This weekend, top-level Super Smash Bros. Melee players will gather in one of New England's most iconic cities for one of the game's most robust tournaments: Shine 2017.

Although this is just the second iteration of the Shine tournament series, its debut last year left it in high esteem by players and community figures alike. As a result, many familiar names on Boston tournament's attendee list.

Prominent returnees include Shine 2016 champion Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman, Joseph "Mango" Marquez, and Juan "Hungrybox" DeBiedma. These three members of Smash's "Five Gods" will have to look out for the two fittingly-named "godslayers" in attendance: Justin "Plup" McGrath and William "Leffen" Hjelte.

Here's what to expect from that stacked tournament field.

Golden Glove Marquez

Mango's tournament results were mediocre for the first half of 2017. Numbers such as ninth, seventh, and 13th were looking familiar for the fan-favorite Melee veteran. However, his recent results will attest to a dramatic improvement in his performance.

After taking down Melee's best player, Adam "Armada" Lindgren, in May to win Royal Flush, he later went on to place second at the Evolution Championship Series and first at a stacked Super Smash Con in mid-August.

Mango's performance at Smash Con was exceptional; he took down seasoned Pikachu main Jeffrey "Axe" Williamson as well as Plup in the winners finals and Mew2King twice, in the semifinals and grand finals. He narrowly missed playing his arguably biggest threat in Hungrybox.

Although Mango has the upper-hand in his set count against Hungrybox this year, their every meeting seems up in the air. It could go either way if they play each other at Shine. Mango has some momentum after Smash Con, but can he add another title before August comes to a close?

The legend of SFAT

Zach "SFAT" Cordoni is set to attend Shine 2017, and is a competitor you may or may not have expected to be mentioned alongside titans such as Mango or Hungrybox. His performance at last year's Shine, however, is worth mentioning.

At Shine 2016, the seventh-overall Fox main tore through the winners bracket and met up with Hungrybox, who traditionally squashes SFAT every time they meet in-bracket. That narrative was rewritten at Shine 2016.

SFAT, in a wicked display of revenge, defeated Hungrybox in winners semifinals. After getting sent to losers in the next round, he faced another god in Mango in losers finals. There, in another unprecedented victory for the underdog, SFAT won 3-2.

Although he lost to Mew2King in the grand finals, SFAT's gameplay and his upsets were unforgettable. He may not be on the same tier of some other competitors, but it he might put together another breakout performance this weekend.

More importantly, his Cinderella story shows that even the most unlikely of players can topple the gatekeepers.

The banes of a Puff main

Hungrybox is considered the No. 2 player in the world. Competitors such as Leffen and Plup, however, don't seem to be discouraged by his ranking; these two Fox mains, despite Hungrybox's familiarity with the matchup, have recently given the second-best player in the world trouble.

Plup has proven he can consistently beat Hungrybox, just as he did at DreamHack Atlanta last month, or even more recently at Super Smash Con. And after narrowly losing to Mango in a five-game set, Plup is looking solid on all fronts.

Leffen, too, has a hot hand against Hungrybox. At Get On My Level late last month, "Big Leff" took down Hungrybox in both the winners bracket and grand finals. And Mew2King, who has historically struggled against Hungrybox, also beat the Jigglypuff main at Smash Con and looks good going into Shine.

In short, Hungrybox will need to put togather a new strategy against Fox players to improve his chances of winning this weekend. Plup, the rising godslayer, and Leffen, as big a threat as ever, should prove to be towering obstacles to all three of the Gods.