Last weekend saw Smashers from around the world descend on Ontario for the warmup wargames for the upcoming summer of Smash. Get On My Level 2016 acted as the pacesetter for the rest of the summer and it looks like Smash will be travelling at 100 miles a minute, based on the matches seen across the weekend. Melee, Smash 4 and even Brawl had their moments of hype, with the two days leaving everyone ravenous for the tournaments to come. Here are some of the key storylines and moments which punctuated these wars in the north.
The Lion Enters the Den
GOML was the first tournament outside of Mexico for one SmashFactor’s MKLeo and what a debut it was. Going uncontested until Winner’s Semis, Leo took down False, Kid Goggles and even Team Liquid’s Nairo in a convincing 3-1 set. It took Canada’s own Ally to stop Leo’s rampage, forcing him off his main of Meta Knight and making him switch to Marth, in order to counter Ally’s Mario. While the counterpick did allow Leo to take at least one game, he was plunged into the loser’s bracket to potentially face LowLandLions’ Mr R or TSM ZeRo. Fans were lucky to get the match which many thought would be in Grand Finals, with ZeRo finally getting a chance to take on Leo and prove that he was still the king. Games 1 and 2 were an absolute stomp, Leo being run ragged by ZeRo’s Diddy and making Leo switch off Meta Knight yet again to try to take down the world’s number 1 with Cloud. Games 3-4 were a reversal, with Leo getting some amazing f-smash and limit side b reads to take ZeRo to game 5 in the closest game of the tournament to that point. Game 5 was a last stock, last hit situation with both players neck and neck for the majority of the match but the plot armor continued to hold. ZeRo eventually felled Leo and proceeded on to fight housemate THEFAD|Larry Lurr in Losers’ Finals. While he may not have won the day, to get 5th at one of the most stacked majors in Smash 4 history in your first foray outside of your home country, is quite the achievement. No doubt this loss has lit a fire under Leo and he’ll be back to take 1st next time.
Regicide
When two kings face off, there are guaranteed to be fireworks. After a shaky start to the tournament, almost losing to LoF Blue in Top 96 pools, ZeRo was not looking in top form for the rest of GOML. Meanwhile, EchoFox’s Mew2King had a hell of a run up to top 32, not losing a single game and looking on form to take the whole tournament with his Cloud. However, in Winners’ Quarters, the king of the Mews and the king of Smash 4 would clash in a battle that had the audience at GOML screaming in delight. M2K had almost felled ZeRo at PAX Arena, going all the way to game 5. Mew2King didn’t even let ZeRo on the board, defeating him with a clean 3-0 and sending the crowd absolutely wild. Even with ZeRo’s finger injury and absence from tournaments in recent months, this victory cements Mew2King as the best Cloud in the world for sure. However, fortunes would soon change as after a close 3-2 loss to Larry Lurr (which finished with a Melee-esque double shine), Mew2King would then lose to Nairo 3-1 and end his tournament run on a bit of a whimper. ZeRo on the other hand, gained a second wind off of his loss, going on to outplace Mew2King and get 2nd place.
Canada Defends the House
Who came in first I hear you ask? Well, none other than hometown hero Ally who had been on a roll even before Smash 4 singles top 8. Having won both Brawl singles and Smash 4 doubles, Ally was on pace to take the whole tournament. After convincing 3-1 victories against Leo and Larry Lurr, Losers’ Bracket ZeRo was the only thing standing in between Ally and finally taking a major in Smash 4. The battle was hard fought, going to a game 5 situation where ZeRo was looking ready to reset the bracket. Ally must have eaten a 1-up mushroom or something, as Mario won the day, finishing game 5 with a trademark up smash to send ZeRo into 2nd place and his 2nd ever loss in Smash 4’s history. Ally’s win finally means a major under Mario’s cap and to do it on home soil, that’s just the icing on the cake.
N0ne Elbows His Way Into The History Books
Moving over to Melee, there was another breakout performance from a Canadian player with n0ne’s electrifying performance with both Ganondorf and Falcon. Taking out CLG|PewPewU’s rarely seen Fox and sending HugS to the Shadow Realm with Ganondorf, n0ne had the pleasure of fighting Mew2King, a player who had not been eliminated by a Falcon since MLG Anaheim back in 2006. N0ne played like a man possessed, with knees flying all over the place and eventually finishing M2K off with a forward smash which had the whole of Canada behind it. To say the venue got rowdy would be an understatement, the place practically exploded when n0ne won, with the entire Canadian faction coming to congratulate their boy. N0ne then went on to face Norwalk’s own Lucky and while that set was almost equal in nerve shredding as the last, Lucky took the set and progressed onto Loser’s Quarters. Even though he’d lost, the venue erupted in a chant for n0ne, after providing two of the most exciting sets of Melee in this year.
Summer Mango Awakes
It must be something in the air or a switch must flip in the back of his head, as Cloud 9’s Mango seems to triple in power whenever he takes a trip to the Losers’ Bracket. After losing to TempoStorm’s Westballz in a set as sloppy as a jar of pasta sauce, Mango would have to take a long walk through Losers’, facing off against COG|Wizzrobe, Winterfox|Shroomed before arriving at rank number 1, Alliance’s own Armada. Much like in Smash 4, this set would be something you’d expect in Grand Finals, let alone Losers’ Quarterfinals. Switching between Fox, Falco and even Falcon in game 2, Mango triumphed over Armada, eliminating him at 5th place and sending Mango on to fight best friend Lucky for the 4th place spot. Switching back to Falco, Mango made quick work of his friend from Norwalk, before facing Hungrybox in a runback of DreamHack Austin. Whatever adjustment Mango had made to his playstyle clearly worked a second time, defeating Team Liquid’s resident Puff player 3-1 to furious ‘USA!’ and ‘Mango!’ chants from the Canadian crowd. The final opponent lay in wait, ready to slay the 4th god in attendance at GOML.
The Godslayer Returns
This man was none other than TSM Red Bull’s Leffen, who was looking to finally get himself out there after his disappointing performance at EGLX a few weeks earlier. Luckily, there were no Samus players to block his way, as the Leffen slayer Duck had to drop out from GOML due to a case of food poisoning. Without that mental block in the way, Leffen proceeded to lay waste to the bracket, charging through the 4 Gods in attendance and making his way to Grand Finals to play against Mango. Despite the powerup from the Losers’ Bracket, Leffen took the tournament and signaled his return to Melee after a long period of absence and dodgy play. This summer could finally be Leffen’s.
The next super major looks to be CEO 2016 near the end of June, with plenty of smaller tournaments for players to warm up and rejig their playstyles ahead of the gauntlet of CEO, WTFox, Evo and Shine 2016. GOML is a tough act to follow, but if the next 4 big tournaments are anywhere near as hype as GOML was, we’re in for the greatest summer of Smash yet.