Earlier today, esports organization Tempo Storm announced that it would be parting ways with Johnny “S2J” Kim. S2J, a Californian Super Smash Bros. Melee player whose flashy Captain Falcon play has earned him legions of fans, first joined Tempo Storm in 2016.
“We thank S2J for our time together and wish him the best of luck with his future endeavors,” wrote Tempo Storm in the brief statement. Though the team gave no reason for its choice to release S2J, it’s possible that the team chose to drop the player simply due to budget cuts caused by general downsizing within the esports industry. However, the team recently signed Smash Ultimate player Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios, and Melee player Jeffrey “Axe” Williamson remains on Tempo Storm’s roster, showing that the organization is not pulling out of Super Smash Bros. entirely.
While part of Tempo Storm, S2J saw a drastic increase in his level of play. Shortly after he joined the organization, he placed 5th at Evolution Championship Series 2016, and a year later, he qualified for the SSBMRank top 10 for the first time. Though S2J is currently without a sponsor, it’s likely that he will be ranked within the top 15 of this year’s upcoming Melee Panda Global Rankings, and his release by Tempo Storm immediately makes him one of the most valuable free agents in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
