The stage was already set for Frostbite 2017 to be a noteworthy Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament. In addition to being the final major event to run the current Smash 4 ruleset, 16 of the 20 top ranked players in the world were set to attend. This included a number of top players from Japan, with names that the Smash 4 community was already familiar with: Yuta “Abandango” Kawamura, Rei “Komorikiri” Furukawa, and Takuto “Kameme” Ono chief among them.

There was also a new face named Tsu, a Lucario player making his first trip to the United States. He then proceeded to demolish anyone placed in front of him.

Tsu’s run started in pools, where he emerged from the winner’s side after defeating 17th ranked PGR player and recent Phoenix1 pickup Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey. At the time, it was observed as an impressive upset, but his momentum didn’t stop there. He proceeded to beat 6th ranked PGR player James “VoiD” Makekau-Tyson 3-2 to start Top 48, shocking him with an insane comeback in the first game by destroying Sheik’s two stocks from 135% damage. He would follow that up with wins over fellow countrymen, PGR #11 Kameme and PGR #13 Salem, who is considered the world’s best Bayonetta player.

It appeared that the magic run was going to stall out against Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios, the clear-cut #1 player in the world. However, ZeRo has historically had some issues with Lucario’s penchant for late-game comebacks, evidenced again by Tsu handily beating his Diddy Kong. Recognizing he was in Winners Finals of a double elimination tournament, ZeRo experimented with counter picks, but failed with both Cloud and Captain Falcon. Tsu had defeated the best player in the world.

The two met again in Grand Finals, with ZeRo opting to commit to Diddy Kong for the full duration of the set. ZeRo ultimately prevailed, but nearly every game was a nailbiter, with Tsu taking him to his limit each time. Even the final game, with the last set tied 2-2, came down to a Tsu Up-Smash that narrowly did not kill, opening the door for ZeRo to win by the thinnest of margins.

.@TSMZeRo wins #Frostbite2017, but he had to earn every bit of this victory. He was taken to his limit against a very game Tsu. #Smash4 pic.twitter.com/Nip6ZBm7NV — Yahoo Esports (@YahooEsports) February 27, 2017





While Frostbite ended with another ZeRo victory, many Smash 4 viewers came away from the event wondering where this new face came from. How did he find his way to Michigan for Frostbite? The answer is Most Valuable Gaming’s Alex “Vayseth” Varga, who had followed Tsu’s career and offered to bring him out.

“He got his passport for the event,” Vayseth told Yahoo Esports. “I told him I’d fly him out if he got his passport and we were able to make it work. February and March are the best times for students to leave Japan. Unlike Genesis 4 or The Big House 6, which usually have huge tests or finals, this time period is generally open, which is why we were able to get so many Japanese players here.”

Tsu has competed in a several Japanese tournaments and was ranked #23 in the Japan power rankings. Vayseth noted that Tsu hasn’t historically been as good as he was at Frostbite, but did point out that the Lucario player is currently on a hot streak.

“Tsu has only one tournament win in his career, which was the weekly before Frostbite,” Vayseth added. “He has rarely ever broken Top 3 in Japan. However, this month, in particular, has been his month. He qualified for Tokaigi after placing 33rd at Umebura 25, where he surprised everyone by getting 4th. And that carried over to Frostbite.”

View photos Tsu’s composure was among the most impressive elements of his Frostbite performance. (Alain Rodriguez) More

One person that wasn’t entirely surprised by Tsu’s success was the #3 ranked PGR player in the world, Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada. Nairo has followed his career in Japan and even witnessed his 4th place finish at Tokaigi. DetonationGaming and Yuta “Nietono” Uejima later invited Nairo to compete in an exhibition against Japan’s best players, with Tsu among the field. Nairo won their set 3-1, taking his three games with Zero Suit Samus, which he identified as a matchup problem for Lucario. However, Nairo saw the flashes of brilliance in Tsu’s play and noticeable improvement at Frostbite.

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