8 down and 3 to go. Apex Qualifiers continue in the Midwest with Sweet: Prologue.
Information:
Stream: VGBootCamp
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tournament Schedule (EST)
Saturday, January 3
10am Venue Opens
11am Melee Singles Pools (two waves), PM Singles Bracket (two waves)
4pm Melee Singles Top 96, PM Singles Top 8
7pm Venue Closes
Sunday, January 4
10am Melee Doubles Bracket
1pm Melee Singles Top 32
4pm Melee Singles Top 8
7pm Tournament Ends
Background:
As an Apex Qualifier, SWEET Prologue offers a free plane ticket, hotel, and $1000 in bonuses to the winner of the tournament and qualifier points to the top 24 players. The 16 players with the most qualifer points will automatically be placed in the final Top 48 bracket at Apex 2015. You can see the current standings in Robin Harn’s predictions. Although this tournament consists primarily of Midwest locals, a handful of top players have decided to make the trek to Michigan. KirbyKaze from Canada will be in appearance. KirbyKaze has not only accumulated enough points to qualify, but also is a strong contender to take the entire tournament. Hometown Hero, Duck, has had many exciting sets against KirbyKaze in recent tournaments, taking two sets in a highly disadvantageoused matchup against his Sheik. Although KirbyKaze managed to take the runback in loser’s bracket at the last qualifier, the question of the tournament is whether Duck can make the necessary adjustments.
From the West Coast, Socal players, HugS and MikeHaze, are making the trip to Michigan. With 320 points, Hugs has placed himself in good position to qualify for the Top 48 bracket. According to the projections, he needs to place in the Top 4 to be in good standing. Although the competition is lighter than a normal SSS tournament, the qualifier points add extra pressure on HugS to do well. From the East Coast, Crs.Chillindude will be attending. Chillindude has been rather quiet lately, only attending locals in the MD/VA region.
If The Big House 4 taught us anything, it is that the Midwest is no longer to be slept on. Duck has been doing very well at regional tournaments for years now. Kalamazhu and Hanky Panky had very strong showings at The Big House 4 and want to show that its no fluke. Other familiar faces such as Frootloop, Drephen, Anther, and KJH will also be competing. The top level talent is definitely lacking at Sweet:Prologue, but this means that several overlooked players will have a chance to shine on the VGBootcamp stream.
Tafo Predictions
1. KirbyKaze (350 pts: Needs 5th place finish)
2. Duck (260 pts: Need 3nd place finish)
3. FRQ.HugS (320 pts: Need 4th place finish. Still attending Paragon)
4. Crs.Chillindude (160 pts: Needs 2nd place finish)
5. Kalamazhu (160 pts: Needs 2nd place finish)
5. HankyPanky (o pts)
7. MikeHaze (220 pts: Needs 2nd place finish. Still attending Paragon)
7. Frootloop (0 pts)
Your wording (“disadvantageoused”) makes it unclear whether the matchup favors Samus or Sheik. Additionally, you’re giving the Midwest far too much credit. The Big House was anomalous for Midwest placings. Particularly in light of the new SSBM ranks, you have to go down to 28 to find a single player (Kels) from the Midwest. Perhaps they’ve improved, but they’re still pretty bad compared to almost any other region.
Duck, Kzhu, Abate (Don’t tell me Penn isn’t Midwest, because it is a MW state) are all on the top 100, and are in the top 50.