Smash player on Jeopardy earns more in 10 days than most Melee and Ultimate pros earned their entire career

Online Super Smash Bros. Ultimate competitor Scott ‘Biscotto’ Riccardi is now on a 10-day win streak on Jeopardy, earning him more money than some of the best Smash pros have earned over their entire careers.

Biscotto has currently won $262,101 (~£195,105) on the classic television gameshow Jeopardy, one of only 18 contestants that have reached a 10-day stream on the trivia-based competition.

Biscotto isn’t a top pro in Ultimate but is quite a competitive grinder online. Still, it seems that competing in Jeopardy rather than Smash Majors was the right move if money is the goal. After just 10 days, Biscotto has earned more than most Ultimate and Melee players have earned through tournament wins for the entirety of their career.

On the Ultimate side, top pro Leonardo ‘MkLeo’ Perez is the highest earner, making $168,669 (~£125,556) in tournaments since 2018. He’s earned a lot more when you factor in previous Smash titles he competed in. The second-highest is Gavin ‘Tweek’ Dempsey at $110,756 (~£82,453). This means Biscotto has earned almost double in 10 days what MkLeo has earned over the past seven or so years.

Even wilder, Biscotto has out-earned prize money compared to most Melee players as well. Melee has been around a lot longer, with many top pros — including the Melee Gods — competing since the game launched in 2001. Since getting to Day 10 in Jeopardy, Biscotto has passed William ‘Leffen’ Hjelte, with just four more pros in front of him.

Leffen has earned $215,625 (~£160,524) from tournaments throughout his career. Now, Biscotto only has to beat Mew2King ($284,956), Armada ($319,928), Mang0 ($319,928), and Hungrybox ($453,715).

It should be noted that these numbers are from sites like Esports Earnings, which may not include every tournament from every game pros have competed in. These totals also don’t include sponsors and other sources of income.

However, it still paints quite a shocking picture for anyone unfamiliar with Super Smash Bros. esports. While pros competing in VALORANT, League of Legends and Counter-Strike 2 make a living as pro players, many Smash players struggle to even afford flights to tournaments — some can’t even pay to enter the bracket. Top players fare a bit better, but the prize pools are so limited that players like Juan ‘Hungrybox’ DeBiedma had to work full-time jobs outside of esports to truly make a living despite being consistently at the top.

Without Nintendo’s support and a lack of cohesive structure in the scene, Smash has become moreso a game of passion rather than a hope of making any money. Tournament organisers often fund the prize pools themselves, sometimes even using crowdsourcing ahead of the event.

This makes it all the more meaningful when you see a Smash pro collapse to their knees on stage after a win or cartwheel during a pop-off. It’s all about the glory of climbing the ranks and being called the best — it’s not for money at all.