Random: Unluckiest Gaming Moment Of The Year? Smash Bros. Final Ends With A Tree Glitch

An extraordinarily unfortunate Super Smash Bros. Melee competitor has lost a tournament, along with a prize pot exceeding $2000, due to an exceedingly poorly timed glitch in the concluding round…of the final match. No, this is not a film.

As observed on YouTube (thanks, VGC), the pivotal match of the ‘Full House 2025’ competition in Pennsylvania, USA, turned out to be all sorts of unexpectedly thrilling when Canadian player Moky opted to get a bit too clever for his own good while trailing 2-0 against America’s Cody Schwab on the game’s Pokémon Stadium stage.

With a gap to bridge (the rules stipulate first to three), Moky chose to implement a professional strategy in Smash Bros. Melee known as ‘Wavedashing‘, a high-level technique/physics engine exploitation executed by air-dodging diagonally down into the ground.

All seemed well. However, as Moky ascends a tree on the left side of the arena (as illustrated in pro Smash player Hungrybox’s time-stamped video above) and starts to utilize Wavedash, he disappears through the tree and out of the stage to his demise, granting the winning point — and a delightful heap of cash — to a rather astonished Schwab.

The glitch that transpired is actually a well-known issue tied to the Pokémon Stadium arena, and these professional players are well aware of it, which has naturally led some on Reddit to allege Moky orchestrated it intentionally while down 2-0, which Moky refutes. (Language warning on that link!)

Regardless of the circumstances, and judging from the video itself, the occurrence certainly astonished his opponent, as well as bystanders, and we can’t help but feel a tad sorry watching Moky’s expression shift as he comprehends that all that sweet cash is drifting away on the good ship ‘Never Get Fancy When It’s Business Time’ (not a real vessel). Unless he did intend it.

Of course, Super Smash Bros Melee has a plethora of peculiar glitches and bugs that players are aware of at this point, some 24 years post its initial release. There’s the ‘Ice Climbers Wobbling Glitch‘, which has been prohibited in tournaments. There’s also the more ominously named ‘Black Hole Glitch‘, which…well…creates a black hole on the stage you’re on if you shoot the Super Scope in a specific coordinated manner with other players.

How on earth do people discover these phenomena?

Can you recall any recent gaming footage that displayed a moment this unfortunate? Do you think Moky did it intentionally? Be sure to share your thoughts!