Last night, more than 62,000 Twitch viewers tuned in for the finals of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at the Seattle-based Don't Park on the Grass tournament. Speaking to ESPN before the event, top seed Eric "ESAM" Lew predicted its outcome with characteristic confidence: "Obviously, my training partner MVD [and I], I assume we're going to be one and two."
On Sunday, ESAM's prophecy came true, though not quite as the Pikachu main intended. He and Jestise "MVD" Negron indeed met in winners finals, but when the dust settled, it was MVD -- a veteran player who has often been overshadowed by his more gregarious teammate -- who came out on top. When the Panda Global members faced off once more in grand finals, MVD showed that his Snake skills had not decreased since his years of maining the character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, ensnaring ESAM in a devastating web of mines and grenades to capture the first major trophy of the Smash Ultimate era.
"I never won a big event in Smash 4; I never won a big Brawl event, either," MVD said in his post-tournament interview. "It feels so amazing to actually win something that had a lot of people."
MVD's success was not the only surprise of the tournament. Vancouver player Dawson "Big D" Perron managed a fourth-place finish, defeating Landon "Captain L" Trybuch before losing a five-game set against Calib "Konga" Byers in losers semifinals. Finishing in third, Konga justified his seed but failed to take a set off of ESAM in both winners semifinals and losers finals.
Big D's run, which saw the No. 1 player in British Columbia cycle through a selection of characters including King Dedede, Captain Falcon, Peach and Mario, gives credence to top player Leonardo "MkLeo" Lopez Perez's statement last week that Smash Ultimate is a "counterpick game" -- that is, a game in which players benefit from intentionally learning multiple characters in order to abuse their opponents' disadvantageous matchups.
Not only did the Don't Park on the Grass finals showcase this character diversity -- 14 unique characters were used in the tournament's quarterfinals -- it also provided an early look into the nature of high-level Smash Ultimate play. The pace of gameplay appeared to be matchup dependent; some characters, such as Captain Falcon, were capable of putting together extended kill combinations that were in some cases lifted directly from Melee, while others, such as Toon Link and Young Link, relied on a slower, more deliberate zoning style.
Don't Park's Smash Ultimate finals were followed by the top eight of the event's Super Smash Bros. Melee bracket. After overcoming top seed Zain "Zain" Naghmi in winners finals, Johnny "S2J" Kim scored the biggest tournament victory of his career by defeating James "Swedish Delight" Liu in grand finals.
Visibly playing through hand pain, Swedish Delight notched a Zain victory of his own in losers finals, avenging his 3-0 loss at the Marth main's hands in winners bracket. The New Jersey Sheik main's run also included wins over Aziz "Hax$" Al-Yami and Griffin "Captain Faceroll" Williams, who finished in fourth at the tournament. In a return to form after a period of relative inactivity, Hax$ tied for fifth with Te Tuhi "Spud" Kelly, Australia's top Melee player.
Spud, who defeated Zachary "SFAT" Cordoni during his run to the top eight, is clearly playing at a top-100 level, but the New Zealand native falls just short of the preliminary eligibility requirements laid out by the year-end Melee Panda Global Rankings. Whether the organization adjusts these requirements in order to allow Spud to assume his rightful spot within the top 100 is yet to be seen.
After losing to Spud, SFAT failed to advance further in losers side of the bracket, falling to Northern Californian Falco Kristian "Rocky" Cruz to finish in 17th place. SFAT's noticeable absence in the quarterfinals is perhaps a fitting end to a disappointing year for the Fox main, who was eclipsed by rising stars such as Zain and Justin "Wizzrobe" Hallett while he dropped out of Melee's top 10 for the first time since 2015.
As competitive Smash enters its offseason in earnest, MVD and S2J can rest easy knowing that they are the final major champions of 2018. Their rivals, both in the novel game of Ultimate and the familiar standby of Melee, will have to wait for the new year before they can get a word in edgewise.