MLG Anaheim: Meet the Gods

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MLG Anaheim Preview

Meet the Gods

The Indigo Plateau
PPMD, Mew2King, Mango, Armada, Hungrybox

The Elite Four and the current Champion of Melee all make their expected appearance in the qualified players list. These players, the "Big Five", have consistently represented the topmost echelon of Smash ever since late 2009. Contested over the years by various up-and-comers, but never bested, they once again reign here as the heavy favourites heading into MLG Anaheim.

EG PPMD

The most recent winner of the biggest Melee tournaments this year in SKTAR 3 and APEX 2014 is Evil Geniuses' PPMD. Both tournaments boasted 4 of the top 5 in attendance for Melee Singles, and both tournaments ended with dominant runs by the North Carolinian Falco. Ever since October 2013's Big House 3, PPMD has remained undefeated in winner's bracket, winning every tournament without dropping a single set. Heading into the new year, PPMD first avenged his earlier loss to Hungrybox with a 6-1 performance against the Jigglypuff player at Tipped Off 9 in December. One month later, January's APEX 2014 saw him run through HugS (2-1), aMSa (2-0), Mango (3-1), and Mew2King twice (6-1) to take his first national tournament win since Pound V in 2011.

Rising to prominence in the era of the space animals and tech skill [e/n: 20XX], PP has always been known for his characteristically safe play. Of course, being a top player implies stellar tech skill, but it is PP's cognisance of Falco's frailty that makes him such an effective threat to the top. This safe, calculated play is present in his Marth as well, which utilizes a patient dashdance-heavy neutral game to outspace and bait out his opponents. PP will rarely go for the utmost, flashiest mega-combos, preferring the tried-and-true, guaranteed confirmations that will grant him a positional advantage. Being from an area with a less-active Melee scene, he has also been known for his introspective and analytical style of thinking, able to study footage of opponents to better calibrate his own game plan. It is this level of preparation and dedication that makes PPMD perhaps the most dangerous contender for MLG.

P4K EMP Mew2King

Between 2007 and 2008, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who didn't believe Mew2King was the best Smash player in the world. The sudden evolution from MLG's robotic green Fox to the devastating punishes of a black Marth took the Melee scene by storm, and for awhile his reign was even less contested than Ken's ever was. The multitalented Mew2King even took Brawl tournaments with apparent ease, winning at both games through this stretch of time. Of course, as Ken could have told him, people are hungry. They'll be gunning for you. And indeed, an explosion of top tier players, most notable among them Mango and Armada, would bring his undisputed rule of Melee to an end.

That is, until The Big House 3 in October 2013. Unofficially dubbed the tournament of "The Return of the King", Mew2King overcame PPMD in a close 3-2 series before going on to face his greatest mental hurdle, Hungrybox. The Jigglypuff player had taken countless series from him, including taking him out of winners bracket at both Zenith and EVO 2013 in dominating fashion. This time, though, things were different. An invigorated and smarter Fox crushed his longtime foe in Winners Finals and Grand Finals, and for a few months, the Melee world experienced the Winter of Mew2King.

Mew2King's methodical style has been described as both "defensive" and "campy", depending on how you feel. Both his Marth and Sheik in Melee and his Meta Knight in Brawl are known for their planking—the use of continued ledge releases to refresh and maintain invincibility frames—while his Fox is regarded as very laser-heavy. Whether or not you agree with his style, though, it's impossible to overlook his results. His frequent ledge presence and brilliant offstage play has led to an adage one would be wise not to overlook: never approach Mew2King on the ledge.

But the ledge isn't the only place he feels comfortable. Final Destination, the posterchild of competitive Smash, is where Mew2King truly feels at home. His love for the stage stems from his Marth days, and even now, the infamous Marth/Final Destination counterpick against the space animals is about as close to a guarantee as anyone has ever gotten. The endless chaingrabs, perfected through thousands of hours of mechanical precision and a depth of frame and percentage data, have been known to swing the momentum of a losing set firmly in his favour.

Cloud9 Mango

Cloud 9's Mango is the reigning EVO 2013 champion, founding father of space animal shield pressure, and father in real life. The birth of his son and a relocation away from the highly competitive SoCal Melee scene led to an understandable drop-off in Mango's tournament activity and results following his summer EVO win. Time and time again, however, "the Kid" has shown that his comeback potential is not to be underestimated. Even during his hiatus, the former Jigglypuff main went back and forth with Mew2King at smaller regional tournaments such as Fight Pitt III and Pound V. Now, with his new sponsorship, a reinvigorated and motivated Mango will be looking to avenge his 3rd place finishes at Apex 2014, SKTAR 3, and Super SWEET.

Mango celebrating his EVO 2013 victory
Original Picture by Vu Hai

Mango's transition from Jigglypuff to a full-time space animal main had already begun by 2009's Genesis 1, and was complete by Genesis 2 in 2011, where he used both in a Grand Finals loss against Armada. Since then, he has never looked back. Hailing from the hyper-aggressive West Coast, Mango's Fox and Falco epitomize the pressure, rushdown, and endless aggression that space animals are so renowned for. Rarely will you see him laser camping, or even firing more than two or three lasers in succession, even in matchups where such a playstyle would be extremely effective. No, Mango is not someone willing to play the waiting game.

Ever since his first major win at Pound 3 in 2008, Mango's defining characteristic has been his clutch factor. That tournament saw him run through the entire loser's bracket, containing all of the best players of the time, to take the Grand Finals against the seemingly indomitable Mew2King. Indeed, an early exit from Winners side was not a rarity for Mango, but it was the ruthless, hungry "Losers Bracket Mango" that players worried about. From Pound 3, to EVO 2013, to WHOBO, he has proven over and over: never count out the Kid. With his recent sponsorship, desire for revenge, and motivation to take this summer's triple crown, this has never been truer.

P4K EMP Armada

In 2012, Armada was perhaps the most feared smasher in the world, and rightfully so. He had dominated Europe for years and showed America his skill in the Genesis and Pound series, and all with a character we don't often see at the top—Peach. Armada's incredible affinity for the character and perfect capitalization on his opponent's mistakes, combined with his "foreigner” status at American tournaments, gave the Beast from Sweden a vague aura of invulnerability. Certainly, he was not unbeatable: Hungrybox (Apex 2012) and PPMD (Smasher's Reunion, Apex 2013) both were able to take sets from him. But in the end, Armada always seemed to clutch out the victory... until his retirement in January of 2013.

Now, he's back, and as fiery as ever. The floaty Peach was considered a good character before Armada came along at Genesis 1, but never did anyone imagine she could be taken to such heights. Peach's limitations as a character—her perceived weak combo game, lack of options at the ledge, and light weight—put her solidly in "high" tier, just below the top tiers of the day. It was Armada's perfection with the character that helped her rise in the tier list. Known for endlessly grinding against CPUs to practice his combo game, Armada stunned the American scene with an unreal punish game and seamless edgeguarding. Since he uses a character that doesn't often get many clean first hits, Armada goes for the strongest punish possible whenever he does land a hit. His signature up airs and down tilts, combined with clutch/action replay turnip pulls, have put him on a completely different level than other Peach players. For fans of Princess Toadstool in Super Smash Brothers, Armada is simply without peer.

Curse Hungrybox

Hungrybox emerged out of nowhere after Brawl's release, making his first splash at Genesis with a 3rd place finish just behind Armada and Mango. Ever since, the Floridian has never once fallen outside 5th at any large tournaments. His defining moment came at Apex 2010, where his Jigglypuff outlasted Armada's Peach in the Grand Finals to take him his first, and only international tournament victory to date.

While widely agreed to be a member of Melee's top echelon, it is interesting to note that Hungrybox has few national wins. A refocused and prepared Armada came back with Young Link to defeat him at Apex 2012, and the gradual development of Mango's Fox turned the tides against him, save for a rare win at NorCal Regionals in 2013. Hungrybox traded sets frequently with PPMD, and appeared to have a domineering advantage against Mew2King until The Big House 3, which set off a chain of losses. His record against the rest of the Big Five may not be as great as he would like, but his results over the years still speak for themselves—it is those four players and only those four players who can even hope to claim victory against him on the big stage.

In his early career, during Mango's era of dominance, the two Puff players were often compared in playstyle. Where Mango was as aggressive as Puff could be, Hungrybox far preferred the spacing-oriented, back-air-centric aerial style that would end up earning him a rather unpopular reputation. Frustrated with the perfect spacing of Jigglypuff's "wall of pain", players referred to his playstyle as lame, campy, boring, or all of the above.

It can never be said that Hungrybox did not adapt. Under the scathing criticism, he began to revamp and retool his playstyle into incorporating more aggressive options. Though the popular opinion about him lingered, it was clear to anyone following that his Jigglypuff was becoming more and more interesting to watch. Now, with Mango's full-time switch to Fox and Falco, Hungrybox is easily the best Jigglypuff player, and by a wide margin. His weaving control of his opponents' airspace and the constant threat of a Rest have continued to work their magic on the struggling masses. If his improvement against Mew2King and Mango at Get On My Level is any indication, the lone man spearheading the Jigglypuff metagame is still showing that he can hang with the best.

A Cut Above

The Big Five have reigned supreme for years. Others have taken sets off of them: KirbyKaze, Javi, and Wobbles to name a few. But so far, none have yet been able to truly bridge the skill gap and put themselves alongside them to become the Big Six. This year, several challengers have stepped up to the challenge, including perhaps the best claim to ascension since Wobbles' retirement.

Leffen

Leffen's brutally honest demeanor and confidence in his own abilities have combined to create one of the most controversial personas in Melee today. While his personality may have earned him his fare share of haters (not to mention being banned from a whole country's tournaments for a year), it's hard to deny the Swedish Fox main's accolades in 2014. At Apex, he took out Hungrybox, and brought Mango to the fifth and final elimination game. Just over a month later, he defeated Armada 6-1 in two sets. Three months after that, he did it again. If anyone ever had to back up his words this summer, it would be Leffen.

VGBC Hax

For years, Hax has been considered among the Top 10. The former Captain Falcon player won the hearts of many with his incredible movement, smooth conversions, and efficient edgeguards, mixed in with that Falcon in-game charisma. But frustration with his character's limitations and his plateauing tournament results led Hax to abandon his old main in favor of the blue Fox. Now, he's known as one of the most technical players out there, and gunning to finally make his mark on the Big Five. Watch for his pivot nairs, perfect ledgedashes, and of course, the multishines.

Westballz

After Mango's departure from SoCal, a hungry community rushed to fill the vacant seat at the top. Westballz was not the first to take the throne, but his reign has been the most concrete. The technical red Falco rose to #1 in one of the best and biggest Smash regions in the world, and quickly became the man to beat. His trademark "Westballz pressure" and flashy combo game make him a dangerous opponent, although he is known to SD in the process of styling too hard.

VGBC aMSa

Never before has such a new player made waves, and fans, as quickly as Japan's aMSa. The sole representative of modern Yoshi attended his first overseas tournament at EVO 2013, placing 25th and taking a game off Mew2King. He was then written off as a fluke until his miraculous runs at Apex 2014 and Republic of Fighters 3, taking out Silent Wolf, ChuDat, Fly Amanita, Overtriforce, and Ice. No one was ready for the perennial low-tier dinosaur to emerge the way he did, silencing critics with frame-perfect parries and deadly egg snipes. His infectiously optimistic attitude may appear non-threatening, but don't be fooled: aMSa plays to win.

The Dark Horses

Part of the appeal of following any competitive venture is the possibility of new, unknown heroes stepping up to the plate. MLG's qualification process, coupled with many of the Big Five winning multiple auto-qualification spots, allowed many such players to have their time in the spotlight. Surely, they're not favourites. Surely, we can write them off as real challengers. Surely, surely, there's no way they can make it through a gauntlet of all the best players of our time. Yes... that's exactly what they said about Mango.

CT ZeRo

ZeRo made his name first as a Brawl player. His Meta Knight dominated the Chilean Brawl scene, and his skill carried over to America where he took 2nd at Apex 2014 while winning both Shuffle V and WHOBO's Brawl tournaments. But ZeRo has shown he's more than just a Brawl player—he's a Smash player. This year saw him begin to participate in Melee tournaments, attending five different MLG qualifiers to make his way into the Top 20. His rate of improvement has been staggering, going from 13th at the weaker Shuffle V to 9th at last weekend's stacked Super Smash Sundays: Lock-In.

SS S0ft

Before 2014, S0ft was all but unknown outside of his native region. But Apex brought him into the spotlight as his Jigglypuff joined Hungrybox's in the Top 8. S0ft eliminated both Hax and top German player Ice on his way to a 7th place finish, prompting Smashers everywhere to say, "wait, who made top 8?" Since then, S0ft has been a fixture at MLG events, attending almost every one and racking up the points necessary to qualify. Now that he's here, will we see another miracle?

LLL Remen

Remen is one of the Europe's most old-school players. He began competing in the Netherlands in 2002 (the year Melee was released there) as a Fox main, but has favored Falco in recent years. True to his new sponsor, Remen's playstyle resembles that of a lion, always on the hunt, and wasting no time going in for the kill. Interestingly, Remen qualified via winning the Japanese MLG event, over top Japanese players Kou, PL, and aMSa.

The Open Bracket

Twelve players have already qualified for for the Top 20, but who will join them? Mango and Mew2King both took several qualifier spots away from aspiring players, and now their only chance to make it to MLG's big stage is through the gauntlet that is the Open Bracket. Top 8 will advance to join their qualified counterparts, but even without the threat of the Big Five there to knock them out, Anaheim's Open Bracket promises to be one of the most stacked brackets this year.

You think this is a (party) game?

MLG finds itself right in the middle of California, one of Smash's most proliferous breeding grounds. Mew2King took away the West's one and only qualifier, Pat's House 2, and now the strongest state in American Melee will be out for blood. SoCal has repeatedly demonstrated their aggressive style and skill at Super Smash Sundays, and nearly all of their ranked players could make a run for the top. When the King of Smash himself is only 13th on your local power rank, you know your region is strong. SoCal boasts the most real Open Bracket contenders—established names like Fly Amanita, S2J, Fiction, Lucky, MacD, Sung, and honorary SoCal member Eddy Mexico are will all be in the mix.

On the other hand, there is NorCal's three-headed dragon: SFAT, Shroomed, and PewPewU have been the dominant forces there for years, going 1-2-3 in their local power rankings. All three missed the points cutoff to qualify, and their presence makes the open bracket even more of a Californian bloodbath. Just behind them are HomeMadeWaffles, of Wombo Combo commentary fame, Darrell, Azusa, and Hyprid. A lesser known group of players, to be sure, but to be underestimated at the cost of "1"s filling the chat at your mistake.

But the west coast wasn't the only region devastated by the reign of the Big Five. Mango and Mew2King also took several qualifiers in the south, midwest, east, and Canada, denying regional representatives from these regions a spot on the main stage. Old school names like Ken, KoreanDJ, Chillin, and ChuDat will be in attendance, looking to reclaim their former MLG glory as past champions. Alongside them are the best the East has to offer, ranging from Florida's finest (and least fraudulent) Plup and Colbol, to Canada's KirbyKaze, to NorCal transplant Zhu. The barrage of SoCal's claims to being the best region may have drowned out the voices and players from their rivals in the East, but here, in SoCal's home turf, is where they can prove themselves.

Notable Players

Fly Amanita

He's so hot right now. One of SoCal's top players, the Ice Climbers main is a thoughtful player, trading well and always having a perfect approach to a fight. With brilliant control, Fly smoothly maneuvers around the stage with ease, often forcing his opponent to engage him on his terms. With a brilliant solo Popo, Fly is able to fight from behind with great resilience. Most notably, Fly is not an IC too terribly dependent on Wobbling. Though he's mentioned that he aims to integrate more into his playstyle soon, he's been doing perfectly fine without it. Fly has traditionally performed extremely well in SoCal tournaments, taking 1st at TNE, 2nd at KoC 3 and 3rd at Pat's House 2. Outside of SoCal, however, his results seem to drop off, with his highest placing being 3rd at TBH2, followed by 13th at Genesis 2.

MMG Shroomed

Reppin the mid tier, Shroomed is the best Doctor Mario player in the world, bar none. With impressive movement and an ability to find openings in any situation, he utilizes Doc to the fullest. Shroomed's play is marked by a hunger for aggression, balanced out by the game sense of when to hang back and play defensively. With the ability to seamlessly transition between these two playstyles, Shroomed is a dangerous opponent for anyone. In the past few months, recognizing the limitations of Doc, Shroomed has been playing more and more Sheik, to great effect taking games off of top players repeatedly.

AGC Axe

The best Pikachu player in the world. With a unique and sometimes considered low tier main, Axe has fought his way to the upper levels of Melee. Aggressive, fast and technical, Axe's Pikachu is a formidable foe, especially for player unfamiliar with the matchup. Recently surprised many by taking 4th at Super Sweet, behind Armada, M2K and Mango. Secretly Drake.

Fiction

One of SoCal's best rising stars. Fiction came from the Brawl scene before switching to Melee, immediately taking on the technical Fox as his main character. He has since consistently placed near the top of SoCal's biweekly Super Smash Sundays series, alongside local titans like S2J, Lucky, Westballz, and Fly Amanita. Fiction landed in the Top 8 at Apex 2014 in January, and will be looking to make that same push here, at the very least.

S2J

After Hax took off the muscle suit and put down the pauldron, it was S2J who took up the mantle of Captain Falcon. SoCal's No. 3 is one of the most electrifying players today, pulling out incredible combos off the slightest clean hit. Being successful in such a space animal heavy environment has made S2J a master of the conversion, getting the utmost from every punish. The fate of Captain Falcon rests on his shoulders, and he'll need the soul reads of SilentSpectre, the movement of Hax, and his own calculated aggression to bring it to the spotlight.

SS Colbol

Colbol is the top Fox main in the south, routinely battling with Plup for the number 2 rank in Florida (behind Hungrybox). His highly efficient play has long been touted by locals as being worthy of the topmost echelon of Melee, but it wasn't until Apex 2014 where he had the chance to back it up. Colbol eliminated fan-favorite (and current MLG qualifier) aMSa to make his way to the Top 8, where he took out S0ft (another qualifier!) to tie for 5th place with fellow Floridian, Hungrybox.

Plup

East Coast's resident Samus. A newer player, Plup is at the forefront of Samus' metagame and is considered one of the top Samuses in the world. Though he still has a ways to go, Plup is carving out a place for himself as one of the South's best players. He was recently invited to SoCal as part of the "Fraudulent Player Fund", and decidedly proved he was not a fraud by taking SoCal's best players to the brink in an exhibition "Plup vs. Socal" crew battle. Placed 2nd to Hbox at CEO Prologue and 13th at Apex 2014.

EMG KirbyKaze

In 2012, KirbyKaze was on the cusp of greatness. His Sheik had taken sets off Mango and Hungrybox, and was looking like the next entry into the Big Five. But a hiatus from Smash due to school and work set him back. Now, Canada's No. 1 player is back. KirbyKaze is a cerebral player, breaking down micro-situations in the game, and manipulating them to be in his favor at all times. It was this introspective and analytical mindset that once propelled him to the top. Can he do it again?

MLG Anaheim starts Friday, Jun 20 9:30pm GMT (GMT+00:00). You can follow along with the action at MLG.tv/smash and the Liquipedia page for the event.

Writers: Kyuukyuu, peanuts
Editor: tofucake
Graphics: shiroiusagi, tofucake