Panda Global CEO Removed Following Smash World Tour Fallout

Dr Alan Bunney has been removed as the CEO of Panda Global, following last week’s explosive allegations around the cancellation of the Smash World Tour.

In a statement on the official Panda Global Twitter account, they announced that an Interim Management Committee has taken over following the removal of their CEO.

“Panda has heard the concerns of the Smash Committee and is taking immediate action. Alan is no longer CEO, effective immediately”, the statement reads.

They also announced that the upcoming Panda Cup Finale would be postponed, and the organization would be issuing refunds to affected participants.

This follows an explosive row where the organizers of the Smash World Tour said their event would have to be cancelled, as the Smash Bros tournament circuit was unable to get approval from Nintendo, who are officially partnered with Panda Global.

According to them and corroborated by other sources, Dr Bunney was personally going around getting tournament organizers to withdraw support for the Smash World Tour, including broadcasters like Beyond the Summit.

“[Panda CEO] Alan spent several months basically running a protection racket telling TOs including BTS “It’d be a shame if your event got shutdown for being unlicensed” in an effort to scare them into signing onto the Cup. BTS will absolutely never participate in a circuit led by Alan”, says Beyond the Summit founder David Gorman.

Following the allegations Panda Global issued an earlier statement, which fans criticized as not really saying anything meaningful despite being a solid wall of text.

What soon followed was an exodus of talent from the brand, as players sponsored by Panda Global publicly denounced the organization and quit, while non-sponsored players also announced they would no longer be attending the Panda Cup Finale.

In the updated statement, Panda Global has said they intend to support players who are resigning, including releasing them from any contractual obligations.

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