Smash Bros pro Elliot ‘Ally’ Carroza-Oyarce is making his return to the esport after retiring in 2019 due to a scandal in which he dated a 16-year-old player.
The former Cloud 9 superstar will be competing at Friday Night Smash 57 at the Montreal Gaming Centre, according to a Twitter post by the venue.
On January 23, the account announced that “the best Snake in Brawl, the best Mario in Smash 4, and the best Snake in Ultimate” would be back at FNS 57.
THE BEST SNAKE IN BRAWL THE BEST MARIO IN SMASH 4 THE BEST SNAKE IN ULTIMATE
WILL BE BACK TOMORROW NIGHT @ FNS #57 ! pic.twitter.com/msQe0jzzQm
— Montreal Gaming Centre (@MTLGamingCentre) January 24, 2020
This would be Ally’s first tournament back since a controversial 2019 where the Canadian confessed he lied about having a relationship with fellow pro player Zack ‘CaptainZack’ Lauth, who was only sixteen at the time.
Notably, the community was upset with Carroza-Oyarce following the news. Former top Smash 4 player turned content creator Gonzalo ‘ZeRo’ Barrios wrote that he hoped Ally would seek “rehabilitation at the least” after this “day of darkness.”
Now, with the announcement that the 28-year-old would be returning to play, controversy has erupted yet again.
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“I swear to god a top player could murder someone and they’d still be allowed to play the game just because they’re good at it,” Twitter user Riley wrote in response to Montreal Gaming Centre.
“I don’t care if what he did was ‘legal’, this man needs to be ultra banned,” GATORGANG proclaimed.
“Please don’t do this you’re only going to hurt the scene,” Techless urged.
Meanwhile, major community members including commentator Phil ‘EE’ Visu and pro Jason ‘ANTi’ Bates simply replied with the eyes emoji, but didn’t take a side on whether or not Ally should be welcomed back.
Regardless of the situation, Ally himself has yet to comment on his Smash return, or if he will be looking to compete at other tournaments in the future.
With such a long hiatus, it’s also unclear on how well he will perform. It should be noted that many of Montreal’s top players such Jayson ‘Jayy’ Medeiros are competing in California’s super major Genesis 7, so the community may need to wait to see how Ally does against his region’s elite talent.