Coliseum

As reported by PVPLive, at least one attendee at last weekend’s APEX 2016 event was the victim of sexual harassment. Following their original coverage, PVPLive received a statement directly from APEX  manager Andre “Bifuteki” Augustin regarding the incident(s); that statement reads as follows:

We, the staff at APEX, are excited to have completed a successful 2016 tournament. Unfortunately — in the midst of our celebration — we were informed of a couple of incidents of sexual harassment towards several players perpetrated by a set of individuals during the tournament.

After speaking with the individuals who were affected by these actions and gathering  eyewitness accounts, we have been able to identify the persons who committed the  unacceptable behavior and they will no longer be allowed to attend any future APEX tournaments.

APEX has zero tolerance for any type of harassment and it will not be allowed at our event. We believe in creating an inclusive environment and would never want anyone attending APEX to feel uncomfortable or unsafe and we are committed to ensuring that environment exists.

For the future, we encourage all attendees to adhere to this and to notify any APEX staff if an incident of harassment is committed immediately so that it is addressed swiftly.

We do deeply regret what occurred to the affected parties, and we hope that this incident  doesn’t deter them or any others from coming back to APEX 2017.

This zero tolerance policy against harassment makes a clear statement about what is and isn’t allowed at an event. Perhaps this crackdown on unacceptable treatment of fellow community members will make a meaningful difference in the way we interact.

Harassment has been a big talking point recently. Combo Breaker and the Capcom Pro Tour recently took actions against incidents of sexual harassment, and first hand tellings paint a vivid image of what it feels like being harassed.

Source: PVPLive

In yet another big player signing ahead of CEO this weekend, Panda Global have welcomed the Ryu master Alberto “Trela” Miliziano to their Smash 4 lineup. While being previously known in the Brawl community as the world’s best Lucario, Trela initially made waves in Smash 4 with his usage of low tier characters like Mii Swordfighter, Charizard and Shulk, winning many local tournaments in the Houston area with these unorthodox character picks. However, the Texan truly rose to prominence with the release of Ryu, with his results drastically improving once the World Warrior joined the roster.

Since then, Trela has taken games off of Team eLevate’s Larry Lurr, CLG|VoiD, FOW and Vinnie, using his trademark yellow Ryu. He’s currently considered the best Ryu in the world, with his tricky use of Ryu’s up tilt to guarantee early kills, as well as his fearlessness to go offstage to dunk someone with a jumping fierce punch. With his last 3 tournament entries resulting in victory, this Street Fighter is certainly one to watch over the CEO weekend.

Source: Panda Global