In Melee, the words “Evo Champion” are synonymous with”‘Legend,” because only legends have claimed that crown. In fact, only three players have ever raised the Evo trophy: Adam “Armada” Lindgren, Joseph “Mango” Marquez and Ken “Ken” Hoang. Since roaring back onto the stage in 2013, only members of the Five Gods have soaked in that heady acclaim, and even the challengers who fell just short find themselves among the best known names in the game.
It seems that every time Melee players meet in Vegas, great stories are made. Robert “Wobbles” Wright tearing his way to second place in 2013 is one of the most memorable runs in Melee history, and even though he fell short of the grandest prize of them all, he made sure that Melee’s return to the greatest stage was a tough act to follow. Every year since, it has done just that, with matches like Jeffrey “Axe” Williamson against Otto “Silent Wolf” Bisno going down as some of the greatest in Melee’s storied history.
This year is set to be no different, with the incredible tournaments played out in the first half of 2016 setting the scene for one of the biggest, and potentially most interesting, tournaments of all time. With nearly 70 of the top 100 players in the world set to attend, it is one of the densest gatherings of pure Melee skill the game has ever seen, with many of those attending aiming to take down an increasingly shaky set of Melee Gods, who look more mortal than ever before. There is little doubt that there will be new legends born this year, but will they be able to topple the Gods? Or will the Gods prove themselves more than mere man?
A Vulnerable Pantheon
On the approach to Evo, it’s clear that the much vaunted Five Gods are no longer so divine as they once were. None are quite so infallible as they were in years gone by, and though one of Mango, Armada, Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma or Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman are still a good bet to win any given tournament, they have all suffered missteps or embarrassing losses over the course of 2016 that suggest that they could fall short this year.
Of course, they’re known as Gods for a reason; they have sustained incredibly high levels for years. These are the players who have proved that no matter how unlikely, they are the ones who will come out on top. If they do so this year, it will be more than business as usual, however. No matter the winner, it will be a hard fought battle and, if it is one of the Gods who is champion, that victory will be a statement of continued holiness against all the odds.
A New Age of Demigods
Only one man, William “Leffen” Hjelte, is the godslayer. His ability to claim sets and tournaments from the Five Gods is nearly unique in the competitive scene, though there are a handful of others–like Wobbles–who have just one more god left to conquer.
Then there are those who are forging their own legacies–not yet able to stand among the pantheon, but more than capable of challenging them. With Leffen out of the picture for a large chunk of 2016, there has been room for new contenders for the title of Godslayer. And though Leffen’s extraordinary performance at Get On My Level in Canada proved that he is one of a kind, players like Justin “Plup” McGrath have proved that they cannot be overlooked.
Time and again this year it has seemed that a tournament has been in Plup’s hands, only for it to slip away. It seemed that he was well on the way to breaking that stigma at the second Smash Summit, only for Mango to clutch his way to giving Plup yet more heartbreak. It’s easy to imagine that, if a few crux matches had gone his way, 2016 could be the year of the Plup, and now it almost feels like the Evo stage has been set perfectly for him, with the Gods of Melee more mortal than ever. It’s not too late to make 2016 his year, and a good run at Evo could make for a major trophy in Plup’s hands at last.
Hoping to stand in his way will be Axe, who seems to come alive at Evo. After making top 8 at the last two Evos, Axe will have his eyes on going a step further this year. Narrowly escaping the fate of being unseeded thanks to EG|PPMD’s withdrawal from the event, Axe can now focus fully on the task at hand: beating Gods and mortals alike and taking home the Evo 2016 crown. To that end he has finally begun to relax his unflinching dedication to his Pikachu main, flashing an incredibly fast and technical Falco at several tournaments this year. It may well be enough for him to leap that last hurdle.
The gap between Gods and mere Man is smaller than ever before, as players just a step or two short of divinity use each other as launching pads to push ever nearer the top of the mountain. We’ve seen Joey “Lucky” Aldama and Justin “Wizzrobe” Hallett fall just short of the podium this year already; will they be able to take the last great leaps and challenge for the title of Evo Champion? Or will one of their contemporaries–the likes of Weston “Westballz” Dennis, Zachary “SFAT” Cordoni, Lucky, Edgard “n0ne” Sheleby, or a half dozen others–be the one to take that leap? One thing is for sure: Leffen will have the bit between his teeth on his return to American soil and no doubt plans to leave slain Gods in his wake.
The Year is 20IC
There’s a common joke in the Melee community about the Ice Climbers. The gist of it is that, at National level tournaments, there is almost invariably a token Ice Climbers in the top 8. It’s tongue in cheek, but it’s also an acknowledgement that in a game of such slender margins, the Ice Climbers and their nearly unique ability to instantly remove a stock are incredibly dangerous. It’s also true of Melee since its return to the Evo stage in 2013; after Wobbles took second, Jeremy “Fly Amanita” Westfahl and Daniel “Chudat” Rodriguez claimed 7th in consecutive years to keep the streak alive.
Yet, despite some brilliant performances and being able to lay claim to some of the most cerebral players in the scene, the Ice Climbers have never claimed victory in a major. Most of this is down to some incredibly tough matchups. Peach is a popular character that the Icies have a really hard time pinning down, for example, and when you’ve got to get past a certain Swedish God to win a major, that’s a big problem. Yet, Wobbles has come agonizingly close, and other Ice Climbers have fallen just short.
Evo this year could be the best chance to change that statistic, as it’s set to feature some of the best Ice Climbers in the world. Wobbles might be the most recognizable name–especially when it comes to Evo–but he will be joined in Vegas by Fly Amanita, Chudat, Kyle “DizzKidBoogie” Athayde, Michael “Nintendude” Brancato and Jason “Infinite Numbers” Gauthier. Each of them are known for their unique styles–watching DizzKidBoogie and Fly Amanita is as different an experience as you can get without changing characters–but this time they all have something in common. They are all going be gunning to make their mark as the first Ice Climbers player to raise a major trophy.
The Stage is Set for a Breakout–or a Handful of Upsets!
As is customary at Evo, only the top 32 is seeded, which means that in a packed field like this there is every chance that there is going to be a couple of serious upsets. With almost 70 of the Melee It On Me top 100 confirmed to be present, there will be more ranked players unseeded than there will be seeded, which no doubt means we are going to see some serious matches in even the earliest stages of the competition.
2016 has already seen one major breakout performance, when Infinite Numbers made good on his name and wobbled opponents into oblivion on his way to 9th place at Pound 6. He came out of nowhere with a brand new main, and with Evo 2016 already giving the aura of an event where anything could happen, there’s every chance that we might see another such performance from another relatively unknown player.
We might even get the chance to see an old hand in resurgence; someone like Ken, the fabled Marth player, or Fly Amanita, who has been on hiatus, may just be inspired by the luster that Evo gives off and give us a glimpse of the days of Melee past.
15 Years Old, but Evo This Year Could Redefine the State of Melee
In short, Melee at Evo 2016 is a tournament that is already bursting at the seams without a game yet played. Mango, Armada, Hungrybox and Mew2King may be among the best that have ever played the game, but that is far from a guarantee at Evo glory. They will have to fight off a veritable battalion of challengers, some of whom have already had a taste of divine blood and are hungry for more.
2016 has thus far been the year of the Hungrybox; he has been dominant throughout and, in losing to Wizzrobe at WTFox, suffered his very first loss against a player ranked below #5 all year. Recently he hasn’t been quite so assertive, but with all his efforts focused on being the next God to chisel “Evo Champion” onto his resume, he will no doubt be a force to be reckoned with. The other Gods, shaken though they may be, have also shown signs of returning to form just in time for the big event; Mew2King, with the backing of Echo Fox, is once again a consistent threat in any Smash Bros. game he picks up a controller for, and Armada, despite struggling with illness, is once again approaching his dominant best.
Evo 2016 could well prove to be an event that defines the current state of Melee. Will the pantheon stand firm? Might vanquished legends come back to life? Or can the challengers to the deities mark out their own measure of lore?
Will the status quo remain unchanged, or can a game celebrating it’s 15th birthday redefine itself once again? One way or another, at Evo 2016, we will find out.
