By Daniel “Tafokints” Lee

It’s that time of year again: Smash Summit voting season. More than likely, your Twitter feed is filled with player nominations and retweets.

Smash Summit 4 takes place from March 2-5 at the Beyond the Summit house in Walnut, California. The pot bonuses have increased to a total of $15,000, with $10,000 going to singles and $5,000 to doubles. Along with singles and doubles, the players also duke it out in exhibitions, iron man crew battles, team crew battles, and mafia.

Every Smash event is comprised of 16 players. Ten players are picked based on merit for their recent performances. This list includes:

Adam “Armada” Lindgren

Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma

Joseph “Mango” Marquez

William “Leffen” Hjelte

Justin “Plup” McGrath

Zachary “SFAT” Cordoni

Weston “Westballz” Dennis

Jeffrey “Axe” Williamson

Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman

Kevin “PewPewU” Toy

The remaining six players are decided by the masses. Players that finished in the top 70 on 2016’s SSBMRank could opt into the voting process. Twitter nominations trim the list of nominees to 16, and then a vote is done to determine the final six. The schedule of eliminations and qualifiers are listed below:

Voting Starts: Fri (2/10) 1pm PST

Day 1: Monday (2/13) 1pm PST – Bottom 2 players are eliminated (14 players remain)

Day 2: Tuesday (2/14) 1pm PST – Bottom 2 players are eliminated (12 players remain)

Day 3: Wednesday (2/15) 1 pm PST – Top 2 Advance + Bottom 2 are eliminated (8 players remain)

Day 4: Thursday (2/16) 1 pm PST – Top 2 Advance + Bottom 2 are eliminated (4 players remain)

Day 5: Friday (2/17) 1 pm PST – Top 2 Advance + Bottom 2 are eliminated

The Candidates

Dajuan “Shroomed” McDaniel

Main: Sheik

Region: Northern California

SSBMRank2016: 10

The #10 ranked player on SSBMRank woke up to a surprise when he saw that he didn’t make the invite list for Smash Summit 4. Fans looking to vote for a strong competitive event may want to support Shroomed, who finished fifth at Smash Summit 1 and 2 and seventh at Smash Summit 3 – results that far exceed any of the other candidates’ Smash Summit performances. If voted in, he will also be able to use this year’s event to share more of his personality on the commentator couch.

Mustafa “Ice” Akcakaya

Main: Fox

Region: Germany

SSBMRank2016: 13

Mustafa “Ice” Akcakaya ended last year on a high note with a third place finish at The Big House 6 and marquee wins over Leffen and SFAT. Unlike most other top players, Ice comes from a region that lacks top level talent, and the Smash Summit provides much needed practice against uncommon matchups. His doubles performance is also worth noting, with a second place finish at Genesis 4 while paired with Leffen. An appearance at Smash Summit 4 brings Leffen and Ice together as teammates, where they can continue their momentum after finishing in second place at Genesis 4.

James “Duck” Ma

Main: Samus

Region: Michigan

SSBMRank2016: 15

James “Duck” Ma represents the heart of the Midwest and every aspiring Samus main. At the previous Smash Summit, he finished in seventh, the highest of any voted-in player. He continues to push the potential of Samus and has seen remarkable improvement in all of his matchups. Fans also loved his analytical insight and chemistry with the other players on the commentator’s couch at Smash Summit 3.

Johnny “s2j” Kim

Main: Captain Falcon

Region: Southern California

SSBMRank2016: 16

Johnny “s2j” Kim is the only Captain Falcon player that opted in to the Smash Summit voting. And as a representative of the speedy Falcon, he never fails to excite. Most recently, he had Armada at a 0-2 deficit at Genesis 4, and was one stomp away from giving Armada his worst loss in over six years (Armada came back to win the set 2-3). His gameplay is dynamic, to say the least. Between his amazing reads and “Johnny stock” zero to death combos, you will never know what he is capable of doing next. Expect to see him team with Mango if he finds his way into the Smash Summit.

Joey “Lucky” Aldama

Main: Fox

Region: Southern California

SSBMRank2016: 19

Joey “Lucky” Aldama missed out on the past two Smash Summits, but hopes to come back to Smash Summit 4. He suffered an unexpected knee injury at Smash The Record that kept him on the sidelines at the end of 2016. He came back prematurely to compete at Genesis 4, and despite the physical injury, made an impressive run to finish in ninth place.

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