By Jamie “JAMJAR” Jacobs and Josh “BarkSanchez” Brody

Every week we will be posting a look back at the previous week in Smash. This week we show you what went down at Rest Town, take a look at the tight knit Ohio scene and check out what went down in Baltimore’s experimental first season of the Super Smash Bros League.

Rest Town

This past weekend featured another premier Smash 64 event hosted by the growing Midwest scene. The local scenes in Indiana and Ohio have been putting in some serious legwork to grow their scenes into a frequent destination for top players this year. After massive successes at Boss Battle 1 and Shuffle VIII, Rest Town was once again a great example of why these groups of Smashers are deserving of our attention.

The VFW Post in Carmel, Indiana was kind enough to play host to a large gathering of Melee and 64 players. As has been tradition for tournaments hosted by Benjamin “Bacorn” Corn, a couple of top players were enticed to the cornfields of Indiana to compete for the big bucks. BarkSanchez and Hipstur traveled from Maryland and Nevada respectively to attempt to bring home the gold. Defending the Midwest were top local players such as Pugs, cyoonit, Amida and Dogs_Johnson. These players tried to truly make a splash in the national spotlight by taking down the formidable invaders. Some local up and coming players looked to make waves in their respective Power Rankings, as B33F, A to the Z, PirateTrips and more stepped up to the plate.

The Salty Suite was held in a local mall at Boss Battle Games the night before the tournament. This event consisted of many money matches, a local favorite in the root beer challenge and a YOLO bracket. Most viewed the night as a way to blow off steam and get rid of their nerves before the tournament began, while others truly had a bone to pick. The night played out wonderfully, as debts were settled and money changed hands. In a truly surprising result, Dogs_Johnson even won the YOLO bracket with his main, a result that had been deemed impossible by many.

As the sun rose on Saturday morning, the Smashers traveled to the main event. On this day, three brackets would be completed: singles, doubles and an amateur bracket for those who get eliminated early in the proceedings. The 32 entrants were quickly whittled down to 16 for the bracket, where the true top competitors would emerge. BarkSanchez made his predictable easy run through winners bracket, as he did not lose a game on his way to Grand Finals, sweeping aside local favorites such as Box, cyoonit and Pugs. However, the same could not be said for his fellow traveler hipstur. The Fox main was shockingly swept by his first round opponenet, EG. However, this event would not shake his confidence.

The local top players were also a part of the action in bracket, as their infighting lead to a rather shocking result for the winners bracket. Pugs, Amida, Dogs_Johnson and more all swept or were swept by their opponents. In fact, the entire winners side of the bracket was exclusively sweeps! As all of these players were sent into losers bracket, they were eager to prove their worth and be the one to advance to take on Bark.

Losers bracket was quite different, as many matches came down to the wire. JAMJAR was able to advance beyond the first round, though he was quickly swept out by Dogs_Johnson in the third iteration of that matchup on the weekend. Dogs would unfortunately be eliminated in Losers Quarterfinals in a controversial finish, as he was ultimately timed out while he was looking to finish off a strong comeback in Game 3. Local riser B33F was unfortunately unable to win a single game in bracket, as hipstur began a ridiculous run through losers bracket with a sweep. hipstur tore through the bracket, winning five losers sets to advance all the way to Losers Finals. On the way he defeated local champions A to the Z, Box, Amida and cyoonit. Losers Finals proved to be exciting as Pugs and hipstur faced off. Pugs made a key smart decision going into the set, choosing to break out his Pikachu for the matchup advantage over Fox. This proved decisive, as he earned many solid gimps to solidly defeat hipstur 3-1 and advance to Grand Finals.

This final round earned its title, as Pugs pushed BarkSanchez to his limit. After winning easily in Game 1 in a Pikachu vs. Fox matchup, Bark decided to change to his Captain Falcon for some training against new opponents. He was able to clutch out a victory in Game 2, but the tides appeared to be turning. Pugs made a massive comeback over the rest of the set, winning each of the last three games to force a bracket reset, appearing to adapt and learn the matchup along the way. Grand Finals 2 was more of the same, as Bark stubbornly stuck to his guns and stayed as Captain Falcon. He once again won the first game in a close victory, though this time Pugs turned it around and won the next two. This forced Bark’s hand, as he knew he could not win with his new secondary and had to go back to his main. Games 4 and 5 were quick and painful for Pugs, as his vulpine character was continuously thrown and gimped into oblivion. In the end, Bark was named champion of Rest Town, though he was not able to win as easily as he had hoped.

The amateur bracket was on display next. The tournament organizer himself, Bacorn, made a dominating run through the amateur bracket to earn victory of this side event. It appeared he had begun to shake off his past poor showings against Kirbys, as he defeated a number of them on his way to a strong first place finish. His opponent in Grand Finals, Meerkat, made a nice run through losers, defeating three opponents along his way to earn the right to second place.

The final event of the night, doubles, started off with some seeding controversy. A few Midwest players were overheard complaining to Bacorn that the team of BarkSanchez and JAMJAR (henceforth known as BarkJAR) were not deserving of the No. 1 seed. Despite Bark’s high level of skill, JAMJAR was still a relatively unknown variable, and these players questioned his abilities. However, these complaints were put to rest by this team’s overall victory. BarkJAR quickly developed chemistry and defeated all comers. JAMJAR was pleased to silence his critics, as he comported himself well in competition, despite a few slip ups along the way.

Rest Town was another great tournament hosted by the rising states in the Midwest. Though they may be lacking any one elite level player, they proved that they are capable of competing with some of the best Smash has to offer. Surely the likes of Pugs, Dogs_Johnson, cyoonit and more will be making a name for themselves on the national level as the #yearof64 rolls on. Failing this, Bacorn and the others will continue to grow the scenes’ national recognition by continuing to host great events such as this.

Small Scene Spotlight: Ohio

This week we travel back to the Midwest, this time to meet some Smashers in Ohio who have built a scene connected by rivalries. The beginnings of this scene started with a number of smaller scenes held together by a few friends. Columbus was home to cyoonit, Thrillhouse, Tyhiggz and several others. This group of players tried to get together frequently, though often had to fallback to facing off online. Youngstown also had its own crop of players, as Vinsanity, JosephZander, Monte and Dr. Combos were slowly making a name for themselves in the state. Pugs and Box were grinding their skill at Ohio University, though they were unable to expand beyond the boundaries of the school.

These and other scenes were unknown to each other until a small tournament was held in September of 2015. Just Shine brought out a few players from each small scene, instantly sparking an intra-state rivalry among these groups. While this small tournament was the true beginning of the scene, it did not truly coalesce until Shuffle VIII in March of 2016, where each of these sub-regions were able to send larger amounts of players to represent Ohio as a whole. While the initial motivation in bringing the scenes together was to discover the best buckeye, they quickly learned that Ohio was in fact a very deep state despite its lack of truly elite players. This realization helped them to create a scene centered around fostering this talent so Ohio could become a true force on the national scale.

The top four players in the state are likely Pugs, Vinsanity, cyoonit and Fumbles, though the order of these players is hotly contested. Pugs, a Pikachu and Fox main, recently made a case for himself at Rest Town, where he came in second and pushed BarkSanchez to the brink in two Grand Finals sets. Vinsanity’s claim comes from Deluge where he placed second. This Fox main yearns to put Youngstown on the map. The Kirby and Captain Falcon main, cyoonit, has been very consistent in his time on scene, proving to be a force in the Midwest. Fumbles’s Yoshi has been a force in the Midwest for quite some time, as he had a very impressive showing at Shuffle VIII. However, as mentioned before, Ohio is more notable for its deep talent pool than its top players. The next tier down is inhabited by Box, JosephZander and Rizner. These Mario, Falcon and Kirby mains respectively have been beating each other up in recent months as they gun for the top players of Ohio. TyHiggz, LLCStoism and Thrillhouse are a couple of other rising stars for the region, as it would not be a shock if they took a set off the top players in the coming months.

This scene is hoping to insert itself into the national conversation moving into the future. They are not a well-traveled group, though they hope to attend such events as Super Smash Con in the near future to showcase what Ohio is made of. With such a depth of talent, they expect to be able to rapidly improve their skills in order to truly compete against some of North America’s best. They also are aiming to begin streaming their weeklies and other future events, as their current venue does not offer internet access.

To follow this growing and deeply talented scene, check out their Facebook group for news on future events. They hold weeklies known as SONA every Thursday night in Columbus. Bookmark their YouTube page as they will be uploading videos of their events here in the future.

News

SSBL Baltimore

The trial season of the SSBL took place in Baltimore these past months and concluded this past week. It saw a group of 19 players in Maryland compete over a 13 week season to see who would be crowned champion. This trial season has set a precedence for weekly scenes around the country. Instead of doing weekly payouts, the players would pool their entries and do an end of season payout that would pay every Baltimore member instead of the traditional standard of Top 3. To finalize the season, the Baltimore club held a party on Saturday where many members gathered for food and drinks fully paid for by the club. The conclusion of the party was met with the award ceremony which was streamed live on thatsadarkhorse on Twitch and each member was called upon and presented with their winnings. Starting from last to first, Shears, Studstill and Darkhorse went through each member saying a bit about them, bringing them on stream and holding an interview with the player. The award ceremony also began a new tradition for SSB clubs with the presentation of plaques for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Most Improved and Sportsmanship. The Sportsmanship plaque recipient was V, a player who missed only one week of the season and always cheered for everyone whether he won or lost. For Most Improved, MasterHandJob took home the award, a player who began as one of the better known players in Baltimore but improved quickly, having the best change in rank to start the season and end the season finishing with upset wins over Shears, BarkSanchez, and Darkhorse in the process. The top 3 players were revealed to be BarkSanchez, LD, and Darkhorse respectively with BarkSanchez earning the first SSBL trip to a major tournament. Players were very happy with the season and all look forward to the next SSBL season.

The Rest

The End Is Nair #4

This weekend the end was near for Northern Califorina. The Southern Califorina crew rose up and invaded the North with a secrct weapon. Nyx, a Chilean shoebox controller expert, made an appearance in California. Nyx breezed through the first two rounds of his bracket, taking down Paco and Ballin4life. Unfortunately, tragedy struck near the end of his first game with Ballin. The famed shoebox controller broke down and he had to continue on with a standard GameCube controller. Up next, Nyx would face Hero Pie. Nyx was able to take an early lead in the first game when he went Kirby versus Hero Pie’s Pikachu. Hero Pie then turned the tide quickly and closed out the match with a convincing three stock. Game two saw Nyx switch to Captain Falcon as Hero Pie decided to stick with Pikachu. Nyx showed visible frustration this game, possibly due to the need to switch to his back up controller. Hero Pie dispatched him easily again with a decisive three stock. This would not be the end for Nyx, however. In losers bracket he was able to eliminate Onski and Janitor in two dominant 2-0 sets. His foray into NorCal would come to an end when he met Kyle Tree in Losers Quaterfinals.

After being sent to losers bracket, SotoH won three sets to make a run to Losers Semifinals. There he met Kyle Tree and had his Kirby overpowered falling behind 2-1. SotoH then broke out his Captain Falcon to counter. He was able to bring the set even but then fell in game five. Meanwhile in Winners Bracket, Kimimaru sent Kyle Tree to losers in a 3-1 upset in Winners Semifinals. A NorCal versus SoCal Winners Finals was set and after two games as Fox, Hero Pie was down 0-2 to Kimimaru’s Mario. A JV4 stock and a close last stock win later, Hero Pie and his Pikachu tied up the set 2-2. After a battle that came down to a last stock situation that ended in a slick reversal by Kimimaru gave him the set and guarenteed a NorCal versus SoCal Grand Finals with Kyle Tree waiting in losers. Losers Finals started off with two Pikachu dittos where Kyle Tree’s DI was no match for the overpowering of Hero Pie. Game three Kyle Tree countered with Captain Falcon and after being down 3-1 he was able to bring it back and take game three. Game four Hero Pie countered with Fox and was able to finish off Kyle Tree in a last stock situation. Hero Pie came into Grand Finals with a vengance. Two convincing victories and one last stock win from Hero Pie’s Pikachu reset the bracket against Kimimaru’s Mario. The first game of the reset was a solid two stock by Hero Pie. The second game saw Kimimaru overpowered by the much better edgeguarding options granted to Pikachu. In game three Kimimaru turned it on and his Mario was able to produce a two stock of his own. Game four Hero Pie adjusted to Kimimaru’s change of pace and he was able to take the tournament. In the end it was a great gathering for California. Of the 36 competitors who attended, two NorCal, five SoCal, and one Chilean made top eight.

Trail Gaming League Monthly

The Trail Gaming League of Miami, Florida held the 6th iteration of its monthly this past Saturday. This tournament was able to entice nothing, one of Central Florida’s top Captain Falcon mains, down from Orlando. Greginator, in his first tournament in many years, proved to be a hidden boss of Miami as he cruised into Winners Finals without dropping a set. On the other side of the bracket, Antwon420 faced nothing in Winners Semifinals. Antwon, a Jigglypuff main, chose to go with the Captain Falcon ditto against nothing. Antwon showed his prowess in the volatile match up and dispatched of nothing in two quick games, the second of which was a three stock. In Losers Quarterfinals, nothing had a little more luck against Grandma. Grandma had made a nice run through losers bracket. After entering it in the first round, he won three sets to make it to nothing. Nothing rebooted for this Falcon ditto and won the set 2-0 with one game being a four stock. Nothing earned a trip to Losers Semifinals where he met Zedz and another Captain Falcon ditto in game one. Nothing seemed to grasp the match up with so much practice and won it in a last stock stiuation. Zedz then switched to Link for game two and nothing handled him easily and took it with a two stock. Game three saw the return of the Captain Falcon ditto and a small breath of life for Zedz in the form of a two stock. Game four saw the ditto continue and it kept the heart of Zedz beating for at least one more game. The ditto was run back for game five and nothing found excellent spacing for his grabs and he won the set and a trip to Losers Finals. Winners Finals was Antwon420 and Greginator. The two airfilled mains faced off, Antwon as Jigglypuff and Greginator as Kirby. The air spacing battle between the two characters that is so often seen ensued. The two traded stocks until Greginator’s Kirby was able to take two in a row and win game one with a two stock. The same match up was seen in game two along with much more aggressive play. This played well for Greginator and he was able to finish it off with a convincing three stock. The last game saw Antwon counter with Fox. Unfortunately, the poor recovery of Fox allowed Greginator and his Kirby to easily edgeguard their way to Grand Finals. The defeat of Antwon, however, set up a rematch between he and nothing in Losers Finals. The Falcon dittos were reignited and the two split the first two games. Game three was a brutal four stocking handed down by nothing, made easier by multiple missed edgeguards by Antwon. Nothing closed it out in game four, avenging his winners bracket loss, with a stylish up air chain ending in a Falcon Punch. Nothing would now have his first chance at Greginator whose steamroller-like Kirby seemed unstoppable. After losing the first two games, Greginator was visbly frustrated. Despite the matchup advantage afforded by Kirby, he switched to Jigglypuff for game three. Unfortunately, the switch was in vain and nothing was able to reset the bracket with a 3-0 set win. Game one of the reset started off with another Jigglypuff versus Captain Falcon matchup. This came with a resurgence form Greginator that ended with a two stock win. The matchup continued in game two and nothing came roaring back with a three stock win. The game three run back saw a surprising four stock from Greginator. Up 2-1, Greginator was headed into game four with renewed confidence. The momentum carried over from game three and Greginator closed out the set with a three stock and took the tournament.

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