Get On My Level 2014 Top 8 Recap

I knew as soon as I walked in the door that this tournament was going to be bigger than any of us were expecting. The feeling was bittersweet. On the one hand, the tournament had just started and we’d already exceeded everyone’s expectations for attendance; on the other hand, the pools I had carefully crafted the previous night were now useless.

Three of the top five were in attendance, the sun was shining (after something like 6 months of Winter weather), and everyone was ready to play some Melee. This was the biggest MLG Qualifier in the circuit so far, and the players did not disappoint.

CTRL|DJ Nintendo (Fox) vs. I.B. (Marth) for 7th Place

Not many people know this, but I.B. is something of a Fox slayer. He defeated both Raynex and KirbyKaze’s Foxes at the recent Let’s Play 11 tournament in Waterloo, Ontario, before heading off to Northwest Majors and beating both SFAT and Silent Wolf.

Surprisingly, the two struck to Final Destination, normally considered to be Marth’s strongest stage in the matchup. Yet DJ Nintendo’s stellar spacing, masterful dash dancing and generally smart fox play allowed him to keep up with I.B.’s devastating punishment game and win game 1.

I.B. counterpicked to Yoshi’s Story, again a traditionally strong Marth stage—oft referred to as “Marth’s Story”—yet DJ was even more dominant here. He immediately exchanged his patient playstyle for a more aggressive one to take advantage of the smaller stage; a few shine gimps and upthrow upairs later, and DJ looked on pace to 4-stock I.B. A stray Marth Fsmash brought DJ down to 3 stocks before he finished off the match, defeating the Fox slayer on two of Marth’s strongest stages.

EMG|Weon-X (Fox) vs. Duck (Samus) for 7th Place

Watch the match here

Duck makes Samus vs. Fox look easy. His grab mixups, consistent edgeguarding, and proficient use of Uptilt (the Ducktilt) slowly shut down everything Weon-X was trying to do. Match 1 took place on Battlefield, and Duck quickly took the first stock with an extended techchase/edgeguard. The match quickly went down to 2 stocks apiece, but only through some risky plays by Weon-X and a strange crouch-canceled Fox Upsmash out of shield comboing into Upair. Ultimately, Duck’s edgeguarding and defensive techniques, especially Up-B out of shield, won him the match with a 1-stock.

Weon-X counterpicked to Final Destination, unsurprisingly—the flat stage mostly eliminates Samus’s Up-B out of shield and strengthens Fox’s already strong ground movement. Weon-X spent much of the match edgeguarding Samus’ painfully slow recovery, while Duck maintained control of the middle of the stage with well-placed tilts and careful shield timing. Weon-X never really solved the problem of Samus’ crouch-canceled Dsmash. It went down to the last stock again, but a stray missile made this a JV 2-stock for Duck and a 2-0 to win the set. The Midwest’s Samus prodigy had 2-0’d Raynex and Weon-X in a row.

C9|Mang0 (Falco) vs. EMG|KirbyKaze (Sheik) in Winners Semifinals

Watch the match here

This was their first encounter since Apex 2013. They struck to Battlefield. The first two stocks of the match set the pace for their entire set: Mang0 would control the stage with his characteristic shield pressure and well-placed Falco lasers, while KK would quickly rack up damage with every grab or tilt. The edgeguarding was strong on both sides, but Mang0 finished off match 1 at 2 stocks with a clean, standard Falco combo.

KirbyKaze took him to Fountain of Dreams and quickly started a techchase which finished with a solid Bair edgeguard. Mang0 answered back immediately with a quick combo into a surprise Fsmash with…minimal DI. KirbyKaze definitely stepped up his combo game this match, got a lot more grabs, and generally did a better job of keeping up with Mang0’s intelligence and damage output. Still, Mang0 was able to clutch it out with yet another long pillar combo followed by a Jab into Fsmash.

Match 3, Final Destination. KirbyKaze personally likes this stage, and his immediate 126% zero-to-death showed why, but Sheik also loses her platform movement and some recovery options here. KirbyKaze maintained a lead for most of the match until a gutsy double Dair from Mang0 shifted it in his favour. Mang0 then rode the momentum with another devastating combo to finish off the match at 164% on his second-last stock and claim a 3-0 over one of Canada’s highest ranked players.

CT EMP|Mew2King (Fox) vs. CRS|Hungrybox (Jigglypuff) in Winners Semifinals

Watch the match here

For anyone who’s been living under a rock, these two disgustingly skilled players have met in probably hundreds of tournaments, but ever since the “Return of the King” at The Big House 3, Hungrybox has been unable to defeat Mew2King’s strategically defensive playstyle.

Game 1 on Battlefield was nothing new: Mew2King would run to one side and laser, then punish Hungrybox’s mis-spaced moves with aerials and running Upsmashes. Hungrybox would catch him with Upthrow-Rests and impressive edgeguards off of low percentage combos. Hungrybox’s main spacing tool was actually Fair for many of his GOML sets. After Mew2King’s unfortunate side-B self-destruct, Hungrybox looked poised to take match 1, but Mew2King brought it back and killed Hungrybox with an Upthrow-Upair at 77% after the hit.

Hungrybox counterpicked to Dreamland (reminder: no stage bans in Best of 5s). Hungrybox lives longer here and has more aerial space to work with, while Mew2King has more ground across which to safely laser and dash dance. Hungrybox hit an impressive Upair to Rest at the high top platform, but Mew2King’s movement game and endless rain of Upsmashes won him this match as well.
Back to Battlefield for game 3. Mew2King got a little too cheeky with his Upsmashes and Hungrybox Rested one out of shield to take the first stock. Then he took the next with a Bthrow to Mew2King Dair SD. Then another with a Jab reset to Rest. A stray Fair knocked Mew2King offstage and he passively fell to his death, apparently content to move on to the next match.

Pokemon Stadium, the classic Fox counterpick. Yet again, Hungrybox snagged an early Upthrow to Rest after a Pound which Mew2King surprisingly decided to tech in place. Hungrybox appeared to have figured out Mew2King’s movement game and was starting to read him all over the place. Mew2King stepped up his defense and caught up in stocks, but Hungrybox called his Illusion to the edge and won with a JV 2-stock.

Mew2King took Hungrybox back to Pokemon Stadium for the last match of the set, and quickly got hit by another Jab reset to Rest. Hungrybox went too low on an important edgeguard, killing Mew2King but falling to his own death; two stocks apiece. There were no gaps in Mew2King’s armor. A series of lasers and an Upthrow-Upair finally finished off Team Curse’s star Jigglypuff player. 3-2; a close set.

CTRL|DJ Nintendo (Fox) vs. EMG|KirbyKaze (Sheik) for 5th Place

Watch the match here

After soundly defeating I.B., New York’s DJ Nintendo went on to play another Canadian titan. And yes, dear readers, they too struck to Battlefield. DJ figured out early on that he would need to rush down KirbyKaze to equalize with the Sheik main’s extended combos, but made sure to always approach intelligently. Still, whenever KirbyKaze did connect with a move, he made sure it led into many more moves. That’s kind of his thing. A clean Fair edgeguard by KK gave him a relatively quick 2-stock in game 1.

DJ opted to go to Dreamland next, giving himself a bit more room to move around and widening the gap between the edges, which KirbyKaze had been so rudely throwing him off of in the first match. DJ took the first stock with a combo involving Upthrow, Fair and Uptilt, then KirbyKaze failed an edgeguarded and self-destructed, giving DJ a 2-stock lead. Soon it was down to 2 stocks each, and KirbyKaze took the next two in a row with more move strings leading into edgeguards. Solid play on both sides, but KirbyKaze was just a bit…solider.

CRS|Hungrybox (Jigglypuff) vs. Duck (Samus) for 5th Place

Watch the match here

Hungrybox has historically been a dominating force in this matchup. Most would agree that Jigglypuff defeats Samus handily, but Hungrybox usually makes the famous bounty hunter look helpless in battle against everyone’s favourite Pokemon.

Game 1 took place on Fountain of Dreams. Hungrybox’s quick, aggressive aerials gave Duck little room to breath, and a fully charged Upsmash read on Duck’s stand up from the edge took his second stock. But Duck answered back with wise shield usage, occasional grabs, and perfectly spaced Fsmashes. A charged shot read by Duck made it a last-stock game. Duck was unfazed by the tension of the situation, but nerves of steel aren’t enough to block Jigglypuff’s Dair to Upsmash.

Duck’s counterpick was Pokemon Stadium, since Hungrybox banned Fountain of Dreams. Samus can use the platforms here to set up a wall of missiles, but that requires Jigglypuff to leave her alone for a split second, which Hungrybox was unwilling to do. Duck’s spacing was excellent, but Hungrybox had an easier time killing him off the top. Duck continued to grab Hungrybox and hit with some key tilts and Nairs, but it just wasn’t enough, and Hungrybox scored a 2-stock to take the set.

After narrowly winning match 1, Hungrybox rhetorically asked the crowd, “Why is everyone so **** good at this game?!”

CRS|Hungrybox (Jigglypuff) vs. EMG|KirbyKaze for 4th Place

Watch the match here

KirbyKaze is probably the only Sheik player to ever defeat Hungrybox in tournament (at Apex 2012), but all of their subsequent encounters (including their runback in Apex 2012’s Losers bracket) have met with KirbyKaze’s defeat.

Battlefield. KirbyKaze’s matchup-specific move selection got him a lot of single hits, but despite a missed Rest, Hungrybox took the first stock. KirbyKaze gradually brought it back with a series of well-spaced aerials, specifically Bairs while Hungrybox was offstage. Despite popular opinion, Sheik can, in certain situations, edgeguard Jigglypuff. Hungrybox crouched under KK’s shieldgrab to Rest him and take game 1 with a 2-stock.

Battlefield. The back and forth aerial game continued; Hungrybox missed a rest, allowing KirbyKaze to pull into the lead. KirbyKaze used a number of questionable Upsmashes out of shields, but one eventually scored him a kill. In the end, Hungrybox’s consistent edgeguarding was what let him clutch out the match.

Final Destination. An Uptilt to Rest took KirbyKaze’s stock; Downthrow to Upair tied it back up. Hungrybox pulled off a quick Fair stage spike to steal another stock, then mysteriously managed to hit KirbyKaze with Rollout at high percent, leaving him with a 3-stock-to 1 lead only 1:30 into the match. KirbyKaze impressively clawed back with spaced aerials and creative anti-air tilts, but a final Rest edgeguard closed out the 3-0 set.

C9|Mang0 (Falco) vs. CT EMP|Mew2King (Sheik, Marth) in Winners Finals

Watch the match here

This was Mang0’s first encounter with Mew2King since his Cloud 9 sponsorship, and most people’s expected Winners Finals matchup (although Hungrybox had come very close to beating Mew2King in Winners Semis).

They started out with Falco vs. Sheik on Battlefield. Mew2King’s techchasing wasn’t quite as strong as we’ve come to expect, but he made up for it by not missing his edgeguards. Mang0’s onstage pressure and spacing were as smart and scary as always, and he was especially careful about how he attacked Mew2King near the ledge. Mang0 took game 1 with a 1-stock, and Mew2King quickly counterpicked to Final Destination with Marth.

Here’s where the set really got interesting. Mang0’s timing mixups on lasers and shield pressure effectively locked Mew2King own, leading him to resort to using Marth’s Counter. But that didn’t work either; Mang0 would react and wait for it to expire almost every time. And yet, Mew2King’s overwhelming punishment brought it down to the last stock. A surprising missed edgeguard led to Mang0 barely recovering, pushing Mew2King toward the other side of the stage, and jumping way out to kamikaze Dair Mew2King and win the match, much to the crowd’s delight.

Back to Final Destination. Mew2King had stopped using Counter, but still couldn’t figure out how to deal with Mang0’s shield pressure and pillar combos. Again, he kept it close by killing Mang0 at nearly every opportunity, including a grab that turned into a 0-to-death. Mew2King started to throw out Fsmashes, and Mang0 capitalized repeatedly. After recovering from a near-low% kill situation, Mang0 took the set 3-0 with two wins over Mew2King’s Marth on FD. At this point, Mang0 looked ready to take the whole tournament.

CT EMP|Mew2King (Fox) vs. CRS|Hungrybox (Jigglypuff) in Losers Finals

Watch the match here

Arguably the best set of the tournament. It was either this or Grand Finals.

They started out on Battlefield, and Hungrybox quickly alchemized a combo, platform techchase and edgeguard into a stock. At first it looked as though Hungrybox had figured Mew2King out. His Jigglypuff playstyle had shifted more toward space control and stuffing Mew2King’s approaches. After finally taking Hungrybox’s first stock, Mew2King snapped back into action and quickly snagged the next two with Upthrow-Upairs. But the lead was still insurmountable, and a simple edgeguard by Hungrybox ended match 1.

Pokemon Stadium returned. Hungrybox read Mew2King’s roll and got off an early Rest. He also started Smash DIing more of Mew2King’s Upairs. Mew2King had again gone fishing for Upsmashes, but he also connected with one impressively off of a Dthrow techchase. Last stock situation once more—Hungrybox Smash DI’d an Upair that would have cost him the match, then completed another Bair edgeguard to win it instead.

Back to Stadium. Hungrybox got a bit impatient with Mew2King and ate an Upsmash out of shield for it. Business as usual for the next few stocks. Soon enough they’re both on their last stock, with Hungrybox up 2-0 in the set. Hungrybox Jab reset Mew2King, ran toward him, jumped, and…missed the Rest. He crumpled to the floor in disbelief and tried to prepare himself to continue the set.

Game 4 went much more smoothly for Mew2King. He clearly had the momentum. His dash dancing had improved significantly, and he wasn’t missing Upsmashes anymore. He was patient, controlled and methodical. An Upthrow to Upair killed Hungrybox at 78% and Mew2King looked confident and ready to rematch Mang0 in Grand Finals.

The last match was on Dreamland. Upsmash out of shield, Rest out of shield. Dash dancing vs. Bair, Upthrow Upair vs. Smash DI. This time they were both playing their best. Soon it came down to one stock each, 0%. Hungrybox got an Upthrow, Upair, Jab reset…and this time, Hungrybox did hit the Rest. Again he fell to the floor, but this time it was because he was being tackled by Adam of EvenMatchupGaming. Relief spread through the crowd, which seemed to be on Hungrybox’s side today. But the tournament wasn’t over yet.

C9|Mang0 (Fox) vs. CRS|Hungrybox (Jigglypuff) in Grand Finals

Watch the match here

Fresh off his success against M2K, Hungrybox went on to Grand Finals to face off against Mang0, who still hadn’t lost a match in his run through the Winners bracket to Grand Finals. This was also Mang0’s first time playing Fox in the Top 8.

Battlefield. To no one’s surprise, Mang0 played more aggressively than Mew2King, but he also threw in the occasional barrage of lasers. This was an indication of his seriousness; he wanted this just as much as Hungrybox. Notably, Mang0 DI’d down and then teched many of Hungrybox’s hits which would have otherwise led to an edgeguard situation. He slowly pulled ahead 3 stocks to 1, but Hungrybox pulled back with an edgeguard and Upthrow to Rest. Mang0 called Hungrybox’s floating pattern with an Upsmash to take game 1.

Dreamland. Mang0 came dangerously close to breaking his shield, but clipped through it with a Chillin-style Upair instead. Hungrybox stepped up his edgeguarding in this match and gradually took the lead. He was also attacking Mang0’s shield repeatedly; they were both just going at it. Fsmash read, and Hungrybox won with a 2-stock.

Final Destination. Mang0 caught Hungrybox jumping too high and hit him with a raw Upair to take the first stock. Hungrybox was Smash DIing Mang0’s Upthrow-Upairs, but Mang0 kept hitting them outside of combos anyway. Hungrybox couldn’t seem to get a word in edgewise. Quick 3-stock for Mang0; he was now 2-1 in the set.

Fountain of Dreams. Hungrybox self-destructed early on, but made up for it with an Upthrow to Rest. The platforms were clearly interrupting Mang0’s movement, but Hungrybox’s pristine edgeguarding had nothing to do with the stage. Hungrybox faked out Mang0 with a Nair then grabbed him from behind: Upthrow-Rest. Was he really about to reset the bracket?

Game 5. Pokemon Stadium made its first appearance. Mang0 was running circles around Hungrybox and refusing to let him get any more grabs. Upairs and an Upsmash out of shield gave Mang0 a 3 stock to 1 lead. And then, of course, he decided he had to play with more swag. Mang0 ran back and forth through Hungrybox’s shield, but Hungrybox was not intimidated. Slowly, he built up damage, hit two edgeguards, and somehow it was down to 1 stock each. Dthrow, Bthrow, Mang0 recovered very low and somehow Hungrybox got hit by the Firefox. You could have cut the tension with a knife. A Bair at 120% finally killed Hungrybox, and Mang0 took home his first tournament as Melee’s representative for Cloud 9.

Both players smiled at each other and shook hands. There was no salt in this fantastically played Grand Finals. Hungrybox even said in his post-tournament interview that he felt like he’d won. By all accounts, Canada’s largest Smash tournament ever was a huge success.

See you next year 😉