It is with a heavy heart that Panda Global parts ways with three members of our roster: Speedkicks, Zerofyne and SuPeRbOoMfAn.
Stephen “Speedkicks” Stafford, after much deliberation, has decided he is retiring from Tekken - although, we hope this does not mean a retirement for his intelligent quips about the franchise on his Twitter. Speedkicks has earned the title of a veteran Panda, having donned the jersey in 2017 when he joined our growing family. Over the years, Speedkicks twice took his talent all the way to the Tekken World Tour Finals, collecting various 1st place wins along the way, including: ECT 2017, DH Austin 2018 and DH Atlanta 2018. We’ve made incredible memories together, and between his powerful Hwoarang and his sense of humor, he’s been a joy to have with us for these last 3 years. We know he’ll accomplish great things with whatever passion he chases in the future.
Our Shadowverse player, Stavros “Zerofyne” Vitsensatos, left the game some time ago, and while he still engages with the community and plays casually, he no longer sees a future as a competitor in the title. Instead, Zerofyne has shifted his competitive focus back to Yu-Gi-Oh!, and is exploring the reboot Vanguard ZERO. We are proud to have had Zerofyne represent Panda Global at the Shadowverse EU Contenders Cup 2018, and his noteworthy 2nd place finish at the World Circuit Singapore 2018. He’s still an amazing competitor, so watch out for him in the world of Yu-Go-Oh!
Despite Dan “SuPeRbOoMfAn” Hoyt’s astounding achievements in Super Smash Bros 64, he’s found over the last year his passion for the game has been waning, so he is currently exploring other life opportunities. When the mood strikes him and he plays, he’s still one of the world’s best competitors and the memories we have with him are irreplaceable. Taking countless tournament wins in 2018, the memory of his Falcon Kick to win Genesis 5 has been seared into our brains, and he’s won every Smash’N’Splash and Get On My Level he has attended. He didn’t stop there, he even secured a world record speedrun in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back! SuPeRbOoMfAn will remain an unbelievable Smash 64 competitor no matter where life takes him.
Goodbyes are never easy, but Panda Global supports each one of them as they take these next steps in self-discovery--both as competitors and individuals.
From the staff and players of Panda Global, we wish Speedkicks, Zerofyne and SuPeRbOoMfAn the best of luck in their futures!