Super Smash Bros. Melee pro Zachary “SFAT” Cordoni has parted ways with esports organization Counter Logic Gaming, CLG announced via Twitter on Friday. This marks the end of SFAT’s seven-year tenure with the organization, which began on December 16, 2015.
“With this new chapter in my life, I’m looking forward to having more autonomy with the game, focusing more on playing for the love of the game, as well as exploring potential opportunities and partnerships,” SFAT said in the CLG announcement video.
The end of an era.
Thank you @SFAT for an incredible 7 years of making CLG proud. We know the future can only be bright for our favorite plant-based gamer 💙 pic.twitter.com/MVKwWfSM9V
— NRG League (@NRGLeague) January 13, 2023
The announcement came following the worst year of competition in SFAT’s Melee career. SFAT dropped out of the top 20 for the first time, ranking a still-impressive 23rd on the Summer 2022 MPGR. With wins over Johnny “S2J” Kim, Edgard “n0ne” Sheleby, Josh “Joshman” Lyras, and Linus “Pipsqueak” Nordin, SFAT is still likely to finish in the top 30 of the year-end SSBMRank.
Despite a slight dip in his results, SFAT noted that 2022 brought many important developments in his personal life. He said he received his undergraduate degree and began a new career in gaming, among other things. SFAT also said he intends to streamline his tournament attendance going forward. He has signed up for Genesis 9 later this month and Fête 3: By the Sea in July.
More about SFAT and his CLG career
SFAT joined CLG about six months after his long-time Doubles partner, Kevin “PewPewU” Toy. The duo, known collectively as “PewFat,” is regarded as one of the best Melee Doubles teams of all time. They frequently won Doubles tournaments and defeated teams consisting of players who outranked both of them in Singles competition.
PewPewU retired from Melee competition in 2021 and transitioned into a senior marketing role at CLG. Nevertheless, PewPewU teamed up with SFAT again in 2022 for a Doubles exhibition set, where they earned a dominant 5-0 win over the up-and-coming duo of Calvin “Tempo” Taylor and Joseph “xRunRiot” Saunders. PewPewU remains in his position at CLG.
The greatest to ever do it ❤️
— Kevin Toy (@_PewPewU) January 13, 2023
During his time with CLG, SFAT was ranked top 10 in the world on multiple occasions. He has accrued multiple wins over many of the best Melee players of all time, including Joseph “Mang0” Marquez, Juan “Hungrybox” DeBiedma, Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman, William “Leffen” Hjelte, and Justin “Plup” McGrath.
Following Friday’s departure, James “VoiD” Makekau-Tyson is now the only professional Super Smash Bros. player left on CLG’s roster. VoiD is primarily a streamer, although he occasionally competes at a high level in Smash Ultimate and has been known to become the best player in the world at new platform fighters in his spare time.
