July 20th Chicago PR Update

Hi folks!

We're back with another exciting PR update for the Chicago Smash 4 scene!  A lot of moving and shaking has occurred in the past few months so let's get right into it:

1) Akiro:  That's right, folks.  Not even a move to Wisconsin can stop this man from rampaging on our Power Rankings.  Despite relocation due to his new job, Akiro has stayed faithful to the Chicago scene, traveling here for enough weeklies to qualify for the Invitational as well as some big tournaments.  His most impressive performance yet was at the recent E2C16, defeating powerhouse players such as LOE1, Ryuga and Zinoto on his way to a second place finish.  The next step for Akiro is to get back into the traveling habit.  Chicago's final boss is still a very hidden quantity to the rest of the scene, and he needs to display his talents against as many top-level players as he can to truly prove himself.

2) Shel:  The Godslayer himself takes second place on this edition of the PR in what I'm sure is a surprise to many of you.  However, the numbers tell a tale of consistency.  4th at SmashNSplash, 9th at E2C15 and 5th at E2C16 are all respectable results in the past month or so.  At this point you can pencil Shel into any given top 16, and when his reads are on, any top 8 or even top 4.  The next step for Shel is variety in his neutral, as high-level players have started to pick it apart.  If he incorporates some of the style of neutral used by LOE1 during E2C16 then watch out, Chicago.

3) JJROCKETS:  Birds Up!  After a string of consecutive weekly victories, JJ has risen himself from almost out of the top 5 into a solid 3rd on this update.  His hyper-aggressive Diddy Kong continues to thwart players of all skill levels, and he put those skills on display at e2c16 where he 2-0'd Ksev on his way to a 5th place finish.  Like Shel above him, JJ's consistency is to be marveled, and at the same time, his aggression appears to be solved by players such as Zinoto.  An adjustment needs to be made to propel his game to a higher level.

4) GreenBeast:  At the mention of consistency, Greenbeast has surprisingly lacked some of it in his recent results.  13th at SmashNSplash, 5th at E2C15 and 9th at E2C16 are his recent results, losing to players such as Demitus, Ksev and Ryuga in that span.  After some of the most impressive play I've ever seen from the artist formerly known as Freebeast at Dismantle, he has to find a way to turn it back up again.  He has been labbing new characters such as Sheik, and impressively went toe-to-toe with Akiro in the mirror on winner's side of the bracket at E2C16.  Is she the answer he needs?

5) JTWild:  JT manages to sneak into the top 5 despite missing out on big tournaments like E2C16.  His Mario still proves to be the one to beat in Chicago, as his strong results at Dismantle and E2C15 have given him enough clout to stay on top of the pack.  His aggressive pressure and offstage game are still his greatest strengths, but he has to be wary of being too predictable with his rushdown.  There's also a rumor floating around about his Luigi being tournament-caliber as well...  Might he make an appearance at E2C17?  We'll see next month!

6) GGA.NiTe:  NiTe had a string of consecutive top 8s broken at E2C16, where he placed 9th.  He is one of the most consistent players in our scene, with a high-class Rosalina that can go toe-to-toe with anyone, and an up-and-coming Mario that he can use for Rosa's harder matchups.  The next thing NiTe needs is results versus the rest of this top five to real prove himself.  At the last Top Cut Tuesday he managed to beat JJ twice but fell to Greenbeast twice as well.  He is a couple upset victories away from being top 5 at this point.

7) BoScotty:  The lowest result Bo has had on a PR yet, and I'm sure Bo won't be surprised by it.  13th at Combo Breaker (assisted by a demotion to loser's bracket due to tardiness), 17th at SmashNSplash and 25th at E2C16 highlight his recent singles results not up to the BoScotty standard.  His faith in singles is fading fast, and the Chicago scene is the one that pays the price.  We all hope he can find that Dismantle magic that got him 4th place in a stacked bracket, as well as sent Akiro to losers, because when Bo is at the top of his game we all benefit.

8) Demitus:  Demitus' Captain Falcon continues to be a pure force of aggression, capitalizing on every read that you give him until you are kneed into the blast zone.  While he hasn't made top 8 at a monthly event in a while, he has dominated the weeklies he attends while also displaying very high-level games against players such as Ally, Mew2King and Greenbeast.  The theme seems to be that higher level players lack the holes in their game that Captain Falcon can appropriately punish, and that's where Demi struggles.  However, I trust the Demitus Touch, and know that on any given day he is a major threat to any top 8.

9) Gamerhead22/Semoponume:  Reports of Gamerhead's hiatus have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.  Back with a new tag, Semoponume continues to take names at the weeklies he attends.  His hyper-aggressive Ness is a force and always a threat to crack any top 8.  He has been able to make it to tournaments, however his results are on a bit of a downturn lately, only getting 5th in his pool at E2C16, a first for him.

10) Dan:  Dan will be happy to hear that he finally breaks the top 10 in this month's edition of the PR.  After a rough showing at Dismantle Dan has rebounded, securing at least 5th in every weekly he's attended since and getting top 16 quite regularly at our monthlies.  I would describe his Mario as a more bait-and-punish style of character as compared to JTWild's ruthless aggression and Shevy's aerial spacing style.  Dan is nothin if not persistent, and that persistence has led him to many great results, but now he need to work on upsetting those players above him on the PR to take his game to the next level.

11) Knubs:  The real shocker of the list, Knubs lands in 11th place with his fundamentally sound Luigi play.  A primary Melee player, Knubs rides in on the back of several strong weekly finishes in a row.  He even beat Chompy in his pool at Dismantle to make it out in winners, a very notable accomplishment.  His play shows very few weaknesses, except for his focus on another game means he struggles in certain matchups in this one.  Hopefully he takes this placing as motivation to focus some serious effort into Smash 4, as a player of his quality would be great to have in our scene permanently.

12) Shion:  Our second resident high-level Falcon player, Shion's clearly picked the right main to fit his personality.  Brash, stylish and aggressive, his falcon is a threat to take sets off of anyone at any level.  He's also a threat to just leave the venue when he gets bored, too.  He continues to be the wild card of Chicago's Smash 4 scene, with nobody truly knowing which Shion may appear at any given weekly.

13) Shevy:  Completing the Mario triangle, Shevy has finally earned himself a weekly win this past season, one of many reasons for his rapid rise in these rankings.  As stated earlier his Mario is much more aerial-based than Chicago's other Marios, using his bair and dair to lead to follow up scenarios.  This can sometimes lead to a predictable attack, and when his offense fails his defense can sometimes have holes in it.  Good thing is, if he tightens up his habits and learns from other Marios the top 10 is certainly within reach.

14) Sage:  My better half, Sage, prefers to focus on commentary at large events, but when he does decide to enter singles he is a threat.  Having taken more games off of top 10 players than players 11-13, Sage's Rosalina (and his stable of... interesting secondaries) are not to be slept on.  He is a very technical player who also regularly labs with the monster players he houses on a regular basis.  But when will the labbing convert into serious tournament results, and more importantly, sets against the top 10?

15) Lefty:  Lefty might be one of the most soft-spoken members of this list, but that doesn't mean you should sleep on his skills.  A regular top-eight placer at GGA, arguably our scene's strongest weekly, Lefty continues to take games off of our best players with his Duck Hunt Dog and Kirby.  The man who defies the tier list is really one strong monthly performance away from cracking the top 10 in this writer's opinion.

16) Hoenn:  One of the most technical players in all of Chicago, the Pikachu main has fallen from in the top 10 all the way down to 16th in this update.  Part of the issue is lack of attendance, as Hoenn only recently started going to a weekly regularly just a few weeks ago.  In addition, carpal tunnel has reared its ugly head, putting him out of commission for a few weeks.  Finally, his monthly results have not been up to his high standards recently, and many other players have hungrily claimed his top 10 spot.  Just like Lefty, if Hoenn performs at the next monthly we will surely see his name rise back to where he knows he belongs.

17) zStorm:  Another player who has been plagued by attendance issues, Zstorm has had trouble making it out to our bigger events recently.  However, when he has traveled he has made noise, placing top 32 at E2C16 and performing well in his pools at SmashNSplash.  Regular attendance at a weekly would go a long way for Zstorm's ranking.  He does claim to be labbing some new, StaticManny-inspired tech, so hopefully that can lead to a breakout performance at E2C17.

18) iTony:  iTony may be a mystery to some of you, but once you see his play you will understand his ranking here.  The best way to describe his Wario is frustrating, taking your defensive options and turning them against you with his bite.  The best thing iTony could do for his ranking is travel to the other weeklies and get some experience with other players in our scene.  He is a GGA warrior who regularly gets top 8 but some training against people he doesn't often play would be great for his development as a high-level threat.

19) SlowJoe:  Slowjoe's loyalty to Fox as a character is something to be admired.  Every time new tech is discovered for his character he immediately hits the lab, grinds it and applies it to his game.  It's refreshing to see his time in the lab pay off with a top-20 finish in this PR update.  With that said, he doesn't have as many upset wins on those ranked above him as other players on this list.  That will be Slowjoe's next step in the development of his game.

20) XYZ:  The popular streamer and online warrior makes it into the top 20 on the back of a series of strong showings at weeklies such as the first Poplar Creek Bowl, where he beat Greenbeast to finish second.  He is always a threat to take out any player with his powerful Zero Suit Samus, but he also needs to work on his consistency and tournament nerves.  If he locks down his mental game he plays like a top-10 player.

21) Blind:  The PR mastermind himself comes in just outside of the top 20 and is the third Rosalina on our list.  His play revolves around careful spacing and placement of Luma to frustrate any approaching player, and he's rode this play style to victory in a handful of weeklies.  He's yet another player outside the top 10 who is missing big upsets on his resume, so expect him to be hungry to win the next time he's paired against a top-10.

22) Dom:  This fox player, however, is very familiar with the word 'upset.'  He's taken games off of many of the GGA crowd, and even beat Stewey, a highly-ranked Michigan player, to make it out of his pool at E2C16.  Consistency is a common theme among these up-and-coming players in this top 25, and Dom is no exception to that rule.  Watch for him to be on the rise if he continues to crack challenging top 8s like he has recently, however.

23) Naoto:  You'll have to pardon me because this is actually the player I know the least about on this list.  A BITG regular and a Little Mac main, Naoto is one of the players I would like to run into in bracket the least.  A skilled boxer main can take a set off of any unprepared player, and the more Naoto hones his spacing the scarier an opponent he becomes.  Of note is that a shift to a two-stock metagame could be considered a buff to Little Mac, so it will be curious to see if he gets better results now that Chicago is experimenting with these new rules.

24) Santo:  Santo is a very creative player who loves to learn new characters.  Originally a pre-patch Diddy main, he has since switched to a very patient Captain Falcon, a spacing-oriented Villager and even an aggressive Lucas.  The fact that his play style can switch mid-match with an effective counter pick plays heavily in his favor.  He is no stranger to upsets as well.

25) Lord Sturm:  Hey, that's me!  I snuck into the top 25 this update and I promise I didn't pay anyone off to do it.  I can list my issues as a player for pages and pages, as we are our own worst critics, but there's a solid player here with room to grow.  I think the secret to that improvement lies in movement and solid punishes, as Yoshi can dance around opponents for days, a la like Hungrybox's Jigglypuff.  There's a lot of work to be done yet but I know I can do it.

Chicago PR Mini Update: 6/19/15

Hi guys!

In lieu of an official Power Ranking update before E2C15, the Power Ranking team has decided to do things a little differently this time.  Here we have the projected top 10 of our PR Rankings as of right now, as well as some profiles on these players we’ve come to know and love.  In addition, we added some profiles for some rising players to watch out for, as we think they may make some noise in the coming weeks.  Don’t forget to tune in to E2C15 to see how these players fare against some of the best competition the Midwest has to offer!

THE TOP TEN (LIKELY FINAL AKIRO EDITION):

Akiro (1st E2C14, 7th Dismantle):  After a dominant run in the Chicago scene from February to May, Akiro finally showed some weakness in the past several large Chicago events.  His local nemesis appears to be BoScotty, who has now taken a Bo3 and a Bo5 off of Akiro in the past two months at E2C14 and Dismantle with two different characters.  In addition, Akiro lost in losers bracket for the first time in months at the hands of Keitaro’s Mii Brawler at Dismantle, earning him a disappointing 7th place finish.  He continues to dominate every weekly he attends, endlessly comboing people to the blast zone with his Sheik or styling on them with one of his many secondaries.  Now may be the most vulnerability we’ve seen out of Akiro, but we know his solid play and quick adaptation are always a threat.

Note: This will likely be Akiro’s last placement on the Illinois PR due to his moving to Wisconsin for work.  The next update to these rankings will prove to be quite interesting with his absence, and we wish him luck taking out the big, daunting threats on the Wisconsin PR (LOL).

Freebeast (3rd Dismantle, 13th Smash’N’Splash): Freebeast was the Chicago rep who most aptly defended our home turf at Dismantle.  His 1-2 loss vs Dabuz was the most hype set of the tournament, and he was able to slay Keitaro 2-0 before falling to False in loser’s finals.  He continues to add characters to his arsenal, and each time he labs with a character it shows in the options he chooses with his main, Olimar.  Freebeast’s playstyle continues to be the most malleable in our scene, and that adaptability combined with impeccable spacing and defense continues to make noise at our highest level.  He has shown a weakness to hyper-aggression lately, however, with notable losses coming from the hands of Demitus at Smash’N’Splash in loser’s bracket, as well as to XYZ in loser’s finals at a recent Thursday weekly (not to mention his continued allergic reaction to Akiro).  For his play to continue to rise he needs to shore up any holes in his defense these players have found.

It is worth noting that on the subject of doubles, no team has even come close to touching Freebeast and BoScotty’s level of performance.  Claiming victims such as Keitaro and False at Dismantle, and adding to that Plup and Wizzrobe at Smash’N’Smash, this team continues to develop into the top doubles pair in the Midwest, if not one of the best in the nation.

BoScotty (2nd E2C14, 13th Combo Breaker, 4th Dismantle, 33rd Smash’N’Splash):  BoScotty’s Smash 4 singles legacy, other than changing characters every week, can be defined as the thorn in Akiro’s side.  No one in the Chicago scene has taken as many sets off the de facto #1 since pre-patch JJROCKETS.  His victory in Winner’s Finals vs Akiro at E2C14 was his first set loss since Bo beat him at Expose U in February, and he followed that up with another upset victory over him at Dismantle.  He has played the most impressive games against Akiro out of anyone in Chicago, and that alone is worth merit.  Bo’s biggest weakness however is his mindset, and that has led to many of the top 10 below him taking games and sets off of him in the past.  If he can lock up his multi-main singles strategy, work on that consistency of mindset, and finally slay the Freebeast that lurks above him (their meeting at Dismantle was their first in months, but the record lies firmly in Freebeast’s corner), BoScotty can certainly elevate his play and take the vacated spot that Akiro leaves behind.

Shel (9th Dismantle, 4th Smash’N’Splash):  Shel is riding the most momentum coming into this latest update to the PR, as his performance at Smash’N’Splash was simply a sight to behold.  A 2-0 drubbing of Mew2King, one of the most prolific Smash players in the world, will do that for you.  At the same time, in his games vs Wizzrobe and Ally the founding member of #luigination looked a little lost.  His habits were a little exposed in those series, so the next step for Chicago’s last stand is to eliminate those habits and vary his offense.  Shel does sport an impressive record against the top 10, including a winning record vs. Akiro (although they haven’t played in a while), yet he is also stricken with Bo’s case of Freebeastitis.  That’s a disease he will have to cure before claiming the top spot.

He has proven that the Midwest is certainly not the free state that Mew2King claimed it was back in November when he stomped us at E2C10.  But is that enough momentum to Luigi Tornado his way to the top of the PR?  Only time will tell.

JJROCKETS (3rd E2C14, 4th Combo Breaker, 7th Rebirth IV, 9th Dismantle, 9th Smash’N’Splash):  The most prolific traveler of Chicago’s top 5, JJROCKETS has been an ambassador of our scene to many different regions in the past few months.  He led the charge to Michigan for Rebirth IV and made top 8 in a region much tougher than our own, which is a feat in and of itself.  However, if you asked him now I’m sure he’d say he’s disappointed with his recent results.  Missing top 8 at both Dismantle and Smash’N’Splash is a letdown I’m sure, as well as the bodying he received at the hands of Akiro at E2C14, a player he used to go toe-to-toe with regularly using pre-patch Diddy.  To add insult to injury the most recent patch has Diddy mains reeling even more, so much so that a character switch is rumored to be in the works.  The position of underdog is a new one for JJ, and I’m curious to see how the Baron of Birds Up responds to these challenges at E2C15 and in the near future.  

GGA.NiTe (9th E2C14, 3rd Combo Breaker, 7th Dismantle, 7th Smash’N’Splash):  GGA.NiTe is the fastest rising player outside of the top five in our scene right now.  Coming off of some impressive top 8 finishes at stacked tournaments, as well as a crazy winner’s side run at Combo Breaker, NiTe is riding a lot of momentum this past month.  In addition he has had ample experience versus some of the highest levels of competition during these big tourney runs, including games versus ZeRo, Ally and Mister Eric.  All of the Rosalina players from Chicago benefitted greatly from Dabuz’s presence at Dismantle and NiTe seems to be riding that wave to every top 8 he can reach.  Interesting to note that he recently beat JJROCKETS to get to top 8 at Smash’N’Splash, a pretty big upset that could help propel NiTe over him and into the top 5 in a future update.

Demitus (4th E2C14, 17th Dismantle, 9th Smash’N’Splash):  Demitus is part of the young blood of the Chicago Smash 4 scene, having only started competing in January.  However he started with a bang, taking 1st at a stacked GGA tournament where nobody knew who he was.  Since then his accomplishments continue to compile, taking games off of great players and making splashes wherever he goes with his stylish Captain Falcon.  Victims of the Demitus Touch include BoScotty, NiTe, JTWild, and most recently Freebeast.  He, like NiTe, has also had the opportunity to play top level players in his recent brackets, including Dabuz and Mew2King.  These matches versus some of the best in the nation showed that Demitus needs to hone his offense versus higher level players, and that while his aggression can certainly be overwhelming, adaptation is needed when he meets a player with superb defense.  Hopefully all of the pieces come together this weekend for another monster run at the final bracket like E2C14.

Gamerhead22 (7th E2C14, 17th Dismantle):  Gamerhead has been quiet in the scene lately.  There are rumors of a hiatus from the game swirling around the scene, and if so his Ness will be sorely missed.  One of the most aggressive Ness players in the Midwest, Gamerhead pioneered a style that is so counterintuitive to the Ness meta, and it’s gotten him serious results.  However, his last top 8 appearance was at E2C14, which is quite a long time ago, and as the saying goes, “What have you done for me lately?”  Gamer has the opportunity to learn from Nakat this weekend, one of the premier Ness mains in the US, and I hope he leaps at the opportunity.  The influx of top players visiting the Chicago community has done wonders for those who share mains and can trade battle strategies, so imagine what Gamerhead can do with even more options at his disposal thanks to the LoF founder.

JTWild (5th E2C14, 9th Dismantle): In as competitive a Mario meta as Chicago is, JTWild continues to be at the forefront of solo Mario mains.  He, like Gamerhead, hasn’t made it out to tournaments as much as some other members of this list, but every time he does he makes a big impact.  He made False sweat in the auction event finals at Dismantle, as well as probably playing the second best games of any Chicagoan against Akiro in recent memory at E2C14.  The best part is we’ve seen his evolution as a player since his debut in the scene as well.  A formerly highly aggressive player that frequented GGAs, we’ve seen him develop his spacing game as well as his bait and punish game over the months.  If he takes that to the next level (as well as taking an opportunity to learn from Ally’s monstrous Mario this weekend), the top of this list should be very scared.

Dan (7th E2C14, 33rd Dismantle, 13th Smash’N’Splash):  Dan’s style of play is quite different from that of the other high-level Marios in the Chicago scene.  I would describe his style are more reactionary, waiting for more punishes on shield than trying to start offense with dair to grab or other approach options.  This play style works very well against the players below him on this list, but for Dan to truly elevate his game he has to make upsets happen more regularly versus those ranked above him.  His defensive style can become a bit too habitual, and top players (particularly in the Mario mirror, in this writer’s opinion) have begun to take advantage of this.  With that said, Dan’s run as Smash’N’Splash is more impressive than the number next to his name indicates, taking out players such as CT Chibo, Nicole, ZStorm, and myself in his pools, as well as giving VGBC Logic a run for his money in the final bracket.  Dan is another player who should benefit greatly from the counsel of Ally, and watching his Mario’s movement and the on-a-dime changes in pace of play Ally can make will hopefully ring true with Dan, as he could really use the bloodlust that some other Mario mains possess.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

E2C DN Hoenn:  Constantly flirting in and out of the top 10 each update, Hoenn finds himself on the outside looking in this time, as Dan’s strong run is enough to edge him out.  Hoenn is one of the most technical players in our scene who spends more time in the lab than anyone else in Chicago.  However he still has some matchup holes that prove to be a thorn in his side, and it feels like his Pikachu’s potential has yet to be fully tapped.  Will E2C15 be the tournament where he unleashes the Pro PikaTM?

ZStorm:  The Sonic main from Illinois State University continues to present a threat in any bracket he enters.  His offensive mixups are a sight to behold.  One of the strongest rushdown players in the Chicago scene, your defense has to be on point to take a game off this blue blur.  He has had some schedule conflicts lately with many of the big Chicago tournaments, but expect him to come back in full force later this summer and steal some wins off of potentially anyone in bracket.

Chompy:  Oh, how the mighty have fallen.  The former Pit main peaked at about 5th place on our PR but has fallen off due to a hiatus and a character crisis.  Kudos to Ricky for choosing to play the game on his own terms, but the newfound love for Charizard and Mii Swordfighter has hurt his PR standing.  The buffs to both those characters will certainly aid him, however, with Charizard in particular becoming much more of a threat.  No matter what character he plays in bracket, expect incredibly patient play, solid fundamentals and impeccable spacing.

E2C Sage:  Someone let the commentator out of his cage for E2C15.  This tournament will be the first time in a long time Sage has gotten to compete at a monthly and I am sure he’s chomping at the bit to prove himself on this stage.  When he is not behind the mic with yours truly Sage is known to be a technical Rosalina player with excellent spacing.  His encyclopedic knowledge of the game shows in his playstyle, where he truly has no one horrible matchup.  Sage is one of the best candidates of the lower ranks to cause a top 10-level upset, so keep your eyes out for him.

YO BOI SHION:  Shion continues to baffle at every event he enters.  One day he will go on a tear and demolish a weekly without blinking an eye (including a bodying of this writer), the next he’ll drop two games really quickly and dip, and the one after that he’ll dip while waiting in grand finals on winner’s side.  His motivations cannot truly be explained, but his read-based Falcon can catch anyone off guard.  No matter which side of Shion you get on a particular day, it is certainly a sight to behold.

Shevy:  On the back of a very solid offering at Dismantle and Smash’N’Splash, Shevy completes the trifecta of high-level Marios in our Chicago scene.  His play style differs from both of the top 10 Marios, favoring an air-based approach and leaning on fireballs to force opponents to approach him.  His Mario can get into habits but is built around a solid fundamental understanding of the game, and he is yet another benefactor of Ally’s presence in Chicago these past two weeks.

XYZ:  While his recent tournament results may not be up to the standard that other higher-ranked players, you should never sleep on XYZ.  He most recently won a best of five against Freebeast at a local weekly, something many top 10 players can’t even claim to have done.  His combo game always has the potential to catch opponents unawares, and when his read game is on it’s a dangerous combination.  The trick with him is consistency.  Once he finds a way to always play at his top level, the Chicago scene will tremble.

Slowjoe:  It is no understatement that Slowjoe is the most improved player in the Chicago scene.  Slowjoe has come far since he picked up the game, establishing himself as the leading Fox player in Chicago and money matching any who challenge this claim.  He is hungry for Fox tech, gobbling up any new options he can find and applying them to his game almost immediately.  The next step for him is to shore up his fundamentals and cut his habits, but once he does expect him to be a force.

About the Author:  E2C Lord Sturm is a pretty decent commentator, but is absolutely awful at playing the game.  He gets beat by the players on this list, by players off this list, the whole nine yards.  If you want to see him get unreasonably salty about this fact, follow him on Twitter at @lordsturm473