Written by Jeff Hanrahan and Nicholas Uster
Edited by Melissa May
Last Monday, the EGD Collective hosted a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament as part of their Summer Series. Five contestants battled it out with three stock and no items for the first place prize of $20, and we saw some close matches and clutch plays throughout the tourney.
The first matchup was “Kamex” as Donkey Kong vs. “bofa” as Ken. The two went stock for stock until bofa landed a stun, knocking ”Kamex” off the stage for the round win. In round two, both players kept their characters. ”Kamex” landed some effective hits, but ”bofa” pushed ”Kamex” across the stage, spiking them off the edge twice. With their back to the wall, ”Kamex” fell off the stage, ending their tournament run.
The second matchup was “Javi” (Bowser) vs. “Skyron” (Captain Falcon). ”Skyron” spiked ”Javi” off the stage within seconds, and ”Javi” played a more counter-focused game afterwards, finishing ”Skyron” off with a claw swipe. ”Skyron” then knocked ”Javi” off, but ”Javi” recovered and countered ”Skyron”’s assault, knocking them off the stage. In their second round, ”Skyron” switched to Kirby. ”Skyron” hit ”Javi” with a downward-B attack and finished them off with a side smash. ”Javi” dispatched ”Skyron” with an up-smash. ”Skyron” took another stock from ”Javi”, and the two duked it out at huge percentages. ”Skyron” finally landed a side smash, taking ”Javi”’s final stock and advancing.
”Javi” and ”Skyron” kept their characters for round three, and the chat got excited, cheering on both players. ”Skyron” sucked in ”Javi”, taking them both off the stage; they tried sucking them in again, but ”Javi” got their shield up and killed ”Skyron” with a side smash. The two competitors went to the air on the stage’s side, but both recovered back to the stage, where ”Skyron” landed a side smash. ”Javi” finally got a grab, bouncing ”Skyron” off the stage for the win.
In the next matchup, ”Javi” stayed with Bowser, playing against “Ben 10” as Young Link. After a barrage of bow, boomerang, and bomb, ”Ben 10” took ”Javi”’s first stock with an up-smash. ”Javi” returned and took ”Ben 10”’s first stock, then caught ”Ben 10” in a grab and spiked them off the map. ”Ben 10” improved in keeping ”Javi” at range, taking another stock from ”Javi” in a flurry of bombs and up-attacks. ”Javi” went on an aggressive offensive, helping them take a stock from ”Ben 10”, but ”Javi” took 134% damage in doing so. ”Ben 10” kept the weakened ”Javi” in the air and finished him off for the victory. Both contestants kept the same characters for round two, which commentators described as “astounding” due to ”Ben 10”’s exceptional play. Although ”Javi” fought valiantly, ”Ben 10” won the round and advanced in the tournament 2-0, where they would play ”bofa”.
The round began with both contestants choosing their successful characters, Young Link (Ben 10) and Ken (bofa). ”Ben 10” opened with their tried-and-true strategy of keeping their opponent at a range, weakening them before moving in for the kill. ”bofa” moved in to deliver a powerful kick that stopped ”Ben 10”’s combos, and taking advantage of the opening, ”bofa” sent ”Ben 10” off the stage with an up smash-and-punch combo. ”Ben 10” launched a flurry of attacks, keeping ”bofa” off-balanced. ”Ben 10” blundered near the edge and fell to their death after a missed attack. With one stock left, ”Ben 10” scrambled to keep ”bofa” at range again but these attacks were cancelled out by ”bofa”’s own ranged attacks. Once they got within striking range, ”bofa” dispatched Ben 10 after a series of combos and a powerful side-smash. After the round one loss, ”Ben 10” confessed to being “quite surprised,” and many viewers were too, especially after the great play ”Ben 10” displayed in the last round.
”Ben 10” switched to Palutena for the next round and ”bofa” stayed as Ken. Ben 10 once again tried to make a ranged offensive work, but ”bofa” negated the worst of this onslaught before firing back with their own offensive. Twice ”bofa” managed to knock ”Ben 10” off the stage, with ”Ben 10” recovering, but ”bofa” eventually finished the job and knocked the first stock off of ”Ben 10”. ”Ben 10” equalized the stock count after respawning, but ”bofa” effectively employed an efficient use of light combos and heavy finishers. After taking another stock from ”Ben 10”, ”bofa” was at 160%, and it seemed ”Ben 10” might land an equalizer. Astoundingly, ”bofa” managed to keep up a balanced style of attack, deftly moving around ”Ben 10”’s hits while landing their own. Finally, ”bofa” ended the round with a side smash to spike Ben 10 off the stage. In a display of sportsmanship, ”Ben 10” praised ”bofa”, saying that they “absolutely dominat[ed] the match.”
”Chrininja” and ”bofa” matched up in the finals, with ”bofa” as Ken and ”Chrininja” choosing Cloud. Both players were very adept at close-quarters combat, and the round started with each player exchanging stocks. Unfortunately, ”bofa”’s internet connection began to deteriorate rapidly. ”Chrininja” took the first round after an excellent series of edge defenses.
”bofa” took the next round, but not easily. Every stock this round was tenaciously battled over, and it might have been the best fought round all tournament. Both ”Chrininja” and ”bofa” were adept at the characters they chose, but it looked like one more round would give ”bofa” the tournament. However, ever-increasing technical problems eventually made the game unplayable, and ”bofa” purposely leapt off the stage to let ”Chrininja” win. Although they played excellently all tournament, ”bofa” was forced to cede due to the internet problems.
Despite the anticlimactic end, the tournament itself was enjoyable and exciting. The spectators kept things fresh by joking around and rooting for contestants in the live chat, and each player did well, keeping the event engaging and competitive.
EGD’s Smash tournament is part of a larger Summer Series. Future tournaments include League Of Legends, Super Smash Bros, Overwatch, and more! Join the EGD Hub on AVGL to sign up, have fun, and win some prizes!