Colin Kenitz (4-4-16)

Abadango’s found his way to America a few times since the release of Smash 4. Every time we get to see any of the Japanese players over here, it’s really exciting. Watching the likes of Ranai and 9b pitting the style of their region against our own is always fascinating. Since Smash 4’s release though, of all the players coming over from Japan, Yuta “Abadango” Kawamura has brought the most versatility to the table. At the release of the game Abadango was mainly sticking to two characters: Pac-Man and Wario.

Wario was Aba’s main in Brawl, as well, he was considered the best Wario in Japan. He continued to play the character in Smash 4, but for a long time he put him on the back burner in favor of Pac-Man. Pac-Man was completely new to the Wii U rendition of Smash, and for a long time, just about anyone you would have asked would have told you that he was the best Pac in the world. Even back then Pac-Man wasn’t considered a very strong character, but Abadango placed 7th at Apex 2015 with him. That was back in January of 2015, and by EVO 2015 in July, Abadango had already begun focusing more on his Wario. Going back to his Brawl main he saw success, placing 4th. His love for both characters wasn’t enough though. As the average player skill level improved and the meta in Smash4 evolved, Abadango chose to pick up a high tier character in Meta Knight.

His Meta Knight started appearing at The Big House 5, where he used it on and off, along with his Pac-Man and Wario. Recently he’s been doing insanely well in Japan with the Meta Knight. Word on the street is he’s been bodying almost everyone over there, including knocking Nairo out of a tournament fairly early. Some even speculate that MK’s recent nerfs stemmed from his sudden tournament success. Whether that be true or not, Abadango’s character pool doesn’t stop there.

At Pound 2016 Abadango brought us something new to the table yet again: Mewtwo. It was really exciting to see a Mewtwo of this caliber show up at a major as big as Pound 2016. Mewtwo’s newest buffs were pretty substantial, but they weren’t enough to make him a top character in the game. He received buffs to his weight, as well as less knock back on his abilities so that they can combo more fluidly. There are some Mewtwo’s in America, but no one is doing what Aba was doing with this character at Pound. Abadango’s down-tilt conversions were great, and his neutral game was really dominating. The way Abadango spaces himself out with his long distance fairs and dairs are almost reminiscent of a swordsman like Marth, which is really interesting to see from Mewtwo. The most exciting part of watching his Mewtwo is definitely his use of confusion and disable. These are two weapons in Mewtwo’s arsenal that most players will find very difficult to use optimally. Abadango may seem like he’s just throwing them out at times, but when he gets the conversions from them, you can see what he’s thinking. Especially in his set with Marss in Winner’s Finals. Aba’s nair – footstool – disable – up smash combo against Marss in game 3 of their set not only made commentators TKBreezy and EE pop off, but the whole crowd as well.

http://oddshot.tv/shot/vgbootcamp-2016040321349166 (Here it is as an oddshot, as the VGbootcamp youtube doesn’t have the upload yet :D)

Abadango isn’t considered the best Japanese player by a decent margin, and he’s not even considered a top player in the world, but maybe his time just hasn’t come yet. At any rate, no one can take away the success he’s found with so many different characters in Smash 4. This man has a beautiful mind for Smash in general, and he’s one of my favorite’s to watch. Of all of his characters, Mewtwo is definitely my favorite to watch, and I hope he sticks with this one for a long time.

Abadango’s top eight run was really fun to watch, and he took out some big names – and with insane set counts. 3 – 0 over Void, one of the best Sheik’s in the world. 3 -1 over Marss, the second best Zero Suit Samus in the world in one of the most exciting sets of the tournament. Finally, in Grand Finals, a clean 3 – 0 over Ally. With this tournament run at a Major this big, Abadango unquestionably has the results to back him up being the best Mewtwo in the world right now. He’s also the first Japanese player to win a Major in Smash 4 in the U.S.

Congratulations to Abadango for winning Pound 2016, and thanks for showing us what Mewtwo is capable of.

Congratulations, as well, to Ally for second place and to Marss on third!

* All photo credit goes to @Tischphotos! Thanks for the amazing event coverage.

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