By Josh “BarkSanchez” Brody

The #Yearof64 has been packed full of 64-exclusive Smash events. The magical year kicked off its first of many 64-exclusives with Boss Battle 1 in Indianapolis. This event helped put the ND64 crew on the map, and synergized well with the momentum following Genesis 3 to grow the Smash 64 community.

SuperBoomed, the fourth event of its kind in 2016, finds itself following tough acts in SNOSA 2, and ODS 2. However, Jesse “KillaHertz” Hertz and his team at Nebulous have risen to the challenge, flying in several top players and building an exciting event “by 64, for 64” crafted with help from the community. Registrants of the event voted on which players were flown in, how many days the event would run and even whether or not to use a controversial alternative ruleset for doubles. While KillaHertz put in the work to make SuperBoomed a hyped event, he allowed the community to help craft the weekend to their liking, an unprecedented method.

However, nothing makes an event more hyped than top level talent. Alvin’s visa doesn’t need to do damage to get him flown out to yet another North American major. The Peruvian titan of Smash 64 failed to meet expectations at Super Smash Con 2016; however, the Japanese Yoshis that caught him off guard will not be standing in his way this time. SSBMTL | TR3GTheZ has played lights out this summer, eliminating Koroshiyo | KeroKeroppi from Get On My Level 2016 to nab second place and defeating tacos and Wangera en route to an astonishing fifth place finish at SSC. He will attempt to build on his momentum, joining the Mexican Monstrosity, Mariguas, and Alvin in an attempt to end the brutal reign of SuPeRbOoMfAn, one of North America’s juggernauts, and reigning champion following SSC.

Aside from these top players being flown out, SuperBoomed will feature players from 17 different regions, as well as a few netplay warriors.

Revan has seemed to climb to a new level of play, eliminating Wizzrobe at two majors in a row, handling BarkSanchez at Summit 2016 and capping off the #SummerOf64 with a phenomenal performance at SSC 2016, nabbing seventh place. However, the cerebral young Kirby main fell flat at ODS 2, and has had a month and a half in the lab to ensure he steps into SuperBoomed stronger than ever.

Fireblaster’s performance at SSC 2016 was arguably his strongest all year. He fell early to NTA, but defeated Cobr and Star King, who previously eliminated him at Apex 2016; he even managed took a game off of Alvin. Fireblaster’s doubles team, which included Shalaka, also played exceptionally. Despite falling early to Team LAS’s Wookiee and SotoH in winners, Team Shalakablaster tore a path through losers, defeating the Brazilians Kort and Banze, as well as the veteran duo Firo and Nintendude.

Speaking of Nebulous’s star himself, expect to see Firo in Top 8 as well, whether it be as Ness, Link or perhaps both. The low-tier hero can play nearly the entire cast at an incredibly high level in tournament, so he may have a few tricks up his sleeve as he attempts to defend his turf.

With all of the players, ranging from Massachusetts, to Georgia, to Northern California, to Mexico, the man to beat as always is SuPeRbOoMfAn. The Canadian lumberjack has a major tournament named after him for a reason. The renaissance era of Smash 64 has been the era of Boom, as he has all but dominated the scene for nearly three years. Boom’s Captain Falcon has been seen sparingly in 2016. Following a close loss to Wario at Genesis 3, and another close set against BarkSanchez at Pound 6, Boom has taken several opportunities to show off and train up his Kirby and Pikachu. There is no telling which characters he will break out for any given situation, although he may need his entire lineup ready to face the stacked roster at SuperBoomed.

Singles is stacked, but doubles will likely be the big topic of the discussion when Monday rolls around. SuperBoomed is running with a controversial alternative ruleset for doubles, a first for a tournament of this size and caliber. This unorthodox ruleset places a ban on Pika/Kirby, Pika/Pika and Kirby/Kirby teams, in response to the large presence of these two characters in the current doubles meta. SuPeRbOoMfAn had won every doubles tournament he attended in over four years leading into Super Smash Con 2016, most frequently teaming with his longtime partner JaimeHR. The duo, known as Team Mejor, dominated the modern Smash 64 doubles scene with their seemingly unstoppable Pika/Mario team, but were finally taken down at SSC 16 by Isai and Alvin, playing as Pika/Pika. Without the threat of Isai, or the trio of Pika/Kirby compositions, Boom will look to dominate once again. Without Jaime attending, Boom has teamed up with fellow veteran Firo to create yet another terrifying team. Firo has seen much success teaming exclusively with Nintendude over the past four years, dominating opponents with a unique Ness/Mario team. The Super Group of Boom/Firo will take on some formidable opponents in Mariguas/Alvin, BarkSanchez/Shears, and The Z/Handsome Tom, all teams with players limited from playing their doubles mains with the alternative ruleset. Despite these limitations, these teams have players that have all been very successful in doubles. With the new ruleset in place, everyone will be watching to see how these players adjust to an altered meta.

New York’s first major has already set itself apart from every other event, and the action hasn’t even started yet. The #yearof64 is winding down, but shows no signs of slowing down in terms of excitement, so be sure to tune in to NebulousGaming on hitbox.tv.