For years, Panda has been proud to work with individuals who show great potential, both as competitors and creators, and have made it our mission to help foster their growth along the way. We're always on the lookout for new games and communities to branch out into. Unfortunately, sometimes this also means moving away from some games to make way for new ones. With this in mind, we took a look at how we have evolved and what we have in store for later.
To this end, we’ve come to the decision to part ways for now with these game titles:
- Mortal Kombat
- Smash 64
- Pokemon
- Card Games
- Rivals of Aether
- Soul Calibur
Unfortunately, this also means we’ll be parting ways with some members of our roster as well. Though their time with Panda has come to an end, we are grateful to have been a part of their journey, and we wish each of these talents tremendous success in all of their future endeavors. You may also notice that Kitana Prime and RayC aren’t on the roster page anymore; while they aren’t on the pro team going forward they’ve accepted staff positions at Panda and you may still see them featured in content going forward.
To help say goodbye, our CEO Dr. Alan would like to share some of our favorite memories with each these players while they were on Panda:
Fullstream
“You’d think that my favorite memory of Fullstream was when he brought home the Genesis 6 trophy for RoA, but what people didn’t realize for the longest time is that Fullstream is a really entertaining guy. My favorite memory of him is when we sent him to the first Smash Ultimate Summit as a guest and entered Mafia. Fullstream didn’t just win, he was the d**n Godfather of that Mafia. I’ll always fondly remember the memes that spawned out of that day.”
Prince
“Before we signed Prince, we had constantly been amazed by his raw talent. Choosing a favorite Prince moment is like trying to choose your favorite child, an impossible question given how incredible every combo he shows us is. I’m just proud he did some of those combos in a Panda jersey.”
Hayatei
“Hayatei has always been a hard worker at every event I’ve ever seen him at. While others would hang out with friends, Hayatei would always be practicing. I can’t remember which event it was at now, but Hayatei had a very disappointing defeat in bracket…after the loss, instead of going back to his hotel room, he sat at the setups and practiced through the night and even into the next morning. That always stuck with me.”
BNBBN
“When we first brought BNBBN in, we weren’t sure how he’d get along with his teammates since he so rarely traveled before. So the memory that stands out to me the most is Evo 2019, seeing him laugh along with KP and MarlinPie at our media day. That was the moment that convinced me he would really fit in.”
Cybertron
“Cybertron had given us many fun moments over the years but my favorite memory was definitely his interview of Simone Lim, the 6 year old Pokémon champion. Their interaction was so pure that you’d have to have a heart of rock to not be moved by the raw passion. And it was cool to later find out that she lives close to Shen Chan in Singapore!”
Akamarured
“Sure, Akamarured is an amazing Shadowverse competitor and a wildly intelligent player. But my favorite memory of him was in the raw unused footage of a documentary we filmed in Japan during RAGE—from when he visited a maid cafe for the first time. Don’t worry Akamaru, we won’t release the full cut.”
SKD
“We’ve had plenty of great times with SKD but my favorite part of having him on the team isn’t a single one of those memories. It was simply just watching his Izayoi move. When he was in the zone, it was like SKD was in a single player game making plays that kept your eyebrows up the whole time you’re watching him. I don’t know how many people in the FGC can match SKD’s technical skill at his peak.”
Shen Chan
“His hair. Never met a player that cared more about his hair (for good reason!) and always made sure it was on point when he got on stage to show off his bada** Cervantes. He was so genuinely excited when HyperX released earbuds so he could rock our sponsor without ruffling his favorite asset... So for me it’s his hair that stands out (or up?) the most.”
Wolfey
“Wolfey.. so many memories to choose from. While there are many thanks we can give to a certain fish for his channel blowing up as big as it did (deservedly so!), my favorite memory was his first Pokémon VGC major after Sword & Shield released. At his request, one of our staff members hand sewed him a champion cape for his first offline major. Seeing him play while looking like a Pokémon champion in every sense of the word? Magical. I know everyone on Panda is rooting for Wolfey, and we can’t wait to see how much higher he’ll go!”
Today, we say farewell to our former Pandas and wish them all the best of luck for the future. While we can never replace these phenomenal talents and the memories we’ve made together, we hope that you’ll look forward to seeing all of the exciting things Panda has in store for the future.