

The folks at Beyond the Summit know how to put on a Smash Bros. tournament. Their Smash Summit series of tournaments consistently brings big personalities together while also showcases the highest level of Smash Bros. play and commentary. The contrast of the tournaments laid-back attitude yet extremely competitive setting captures the "magic" that is competitive fighting games.



And now that Super Smash Bros. Smash Ultimate has revealed itself as the definitive Smash title that is miraculously successful in its ability to attract professional Smash Bros players across all titles, 2019 is shaping up to be a huge one for the games competitive scene.



Simply put, the "who's who" of competitive smashers seem to be going all in on Smash Ultimate and The Ultimate Summit will be the first major tournament that puts some of the biggest names in Smash Bros. history all under the same roof.





The Smash 4 elite



Nintendo's newest iteration of the iconic IP Brawler has rocketed pro player streams to the top of Twitch since it's release. Each of them brings a different type of entertainment, but the underlying thread is all the same -- rapid exploration of the games competitive mechanics.



Smash 4 Champion ZeRo has been leading the pack. His advanced knowledge of nearly every character and undisputed reign over Smash 4 gave him an edge in the earliest days of Smash Ultimate, but that advantage is gone now that the game has been officially released for over a month.



In a close second in Smash 4 legend status is MkLeo, the undisputed best player from Mexico. His mastery of Smash 4 mechanics is second only to ZeRo and his skills at Marth and Cloud were heralded as the very best. Going into Ultimate, he has proven extremely deadly with Ike and has already won the Smash Conference United, meeting Samsora (a Peach player) in the grand finals.





Melee gods find a new game



Arguably three of the most infamous Smash Bros. Players ( Leffen, Armada, and Mew2King -- gods of Smash Bros. Melee as they are affectionately titled -- have also experienced huge boosts in their stream numbers. The veteran smashers have been documenting their exploration of Smash Ultimate's 76 character cast, each in search of the most powerful character that fits their playstyle.



Mango would be included but he has not secured an Ultimate Summit spot yet. Nevertheless, his stream has also included tons of Ultimate gameplay and, as a result, experienced growth.





Armada seems to have settled on Inkling has his dedicated main character while his biggest rival Leffen has grown increasingly comfortable with Pokemon Trainer.



Of the Melee veterans so far announced for Ultimate Summit, Mew2King is perhaps the most indecisive of which character he has decided to main. Fans have watched him compete as Wario, Bowser, Lucina and even Mario. Who he will bring to the Ultimate Summit is largely a mystery



Many pros have expressed the importance of mastering multiple characters in Ultimate, and that may very well prove to be the most effective strategy come March 8-10th during the Ultimate Summit

Genesis 6 on the horizon



There are 4 slots left at the Ultimate Summit and they will be determined at Genesis 6 (a major Smash tournament) on February 3rd. Hungrybox, one of the most popular Melee players in the world (currently, the highest ranking Melee player and winner of Smash Summit) has already shown rapid improvements in Smash Ultimate and his signature Jigglypuff grows stronger every day.







While there has been some concern about Jigglypuffs power level in this iteration of smash (In Melee she is clearly one of the best characters in the game), Hungrybox is determined to make the character work in competitive play. You can bet Hungrybox is already hard at work preparing for Genesis 6.



Tons of Smash talent will be competing at Genesis 6, including fan favorite Arizona player Axe (who's Young Link mastery seems to have crossed over from Melee to Ultimate) and a lethal Daisy player from Japan, Umeki. It is also safe to assume that current tier 1 Smash Ultimate pros such as Samsora, MVD, and Salem will be present, competing for the chance to play in the Ultimate Summit.







Things are heating up in competitive Smash Ultimate and the two biggest tournaments are yet to happen. Genesis 6 happens on February 1st - 3rd in Oakland, CA and you won't want to miss it -- it will be the most advanced showing of competitive Smash Bros. Ultimate to date.