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With Smash 4 making its Sunday night debut at EVO 2017 soon, it’s time for its pro scene to govern itself in a way worthy of the game’s rising prominence. A players’ association could help hammer out a structured and centralized event circuit, but also, help retain the welcoming and open ethos the community is known for. And, with tournaments like CEO Dreamland netting a $20,000 loss, it might be best for organizers to slow their roll, too—as long as pros can still make ends meet.

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Smash 4 players do make a living playing video games, which, probably, is what they’ve always wanted. That makes them easy targets for exploitation, For tournament organizers, team owners and investors, weekly tournaments mean constant revenue. A majority of top players would have to stand up and boycott, risking everything they’ve done to get this far. “These players are living their dreams,” Ibrahim said. “They’ll kill themselves to do it. That’s how exploitation works in this industry.”