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The Super Smash Bros. esports scene is notoriously broke. The tournaments are often crowdfunded, with prize pools reaching only a few thousand. This hasn’t stopped players from grinding Melee for hours every single day, which is what makes the scene special… And maybe a bit stupid.

One of the most notorious examples of the Smash scene’s lack of career paths? Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman. Whether competing, coaching, or streaming, Mew2King can’t seem to make a living in Smash, despite dedicating his entire life to the scene.

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The Smash community has been worried about Mew2King for quite some time now. He’s gone through a lot of emotional trauma, bullying, and hardship. Through it all, he has continued to stay focused on Smash, a scene where he has spent the majority of his life deeply analyzing the mechanics more than anyone.

While he was competing, Mew2King was dropped by Echo Fox. He no longer had a sponsor flying him to events or paying him a steady salary. Instead, Mew2King was relying on streaming and coaching, which has never really gone well for him.

In January 2026, it was revealed that he earned only $2 per hour while streaming on Twitch. Even Juan “Hungrybox” DeBiedma urged him to get a part-time job at that point. A job in the real world.

Mew2King had no interest: “I’m just gonna do what I love, which is gaming. I’m just gonna do that forever.”

However, things have gotten even worse going into May 2026.

StreamElements announced it will be shutting down this month, leaving Mew2King begging his fans for help. For the past two to three years, StreamElements has been 40% of his income, according to a Google Doc the pro released on the urgent matter.

Despite the shutdown, Mew2King said he will be continuing to stream full-time and coach. However, he also told his fans that he is offering free coaching if they will sponsor him in Marvel Strike Force, a mobile game. He also begged fans to subscribe to him on Twitch or even do some Twitch Raids.

Meanwhile, he has cut down on ads on Twitch. The Smash player came under fire earlier this year when he was accused of running a crapton of ads on his streams, making them unbearable. Of course, this was to make a bit more money. The backlash, however, caused him to lose viewers.

“I have limited options now, sadly, for livelihood,” he said.

The desperation brought out the trolls.

One reply said: “Get a f***ing job already. You can’t be a loser for three decades straight. The Melee train is over, you squeezed all you could out of it, and look at how long it lasted. Now it’s time to get back to the real world and live in reality, which is working 8 hours a day every day.”

A nicer reply added: “You really should find a part-time job. You can pursue your passion for gaming while making some money on the side.”

It should be noted that Mew2King is not currently independent. He has Asperger’s Syndrome and has discussed having a caretaker in the past. I’m not sure what his current situation is, but I’m assuming he would have a tough time finding a well-paying job, although a part-time job could maybe be possible depending what it is.

Either way, I think the real topic here isn’t Mew2King’s exact situation, but the state of Smash, and esports in general.

It feels like esports is dying.

Most scenes are not financially stable. While some appear successful from the outside, with high player salaries and large prize pools, the actual organizations are suffering as a result. And it’s far more common for scenes to not have any money at all, relying on sponsors and Saudi Arabia to survive. Even Street Fighter 6’s massive Capcom Cup only has a $1 million prize pool because the rest of the circuit has almost no money on the line.

The last time I brought up Mew2King’s predicament, I mentioned that Hungrybox had a full-time engineering job even when he was at the height of his pro career. He was traveling to tournaments and winning, but he was also working a “real” job to survive. Now, Hungrybox is part-owner of Team Liquid and has other sources of income. But competing itself didn’t help him financially.

It’s sad. High school esports clubs are still selling the dream that esports is a career path. Colleges have esports programs now. But there is no money or stability once you’re out there in the real world. Very few esports pros are making bank. Most college students in esports programs will likely never become coaches for major organizations or top players in a Tier 1 league.

Not all esports pay well, but the ones that do require you to be in the top 0.1% to get anywhere near a six-figure salary.

But it’s not only because most people suck too much to be in that 0.1%. It’s because there are not that many opportunities. In fact, the opportunities keep dwindling. Organizations are dropping out of titles left and right. Some organizations are packing it up completely. Players and talent are often owed money for months, even years. BLEED Esports currently owes over $300,000 in unpaid salaries.

Seeing someone dedicate their entire life to a competitive scene, including competing at a top level and coaching other top players, and be completely broke as a result is a wake-up call. Other competitors may not be in the same exact boat just yet, but it does shine a light on the fact that competing in esports is still a passion industry. You’re not likely to make much money, if any at all. You’re there for the love of the game.

Unfortunately, many of these top players don’t have time for a full-time job, so they turn to streaming as a side hustle. They are grinding 10-plus hours a day with their team. However, I think Mew2King could spare a few hours. It’s just sad that it has come to this. It’s beyond clear at this point: You won’t make money playing esports unless you’re the top 0.1% of the more popular titles.

And even then, your time is limited. Paying those top player salaries comes at the expense of the organization, which will eventually shut down due to a lack of funding and profit. This leaves players without an org and even fewer options.

On Reddit, one esports fan asked why esports teams have no money. The best answer? “If you spend a lot of money without making any money, you would also have little money.”