Hax, doing his best murderface impression © Robert Paul/@tempusrob/rmpaul.com

The year is 20XX.

If you’ve heard this story before, it means one of two things. Either you’re a fan of the Mega Man games of old, or you’re a fan of Super Smash Bros. Melee. In the latter situation, 20XX is a future point in time where all top Melee players have perfect tech skill. Nobody misses an L-cancel, all wavedashes are perfect, and everyone — everyone — plays Fox.

The interesting thing about this theory is that it was created by a player who, for a large part of his career, championed another character: Captain Falcon. Aziz “Hax” Al-Yami is a celebrated Captain Falcon-turned-Fox player, whose constant obsession with optimized play has swung his Melee career in several different directions. But while the road has not always been easy, Hax is willing to weather the storm in hopes of realizing his dream of perfect play.

Welcome to the Pokemon Center

Despite his deep, booming voice, Hax is one of the youngest of the Melee elite. But before he even thought about entering a Melee tournament, he was playing another Nintendo game competitively. “The first game I played competitively was Pokémon TCG. I started competing in it in 2003, and it all began with a place called the Pokémon Center that opened in NYC in 2001.” Over the years, Hax proved himself to be a force within the Trading Card Game. “My biggest successes in the game would end up being fifth at Worlds in 2008 with an Empoleon deck, and 18th at Worlds in 2010 with a Sableye deck.” But happenings at the Pokémon Center eventually centered his sights on another game.

“Plenty of people literally went [to the Pokémon Center] just to play Melee, and it became pretty obnoxious to the staff how many people would show up simply to play Melee and not buy anything.” The Center had Gamecubes set up with popular titles for people to play, and Melee was a mainstay in their rotation. In 2005, Pokémon Center was renovated into what is now Nintendo World in NYC. Soon after, Nintendo World held a Melee tournament, and Hax was excited to compete. “I would end up playing Fox at this tournament because I read that he was the best character. Fox was my first character. Nobody knows that.” It was far from a high-level tournament, but it was enough to hook the young Hax for good. “I'm pretty sure a Link that was spamming up-b won the tournament. By far, that was the most successful strategy at that tournament. I got wrecked, but it started my competitive career.”

Hax and M2K won teams at Apex 2014 © Robert Paul/@tempusrob/rmpaul.com

It’s all about showing your moves

Hax leapt head-first into Melee, but his days as a Fox main was initially short lived. “I gave up on Fox pretty quickly, because he was too difficult. Back then, people broke the game down to two linear categories: ‘Mindgames’ and ‘Tech Skill.’ You would hear people say, ‘This guy has has great tech skill but no mindgames,' or the other way around. I saw Sheik as the character to play for the sake of learning the game. She was considered Top 3 in the game at the time and she wasn't very technically demanding, so I mained her to develop my mindgames.” He also toyed with Falco, but ended up settling on the character he would play for many years. “Ultimately, my dream was to be the best with the character that looked the coolest while winning, and that was Captain Falcon. I saw him as the best way to culminate the mindgames I'd gotten from Sheik and the tech skill from Falco while at the same time being a crowd pleaser.”

Hax trained hard at his craft, and within two years was on the way to becoming one of the best players in New York. “My breakout performance was at a tournament called Zenith in September of 2007. I beat Wes, one of the best in New York at the time, and got second to Bum who was considered the best.” A Samus and Donkey Kong main, respectively, Wes and Bum were the gatekeepers of the tri-state area. When Hax stepped up to take them on at a mere 13 years old, people took notice. “After that tournament, I remember Bum holding me up in his arms. … I'll never forget that moment. He was really proud of me.”

The hunt for Pink Falcon

As Hax continued to improve, his began to distinguish himself from other top Falcons. The distinction was not immediately apparent in his results, but Hax’s style was uniquely risky by design. “If I know that the game permits something, I'll go for it no matter how difficult or impractical it is. In spots where someone would go for an easy, solid punish, I would instead go for the long extended combo that had the potential to take their stock if I did it correctly. It's the reason my Falcon was called weird for years.” Looking back at Hax’s earlier matches, it was clear to see he was reaching for options he wasn’t always able to pull off. He knew it wouldn’t come overnight, but he couldn’t resist trying all the same — it’s his nature. “It’s a style that takes years to pull off, but it's the only way I know how to approach things.”

From far left: Armada, Ice, and Hax © Robert Paul/@tempusrob/rmpaul.com

By 2011, Hax had made his name as one of the top Falcons in the country — but for him, it was a joy that wouldn’t last. As top-level play became more and more ruthless in the early 2010s, Hax found himself increasingly frustrated with what he described as a lack of legitimate options. It was his matches against top European players that finally started to solidify that thought in his mind. “Prior to Evo 2013, I was at a house with a bunch of top Smashers, most notably Armada and Ice. I was getting destroyed by both of them at that house — the European style is really defensive, and I had to play just as defensively in order to have any shot. It taught me the realities I'd always feared: It just wasn't fun playing opponents that turtled so hard and feeling as if you couldn't do anything about it.”

“Falcon may be the coolest looking character, but over the years I grew too frustrated with his limitations.”

20XX rising

Soon after EVO 2013, Hax began training his Fox. It changed his view of the game forever. “I became able to approach far more, which is what I'd always wanted. It was how I always wanted to play Falcon — extremely aggressively.” Within months, his Fox was performing at the level of the Captain Falcon he had trained as for years and years. Top players vetted Hax’s quick improvements. “Mew2King will attest to how good my Fox had already become by December of 2013.”

Tournament play turned out to be a completely different beast, however. When Apex rolled around in early 2014, his budding Fox stumbled and fell short of his previous achievements, leading people to doubt his decision. “I think there was just too much pressure on me, and a lack of experience with the character. Going into a tournament that big with Fox was scary.” Outside his singles mishaps, his performance in doubles with Fox was masterful. Hax and Mew2King took the tournament, but even that couldn’t stop his detractors. “People were really eager to hate on my switch and they did. I ignored them because I knew I was making a long term investment.”

The investment Hax speaks of is one that he believes will pay off when Melee approaches the final stage of its metagame, 20XX. “20XX is when a game reaches the point where all plays are made perfectly, and only one character remains viable. It’s basically the point where everything's potential is maximized, and it becomes impossible to win if you're bringing a knife to a gunfight. Your starting hand has to be as strong as theirs; only one starting hand is playable in 20XX.”

In case you hadn’t guessed, that starting hand is Fox.

Hax isn’t so idealistic as to believe that the 20XX is a truly achievable phenomenon, but he certainly does believe that Melee will approach that level of play. Even now, he sees the game as one with very few realistic options left. “A few years ago, you'd commonly hear people refer to the 'Top 8' characters. Now, we're pretty much down to a Top 3: Fox, Falco and Marth.” Hax is even willing to take that concept a step further. “Anyone who dismisses the possibility of the Top 3 eventually becoming a Top 1 is letting optimism blind them.”

Hax is, and always will be, a competitor at heart © Robert Paul/@tempusrob/rmpaul.com

Being the best is never easy

In the time since Apex 2014, Hax has proved himself to be a contender in a highly competitive Melee circuit. He’s not without his demons, however. Hax found himself in a precarious position after a hand injury in May of 2014 threatened to end his Smash career permanently. “I was waveshining with my left wrist gripped extremely tightly, and the FCU tendon in my wrist tightened up.” That tendon put Hax in a splint for a month. Injuries are never fun, but he knows that his could have been much worse. “I seem to actually be really lucky with my hand situation. I don't experience hand pain ever, and I'm considered the most technical player in the game. Plenty of other players have horrible hand problems, and they're not one-time occasions like mine: They're constant, which is a lot scarier.”

Hax has also battled with a second affliction that is arguably equal parts mental and physical. “I've been struggling with insomnia, which a lot of people don't know about. It’s been a big problem for me for about a year now. It’s the main thing preventing me from achieving my goals in this game.” Any player worth their salt will tell you how important getting a good night’s sleep before a competition is. Hax, unfortunately, does not get that luxury. “I play most tournaments on no sleep. It’s become a pretty regular thing — it started happening at tournaments but recently it's been affecting me in my own house pretty often.” Insomnia is no picnic, but Hax has set his mind to beating the condition, and is willing to take a break from competition if that’s what it takes. “I may not attend anything until EVO. I want to make sure I have my insomnia figured out.”

What makes Hax believe in himself

One of the biggest issues in competitive gaming is self-doubt. Players are often unsure of the path they’re on, and whether or not their hard work will pay off. But when it comes to Hax, nothing could be further from the truth. Throughout his career, Hax has always followed his own ideals and is confident in his decisions and his community. “No other game that I know of continues to evolve and push its players' minds and bodies to the limits to the extent Melee does, and no other gaming community that I know of has fought as long and hard as ours has to get to where we are today.” Make no mistake: Hax takes pride in his game. And thanks to the hard work of the Melee community, Hax knows that he has a shot at true success.

“My biggest accomplishment in life, and what makes me believe in myself, is having made it to where I am within this game. I'm closer than I've ever been to being the best and hope that I can achieve my dreams someday.”

Check back next Tuesday for another installation of Friendlies, our weekly series profiling the Smash Bros. community.

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