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Professional Super Smash Bros. player Jason ‘Mew2King’ Zimmerman has been banned from a competitive tournament after posting photos of his concerning skin condition and complaining of a bug infestation in his home.
On the morning of October 16, 2026, Zimmerman found himself going viral due to a thread of posts he’d published on Twitter/X the day before. In the posts, he complained of suffering from swelling hands, which he attributed to either playing too much without rest or being bitten by bugs in his home.
“My hands are slightly swollen (could be from all the SSBM Fox or from the bugs in the house that bite me each day), like pink/red and puffy/fatter than usual, is there a way to fix this ASAP? I’m boarding my flight to Texas now,” he wrote.
He went on to share a photo of his hand and one of his right leg, which was covered in red, painful-looking bumps that appeared to be bug bites. Zimmerman claimed that these bites happen to him “every week,” and are a driving factor in his decision to move from Ohio to California.
“I had like a hundred of these on my body two months ago. Like, my entire body. This isn’t even nearly the worst picture, not even close,” he explained in another post. “It’s all bug bites from the house. Lived like that for all year. Or recent months.”
Needless to say, fans were fairly concerned about Zimmerman’s health and living conditions, with many theorizing that he was dealing with a bed bug infestation. Others urged him against getting on a plane or staying in a hotel, saying that he might spread the supposed bed bugs, which are known for sneaking into luggage and clothing to lay eggs at their next destination.
News of Zimmerman’s condition quickly spread online, prompting no end of discourse within the fighting game community — to the point where the tournament he was competing in, Xtreme Fighters Showdown, outright banned him from the event.
The tournament’s CEO published a statement about the situation on Twitter/X, alerting the public that Mew2King was no longer invited to take part in the competition as a direct result of his health issues.
“For the safety of our event, XFS 2026, we have politely informed Mew2King he will not be able to participate or attend our event this weekend due to a self-reported health concern,” the statement reads. “The health and wellbeing of our attendees is our priority. Thank you, and we’ll see you this weekend.”
Good evening, a message from our CEO, M333:
For the safety of our event, XFS 2026, we have politely informed Mew2King he will not able to participate or attend our event this weekend due to a self-reported health concern.
The health and wellbeing of our attendees is our priority.
Thank you, and we’ll see you this weekend.
— Xtreme Fighters Showdown (@xfshowdown) October 16, 2026
Zimmerman has not provided any public updates after this latest development, and has since deleted all the tweets discussing his skin condition.
This is the latest viral moment to make headlines within the competitive gaming space after pro DotA 2 player ’23savage’ was forced to play in front of police officers after one of his team’s training camps was raided by law enforcement.
And in September, Pokémon VGC regional champion Donghun Youm claimed that he lost a match due to his opponent’s overwhelming stench, prompting a community-wide push for players to use deodorant at tournaments.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.
