Everything to know about Virtuocity Smash Open 2022

The 2022 Smash World Tour will formally kick off this weekend at the Virtuocity Arena in Doha, Qatar. Virtuocity Smash Open 2022 will run from Thursday to Saturday as the first gold event of this year’s circuit.

The top three finishers at the event will each get a portion of the more than $2,500 prize pool. In addition, everyone in the top 48 will earn points toward the Smash World Tour. With only 79 attendees currently registered, the tournament could give many Middle Eastern players the chance to shine on a global stage for the first time.

Here’s everything to know about Virtuocity Smash Open before the event begins on Thursday.

How to watch Virtuocity Smash Open 2022

Both VGBootCamp and SSBQ will stream the Smash World Tour kick-off event on Twitch. It is slated to be the country’s biggest Super Smash Bros. Ultimate major of the year.

10,000 Qatari Riyals, streamed by VGBootcamp, at the biggest and only esports arena in the region @VirtuocityQatar!

Join us for the largest Super Smash Bros. tournament to be hosted in the region in Qatar!

Register now through the following link: https://t.co/RMP6c1nJE8 pic.twitter.com/6OTt9YgOVd

— Super Smash Bros. Qatar (@SSBQatar) March 4, 2022

Attendees will be able to compete in a Doubles bracket starting at 5 p.m. Arabia Standard Time on Thursday. Singles pools will begin at 4 p.m. the next day. Finally, Virtuocity Smash Open 2022 will culminate with top 16 at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Players to watch

As the only North American player currently registered, Santiago “Chag” Perez is the clear favorite to win Virtuocity Smash Open 2022. The Mexican Palutena main is coming off of a seventh-place finish at Collision 2022, where he defeated players like Toriano “Toast” Warren Jr., Abraham “BigBoss” Slane Parra and Jared “Stocktaker69” Berkowitz.

Moussa “eMass” Hafez will also be a frontrunner to perform well. The Saudi Arabian native goes to school in London and has found great success at recent Smash Ultimate tournaments. Piloting Joker, eMass has conquered European titans like Nassim “Leon” Laïb, James “Peli” Hunt and Mehdi “Flow” Zidany.

Although Chag and eMass have already proven themselves on an international scale, Virtuocity Smash Open 2022 could also allow other top Middle Eastern players to make names for themselves. Regional threats like Rashid “Snacc” Alharmoodi and Abdulmalek “Tooky” Akeel will undoubtedly aim to upset the top seeds.