Many of the top players in Melee history have been around a long time. Mew2King, Mango, Armada, and more have been playing and competing for over a decade, and will likely continue to for years to come. But even the greatest players the scene has to offer pale in comparison to one man, the greatest player to ever touch the game. And that’s Jim Jam Flim Flam.

Jim Jam, who uses his real name as his Smash tag, has been around since the very beginning of the scene. And while he didn’t start as a Melee player, the way that he revolutionized the scene cannot be overstated.

From the Slopes to Smash

When Jim Jam came across Melee, it was purely by accident. Smash Bros. wasn’t the game he was looking for - his passion was for something else entirely. “Back in November of 2001, I was campin’ out at a Gamestop. I was super excited for the release of SSX Tricky, so I began campin’ out about ten days in advance of its release. To kill some time, I would purchase each new game that came out during that period. One of those games was Melee.”

At the time, Jim Jam didn’t think much of the title. “I wish I could say that I fell in love immediately, but the truth was that it wasn't my favorite genre of game, which was Wacky Snowboarding.” But over time, his whole family came to embrace the wacky fighting game. “My brothers and I, not to mention my later mother Mim Mam, came to love it. I have three brothers - Bim Bam and Slim Slam, most notably. There's also Josh, but he's dead to me.”

Because he was so passionate about Wacky Snowboarding, Melee wasn’t an easy transition for him. Luckily, there was one thing that the two games shared: snow levels. “Wacky Snowboarding was my passion. Luckily, the stage Icicle Mountain in Melee existed. That served as my segue, as I only played on that stage for the first eleven months.”

Starting at the Top

Jim Jam’s career started with a bang in 2002, when he caught the attention of an up-and-coming talent known as SephirothKen. “All of my brothers were good, but I knew I was the strongest of the three. So I drove to Cali and played some friendlies against Ken back in like 2002. We went pretty even, so he was like, ‘You should come to a tournament sometime. I'd team with you, but there's this guy named Isai that will probably eventually be a recluse, and we're partners.’”

It was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Jim Jam went to that tournament, and proved his worth - but when he and Ken faced each other in finals, an extraordinary thing happened. “Ken and I decided we respected each other too much to play it out. So we chopped the pot. I remember I was maining Luigi at that time, because I liked his default outfit.

“I think it was at Ken's grandmother's house, and she made us Totino’s Pizza Rolls. The word I'd probably use to describe them would be ‘insane.’”

Smash in Disguise

Jim Jam continued to play games and take names for a few years - until a fated moment in 2007 that changed his Melee career forever. “As every single person knows, I disappeared in 2007 after faking my own death at the hands of Downsmash Abbey. I didn't return for quite some time.” Because Jim Jam was presumed dead, it became impossible for him to compete in tournaments.

Almost.

In order to keep his skills up and sate his appetite for Melee, Jim Jam decided to disguise himself as some of the top players in the game, and impersonate them in order to go play at tournaments. In order to do this, he devised a brilliant strategy. “I would occasionally drive around the country in a white, windowless van. I'd arrive at a tournament and see which top players hadn't entered. I'd then disguise myself as one of those players, and enter under their name.” He also had a foolproof mechanism to make sure these top players didn’t foil his plans by using their top player privilege to enter tournaments late. “I would just call their home and ask their mom if they were going. If they weren't, BINGO, BABY.”

Unbeknownst to many, Jim Jam has placed at some of the biggest tournaments of all time - though never too high, as not to draw suspicion to himself. “I got 5th at Revival of Melee in 2009 as Kage. The hardest part was acting Canadian. I got 6th at Genesis as Bobby Scar - that’s why he doesn’t remember that ‘he’ got 6th place and not 5th. At Pound 5, I got 4th, but that disguise was easy. I just wore a Drake mask! Instant Axe. I also competed at Apex 2010 as Cyrain… took me forever to find that wig. I was able to reuse it at The Big House 2 when I placed 3rd as Fly Amanita - I had to ruffle it up a bit, though.”

The Iron Human

Now, the uninitiated reader may ask themselves, “How is that possible? Jim Jam is a Ness main. Nobody can play all those characters *that* well.” And those readers don’t know much about Jim Jam Flim Flam. “Perhaps you've heard one my several nicknames, ‘The Iron Human.’ Which refers to the fact that I'm skilled with all thirty characters. And when I say thirty characters, there are a few characters that count twice, between I totally redefined their playstyle.”

Two of the characters he redefined are a pair of the most dangerous in Melee: Fox and Ice Climbers. “Before me, people rarely jumped as Fox. And Ice Climbers! I didn't invent wobbling, but no one was really grabbing much at the time. So my emphasis on grabbing opened the door for wobbling later.” However, his main, Ness, will always be the go-to character in his arsenal. “For me, Ness represents all that is good about Smash. He has a positive attitude, which is why he often repeats his favorite mantra ‘Okay.’ But he is also obnoxious as f*** to play against. These are the two things that I strive for.”

Technological Tinkerer

Jim Jam isn’t just about in-game knowledge - he sees it as his responsibility to advance the meta. And some of his technology is worlds beyond any other player. “One important element to me is avoiding lag. My play is so technical and fast that I can't afford to deal with even a frame of lag. So I've contracted of a group of scientists from Hoboken, NJ to develop what I call a ‘reverse lag controller adapter.’ What this means is when using my adapter, the controller is able to actually input my move before I press the button by about three frames. This is why my reactions are so hot.”

Jim Jam is one bad dude © The Oh Boys

This adapter makes him into a technical beast. Nobody in the world can out-tech skill Jim Jam. “I haven't missed a Powershield in my last 300 attempts, for instance. My reads are also amazing. The controller is in a way a fortune teller which allows me to respond to things that haven't happened yet. I can also multi-shine for twenty-four hours straight, but that's a separate thing altogether.” And for those who wonder about the legality of this adapter, Jim Jam isn’t concerned: “If Kadano can do it, why can’t I? Controller modding is a big gray area anyways.”

Jim Jam still has some other experimental projects in the works that have yet to see the light of day - however, he was willing to share some of his early prototypes with us. “I also have developed software that converts Twitch chat into audio, which I listen to via earbuds when I play on stream. This way, I know if I'm doing good or not.”

Aged Like Fine Wine

While Jim Jam has continued to pop up both incognito and in person over the past few years, he’s matured since his happy-go-lucky days of epic mindgames and start stalling. If you can believe it, he and his formal rival, the insane down-smasher Downsmash Abbey, have grown into friends. “We go up to Martha's Vineyard occasionally, of all places. We do wine tastings, or in my case, a Miller High Life tasting. Or we might just kick back and watch a super revved-up sunsets.”

That goes for all of his old Smash buddies. They may not see each other every day, but when they do, it’s just like old times. “A lot of those iconic players from my time, from the literally crazy CC Kris to the very boring Indian Steve, were just as hungry for success as me. So things were tense for a while. And Downsmash Abbey did attempt to murder me, and then was my imposter for 7 years. However, we've all mellowed a bit in our old age. They aren't as active in the scene these days, but when I'm in their area, we still meet up for friendlies. Or to read the column entitled ‘Friendlies’ on RedBull.com together.”

Using his fame, fortune, and good looks, Jim Jam has picked up some new high-class hobbies as well. “I also enjoy backgammon and fighting with dangerous swords. I have some of the most dangerous swords in the world. These swords are very sharp, and definitely lethal if they were to accidentally cut off your head. I think I have about 95 dangerous swords on display in my home.”

Jim Jam and his Smash rivals are still friends © The Oh Boys

Coming Home to Melee

Jim Jam has been out of the immediate spotlight for some time, but this year, he’s planning the comeback of a lifetime. He’ll be competing as himself at some of the biggest events of the year, and he’s ready to take on all comers. “You can catch me at WTFox and Evo in July. It's not easy to win a major with Ness, but I wouldn't rule it out. I'm also hoping to spend more time in the commentator's booth. Sometimes I get the strange impression that people are more interested in my out-of-game antics than my actual play, which I find shocking.” He wasn’t above making a high-profile callout, either. “Tell Hungrybox I'm ready for the cash battle. He has 50 bucks with my name on it.”

Even though Jim Jam Flim Flam is larger than life, he shares the same simple feelings about Melee that make the scene so wonderful. “Smash, to me, is a way to remind yourself that life is short, yet cool. It's hard, yet insane. It's about making friends, but then doing everything you can to infuriate those friends as often as possible, but only on the small, inconsequential scale that is Melee. Our tech skill might fade away, but our memories will not.

“Oh, and one more thing to remember: one stock is sometimes a lead, depending on the circumstance.”