1. Choose a character that fits your playstyle

2. Choose a character you can feel passionate about

3. Choose a character that you WIN with

First things first: Tiers DO matter. But not for the reason that people think they do. Choosing a main isn't as simple as looking at the tier list and picking the top character.There are 3 big things you should consider when choosing your competitive main for Smash 4. Striking a balance between all 3 of these is the key to both getting good and to not get tired of competitive Smash.You have to have a character that clicks. It might take a few games with them to really get the playstyle, but it will definitely come with time. You need to put your time into learning characters, by watching videos and actually playing them. Maybe a character could be played in a way you never thought of, and when you try playing that way you fall in love with them.Before Brawl even came out I knew I would main Snake. I watched video after video and his playstyle was intricate, deep, and intriguing to me. Then when I got my hands on him, we became an instant match as soon as I used his Ftilt. His spacing game with his tilts fit my playstyle perfectly, and executing his mindgames made perfect sense to me.Usually, finding a playstyle that matches isn't as easy as that. But one key thing you can do now is watch a lot of videos and matches. If there is a character who captures your attention the entire time you watch them play, you could be looking at your future main. Do you love how Megaman spaces out his opponents in mid-range? Could you watch short hop Fairs from Marth all day? Enjoying a character is more than cheering when Little Mac gets his KO punch; its about the flow and movement of their playstyle. Getting excited at the nuances of how they work is a good sign.There may be a player who uses a character in a really amazing way that gets you into them. Gimr's Jigglypuff might make you want to uptilt to rest. Zero's Bowser could make you want to dropkick people yourself. Nairo's Zelda may make you want to do teleport mindgames all game long. There are really unique playstyles out there but different pros can use characters in completely different ways. There are a LOT of ways to play Smash Bros.Of course, things can completely change when you actually get your hands on the game or things change down the line. If I still played Brawl competitively, I don't think I'd still be on Snake. Watching people SDI out of his Ftilt was depressing and meant I would never be able to play him like I used to. His flow would completely change to me. So I would have to find a new main.Flow changes with metagame. A character's playstyle can transform instantly when an advanced technique is discovered, like how glide tossing completely revolutionized Diddy play. Keep your mind open and don't lock yourself down.My best friend is notorious for this. He won't play characters that he thinks look stupid. He played Brawl competitively for nearly 2 years and never once chose Diddy Kong because he hated the sounds he made.Even if you play a character, if you can't feel like they are interesting or cool, the passion quickly dies out. Just because you're GOOD with Jigglypuff doesn't mean you can play the pink puffball for 12 hours straight and not get tired of hearing her say her own name. Passion and interest in a character is important to some extent.Some people make this point the crux of their choice. They put the most emphasis on their passion for the character, which is fine, but then they go to the competitive level. In the years I played Brawl competitively, I had a list of the "best of" mains I had beaten. These people were legimately skilled players. I was able to beat the best Link, Lucas, Mario, Wolf, Samus, Ness, and many more. But the funny thing is, I felt like a lot of these players were actually BETTER than me at the game! They were simply being held back.While thats fine that they were the "best" with their character, nearly every single one of those players quit the game pretty early. And thats because they ignore the last point.Winning is fun. There is no doubt about it. Ganondorf mains in Brawl didn't have much fun even if they were incredible with him. Why? Because they would lose. A lot. Not because they were bad but because their character simply couldn't keep up. They simply could not have a positive win/loss ratio at the competitive level and that eventually caught up to them. Winning is important. If you still lose despite being an amazing player then you'll eventually just give up, because losing doesn't feel good at all.But JUST winning isn't the only thing that matters. Metaknight syndrome, as I've dubbed it, killed the passion of a lot of players for competitive Brawl. They could no longer win with their characters (most likely because of Metaknight) so their solution... was to switch to Metaknight. And guess what? They started to win more and more. Then... they quit. Because winning was not the only thing that matters.This is why the tiers DO matter. Low tier mains usually have an unfortunately short lifespan in the competitive community (with a few famous exceptions of course). When I first chose my main in Brawl I told myself I'd ignore tiers. For other fighting games before that, I'd force myself to choose characters that were unusual, underpicked, and generally low tier just because I hated being a "tier *****." I found myself constantly frustrated when I tried to master my characters because they simply did not have the tools they should have to win. Could you be the next Mango and make Jigglypuff skyrocket up the tier list? Maybe. Don't give up on that dream by any means. But know that if you want to have fun with the game you eventually have to win.Don't be afraid to give up a character that you simply cannot win with. I really enjoyed DK in Brawl, but I couldn't win with him the way I wanted to play him. So I eventually switched my second to Diddy Kong who I enjoyed and could still win with. If you find sticking to your "low" tier is leading you to win TONS of games at the competitive level, then you could be onto something! Maybe that character isn't low tier after all! But if you find that you just can't win... then maybe you're missing this last pivotal point.The key to finding a main at the competitive level is finding one that you can click with the gameplay, that is interesting to you, and that you can actually win with. All 3 are equally important. If you have 1 of the 3, you can burn in a blaze of glory that dies out fairly quickly. If you have 2 of the 3, you'll play the game for a good while then just get bored. But if you can have all 3? You'll be a competitive Smasher for a long time to come.Hope this helps some of you next week when you're trying to find your mains! Can't wait to see you all at a Smash 4 tournament someday.