EPTI entered the tournament for Melee singles and PM singles as Luigi mains in both, I knew all of the players I faced and who they used, as I play friendlies with them in smash sessions, but this tournament we all played to win since this determined the local scene's ladder spots, and of course bragging rights. The day of the tournament, it was doubles first for PM and Melee, so I waited a good bit before actually playing any matches. But Melee singles finally started.
Set 1: Luigi vs Falco
I was seeded into round 2 of the melee tournament because at the time I held the 7th spot on the Melee ladder out of 23 people. The Falco I faced doesn't play much melee, but plays a lot of PM, but he knew what to do on falco with the usual basics, dair-shine, short-hop lasers and whatnot. Problem for him was that I play more melee than PM.
Game 1: Fountain
We struck to FoD, which is actually a decent stage for Luigi, I was confused why we struck here since Falco sometimes has a hard time with short-hop aerials and lasers with the moving platforms. Plus it's one of the slightly bigger stages in the pool. I was a little nervous at first, but I mainly used wavelanding via platforms to avoid lasers and aerial falco with dairs and nairs. The falco was messing up a bit with tech skill and short-hopping since FoD is FoD. I 2stock him
Game 2: Pokemon stadium
I ban Final D for fear of relentless lasers, and he picks pokemon stadium. He actually gets a lead in this game with some decent combos and he's finally starting to pick up, but he messes up tech skill and shoots grounded lasers occasionally and I capitalize on those mistakes with wavedash+grab. Falco is super combo-able with luigi and I take the game and the set.
Set 2: Luigi vs Sheik
Luigi vs Sheik is a hard matchup for Luigi. I don't think it's as hard as other people say, but it's still a challenge to overcome vs a Sheik that knows her combos. And it doesn't help that this particular dude has a super winning record vs me and recently beat me in a ladder match 3-1, but I beat him at the last tournament, so there was hope.
Game 1: Battlefield
It started out relatively evenly with both of us trading blows, none of us getting super combos off. I take the first stock, the opponent took mine after, but then I get a good combo off with grab into dair into wavelanding on platform bair. I flub the edgeguard, but still take the stock. Unfortunately, the Sheik SDs and I take the first game.
Game 2: Yoshi's Island
I ban out Final D once again, because I just really don't like that stage. My playstyle doesn't really suit that stage even though some people say it's good for Luigi. The sheik went for yoshi's predictably, but I actually like this stage even though it's a small box. The platforms are good for Luigi's combos. The sheik player played better this game, and mainly wins with grabs into fairs. That's the hard part vs sheik, luigi can just get grabbed out of the air when after he aerials and the downthrow into fair is so free for sheik. He ends up 2-stocking me.
Game 3: Pokemon Stadium
Sheik bans Dreamland, I pick Pokemon stadium since platforms and decent amount of space. I mainly win with grab downthrow into dairs, but at this point my heart is racing like a clock, I might win vs this sheik who I have a mental block against. He's down to his last stock, I have 2 stocks but high percent over 100. I make it back to stage after good DI and get some reasonable height off of Luigi's down-b recovery. I get hit off again, but survive. I charge a side-B and MISFIRE into the sheik, and take the game. The guy I was playing against yelled out and just layed on the couch just looking at me laughing. He said I had the momentum and would've won anyway, but that set didn't feel too good since he SDed a couple times. A couple people were getting hyped because of the ending.
Set 3: Luigi vs Falcon
I'm usually decent vs Falcon, but my opponent is the guy who's friends with M2K since they were kids, so his knowledge and experience far outstrips my own and I didn't think I had a chance. But as aMsa would say... "I pray to win!"
Game 1: Battlefield
My friend who doubled with my opponent convinced him to go Falcon so I would stand a chance. I start out the game with an amazing combo that ends with a fair offstage, and almost 0 to death him. My opponent was like "Oh shit..." after that combo, and people were getting pretty hyped behind us. But then he just goes ham on me and JV3s me.
Game 2: Final D
He banned out dreamland, and I just figured that I'll just pick FD so I can wavedash away if I'm getting comboed. Unfortunately, I end up getting owned because he's just better than me and get JV3ed once more and get knocked into Loser's bracket.
Set 4: Luigi vs Samus
We have 2 Samus mains in my city, and they both occupy top 10 spots in our ladder. I get reasonable practice vs Samus since my friend is one of those samus mains, and I win a lot vs him, usually ending up with him being slightly salty at me. Last ladder match I played vs him, I came back 0-2 to reverse all kill 3-0 him, so I don't get on tilt vs Samus. This particular samus I played this tournament had occupied the number 5 spot on the ladder, and I'd been wanting to ladder match him for a while. This match would determine who would be guaranteed top 4 in the tournament and who gets the higher ladder spot.
Game 1: Dreamland
We end up striking to Dreamland, which is good for both Samus and Luigi since they both are so hard to fucking kill. So a nice long game commences. He takes a lead by taking my first stock, but I retaliate by taking his with some good dairs + fairs. But in the end, missiles and uptilt ledgeguarding from him take my stocks and the game.
Game 2: Battlefield
I didn't like how long it was taking for me to kill him, and the samus was killing me via uptilts and missiles that took my jumps, not smashing or shooting me off the side of the stage. He bans out yoshi's I take battlefield to make it harder for the samus to tether onto ledge. I start the game off with grab upthrows with uptilts and aerials, and gain an early lead. He never stood a chance this game.
Game 3: Fountain
I ban out Final D, missiles and charge b shots are so scary, and I'm heavily reliant on platforms for my movement, so FD is not a good map Luigi vs Samus for my playstyle. He goes FoD, instead of Dreamland which I was perplexed, but I was fine with it. I take another early lead with a good combo, and my opponent is getting slightly salty since I get a couple misfire recoveries, and Luigi takes a long time to kill. It ends up being close, but I edge him out with one stock with some solid ledgeguarding with spaced, l--cancelled fairs to punish samus' hard to sweetspot up b. My opponent was surprised, along with the most of the higher tier players on the ladder. I was apparently supposed to be one of the easier paths in the tournament, but people said I broke out this tournament. My training partner, who got 6th in the tournament, said "He's been this good and improving for a while now, you guys just don't pay him enough attention."
Set 5: Luigi vs Marth
I was watching the games that would determine who would face vs me in Loser's Semis. It was my 2 training partners playing Falcon vs ICs. We only have one ICs player, and he rarely brings it out, but this guy had actually been abroad studying for the last semester of 2014, and hadn't been playing. The fact he was getting so far in tournament was the Cinderella story of the weekend, especially with a diverse pool of Marth/IC/Falcon. The IC barely edged out the Falcon player, and but against me, he wisely chose Marth, the sexually confused destroyer of worlds.
Game 1: Battlefield
Luigi vs marth is so fucking hard haha. It's so hard to get in with the insane grab range and sword range. I try to wavedash into shielding f-smash or aerials, then shield grab. It works for a little bit, but he two-stocks me in the end since the platforms on battlefield are super good for marth uptilt/up air combos.
Game 2: FoD
He bans out Dreamland, which is bad news bears for me. I end up choosing FoD, to hopefully screw up his short-air aerials and upthrow combos. This game was super close. I actually thought we would go to game 3, he was high percent last stock, I was medium percent. But he like side tilts me or something, and I accidentally input down b instead of side b, and I lose the stock and get knocked out of tournament.
The tournament wraps up with Falcon who beat me winning the whole thing. I did okay in PM, but who cares about that game? I was happy with my results, but Luigi vs Marth puts me in a pickle. Also 2 players who occupy two of the top 5 ladder spots weren't able to come, a Peach and another Luigi. I now occupy the number 6 spot on the ladder, having send 2 of the people above me down to the top 10 trenches. Overall I'm happy with this tournament, got 4th in tourney against some players that I struggled versus.
Some notes:
I need someway to avoid Marth's up-air + uptilt combos on stages like battlefield and Yoshi's. Nair or down b would do it I thought, but the sword is so long.
I need to incorporate more ways to shoryuken combo reliably, it's really good if I can read hard, and might be one of my ways to beat marth on platforms.
If you read all of this, you deserve a cookie. Thanks for reading!
