Yet another s-tier tournament is upon us, the biggest so far. This has been a crazy first season of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. There has been some consistency to an extent, but also more parity than we’ve seen in years at the top. With the constant influx of patches, and the sheer depth of the cast, this feels as wide open as ever. Yes, Leonardo “Mkleo” Perez, has won the last two big tournaments and also took Genesis 6, but it still feels like anyone can beat anyone in any given set. 

The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate scene came out in full force for CEO 2019, leading wire to wire in registration with 1,164 players preparing for battle. This aside from Genesis ^, and somewhat a couple of other a-tier tournaments will be the first tournament to have essentially the entire Ultimate scene at one tournament. Japan held a s-tier in Umembura, but there was almost no American top players there aside from a few, then you’d have a s-tier like Smash N’ Splash with none of the top Japanese players in attendance. As a fan, you have to be licking your chops for this weekend. Everyone is gonna be there from ALL corners of the Smash Ultimate scen. This will also be the first major tournament since the latest patch, so seeing how the new meta looks will be interesting. 

The Contenders

• So who are the contenders and those with the best chance to win or top eight CEO? You can count on EchoFox and MVG’s Mkleo to be amongst the top eight. His streak of dominance with Joker is unmatched currently, seeing how he hasn’t dropped a set with him yet. 

  

• Panda Global’s Tyler “Marss” Martins is a good bet to make top eight, and a contender for the CEO 2019 championship belt too. He’s been a picture of consistency with his Zero Suit Samus and Ike/Mega Man secondaries covering any matchups he’s uncomfortable with.

  

• Team Solo Mid’s Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey has been in the running for best player and number one overall player come the inaugural PGR for Ultimate until Mkleo pulled away as of late. His Wario, Roy, and Wolf have kept him winning and finishing well every tournament. He likes to experiment, and has deep pockets full of surprises. Maybe he’ll pull out a character nobody is expecting this weekend. 

  

• NRG’s Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada is essentially a staple of top eight as well with some excellent finishes with his Palutena and pocket Lucina, Wolf, Ganondorf, Dark Pit and Robin. He’s one of the more exciting players with his aggressive playstyle and deep pockets.

  

• Next up, eUnited’s Ezra “Samsora” Morris has been the best peach since the game’s release and has continued his run of excellence. Expect to see some insane combos and a run to top eight.

  

• Team Liquid’s Samuel “Dabuz” Buzby is undergoing a character change with Olimar receiving some strong nerfs in the newest patch, but expect to see him near or in top eight again.

  

• James “Void” Makekau-Tyson has been the best pichu and been making life hell with the electric rodent. But after the nerfs, we may see more of his Sheik, possibly a Pikachu, or any other characters he’s been grinding in the lab. 

  

• Sota “Zackray” Okada is another top eight contender. He’s made waves since the game came out, riding momentum from the end of Smash 4 to early success in Ultimate. 

The Next Wave

• The next group of contenders is extensive. I’ll say the entire top level Snake users. MVG’s Saleem “Salem” Akiel-Young, Ally, and WBG’s Justise “MVD” Negron are contenders whose use of the zone heavy war veteran can cause massive upsets or make a run to the top. 
• We’ll include the entire crew coming from Japan here, from RayRoad Gaming’s Takuto “Kameme” Ono, to Sunsister’s Shuto “Shuton” Moriya, Shimizu “Umeki” Masaki, Ishiguro “Raito” Tetsuya, Tsubasa “Tsu” Takamaand co. Expect them to continue flexing their muscles having had a sort of two week tour in America at tournaments, dominating the results. 

That means be prepared for unorthodox or unpopular character picks being utilized. Duck Hunt dog, Lucaro, Mega Man, Toon Link, Link, King DeDeDe,  it goes on and on. This weekend will be full of character diversity. 

Others to Watch:

• T1’s Jason “ANTi” Bates and Larry “Larry Lurr” Holland hope to make waves, now starting to get their footing in the new game. The former uses Mario and Lucario, while the latter utilizing the Star Fox trio of Fox, Wolf, and Falco.

  

• Rogue’s Paris “Light” Ramirez hopes his Fox continues to dominate. RecursionGG’s Griffin “Fatality" Miller hopes the changes to Captain Falcon are good as he thinks and helps propel him to a victory.

  

• Yetiana “Yeti” Schaper hopes to continue his streak of good placements with his Mega Man and Snake. Panda Global’s Eric “Esam” Lew, and Brian “Cosmos” Kalu hope to keep placing well too. Their Pikachu and Inkling are forces to be reckoned with. 

  

• MVG’s Rasheen “Dark Wizzy” Rose, Armada’s Robert “Myran” Herren, William “Gluttony” Belaid, and James “Shoyo James” Wade, Mazer’s Tyrell “Nakat” Coleman, Beastcoast's Ramin “Mr. R” Delshad, Justin “Wizzrobe” Hallet, all hope to do well, with Shoyo James in particular hoping to break through his string of ninth place finishes at s-tiers. 

  

There are many others not named, who absolutely have the potential to upset, or make a deep run in this stacked tournament. Anyone listed are those who are established, and can be expected to do well. There is no real differnece aside from consistency and results between all the parties named.

How to Watch

Catch all the action from doubles to singles on VGBootcamp’s stream: https://www.twitch.tv/vgbootcamp

Expected the Unexpected

This weekend will reveal a lot about multiple scenes, and show how the best have adapted to the newest patch. We will see opinions about multiple top characters change, and expect the tier list to be something completely different when it’s done. There may be some breakout stars as well, so be on the lookout. The action starts with pools at 12 pm on Friday June 28th. Hope you tune in!