No one was prepared for the onslaught that took place at 2GGC: Civil War. It not only left the tournaments namesake sitting on the sidelines for top 8, but propelled Samuel “Dabuz” Robert Buzby towards his first super major win in Smash 4. The win came over seven unique characters, including two characters that have never made it to a top 8 at a major before.

The one constant, in a tournament of upsets, was Dabuz’s steady play. No matter the matchup, he stuck to his game plan and made players earn hits on his Rosalina. It was an impressive effort. One of the most consistent top-8 finishers in Smash 4 finally got his pay day.

His road to the finals was matched with complete uncertainty as top players began to fall early on Saturday. The first domino to fall came from Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios, of Team ZeRo. He fell to the California Fox main Matthew “Xzax” Liberatore and later, in the match of the tournament, to Arizona’s Zero Suit Samus main Andrew “Luhtie” Lataille. He was the first top-five player eliminated, all the way back at losers round two.

Futhermore, the upsets didn’t stop with ZeRo. Leonardo “MKLeo” Lopez Perez barely made it out of pools, falling to two lesser known, but strong California players. Meteor, out of nowhere, sent MKLeo to losers before falling to Armando “AC” Castenada Villalobos, 3-2, in losers round one. It was a bloodbath.

Additionally, Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada looked prime to win the event with so many players eliminated after day one, but he eventually became part of the fray. Griffin “Fatality” Miller, the eventual runner-up sent him back home in ninth place (are you detecting a pattern?). The final straw was Eric “Esam” Lew pulling out the Samus to eliminate captain Canada, Elliot “Ally”Bastien Carroza-Oyarce.

The upsets led to exciting sets with loud screams ringing out all over the Esports Arena venue. The atmosphere of the outside stage added extra pressure to an already pressurized tournament. It’s the first time a tournament had been held outside on a street. The city of Santa Ana deserves praise for allowing the 2GG crew to throw a great tournament.

Character Diversity

Outside the upsets, the character diversity is the most noteworthy aspect of this tournament. A Link, Captain Falcon, and Rosalina finished in the top-three. Donkey Kong made his first appearance in a top 8. The top tier characters all failed to make an appearance with the exception of Zack “Captain Zack’s” Lauth Bayonetta.

However, the play of Japanese Link main “T” was the main story. His aggressive style Link was not only optimally strong but enjoyable to watch. The bomb recoveries will be a mainstay in the Link metagame as T redefined Link. Eita “Hikaru” Hoshi also became a crowd favorite with his DK. The heavyweight Donkey Kong was made effective through Hikaru’s ability to win neutral and convert into lower-percentage kills.

Regardless, Fatality’s epic run to Grand Finals can’t be ignored. Before losing to Dabuz, Fatality went on an insane run of wins. He beat Rei “Komorikiri” Furukawa 3-1, followed by a reverse 3-0 over Nairo. That momentum carried over from beating Nairo all the way through top 8 and into Grand Finals. He lost a close set to T in winners but ended up 3-0’ing him in losers.

Dabuz Delivers

It was finally Dabuz’s time and it came at the most opportune moment. What is now known as “the most stacked tournament of all time,” as said by Zak “Coney” Z, Dabuz will always be remembered for avoiding the upsets and taking it home. His methodical, never approach style finally had an edge against players more prone to fall for his Rosalina traps. He’s a brick wall and now the Civil War champion.

In a turn of events, after the Noriyuki “Kirihara” Kirihara win at Frame Perfect Series 2, Dabuz regained the title of best Rosalina player worldwide with his big win at Civil War. He also beat Kirihara with a rather dominate 3-0. It was Dabuz’s tournament to lose and he came through.

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