No one would have expected it, but the humble UGC Smash Open is shaping up to be the most important Smash tournament of the year for four of Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros, for Wii U's greatest players.

Adam "Armada" Lindgren and Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma have been neck-and-neck all year, and this one tournament could settle the year-long debate about which one is truly the greatest Melee player of 2016. Meanwhile, Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios and Elliot "Ally" Bastien Carroza-Oyarce are set to continue their tug-of-war for the equivalent title in Smash 4.

Prizefight

Armada vs. Hungrybox is a match we've seen 11 times in 2016, and while Armada has the lead, it's hard to deny that 2016 hasn't at least partially been Hbox's year. Hungrybox beat Armada at Battle of the Five Gods and EVO 2016, two key tournaments, and even took the first set of grand finals off of Armada at Canada Cup. Our challenger has got Melee's first dedicated, professional coach in his corner, and he's come closer than anyone has in the last few years to taking Armada's title as the best Melee player in the world.

But in the other corner, the defending champ is sitting pretty, with three national tournament wins in the last two months. Not only that, Armada hasn't dropped out of the Top 2 at any tournament since May. Armada is consistent, and EVO aside, he's beaten Hbox consistently this year.

It's hard to ignore EVO though. And it's equally hard to ignore Hbox's many domestic wins in 2016. Hbox won eight nationals in 2016, four of which Armada did not attend or was forced to drop out of early. Comparing pure tournament results puts the two on even ground, and their play all year long has been spectacular, especially when they go up against each other.

Hungrybox looked to have the 2016 title in the bag thanks to his spectacular EVO run, but Armada's back-to-back wins at Smash Summit 3 and DreamHack Winter dropped a speed bump on challenger's rise to glory. The defending champion is looking unstoppable now, and the UGC Smash Open has given Hbox one more shot to take the metaphorical belt away from Armada before 2016 is yet another year of the Swede.

Back and Forth

Even a few months ago, ZeRo was not looking like he was going to re-gain his title as the greatest Smash 4 player in the world. ZeRo's summer would have been great, for anyone not named ZeRo that is. Second place at three nationals and third at EVO is nothing to sneeze at, but it's not what you want to see if you're a man with the longest tournament win-streak in Smash history.

Instead, ZeRo was essentially forced to watch as Ally took his spot at the top. Ally beat ZeRo at Get on My Level for the first time in Smash 4's history, and proceeded to mop the floor with the world, as if never having a win against ZeRo was the only thing holding Ally back. After GOML, Ally went on to win EVO, giving him a real shot at being considered the first person to be better than ZeRo, particularly considering how inconsistent ZeRo became while Ally was at the top.

But after EVO, ZeRo changed. Maybe he finally understood the post-patch meta, maybe he finally learned the Mario matchup, maybe he just opened his third eye and saw Smash 4 for what it truly was, but whatever happened, he completely changed his playstyle. ZeRo's newfound iron wall of defense is all-but impregnable, and the only player that looked like he could find an opening was Sahjmoori "Salem" Dunn, until ZeRo dispatched him 3-1 at KTAR XIX. ZeRo can go entire sets without taking more than 80 percent damage on his first stock, as he weaves through pokes and projectiles then goes in for the kill once he's worn out all his opponent's approach options.

The only thing stopping ZeRo from truly re-taking his crown is the fact that he hasn't played Ally since Super Smash Con, where Ally won 3-1. If ZeRo can face Ally in-bracket and beat him, he's back for sure. But then again, 2GGT: ZeRo Saga is just next week, and the Saga Curse could mean that ZeRo ends the year with a loss, just when he doesn't want it.

Notes and Observations

Doubles for Melee is set to be a pretty spectacular show, as it's going to be the second North American appearance of Alliance's brotherly duo. Armada and Andreas " Android " Lindgren took second at the Big House 6, losing out to Counter Logic Gaming's PewFat. These are the two best doubles duos in the world right now, and we're very likely to see another CLG/Alliance Grand Finals, which would be a real treat for doubles fans.

" Lindgren took second at the Big House 6, losing out to Counter Logic Gaming's PewFat. These are the two best doubles duos in the world right now, and we're very likely to see another CLG/Alliance Grand Finals, which would be a real treat for doubles fans. On the Smash 4 side of doubles, ZeRo and NRG Esports' Nairoby "Nairo" Quezada have been taking plenty of doubles titles over the past few months, with wins at KTAR XIX, The Big House 6, Collision XIV and Low Tier City 4. They're no stranger to teaming up, and the only team that looks capable of stopping them is, appropriately, Ally and Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman. Team Japan (Takuto "Kameme" Ono and Yuta "Abadango" Kawamura) shouldn't be taken lightly either, particularly if they pull out another strange team composition like double Mega Man, or go for the classically overpowered double Cloud.