Super Smash Brothers Tournament Discussion

[VO.SUPER]

Mods, feel free to move this if you want.

 

I thought of making this topic, since MLG Anaheim is coming up and the tournament scene for Smash has been on the rise. I don't want to fill the Smash 4 discussion with tournament talk though, so I decided to just make a tournament discussion for the stuff coming out. 

 

I've been getting deeper by the day in the tournament scene, and have become a near active spectator for these shows, and I want to help spread the word of how enjoyable competitive Melee can be. 

 

So the MLG tourny starts on Friday the 20th with the first few rounds, and a East vs West coast crew battle, and this is definitely looking to be a huge event what with the competitors stepping up to the plate with the top 8 getting the pot of $15k.

 

----TOURNAMENT LINK------

http://tv.majorleaguegaming.com/channel/smash 

--------------------------------------

 

 

And the schedule is right here too.

 

I'll be posting links to the event stream when it happens, but who else is excited for this? This will be my first  esports tournament I am going to watch live. I've really grown to enjoy watching all these players duke it out, and to see them go so far is a treat. With this and the invitational, the future of Smash brothers is looking bright. 

[MegasonicZX]

Yeah i've recently gotten into the tourney scene myself and I can't believe I had been missing this stuff for so long. Can't wait for these matches coming up (probably might not watch them all live but I will try to catch some).

[SilentDoom]

I'm personally backing Armada and aMSa.  I love watching those two play.  Though there's so many excellent competitors here.  It's going to be exciting for sure.  As for who will win East vs West Coast, I'm not too sure at the moment.  Whatever happens, it's wonderful to see Melee back at MLG again.

[VO.SUPER]

I'm personally backing Armada and aMSa.  I love watching those two play.  Though there's so many excellent competitors here.  It's going to be exciting for sure.  As for who will win East vs West Coast, I'm not too sure at the moment.  Whatever happens, it's wonderful to see Melee back at MLG again.

 

I'm all up for Hungrybox, and Mango in this tourney. I love the choice of Jigglypuff just because of how wacky a character it is. As for Mango... when he plays, it's like watching art in the making. Though aMSa gets my love for that Yoshi pic though; he is definitely one of those unique ones.

[MegasonicZX]

I swear aMSa has the best yoshi ever (probably the only one), just the sheer scope of the things that he can pull off with him is just astounding to me.

[VO.SUPER]

If I had to pick a favorite aMSa moment. It was this neck and neck struggle with SFAT; the tense nature of the fight is astounding.

 

[VO.SUPER]

Here is a solid list introducing us to the players who are participating in MLG Anahaim. For those of you who don't recognize them:

 

Mang0

Sometimes called “The Kid,” Mang0 is a fan favorite not only for his play, but for doing things like throwing his shirt into the crowd. His tattoos, long hair, and NSFW reputation make for a good player profile as the “bad boy” of Smash, but in the past year The Kid has cleaned up. He shaved his beard, landed a major sponsorship, and even became a proud father. He’s got more on the line than ever before.

Listen for: “Mang0” chants, or even louder “USA” chants when facing off against the Japanese or Swedish.

 

Mew2King

Dubbed “The Robot.” Originally known for compiling vast amounts of obscenely accurate game data, M2K eventually made a name for himself by using his frame-perfect play to become the top player in the world (for a short period of time, but by a terrifyingly wide margin).

Watch for: his trademark rocking back and forth during matches, then elation at his wins and devastation at his losses.

 

PPMD

Watch an interview with PPMD, and *try* not to be charmed by him. No really, that’s a challenge. His boyish and humble demeanor belong to a newcomer just happy to be included, and give no hint of his steady, seven-year climb to the top, nor to his headline victories over the past year.

Listen for: The “stack it up” chant when his Falco goes off with those seemingly endless combos.

 

Hungrybox

You saw him on stage at E3, getting into it with Nintendo’s president at the famed Nokia Theater. Well-spoken and well-groomed, Hungrybox has grown up inside the competitive Smash community, but breaks the gamer stereotype. While likeable as a person, he is often cheered against for his character and play style (would you root for this thing?), he has developed a habit of wearing headphones while he plays to block out the crowd.

Watch for: Head bopping to Kanye West and maybe even some silent rapping.

 

Armada

The Swedish Sniper. The Beast from Sweden. By far the most successful European player of all time (reference theChampionship Belt for illustration), and the only player to win major tournaments with Princess Peach . . . ever. Armada is coming off of a hiatus, and is still getting his swag back, but you’ll never hear him make excuses.

Watch for: His quiet face of concentration and focus, contrasted by fist pumps after a job well done.

 

Leffen

The Villain. Certainly the only competitor on this list who was banned from competing by an entire country. Since those (purposely not aforementioned) incidents a while back, Leffen has made efforts to rebuild burnt bridges, but not necessarily to rehabilitate his image. No, this player seems to relish his reputation for being a dick brutally honest, the same reputation which inspired a mock Twitter account for his ego that has over 1,000 followers.

Watch for: Aggressive tweets from the real Leffen, even mid-tournament; perfectly coiffed hair.

 

Zero

Gonzalo “Zero” Barrios and his white scarf have moved to the United States to beat you in video games. The cherry was placed on his budding competitive career when he won Nintendo’s invitational tournament  earlier this year.

Watch for: The scarf. Zero explains that it was a gift from his mother before he left Chile, and it represents strength, support, family, and country.

 

Soft

While some of the players on this list qualified for MLG in one event, this up-and-comer earned his autobid by putting in work all throughout the grassroots season, traveling all across the US and inspiring lots of people to say “wait, Soft is there? I thought he lived in Georgia??”

Watch for: his trademark play-to-win attitude.

 

Hax

Hax started in the Smash community when he was so young that his first team name was “The Little Rascals.” As the years have ticked by, he has enjoyed dramatic improvement, but remains unable to break down the final barrier and secure a spot among the highest tier of players. Hax recently switched his character main to achieve this, which has resulted in some challenges, and an initial step backward.

Watch for: 2 steps forward.

 

Remen

The wild card. Remen is the Dutch player who qualified for MLG Anaheim by winning the Japanese qualifier event. That event is the first tournament he has won in 9 years. A stroke of luck? The start of something new? After all, he was just picked up by LowLandLions.

Watch for: Other champions sleeping on the one player they don’t know.

 

Westballz

“He’s so hot right now.” This extremely technical and extremely incendiary player from Burbank is gunning to cause a huge upset. Over the past year, he has earned the rank of #1 in the most densely skilled region in the world right now, Southern California.

Watch for: High highs and low lows – it’s all or nothing with Westballz.

 

aMSa

Hailing all the way from Miyagi, Japan, here is a prime example of the kind of player that brings excitement to video game tournaments. What’s more, his humility, infamous kindness, and uncommonly used character have earned him a tremendous fanbase in a short amount of time; much of his travel this summer has been crowd-funded by his fans. It seems like everyone wants to rally behind The Red Yoshi.

Listen for: His deliberate-but-still-developing English. Earlier this year, he accidentally coined the phrase, “I pray to win.”

 

[VO.SUPER]

 

Here's a shot of the tourny just before the festivities begin. I'll have a link up when things go active at 2:30 PM PST

[MegasonicZX]

 

Here's a shot of the tourny just before the festivities begin. I'll have a link up when things go active at 2:30 PM

Cool thanks.

[VO.SUPER]

http://tv.majorleaguegaming.com/channel/smash 

 

Here's your link. Let the matches begin!

[VO.SUPER]

It's no surprise! Game one goes to Mew2King! 

 

Though to be honest, it would've been one hell of an upset if Leffen won.

 

Though that self destruct in the beginning really had me shaking my head.

 

Next match is Hax vs Soft.

 

----

 

That was pathetic. Hax dominated Soft. I know Jigglypuff is a difficult character, but the way he was handling it was simply awful. 

 

Next fight PPMD vs Remen.

[VO.SUPER]

And the fight concludes; PPMD takes the round. I have to admit, I didn't expect Remen to make that comeback in the third match. Compared to PPMD he was really lacking a control game, and could not pursue PPMD off the edge like PPMD could him. He really seemed to take a stronger offensive by the last match too, and I was expecting this to go to a fourth game. Falco's down air really is a killer Meteor Smash compared to Fox's and shows how effective the other space animal is even compared to his lighter counterpart. 

 

Anyways, next match is Mango vs Zero....

 

This won't even be a contest. 

[Blitz 'n Burst]

Can't wait for Hungrybox vs Armada. Two of my favourite players, I love watching both of them play.

[kboyrulez12345]

That Mango guy was pretty good. Isn't Zero supposed to be the best in Smash?

[VO.SUPER]

Wow; that was a simple massacre. Zero did not even stand a chance. In that entire fight, Mango had him juggling around like he was a ball and Zero could barely do anything about it. It was just stock after stock after stock. Mango was so sure of himself to even self destruct! Man, that was terrifying. Just goes to show you how different Smash 4 and Melee are. 

 

Next fight; Hungrybox vs Armada.

 

 

That Mango guy was pretty good. Isn't Zero supposed to be the best in Smash?

 

That title is spread between Mango; Armada; and Mew2King. Zero only won the Smash Invitational, but Smash 4 and Melee are hugely different in physics and character skills, so nothing really translates. Zero is very good at Brawl though, but Brawl's a different game. 

[SuperLink]

That Mango guy was pretty good. Isn't Zero supposed to be the best in Smash?

Zero was the SSB4 Invitational Champ, but #1 Mango wasn't at that tournament and #2 this match just shows how hugely different SSB4 and Melee are at a fundamental level, Zero's play is completely different in both.

[kboyrulez12345]

Ah I see, okay. I have to say, this is making me interested getting in the competitive scene. 

 

Somewhat semi related, but are they any competitive tourney for handheld consoles. I ask because I would like to know the chances of SSB4 for the 3DS getting a competitive tourney.

[VO.SUPER]

Oh no; it's the Jigglypuff vs Young Link match up. If you need to pee guys, do it now. 

 

 

Ah I see, okay. I have to say, this is making me interested getting in the competitive scene. 

 

Somewhat semi related, but are they any competitive tourney for handheld consoles. I ask because I would like to know the chances of SSB4 for the 3DS getting a competitive tourney.

From what I read on Smashboards, there are talks in getting 3DS tournaments up and ready.

[Blitz 'n Burst]

Smash 3DS might have a bit of a competitive scene between its release and the release of the Wii U version, but all of the players will flock to the Wii U version immediately after it's released. There's no reason they should choose the 3DS version over the Wii U version, really.

[SuperLink]

Yeah unless the 3DS has far more competitive friendly stages (which I doubt), there are numerous reasons the Wii U would be the primary home of the SSB4 tournament scene with maybe occasional handheld tournaments.

 

The reason handheld tournaments wouldn't work as well is because a wireless 4 player match would have way more input lag than a wired 4 player console match on a CRT, so any player who was more serious about winning or playing to the very best of their ability would choose the Wii U version any day.

[kboyrulez12345]

Smash 3DS might have a bit of a competitive scene between its release and the release of the Wii U version, but all of the players will flock to the Wii U version immediately after it's released. There's no reason they should choose the 3DS version over the Wii U version, really.

 

Well what about making both the 3DS and the Wii U version on equal ground in terms of a competitive tourney?

 

 

Yeah unless the 3DS has far more competitive friendly stages (which I doubt), there are numerous reasons the Wii U would be the primary home of the SSB4 tournament scene with maybe occasional handheld tournaments.

 

The reason handheld tournaments wouldn't work as well is because a wireless 4 player match would have way more input lag than a wired 4 player console match on a CRT, so any player who was more serious about winning or playing to the very best of their ability would choose the Wii U version any day.

 

 

I can see how that can be. I guess technology hasn't gotten to the point where CRT's can withstand wireless matches yet huh?

[Solkia]

And Hungrybox was doing so well too

[Blitz 'n Burst]

Well what about making both the 3DS and the Wii U version on equal ground in terms of a competitive tourney?

 

Because the Wii U version is the superior version. The 3DS version is good because it lets you play on the go, but that doesn't really matter in tournaments anyway.

[SuperLink]

I can see how that can be. I guess technology hasn't gotten to the point where CRT's can withstand wireless matches yet huh?

It's not that, CRTs show the information being sent to them quicker than digital TVs, and similarly with wireless, wired controllers and systems send information much quicker than wireless.

 

Basically a wired game on a CRT is ideal for those who play frame-perfect games. With wireless or digital inputs and outputs there would be input lag (i.e. the action would appear on screen slightly after you pressed the button, not apparent to the average player or in average game situations, but that kind of tiny frame delay can make a real difference at this level of play).

[VO.SUPER]

Well then; there goes HungryBox. That leaves Mango and aMSa as my players for this tourney. Man, it's always a tough fight when Armada pulls his young Link, but at least HB did better than Soft did against Hax. 

 

Next match aMSa vs Westballz