remains one of the most famous sets in the history of Project M and Smash as a whole.

While not a requirement, money matches often feature a "theme" between the two players, with mirror matches being particularly common; EVO 2015, for instance, featured a $100 USD money match between Bizzarro Flame and Kage, two notable Melee Ganondorf players.

Money matches typically have the same rules as tournament sets, such as stage and character counterpicks, and are usually best-of-three, best-of-five, or, in particularly high-stakes cases, first-to-five. Two-on-two money matches are not unheard of, but are considerably rarer than singles.

The highest tangible stakes of any money match to date was $20,000 USD, between Ludwig and NoahJ456 in a First to 5 in Ultimate at The Match on December 15th, 2023. Before 2023, the largest amount for a money match was $1,000 USD, shared by money matches between Tafokints and Tian in Apex 2014's Salty Suite, Leffen and Mango during bracket at Apex 2015, and Leffen and SFAT at DreamHack Winter 2015. Leffen and Westballz had also planned to have a $1,000 money match, though this never materialized. shofu and rival YouTuber Verlisify also planned to have a $1,000 money match in December 2018 and both spent several months practicing, but Verlisify backed out at the last minute.

Generally, money matches only occur in the North American, South American, and European tournament scenes (with exceptions, such as Norway). In Japan, money matches can be considered to be non-government-condoned gambling, and thus, have questionable legality.

Notable Money Matches

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• The $1000 Money Match: Tian Vs. Tafokints
• SKTAR 3 - Professor Pro vs Rolex - $100 Money Match
• Salty Suite - Leffen (Fox) Vs. Liquid Chillin (Fox) - $100 Money Match
• Apex 2015 - C9 Mango (Falco) Vs. Leffen (Fox) - $1000 Money Match
• - VGBC's Salty Suite - Bizzarro Flame (Ganondorf) Vs. Eikelmann (Ganon) SSBM
• Salty Suite - MattDotZeb (Falco) Vs. Kage The Warrior (Ganondorf)
• WTFox: C9Mango(Marth) vs. TSM_Leffen(Fox) $365 Bo5
• TSM | Leffen Vs. SFAT - $1000 FT5
• $6000 Money match Reckful vs Reynad
• Pound 2019 - ESAM (Pikachu) vs. Samsora (Peach) - $500 Money Match
• The Match - Ludwig vs NoahJ456 - $20,000 First to 5 SSBU