Ahead of the Evolution Championship Series debut at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, the Super Smash Bros. Melee Top 8 has been finalized, with all of the gods making it through to the next round. But there have been a few surprises along the way. The Top 8 will move on to compete in front of over 11,000 people tomorrow in the Mandalay Bay arena.
Florida Sheik player Justin "Plup" McGrath took the best victory of the night, defeating tournament favorite and one of the five gods, Joseph "Mango" Marquez, in the winner's quarterfinals. Plup cemented himself into the Top 8 on the winner's side.
Meanwhile, Adam "Armada" Lindgren defeated James "Duck" Ma, Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman took down James "Swedish Delight" Liu, and Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma won a close series with DaJuan "Shroomed" McDaniel. Plup, Armada, Mew2King and Hungrybox will be in the winner's side tomorrow, taking no lower than fifth.
After being dropped to the loser's bracket, Swedish Delight fell to Weston "Westballz" Dennis, who will move on to the next round. Joining Westballz will be Johnny "S2J" Kim, who secured his spot after a win over Duck. And rounding out the Top 8 from loser's is Mango, thanks to a victory over Julian "Zhu" Zhu. Kevin "PewPewU" Toy will also move on after taking a victory over friend and Northern California rival Shroomed.
With all of the gods moving to the next stage, Evo's big debut at the Mandalay Bay looks to be an exciting and hopefully surprising event. Players such as Plup and Westballz have always come close to defeating the gods for gold, so will they finally have their shot tomorrow? Or will Hungrybox, Mango, Mew2King and Armada continue to show why they're some of the best to ever play the game?