Recent News

Another playoffs has come and gone, and I have all the results for your viewing pleasure. Let's give a round of applause to the following users!

Singles:

1st place: SlayerZ ($200)
2nd place: Ally ($100)
3rd place: Nairo ($50)
4th place: PentaSalia ($20-25)

Doubles:

1st place: Nairo and HiiiPoWeR Kyleisreal ($50 each)
2nd place: Rayquaza07 and Uno. ($25 each)

Congratulations to you all, and I'll make sure to send the results to JV so he can distribute the prizes as soon as he returns from Japan. (He can do it either via Paypal or mail, so when he sends you a notice, be sure to tell him your preference.)


On a personal note, I wanted to give a few shoutouts for the people that helped make this a good event. Keep those hands clapping!

1. Enrish and The740 (I don't care if he doesn't actually see this.)
Contrary to your words and despite this being my first time running playoffs (or any tournament for that matter,) this wasn't a living hell at all. Of course, that's probably because I followed your advice with respect to how things should be done, so thanks a lot for the pointers. Where would I be without your guidance, O Mighty Senseis?

2. Meek.
That stream of yours was a very nice touch, and brought quite a bit of hype for singles. It was a shame to see it die down as the matches became less and less, but I guess it's to be expected when a majority play ahead and leave the rest to play whenever. Regardless, I'm glad you suggested it, and I hope you'll consider doing it again in the future.

3. All of the participants.
As Enrish said time and time again, you guys are what make or break playoffs. In my opinion, things went pretty well without too many hiccups. Sure there were some disqualifications, but I'm not too concerned about that. This isn't a perfect world, so it's to be expected that the brackets may have stragglers. Anyway, thank you all for your awesome cooperation.


Now, let's talk about the next ladder season. Come August 31st, there will be two big changes  for the ladder system.

1. Double Meta Knight is banned from doubles ladder. The public has spoken, and we've decided to give it a try. So, from here on out, only one Meta Knight will be allowed per team.

2. Badges will be tied into the match requirements. Out of the three proposals previously made public, Enrish and I decided to go with only one: match requirements for badges. This is to prevent users from playing one or two matches and making it into the top 64 or 32 for a badge. That being said, we realize activity has declined over the seasons, so we won't make the limits too crazy. They are as follows: 25 matches for singles, and 10 for doubles. If users can meet those requirements, there's no reason they can't play a few extra matches to make the playoffs requirements, especially if everyone else will be fighting to meet them as well.

Another thing to note is that this season may very well be an Apex qualifier, just like last year. This requires neal, though, but since he's the only one who can change seasons, I don't see how he wouldn't be able to make it happen. Stay tuned for an official update when the fall ladder starts.


That's about all I have to say. Congratulations again to the victors, and to those who wish to compete this season, I wish you the best of luck!

P.S. To those players who still never received their prizes, JV still hasn't returned from vacation. However, he told me before he left that he sent messages about adresses or accounts to send the payments to, and never got replies. Please send him the necessary information again via AiB PM or email so that he can tend to it upon returning.

P.P.S. Here are the links to the brackets: http://oi45.tinypic.com/6pswes.jpg (singles) and http://oi45.tinypic.com/2pyqlh4.jpg (doubles)

GhaudePhaede010: What can be said about this man that some random poster on smashboards and/or AllisBrawl has not already said? Does anyone here not have an opinion on this man? Should I even do this intro? Too bad; he is not special, he gets one anyway! To the five people reading this interview that do not know, I am interviewing Ally! Thee one and only, Ally. Who is Ally? Who is Ally? Who in the **** is Ally? Really? Who is Ally? Try Canada's best player! Try North America's top player! Try the best Snake player the world has ever seen! Try a National event winner. Try an International event winner. Try the premier WiFi gladiator. Try a part time rapper, journeyman, interracial dater, and stand up classy guy. Try a man of controversy when he switched from maining an amazing Snake to maining a dominant Metaknight. Try the man most people consider to be a pillar of the Smash community and its best representative. Try a Smash LEGEND! Yeah, you try to google all those things and you will get direct links to this man: ALLY!!! Ally, thank you so much for doing this interview. It is an honor to conduct this with you. Thank you!

Ally: lt's an honor too to contribute to AiB and your work, it will be a pleasure to answer any questions you have. I am pretty Excitebike for this upcoming weekend

GhaudePhaede010: Shout-outs to Excitebike! As with Nairo, I am going to touch a bit on APEX before we go into SKTAR. My first question for you is simple; how did you feel about your performance at APEX?

Ally: Hmm Apex... I don't feel bad about my performance, lost to Otori and Nietono. I think Otori got me good. I felt like I could have beaten Nietono if someone wasn't distracting me (though he was trying to help, I just wasn't ready to listen and play). In the end, I think I did overall pretty good. I'm pumped for the Japanese if they come back. I'll put up a better fight haha hopefully.

GhaudePhaede010: Speaking of someone being in your ear, you have a different kind of relationship with that ear muncher, Mew2King. Is the rivalry still as strong as it once was between you two? And did he have to kind of like, "earn" your respect?

Ally: I'd say our rivalry isn't that active anymore, we played one set since Genesis 2, I won it but I don't think we cared that much I'll always say we're even vs each other. I always respected him though.

GhaudePhaede010: You had an amazing set with Nietono. It was epic for me to watch because you did put up a mighty fight. Did you contemplate going Snake against Nietono? Were there any major differences between the Japanese and thee American play style?

Ally: I was thinking about Snake for maybe 10 seconds but my mind totally moved to a HELL NO! I think I was confident with Metaknight, it just didn't go as I planned. They are pretty confident and almost never screw up techs. That's their strengths, in my opinion.

GhaudePhaede010: Do you think you could get them next time?

Ally: Perhaps. I will definitely put the practice in. I underestimated them and I'm glad there's amazing players like them around this world.

GhaudePhaede010: Moving on to SKTAR and I am going to go right into the big story. Obviously, you vs. Gluttony is all the talk and all the hype. If you two do not play each other, I will want my money back. Are we going to see a salty run back of your Snake vs. his Wario or are we going to see your Metaknight this time? Did the crowd have an impact on your performance the first time? And how confident are you that he will not best you again?

Ally: Yeah I'm semi-hyped. I don't like fighting Wario that much. But you will most likely see my Metaknight fight him unless it's a money match or Grand Finals; I'll be using Snake for that but not before. I'm trying to win. I do think the crowd had a huge impact on me. It really destroyed my focus; I had nothing going on in my mind except panic. I honestly think I'll win with Metaknight. Didn't Neath beat him?

GhaudePhaede010: Oh SNAP!!!!! Neath call-out. Good times! SKTAR is a big event and I know you have probably met everyone in attendence. Instead of getting to know who you would like to meet, I will ask who do you most enjoy being around when at an event of this size? Who do you enjoy chilling with outside of thee event?

Ally: Mostly hanging out with myself. And outside of the event, I will have to go with...um, myself. It's always good spending time with someone who isn't annoying! Always calling my name when I'm trying to ignore them... Yep. Exactly that. But umm I'd say Mr. R and whoever is cool. I have a lot of favorites. Oh and Pikachu makes good company. He only says his name so it's easier to ignore.

GhaudePhaede010: Lololol. Pika-pika. That is a good point. What if Pikachu accidentially electro-shocks you? It happens... and it hurts! You are teaming with Nairo at SKTAR and I have to admit, you two are my favorite to win doubles. Is there anyone at this event you feel can pose a serious threat to you two? Since you cannot go double Metaknight, I assume I will be seeing your Snake in doubles?

Ally: Yeah, it's better to leave Pikachu in a pokeball. Honestly, I see M2K + Trela being one of the hardest teams. Especially with the Anubis strategy. There's a ton of teams that could be a threat but I'm not sure. You will most likely see my Snake or Wario, they're my best I think.

Ghaudephaede010: Do you believe double Metaknight should be banned?
 
Ally: I do think it's better to have double MK banned but that's my opinion. It's just too much slashing/tornadoing sounds for my head to bear at the end of the tournament. Drives me crazy.

GhaudePhaede010: D-tilt, F-air, u-air, shuttle loop, tornado times 4... wha wha wha wha!!!! Over 100 players plan to attend SKTAR, does the size of thee event have any positive or negatives for you? Does it get you any more or less excited to know that the tournament will have a large number of entrants? Also, does the fact that it is a two day event bother you at all? It used to get to me because I could be playing well on day one and then day two I would not be properly warmed up or tired and obviously play beneath my expected quality. Does something like this ever happen to you?

Ally: For the same reasons as you; I do not enjoy 2 days events because like at Apex, we did not get any warmups for doubles at all. Straight brackets due to day 1 of Brawl being horribly ran and giving us about 5 hours of sleep MAXIMUM. The positive of the size? Money. And the negative... uh is money a negative? Yeah, guess there's only a positive. And seeing all the different players makes it worth traveling to. I hope I won't be too tired to play by day two... If I don't get all my sleep I'll probably be dropping some dope rhymes 'cause I rap when I'm tired.

Ally: It's also fun having more than a few good players in bracket... makes it more challenging.

GhaudePhaede010: Wait. Whoa, whoa, whoa WTF? You drop, "dope rhymes?" Tell me there is a youtube video of this somewhere?

Ally: No youtube videos because I'm usually well-rested, sorry!

GhaudePhaede010: With some top European talent coming here for SKTAR and a couple of them saying they always wanted to come to America for a tournament, where would you like to travel that you have never been for gaming or for fun?

Ally: I would want to go to Europe again (aiming for Germany) or Japan. I hear they drop dope rhymes there.

GhaudePhaede010: The Germans are sick with their rhyme game. I met a German dude that was going between English and German for his word play. One of the sickest rhymers I ever heard. Are the days of you needing to prove yourself a distant memory? Do you ever feel pressure to place these days? If you place outside the top three at SKTAR, will it get to you? I know when I met you at Winterfest that loss to Co18 really, REALLY got to you. Talking to you for a few minutes afterward, I got emotional with you because I could see your frustration and emotion. Are you still that emotional player or have you changed over the years?

Ally: If I do not make top 3 at this no, I will not be Winterfest Ally. I used to get pretty sad when I did horrible because everyone was overhyping me on the boards. They held me up so high that it was a harder fall to take when I didn't live up to the hype. After a lot of tournaments, I learned to ignore the expectations and just play my best without being disappointed. Thanks for talking to me at Winterfest. I really appreciated it. There's always pressure during tournaments, that's what pushes me to do better. I don't feel like I have to prove my skills to anyone but myself. Maybe Japan since they beat me when they last came but I'll prove myself when they come back to U.S..

GhaudePhaede010: I watched most of EVO this weekend as a lot of people in the Smash community did. After seeing the format, should Smash get back on EVO? Do you think it is possible for this game to maintain thee interest of that large an audience for that kind of time? Does Smash even have a place at EVO?

Ally: I don't know. We have no support from Nintendo so it'll make it very unlikely for us to come back. There is a tournament that is hosting Brawl and Melee called Revelations 2012 on august 17th so we'll see how that goes. No, I don't think Smash will ever maintain an audience that size.

GhaudePhaede010: I know your answers sounds a bit critical and grim but I agree with you and I believe that to be a fair assessment. I know you from your gamefaqs days and I know you got a great start with thee online community. When you go to big events like SKTAR, do you notice a difference in attitude between online conversations and in person conversations? Do you prefer online or offline and do you still make time for AiB ladder and stuff like that?

Ally: People don't talk smack to your face. It's easier to hide online. Not to say that they don't trash talk in the crowd during matches but it's never face-to-face (as far as I can remember). In general, people are less rude in-person. I usually have less time to interact with people at bigger tournaments because I'm too busy money matching and practicing. I prefer offline in regards to both playing and social interactions. And I do save about one day a season for AllisBrawl ladder to make it to top 32 atleast.

GhaudePhaede010: What? You can make top 32 in one day? One day!??! Before we depart, I have a personal bonus question: Having a brother that played the game at high level (your brother is Holynightmare... fellow R.O.B./Metaknight main) must have made for some interesting conversations. At one tournament, my brother infamously forgot to program his jump button (plays with tap jump off) for game 3 (he switched to Lucas so he control switched to b-sticking) costing us the set. The match was on live stream too making me even madder. We basically got into a screaming match and embarrassed the **** out of both of us. Has there ever been a time when you and your brother got into it over Smash? And what is it like to have to face him (my brother and I refused to play one another) in bracket? Do you feel great when you would win or was it bitter-sweet?

Ally: Sometimes, in teams we'd argue about who's doing wrong and who's doing better. Like, he'd laser me and I'd tell him to stop screwing me up with it (which is true, he knows it!). Facing my brother is annoying unless it's in Winners Finals or Grand Finals. I don't like to take him out of tournaments. It's not an actual good feeling for either of us. We play each other so often that it seems a little bit unfair since we know each other's play style so well. I did feel good when I beat my brother and his partner TO Joe sooo long ago because he was totally sure he'd beat me and my girlfriend so he didn't care about not teaming with me (haha you messed up). But I felt bad after we won the whole tournament because they got third. Would have been nice if they got second.

GhaudePhaede010: That is such an awesome answer. I am super glad I asked. Ally, thank you so much for coming in and doing this interview. I totally appreciate you taking the time out to hype this event and talk to me again. It is such an honor. Do you have anything to add to the hype of this event that you feel you need to say? If you have any shout-outs or e-hate, please send them out now. And if you have a twitter and/or facebook where people can follow and add you, please let us know now!

Ally: Thank you for interviewing me, it was a pleasure. For the tournament itself, I think we'll see a lot of unexpected results. I'm still going to go hard and win it! Beware because I'll be trying pretty hard so watch out Gluttony and everyone else. Remember to enjoy the tournament and embrace the competition, I can't wait to see some old heads   Oh and Vinnie, 50$ MM still going I hope because I'm wrecking you.

Ally: I also like ketchup chips.

Ally: But again, thank you!

Want to see where Ally vs Gluttony hype comes from?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zZtsS3dK7I
See if it ends this weekend!

            The Smash scene has always been something of a mystery to those outside the community. It is often isolated from other gaming communities and as a result few realize the draw and staying power the games have had for over half a decade. One of the staples of the Smash community are the occasional community run, grassroots national tournaments. The roots of these tournaments go all the way back to 2003, when Matt Deezie ran the very first Smash national tournament, TG4. Since that time dozens more have occurred and a few tournaments have even risen to the international level in scope. 

            One of these tournaments is coming this weekend. As I mentioned a few weeks ago in “Super Smash Bros. Thriving Across the Country” over at majorleaguegaming.com, in just a few short days the Smash scene is looking forward to the international tournament Apex 2012. The last international tournament occurred in the summer of 2011 with over 400 people attending and over $22,000 in prize money. At that tournament, Genesis II, a Melee player from outside the United States won for the first time ever. The player Armada, hailing from Sweden, had traveled to the United States repeatedly over the years but until 2011 had not finished higher than second in singles at a major US tournament. Unlike many other competitive games, the US has typically dominated the international scene and is often considered the best at both Brawl and Melee. This history goes all the way back to former world champion Ken Hoang winning the Jack Garden tournament in Japan in 2005.

Many players outside the United States have proven they can achieve great heights, but until Armada’s victory six months ago none had proven they had what it took to be a champion. At Apex 2012 the saga will continue, with Armada once again coming to the United States –only this time he will not be the underdog, but the defending champion. Apex 2012 will have a plethora of high-level players attending for both games. Melee, having such a long history, offers an interesting diversity in talent. At the top of the list are all former and current national champions. Dr Peepee, the Falco main who won Pound 5 in early 2011, is by many considered the favorite to challenge Armada. To win though he will have to overcome other champions like Hungrybox and his Jigglypuff. Hungrybox’s time at the top has been steady for years; he won Apex 2010 and is typically in the top 3 at major national tournaments. Probably the most electrifying Melee player though will be Mango, considered at one point to be the most dominant player after Ken, he has won multiple national tournaments since 2009 and he is considered a threat with many characters.

Moving past these national champions though are former Melee players and legends in their own right. Isai, former Major League Gaming Doubles National Champion in 2004, 2005, and 2006 and widely considered the best Smash 64 player ever, will be attending. MLG 2006 National Champion PC Chris should also be showing off his, possibly rusty but certainly thrilling, skills. Other players from the days that MLG held Melee include Chillin, KoreanDJ, and Azen—two of which won MLG tournaments in 2005 and 2006. Captain Jack has reportedly booked his flight from Japan, he had placed top 3 at MLG’s 2004 National Championship.  Looking at these players, the talent at Apex 2012 is almost surpassed by the long and storied history and it is anyone’s guess who’ll come out on top. 

For Brawl the event looks to be just as exciting. Apex 2010 winner, DEHF, is set to defend his crown and shake off what was likely a bit disappointing 2010 MLG season. The player currently considered the best at Brawl will surely give DEHF one of his biggest obstacles in defending his crown. Since taking 4^th place at MLG’s 2010 National Championship, Ally has been on a rampage, winning over 20 tournaments in the last year alone, including the national Pound 5. He is the first player since Brawl’s release to overtake Mew2King in the SWF Rankings, a catalogue of over 4,500 unique players and 500 tournaments occurring in the last year alone. Other challenges to DEHF include Mr. R, considered one of the best Marth players and the best player from Europe.

  

While the competition will be fierce from all the aforementioned players, probably the most exciting matches will come from the Japanese. So far over ten Japanese players are slated to travel to Apex 2012. Among them was the Apex 2010 Runner-up, Brood, who showed the US players that Olimar can compete on an entirely different level. He stands as one of the only players to ever defeat both Ally and Mew2King in the same tournament. Another Japanese player, Kakera, is believed to have a Meta Knight that rivals Mew2King’s and many are looking forward to a potential showdown between the two. Finally, there is Nietono, who’s Olimar is held as the best in the world and who is frequently referred to as the best player in Japan.

All of these international players will be fighting a slew of American goliaths. The best of the US includes ADHD (Diddy Kong), Anti (Meta Knight), Atomsk (everything), NickRiddle (Zero Suit Samus), and ESAM (Pikachu). Many of these players are considered the best in the country with their character. 2010 MLG National Champion and winner of $12,500, Gnes, will grace the tournament and hopes are high for his and other Texas’ player’s attendance. Likely the odds-on favorite to win the tournament is Mew2King though, who despite a surge from Ally is still the most consistent Brawl player of the last four years. Mew2King has mentioned Apex 2012 may be his last tournament and a competitor at his level will always want to go out on top. He will be entering both Brawl and Melee and stands to win upwards of $10,000 if he performs well in both games.

Though the tournament is just three days away and already records have been set. With 410 Unique Brawl entrances it will be the largest Brawl tournament in history. The experience lasts three days from January 6^th-8^th, and aside from all three Smash games will also include competitions for Super Street Fighter IV AE, Ultimate Marvel v Capcom 3, Mortal Kombat 9, and even Pokemon Black/White. If you live near the New Jersey area and don’t wish to enter a tournament but want to check it out, spectator passes are a mere $10. Registration will be taken at the door for Super Street Fighter IV AE, Ultimate Marvel v Capcom 3, Mortal Kombat 9, and Pokemon. This is huge considering the recently EVO2k12 announced that Apex 2012 will be its kickoff event for their Road to EVO. 

*Photo Credits: PBnJ, getyourtournament.com, apexsmash.com

It's been a long and arduous experience, but as of yesterday, the Spring '11 Singles and Doubles Playoffs have finally come to an end! Here are the rankings:


1st ($200): Ally
2nd ($100): dabunsaur
3rd ($50): Salem
4th ($25): HolyNightmare

I'd say I was surprised to see Ally come up from behind and claim first prize, but that'd be a lie because I saw it from a mile away. lol. Congratulations to all that earned some free cash, as well as everyone else that qualified for playoffs! And for those interested in seeing the singles bracket in its entirety, here it is!

A Look Into Genesis 2

I will let my video do most of the speaking, but I have a  few quick things I'd like to say first. This is not a full write-up of the tournament. This is just a way to see what Genesis 2 was like, and to relive the awesome moments the tournament  brought. First off, I had an absolute blast at Genesis 2! Most importantly, the venue was great and the tournament ran quite smoothly. There was easy access to food and drinks all day,  and the Smashers did a great job keeping everything hyped! For my first out-of-state tournament experience, this was incredibly amazing. Special thanks to the DBR crew for running the event, Red Bull for sponsoring it, and everyone who came out for supporting it! Now sit back, and enjoy the video! Look back on all the great moments if you were there, and if you weren't, be sorry that you weren't.
With love,
Tallman

Genesis is in just 3 weeks! (July 15th-17th). Registration ends on June 30th! That's just tomorrow! Follow this link: http://t.co/mqJQq69 and sign up today!

Genesis 1 brought some of the most hype sets in both Brawl and Melee history. Genesis 2 will be featuring all the top players from around the nation, including household names such as M2K, Ally, Tyrant, and DEHF. In addition, RAIN and EARTH will be making a special appearance all the way from Japan! Words can't describe the amount of hype and energy that will be in the building in 3 weeks. This is a must have experience for every smasher out there.

Register today! And if transportation/housing is an issue, fear not! Here are some very helpful links which will assure that everyone who wants to go to Genesis can find a way to be there.

Transportation: http://allisbrawl.com/blogpost.aspx?id=116579 , http://allisbrawl.com/blogpost.aspx?id=116277

Housing: http://allisbrawl.com/blogpost.aspx?id=114714

Also, for those wanting to get in some last minute practice before Genesis, be sure to come out to E4J: Champion ( http://allisbrawl.com/ttournament.aspx?id=12016 ) the week before on July 9th! M2K and TKD will be in attendance!

I reccently had a chance to sit down with winner of the Fall '10 AiB Singles Ladder, Ally, who also managed to pull off 2nd place in the AiB Fall '10 Doubles Ladder, along side his brother HolyNightmare, to talk about his achievements as well as some of his plans for the future.

Sumer: I’d like to start off the interview by thanking you for taking the time to do this interview and to congratulate you on your recent accomplishments in the AiB Singles and Doubles Playoff tournaments.
We can start with an introduction for those who don’t know you and for others to become more familiar with you. Who are you on AiB and what character(s) do you main?

Ally: I am Ally, Mad Ally on Smashboards, I use Snake since I unlocked him from Brawl but Metaknight is sharing my main spot with Snake right now.

Sumer: I know you've pulled out your Wario against Mew2King in tourney before, and you're probably the best Falcon in North America. lol Are there any other characters you've been experimenting with, or might consider using in tourney soon, or do you think Meta Knight and Snake are more than enough?

Ally: I've been practicing some Marth and Ice climbers, and I could probably use a ton more characters but I'm really not confident enough to use em. Metaknight and Snake will most likely suffice.

Sumer: For those who are unaware, you teamed up with your brother HolyNightmare for this last playoff season, and managed to place 2nd in the Doubles Playoffs. I’d like to ask what you think helped you do so well in the Doubles Playoffs aside from both of your obviously impressive singles skills, and if perhaps any offline practice or strategies helped get you so far in the bracket?

Ally: Nothing really, we don't even play much together except if it's a tourney doubles tourney (offline) What didn't help us though is the lag coming from various people. Especially when we get WC people. It's unplayable =l johns lol

Sumer: lol Speaking of that.
Your team managed to beat the team of Tairbair and ChocoNaner in the Winner’s Bracket, but they ended up taking the tourney in the continuation set of Grand Finals. I’m sure lag was a huge factor in this outcome with both of them being West Coast players, but do you think any other factors like their team work or frustration from having to play so many sets resulted in the final outcome?

Ally: No, it was just lag, there was one game where we were winning with a big lead, lag came out , like REALLY bad + lag spikes and I think I couldn't do much for the whole stock till I died. Same happened some game where I buffered a BAIR and then a fair after being pushed off stage.

Sumer: You guys still did great regardless, although that's unfortunate. @.@
 
Ally: Yeah, it's w-e.

Sumer: Let’s move on to the Singles Bracket. You managed to take first place in this tournament. You haven’t played too much online since the last Winter Playoffs on AiB I believe, and yet you started late into this season and ended up getting first on the ladder and in the Playoffs. What do you think helped you pull this off, and was it as easy or hard as you thought it would be?

Ally: Ummm I did start kinda late, almost end of the ladder like usual, I didn't play much wifi until 3 days before Ladder finished. After that, I guess I got lucky for not choking.
I don't think anything really helped me.

Sumer: Nice.
Some people believe that a few of your past national performances weren’t as good as your previous ones due to you quitting wifi, but some are optimistic that you’ll start placing at the top consistently like you were in your prime when you were a top contender both online and offline. Do you think you’re future national and regional performances will benefit from you getting back into practicing regularly online and offline again?

Ally: Maybe, I will find out by playing wifi of course, I'm taking a break right now though and will be coming back on SiiS4 Ohio tournament 8th of January, I hope I win but I won't have practiced for it for sure.

Sumer: I'll probably be attending that as well, so we might get a chance to play against each other there. lol

Ally: Oh right, you're going. XD Michigan. Forgot you were from there.

Sumer: XD
It seemed like you and your brother did pretty well when you teamed at the last APEX, so I think you’d easily place in the top again if you teamed at a large offline tournament again. Are you planning to team up with him in any upcoming offline tournaments and maybe carry your online success from this playoff season offline? Or are there any other top players you’d like to or look forward to teaming with in any future tournaments?

Ally: If I do well through this year, I will probably team with my brother again for Apex 2012. I still team with him for Canadian tourneys and always win doubles nowadays. I don't know about teammates, I don't really have someone I want to team but I do like teaming with M2K, Anti, ADHD. Lee is awesome with me in teams too. Hmm I'm probably forgetting someone else... but that's all I remember.

Sumer: Those all sound like great team combinations. lol
I remember playing you and M2K first round of MLG Columbus. @.@
You mentioned attending SiiS4 next month, but which other upcoming offline tournaments currently have your attention and have you considering attending them? And is there any reason for this other than it probably having a large number of players so a possibility of winning more money? Maybe it being in a state you’ve never been in before or to see some friends from another coast that you don’t see too often?

Ally: lol it sucks for me because I have to bus everywhere, it costs me minimum 124$ RT the bus ticket to go to ANY U.S tournaments, so yes, attendance is important for me. If I was a millionaire, I wouldn't mind flying to Delaware and meet that one smasher. But that's not the case. My schedule right now is SiiS4 then KTAR4 then Pharaoh's tournament (Canada) then VC9 for January.

Sumer: Sounds like a busy schedule. lol

Ally: Nah, not that bad :-P

Sumer: Would you have any tips or advice you’d like to share with up-and-coming smashers to the scene or veteran players who are trying to improve in either singles or doubles play?

Ally: Yeah, expect cheap things to happen in tournaments, a lot of players play to win. Also if you think you've got all of your technical down. Try learning players habits if possible and possibly abusing them, you will get much more chances of winning, same goes with being patient sometimes and read.

Sumer: Sounds like some pretty good advice. :3
Thanks for taking the time to do this interview, and good luck in all of your future online and offline competitions! Would you like to share any shout outs to any players you respect or would like to acknowledge for helping you get to where you are today or for any other reason?

Ally: hmmm..Shoutouts to everybody who housed me/helped me with rides and fed me, I don't think I'm a big disturbance anyhow to house ;)
AND
SHOUT OUT TO THE ALLIED STATUS.
the end

Greetings, AiB! The Brawl Fall '10 playoffs have come to an end for both Singles and Doubles, and I'm here to bring you all up to speed on it. Let's look at the results, with the final brackets for each. (Note that they may not be entirely accurate, as some couldn't make it to their matches.)



Continue reading Fall Playoffs Aftermath!

Hey, everyone! Are you guys beginning to get into the holiday spirit? Well, the time is now! The playoffs have arrived, and today's the day we shall congratulate the players and teams who have made it this far! For this fall season's ladders, we would like to congratulate our champion of the singles ladder, Ally; and the champions of the doubles ladder, Flame and Debom of "u lose to us Y"! Great job to you guys for making it to the top! As always, determined by rank, badges will be given out momentarily to these champions as well as to those who made it to the top 64 in singles and top 32 in doubles, but I would like to re-cap on those badges that are distributed (and yes, these come with the blue color for your usernames; though the top 8 are likely getting a different name color).


Singles:

• 1st Place → 2010 Fall Ladder Champion
• 2nd to 4th Place → 2010 Fall Ladder Top 4
• 5th to 8th Place → 2010 Fall Ladder Top 8
• 9th to 16th Place → 2010 Fall Ladder Top 16
• 17th to 32nd Place → 2010 Fall Ladder Top 32
• 33rd to 64th Place → 2010 Fall Ladder Top 64

Doubles:

• 1st Place → 2010 Fall Doubles Ladder Champion
• 2nd to 4th Place → 2010 Fall Doubles Ladder Top 4
• 5th to 8th Place → 2010 Fall Doubles Ladder Top 8
• 9th to 16th Place → 2010 Fall Doubles Ladder Top 16
• 17th to 32nd Place → 2010 Fall Doubles Ladder Top 32

As this still goes, for all those who finished in the top 8 of the singles ladder will be given invitations to the AllisBrawl Pro Lounge. In addition, the top 4 players and top 2 teams will receive first round byes as they participate in the playoffs. We had 2,313 players on the singles ladder; and 394 teams (788 players) on the doubles ladder! Though there were actually still more players and teams during the last ladder season, this somewhat remained a heavy competition, wasn't it?

Let's check out the statistics for both ladders!




Singles:

• Total Participants → 2,313 players
• Best Win Streak Among the Top 64 → 39 wins by LukeMoonWalker
• Most Wins in Top 64 → megafox112 (325 wins), 5th Best In Wisconsin (291 wins), Amaterasu Okami (273 wins), -lloD (148 wins), and raytay824 (146 wins).
• Highest Win Percentages (%) → LukeMoonWalker and Orion tie with a percentage of 1.000, Sake (.980), xxpatgxx (.974), Bizkit (.958), and Rich Brown (.939).
• Most Matches Played → megafox112 (480 matches), 5th Best In Wisconsin (466 matches), Amaterasu Okami (343 matches), HyperKeeby (240 matches), and PentaSalad (219 matches).

Doubles:

• Total Participants → 394 teams (788 players)
• Best Win Streak Among the Top 32 → 31 wins by "u lose to us Y"
• Most Wins in Top 32 → "I hope you like pain" (87 wins), "DLK" (77 wins), "Green Team" (75 wins), "Team Red" (46 wins), and "If You Seek Aimeeee" (38 wins).
• Highest Win Percentages (%) → We technically have 6 teams who were undefeated, so they have the highest percentages. They will still be recognized! These teams are as follows: "u lose to us Y", "Turnado", "IMA BAN YOU", "Unholy Allies", "Fix Your Connection", and "Cura's Team".
• Most Matches Played → "I hope you like pain" (129 matches), "Green Team" (99 matches), "DLK" (92 matches), "Team Red" (76 matches), and "**** THE PERSON WHO WRITES THESE ARTICLES, THEY'RE ****TY" (44 matches).

There's no surprise we've got a veteran champion on here we all know, and it's none other than Ally! He has been crowed the singles ladder champ for the fifth time as of now. We also send our congrats to Flame and Debom of "u lose to us Y" for also being crowned as doubles ladder champs (and for being undefeated this season)! Debom is a veteran champion in this category, though this will be Flame's first time to earn his Fall Doubles Ladder Champion badge. Nicely done! Anyway, let's move on to the final standings! (Obviously, even on a congrats article, my apology still remains up here if I somehow don't get your mains correctly. Luckily this time around, I've received some assistance mostly for the singles part. I thank 5th Best-- I mean... Kenniswag for this one! ^^)


Singles:

1. Ally (56 - 12) → Snake / Meta Knight
2. ANTi (38 - 8) → Meta Knight
3. hyperdabuz (57 - 7) → Olimar
4. -lloD- (148 - 20) → Peach
5. Nairo The Booty Warrior (38 - 12) → Meta Knight
6. LukeMoonWalker (39 - 0) → Meta Knight
7. Salem (34 - 9) → Zero Suit Samus
8. The Addy (39 - 8) → King Dedede
9. xxpatgxx (37 - 1) → Zero Suit Samus
10. Tairbair (82 - 16) → Mr. Game & Watch
11. Sake (50 - 1) → Snake / Marth
12. ADHD (65 - 16) → Diddy Kong
13. -DracoBlaze- (83 - 17) → Meta Knight
14. Zebro (141 - 37) → Wario
15. Ghost Nappa (62 - 31) → R.O.B.
16. Zak (33 - 15) → Meta Knight / Snake
17. MeroKnight (66 - 13) → Meta Knight
18. Amaterasu Okami (273 - 70) → Snake
19. raytay824 (146 - 53) → Marth
20. SlayerZ (50 - 9) → Peach
21. chiiiiiiiii (26 - 6) → Meta Knight
22. Bizkit (23 - 1) → Snake
23. Ramona Flowers (57 - 11) → Meta Knight
24. Hedi_ (121 - 44) → Mr. Game & Watch / Wolf
25. pkmonftw (145 - 60) → Olimar
26. Kamii (67 - 20) → Lucario
27. FishBait73 (54 - 15) → Meta Knight / Lucario
28. Big_M (68 - 43) → Snake
29. 5th Best In Wisconsin (291 - 175) → Sheik / Meta Knight
30. Flame (41 - 17) → Falco / Meta Knight
31. Don Papi DivA (63 - 26) → Meta Knight
32. Mampam (33 - 3) → Diddy Kong
33. mikeray4 (53 - 14) → Snake
34. megafox112 (325 - 155) → Falco / Fox
35. Atomsk (38 - 24) → Meta Knight
36. Zazen Agenite (41 - 8) → Meta Knight
37. Lingx2 (82 - 24) → King Dedede
38. Smetsys (104 - 30) → Meta Knight
39. PentaSalad (143 - 76) → Mr. Game & Watch
40. HyperKeeby (132 - 108) → Kirby
41. ccst (34 - 4) → R.O.B.
42. HolyNightmare (20 - 4) → R.O.B.
43. SoPelca (62 - 35) → Meta Knight / Falco
44. Rich Brown (31 - 2) → Olimar / Meta Knight
45. YoshQ (59 - 18) → Luigi / Meta Knight
46. Player-1 (64 - 26) → Diddy Kong
47. Triple R (93 - 89) → Kirby
48. Renegade TX2000 (46 - 14) → Snake
49. Rayquaza07 (16 - 2) → Snake
50. Orion (12 - 0) → Meta Knight
51. Pikabunz (25 - 5) → Pikachu
52. chuky (89 - 61) → Mr. Game & Watch
53. ven (72 - 51) → Zelda
54. Captain L (80 - 24) → Pikachu
55. AfroChimp (56 - 17) → Diddy Kong
56. booty (75 - 25) → Olimar / Peach
57. vVv Fino (131 - 49) → Olimar / Ice Climbers
58. judge (50 - 19) → Wario
59. Snopy (44 - 6) → Mr. Game & Watch / Pit
60. DOOM PUERTO RICO (21 - 4) → Snake
61. Waymas (39 - 4) → Wario
62. KillLock (12 - 11) → Snake
63. Death_Alex (94 - 18) → Olimar
64. Vato_break (64 - 20) → Mario / Meta Knight

Doubles:

1. u lose to us Y [Flame / Debom] (31 - 0) → Snake / Meta Knight
2. DLK [LukeMoonWalker / M to the Ekos] (77 - 15) → Ness / Lucas
3. Turnado [Auro / SlayerZ] (21 - 0) → Meta Knight / Peach
4. **** THE PERSON WHO WRITES THESE ARTICLES, THEY'RE ****TY [mikeray4 / hinkage] (34 - 10) → Snake / Meta Knight
5. If You Seek Aimeeee [FAE / Kamii] (38 - 5) → Lucas / Lucario
6. IMA BAN YOU [Tairbair / ChocoNaner] (11 - 0) → Meta Knight / Diddy Kong
7. I hope you like pain [HyperKeeby / Admiral Arban] (87 - 42) → Kirby / Diddy Kong / Meta Knight
8. Green Team [Amaterasu Okami / BF-HCS] (75 - 24) → Snake / Ness
9. Unholy Allies [HolyNightmare / Ally] (6 - 0) → R.O.B. / Snake
10. Supers [Smash God / -lloD-] (15 - 3) → Meta Knight / Peach
11. we rage hard at wifi [hyperdabuz / Ghost Nappa] (8 - 1) → Olimar / R.O.B.
12. Blast it with Piss [Izumi / Sakram3nt] (18 - 9) → Random? / Donkey Kong
13. Team Red [SuperMarioMC / SkOaRaAn] (46 - 30) → Mr. Game & Watch / Marth
14. Yummeh [joe ST / BengalsRZ] (8 - 2) → Meta Knight / Marth
15. The Real We Red [Legan / Smetsys] (13 - 8) → Marth / Lucario / Meta Knight
16. WE MADE IT INTO THE PLAYOFFS, PLAYING ON THE LAST DAY ONLY!!!!!! [Ryu92 / Salem] (13 - 2) → ? / ?
17. Space dat tilt and b air [Rayquaza07 / Hedi_] (13 - 2) → Meta Knight / Wolf
18. hai sexy~~ [booty / Negga] (9 - 4) → ? / ?
19. We Main Low Tiers [Shiro H / Lucar] (21 - 6) → Wolf / Fox
20. Another Reflection. [Kyleisreal / Zebro] (15 - 10) → Snake / Wario
21. The Avatar and The Firelord [Chimpakt / LightSide] (11 - 2) → Diddy Kong / Random?
22. Fix Your Connection [NAKAT / MegaPlox] (9 - 0) → Fox / Meta Knight
23. Rape At Night [Solid Soul / pkmonftw] (19 - 6) → Meta Knight / Snake
24. LATA'S [ThuG85 / uncleNG] (22 - 18) → Mr. Game & Watch / Meta Knight
25. Sexy Beasts [AfroTwist VanillaPie / GardoTwist ChocolatePie] (26 - 8) → Link / ?
26. Brick's team [Brick / Z] (12 - 4) → Pikachu
27. Secret Lovers [mura / YoshQ] (12 - 4) → Peach / Luigi
28. Smexeon Twins [-DracoBlaze- / -Randum-] (17 - 9) → Meta Knight
29. Cura's team [Cura / judge] (7 - 0) → Random? / Wario
30. Yum [Meekspeedy / SonicMaster5] (4 - 1) → Sonic
31. U.S.S Constitution! [CsxMark / Masho] (15 - 22) → Random?
32. FROM WHO!?! [milesg2g / UrbanMenace] (6 - 10) → ? / Pikachu

These players and teams listed above (who are in the top 60 in singles and top 30 in doubles) have made it to the playoffs, and will be competing for over a total of $525 in prize money. The playoffs definitely begin tonight! While you're reading this, you shall refer to Enrish's article for the complete details and brackets right here. And for a few similar reminders, it is mandatory for all participants to be on time for their matches and to send PMs of their results to their respective hosts (which is Enrish for both singles and doubles)! If for some reason some of you cannot make it to the scheduled times, then you should send a PM to your host and your opponent about your situation. Of course, you'll be allowed to try to get matches in as early as possible (this especially goes for you Europeans out there!), so there are no worries. To conclude this, we congratulate every participant once more for making it this far! We wish you all the best of luck! Have fun~! :3

Alrighty, it's that time again. Welcome to the fifth and final ladder update of the fall season! I hope you guys have enjoyed stuffing yourselves during Thanksgiving. xD Anyway, seeing as my access is currently limited for a little while due to some terrible technical difficulties, the rankings still had to be taken the night before, so please bear with me. Though, I will most likely consider taking the rankings at a very later time for the next season. So, with the ladder closing very soon, many players have decided to step things up in their game. What suprises await us? What has been expected from this update overall? We shall see whose wishes have come true! Then again, I've got quite a few singles videos in my disposal.

In the spectator's corner, there were only 2 singles videos sent to my inbox by Kyleisreal. Though these actually seem more like friendlies (after a ladder set, that is) than ladder matches, it's better than nothing. Despite the top tiers galore, I'd say these are worth to watch, even though Ally isn't using his Snake in these matches. I think this is pretty well evened out. (Texture/music hacks are definitely used for your viewing pleasure. :3)

Video 1: Kyleisreal (Snake) vs. Ally (Meta Knight) [Round 1]
Video 2: Kyleisreal (Snake) vs. Ally (Meta Knight) [Round 2]

And with that being shown, some of you can hopefully be able to submit some cool ladder replays if you wish to see a few in the next update. All you have to do is to drop a PM in my AiB inbox. Nothing else. If you're not sure whether you'd like to show off a few moves or not, you have time to think about it. But in this case, submissions are now CLOSED until the next ladder season so please do not send any! Okay, we can now go on to the top rankings for this week! (As always, inform me if I still remain inaccurate with your use of primaries/secondaries/etc. I only get what the feedbacks and main profiles give me.)

Side-note: These top rankings have been taken at 9:00 pm PST on Friday [11/26/10].




Singles:

[01] | [01] : ANTi (33 - 5) → Meta Knight
[02] | [06] : -lloD- (137 - 18) → Peach
[03] | [29] : The Addy (38 - 5) → King Dedede
[04] | [NR] : Ally (33 - 9) → Meta Knight
[05] | [02] : hyperdabuz (46 - 6) → Olimar
[06] | [07] : xxpatgxx (37 - 1) → Zero Suit Samus
[07] | [03] : Nairo The Booty Warrior (31 - 10) → Meta Knight
[08] | [05] : LukeMoonWalker (33 - 0) → Meta Knight
[09] | [04] : Zebro (138 - 32) → Wario
[10] | [14] : RaffiX (60 - 27) → R.O.B.
[11] | [NR] : Tairbair (74 - 14) → Mr. Game & Watch
[12] | [08] : -DracoBlaze- (83 - 17) → Meta Knight
[13] | [22] : MeroKnight (66 - 13) → Zero Suit Samus / Random?
[14] | [09] : Amaterasu Okami (272 - 70) → Snake
[15] | [31] : ADHD (53 - 15) → Diddy Kong
[16] | [NR] : Salem (16 - 3) → Zero Suit Samus
[17] | [20] : Sake (36 - 0) → Snake
[18] | [10] : raytay824 (145 - 53) → Marth
[19] | [11] : chiiiiiiiii (26 - 6) → Meta Knight
[20] | [19] : Hedi_ (121 - 44) → Wolf
[21] | [21] : Ramona Flowers (56 - 11) → Meta Knight
[22] | [12] : Big_M (66 - 40) → Snake
[23] | [23] : Flame (40 - 14) → Falco / Snake
[24] | [17] : SlayerZ (48 - 9) → Peach
[25] | [32] : Kamicario (65 - 19) → Lucario
[26] | [27] : megafox112 (324 - 153) → Fox / Snake / Marth / Falco
[27] | [26] : 5th Best In Wisconsin (278 - 165) → Sheik / Meta Knight
[28] | [16] : Meri Pam (33 - 3) → Diddy Kong
[29] | [NR] : pkmonftw (135 - 54) → Meta Knight / Olimar
[30] | [NR] : PentaSalad (140 - 71) → Mr. Game & Watch
[31] | [15] : Smetsys (104 - 26) → Meta Knight
[32] | [NR] : HyperKeeby (129 - 101) → Kirby


Doubles:

[01] | [01] : u lose to us Y [Flame / Debom] (31 - 0) → Snake / Meta Knight
[02] | [02] : we lost to them Y [HappyMedium / Limit] (27 - 1) → Meta Knight
[03] | [03] : DLK [LukeMoonWalker / M to the Ekos] (75 - 14) → Ness / Lucas
[04] | [04] : If You Seek Aimeeee [FAE / Kamicario] (38 - 5) → Lucas / Lucario
[05] | [06] : Metaknight, ace character, always gets the gimp [Worst Random Unknown Player In New England / hinkage] (29 - 8) → Snake / Meta Knight
[06] | [07] : Green Team [Amaterasu Okami / BF-HCS] (74 - 24) → Snake / Ness
[07] | [05] : I hope you like pain [HyperKeeby / Admiral Arban] (81 - 37) → Kirby / Diddy Kong / Meta Knight
[08] | [NR] : we rage hard at wifi [hyperdabuz / RaffiX] (8 - 1) → Olimar / R.O.B.
[09] | [NR] : Kawaii Desu~ [Auro / SlayerZ] (15 - 0) → Meta Knight
[10] | [11] : Team Red [SuperMarioMC / SkOaRaAn] (46 - 30) → Mr. Game & Watch / Marth
[11] | [12] : We Main Low Tiwes [Shiro H / Lucar] (21 - 5) → Wolf / Fox
[12] | [09] : The Real We Red [Legan / Smetsys] (13 - 8) → Marth / Lucario / Meta Knight
[13] | [15] : Space dat tilt and b air [Rayquaza07 / Hedi_] (13 - 2) → Meta Knight / Wolf
[14] | [08] : Blast it with Piss [Izumi / Sakkym3nt] (14 - 8) → ? / Donkey Kong
[15] | [10] : LATA'S [ThuG85 / uncleNG] (22 - 15) → Mr. Game & Watch / Meta Knight
[16] | [12] : Supers [Smash God / -lloD-] (13 - 3) → ? / ?




Singles:

• Well, what do you know... Ally decided to stick to his word as he makes it to this final ladder update, currently ranking in 4th!
• The Addy definitely has the most decent jump in the rankings. He was in 29th place about two weeks ago, and with some serious catch up, he is currently placing 3rd with his King Dedede. Nicely done!
• Since October 18th, chiiiiiiiii hasn't been remaining active on this ladder. Yet, despite suffering some decay, he is barely moving down the rankings. I do feel that he'd do pretty well if he plays again.
• These following players have been dropped from the last update's rankings: [13]Pikabunz, [18]Death_Alex, [24]Captain L, [25]YoshQ, [28]Zazen Agenite, and [30]Renegade TX2000.
• Top 5 Players with the Most Wins → megafox112 (324), 5th Best In Wisconsin (278), Amaterasu Okami (272), raytay824 (145), and PentaSalad (140).
• Top 7 Players with the Highest Win % → LukeMoonWalker and Sake tie with a percentage of 1.000, xxpatgxx (.974), Meri Pam (.917), dabuz (.885), and -lloD- and The Addy tie with a percentage of .884.

Doubles:

• Ouch... the win streak for "we lost to them Y" has finally been shattered by one loss. Despite that, they still remain in 2nd place, which is still a good thing!
• Actually, taking another glance at the rankings, the top 4 positions remain unchanged while 5th, 6th, and 7th place positions are switching with each other. This is a little interesting...
• These following teams have been dropped from the last update's rankings: [13]Rape At Night and [14]Cura's team.
• Top 5 Teams with the Most Wins → "Black Ppl Dont Exist" (81), "DLK" (75), "Green Team" (74), "Team Red" (46), and "If You Seek Aimeeee" (38).
• Top 6 Teams with the Highest Win % → "u lose to us Y" and "Kawaii Desu~" tie with a percentage of 1.000, "we lost to them Y" (.964), "we rage hard at wifi" (.889), "If You Seek Aimeeee" (.884), and "Space dat tilt and b air" (.867).

With this being posted, we have 3 days remaining until the fall ladders close! I'm not sure how well you guys will do in terms of catching up, but we will see what happens. Don't forget that there is actually prize money to be won at the end of the ladder season if you manage to survive! In the meantime, work hard and keep your flame of competition lighting up! Congrats to the current top 32 players and 16 teams who made it to this final bi-weekly update. We wish you all the best of luck for anyone seeking to be at the top and making it to the playoffs! Until next time (which is somewhat a little sooner than you think), see ya~ :]

MLG Dallas, the final tournament for the 2010 MLG Circuit, officially has its 16 top players. Throughout the MLG Circuit, 8 players have made it into the championship bracket based on their previous performances. To join them, 8 additional players have worked their way through the MLG Dallas open bracket. The final 16 seeds in order are:

Ally
ESAM
Tyrant
Lee Martin
Nick Riddle
Rich Brown
Atomsk
Fatal
Gnes
Logic
Espy
X
DEHF
MikeHAZE
Dojo
MJG

Each player's first round opponent and the general bracket is shown below.



Now, for all you spectators keeping track of what's going on at MLG, here's your chance to give your predictions for how the top 16 will place! You can send in a list of your predictions for the final rankings of these players in order as a pm to Falln, and the the people with the three closest guesses will get a badge showcasing their knowledge of the top players at MLG. In addition, our good buddy Neal has offered to award the person with the most accurate list either a Virtual Console or Steam game on the PC of $15 worth or less if we get 15 or more submissions.
     Of course, in the interests of fairness, you must submit your top 16 predictions before the start of the championship bracket, which begins at Sunday, 10:00 am central time. Good luck, and let's see who comes closest for the top 16 finishers!

The Championship bracket at MLG Dallas features some of the most revered names in smash. Here is a quick preview of all the likely second round pro bracket matchups!
 
(Disclaimer: So far at these MLGs, NOTHING has gone according to plan, and with names such as Gnes, Dojo, and TKD all in attendance, you can pretty much count on upsets occurring. The following matchups are simply based on seeding points, and the assumption that the higher seed will advance to the second round of bracket.

1. Ally vs Fatal
Ever since Brawl’s release, Ally has been universally regarded as the best snake. Ally has been fairly consistent in the MLG circuit, placing 2nd twice, 8th once, and 17th another time. Recently, however, such a title has been put into question due to the recent success of Fatal. Fatal recently 2-0ed M2K at MGC in Vegas, and is looking to ride the momentum of his MGC performance, as well as his MLG DC performance (where he placed 5th out of 174, taking out names such as NinjaLink, Tyrant, and MikeHAZE). While dittos don’t mean everything, a win from Fatal would be quite a statement.

2. ESAM vs Atomsk
The MLG circuit has given ESAM, a relatively unknown pikachu prior to MLG Orlando, a chance to prove that he’s one of the best players in the nation. ESAM has consistently placed very high at every event, taking out names such as Ally, Tyrant, and Lee Martin along the way. ESAM has tons of tricky setups that he utilizes to trap his opponents into bad situations, which has helped him get as far as he has. Atomsk, on the other hand, has a variety of characters he knows how to play at a top level, including MK, ICs, and DDD. Atomsk has come very close to top 8 at every single MLG event, but hasn’t quite broken through. Will this be the time Atomsk finally gets a big win and launches himself into top 8, or will ESAM continue his dominant streak through MLG?

3. Lee Martin vs Nick Riddle
Lee Martin and Nick Riddle are both looking to bounce back strong after very sub par performances at MLG DC. Lee Martin’s MK is very unique. He opts for random opportunities to hit his opponents, and lands attacks in situations which you wouldn’t expect him to attack. Nick Riddle has a very similar style, and has developed an excellent pressure game with ZSS. This MU will simply come down to who’s spacing is better, and if ZSS can do a reasonable job recovering against MK without taking too much damage.

4. Tyrant vs Rich Brown
The last time these two players fought was at MLG Raleigh. Rich Brown was on the verge of winning the set, but Tyrant landed a clutch shuttleloop and took game 3. Rich Brown, fresh off beating M2K at MLG DC, is hoping to get revenge in Dallas. Tyrant will rely on a variety of clever setups to deal major damage to Rich Brown’s Olimar while he’s trying to recover, as well as try to land the gimps. This MU really just depends on mistakes and how good both players are with punishes. In the Olimar-MK MU, both characters can severely punish mistakes, so whoever is more alert that day will likely take the set. 

There you have it! Be sure to follow all the MLG twitters and updates, and be on the lookout for videos shortly after the event, as well as any bootleg streams which might be created!

MLG Dallas (http://allisbrawl.com/ttournament.aspx?id=10702) is going to be one of the biggest events in Smash history. Players from all over the nation, including M2K, Ally, ESAM, Tyrant, Lee Martin, and many, many more are all competing for a first place prize of $12,500. X factor players such as TeeKayDee and Gnes, coming in unranked, are also looking to stir things up. Buy your pass now at https://secure.mlgpro.com/store/product.php?pid=142 .
 
In order for smash to have a chance at being picked up again for the 2011 Pro Circuit, the event must sell out completely. If this event does not sell out, there is a good chance Smash will be dropped. Buy your pass immediately and help support the community!
 
MLG competitions are truly a once in a life time experience. Even outside the competition, you get to meet and play against the nation’s top players, and get all kinds of free stuff, including Dr. Pepper, Doritos, Hot Pockets, and my personal favorite: hand massages!
 
MLG Dallas is an event you absolutely have to be at. Buy your pass now and come experience the hype!
 
If you want a small taste of what MLG DC was like, here is Keitaro's MLG DC experience:
 
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV-4GvloBI4
 
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFZUWzm3tnQ

Continue reading MLG DC - October 15th-17th