Covid-19 threw the world into disarray. Things are taking place that arguable haven't ever, or at least in the last century. With the pandemic hitting, Smash tournaments had to change formats. All majors and supermajors became online events and will remain that way for the foreseeable future. 

From the ash of the promising PGRU season, a star that had begun to rise would illuminate even brighter. Kola "Kola" Aideyan, formerly known as SaltOne, was Georgia's latest star. With the tournaments moving online, and prize money going up, his results did as well. 

What are your thoughts on the current meta? Have you released a tier list and/or matchups for your characters?

I think the meta right now is at a pretty good place. Not many characters are truly dominating the meta, and the title for best is a tossup. I think Pikachu is the best at the moment though. I've released matchup charts for Cloud and Roy. Cloud has the spread of a high tier and Roy has the spread of a top tier, but some weird mid-tier matchups that he goes even with.

tHow do you feel about being a minority — being black in esports?

Being Black in esports is sick :^)

Where do you think Smash is headed?

I think Smash is headed in a good direction, despite Nintendo being reluctant to support the competitive scene. The game is huge and the players love watching/playing it, which is great.

From Rising Star to Star

Have you heard from any potential sponsors?

I have been talking with some sponsors, but haven't solidified anything. I'm cool with being a free agent until I find an offer that's good for me.

What made you pick Roy as your main? What made you pick your secondaries?

I've been playing Roy since smash 4, but never as a main. He got crazily buffed in this game while Cloud got nerfed really hard, so it made sense for me to start using Roy as a main. I use Cloud as a co-main to play against characters he beats that Roy may go even with, Like Mario/Luigi. Snake is a secondary for Pichu, mainly, but he's also really fun so I like to keep him as a pocket.

How does it feel having won two major online tournaments that had enormous prize money?

It's kinda surreal to me that I won those tournaments, I never really considered myself that good on WiFi. I realize how good I am on it, though, so even more of a reason to enter and win.

What advice would you give someone trying to reach top-level play in Ultimate?

Despite my recent results, I don't consider myself at the *top* level of ultimate yet, but I'm very very close. For those who have reached a block in Smash in terms of results or improvement, I feel like confidence is a really big factor. You have to be confident that you'll be able to run through your bracket. Try not to respect players too much, even though they're really good because it will definitely mess with your play.

How does your scene help you prepare for the S-tier and A-tier PGRU tournaments?

If I'm being honest, I don't really prepare for tournaments as I should. When I'm in Georgia, I love to play free for alls and mess around. That's not really "preparation" but it's fun.

When did you realize you belonged with the top pros in Ultimate?

I started to realize I was a higher level in Ultimate when I stopped idolizing top players because I started to beat them. It was pretty funny when I realized that.

What are your goals for when things return back to normal in life and esports?

I don't know when things will resume to normal for smash tournaments, but I'm definitely aiming to be the best. Short term, basically top 8 a super major, or replicate what I did at CEO dreamland.