by Dylan “OMD” St. Clair

Melee is like NASCAR. Yes, NASCAR.

Races are held weekly, also like golf. At the end of the day, the winner stands above the other competitors, lifts the trophy and cameras capture the moment.

But there’s one difference in the two, outside of the obvious “one’s in a car, the other’s in a chair.” And this is where the other half of the dilemma stands.

As the season ends for NASCAR, the season’s champion stands separate from the race winner and is awarded the trophy that cements their legacy. As of now, there is no set-in-stone championship for Melee.

We have winners/champions for individual tournaments. For example, when you go to Armada’s Twitter and read his bio, it doesn’t read “Melee World Champion.” It reads “Winner of Melee at Evo 2015.” Mango’s is similar: “Back to Back Evolution Champion 2014-2014. Mlg Champion.”

And while both of those resumes are accomplishments and it’s hard to argue that they weren’t the best players during the reigns, who’s to say that someone else isn’t the champion?

Who is to say that Leffen shouldn’t be the world champion, after winning CEO, FC Return and WTFox back-to-back-to-back? Who is to say PPMD isn’t the world champion for winning the largest Smash-centered tournament, Apex? Who’s to say HungryBox isn’t in that running by being the only other member of the Top 6 that has won a tournament that had 3 other Sinister Six members present?

It’s not what the PGA does. It’s not what tennis does. But knowing how Melee players love saying they’re the best, it’s only fitting to have something more than 4 Grand Smashes.

Crown the Winner

As I implied by the ending to part one, November and December are still available months to use for something serious to end the year. Why not use it as the Melee Championship?

Now what would make this event different from the others? For starters, there would be no open bracket. This is an event solely available to those that competed and succeeded in the Grand Smashes. While that would be a bummer to those that are just out of qualifying position, the importance on the four Nationals would become even greater.

It would also be a bracket that is set in stone a month to two months in advance. Why? It would give all the competitors the chance to have an extended time to look over footage of their potential opposition. It would give them time to heal and rest up, both mentally and emotionally. And, like anything you have to wait for, there would be a level of excitement that would continue to build.

Now to determine how the championship will work will take some discussion from all members of the community. There’s examples for how this could work already present. Going back to NASCAR, there could a point system in place for the four Grand Smashes that grant points depending on their placement. It could work like many circuits work.  MLG and the Capcom Cup both have had qualifiers in which the winners for those four were guaranteed a spot and the rest of the spots were determined based on points earned.

However big of a bracket we decide to run with, (16 or 32 entrants sounds good to me for reasons I’ll talk about later) it would be a single-day event where an entirely 3-out-of-5 bracket is played out.

But what’s the draw to this? Why do it this way instead of running a 1000-2000 player open bracket over a few days and give the qualifiers a guaranteed spot like MLG Anaheim?

A Viewer’s Paradise

To me, doing it this way with a select number of players gives us an opportunity to see high level Melee in one sitting with ultimate viewing pleasure. Take any tournament that runs pools. The first hour or two is filled with match after match of one-sided domination and (sometimes) awkward commentary because of the blowout. I can attest, commentating those matches can be hard and I never remain invested in the play of one or both players.

With a tournament like this, all matches could be streamed by multiple channels, similar to the way Evo was run. Having three channels (VGBC, Clash Tournaments, Showdowngg as examples) could have a match pre-scheduled to play out on their stream at all times. With a system like this and having ever-updating bracket websites like Challonge or Smash.gg, viewers at home could always know where to go to see what matches they desire.

And on top of this, this is an opportunity for coverage and involvement. Smash.gg has already began a fantasy game (that is super cool and a lot of fun to experiment with, by the way). For this they could give birth to a fantasy bracket competition like NCAA’s March Madness, where people not only choose who they think will win, but the number of sets.

Melee It On Me continues to do pre-tourney shows like the pregame show any sports network does before a game. That trend could continue. And like what MIOM does, other gaming and eSports businesses would be able to produce content and interviews while at the event. Screwattack has provided coverage for our events. Azubu and EvenMatchupGaming both did interview of players before, during and after Evo 2014.

What about the people in attendance? What’s to gain for them if they aren’t actually competing?

That argument doesn’t work for other eSports, where fans fill arenas to watch the game that they love. And prior to the event, vendors and booths could be set up to accommodate them like what happens at other events and conventions.

Plus, they will be in person, getting to watch the great play at their highest level. It’s the Super Bowl of Smash.

Again, All Just Ideas

I’m a sports minded person, as all you readers have seen by the population of my professional analogies. But doing it this way, like many sports do, makes sense to me. Melee is popular, so it makes sense that it would flourish like the popularity of sports championships.

And maybe this is just me dreaming of the biggest stage Melee could attain (actually, that’s pretty much all this is). But the possibilities are there. The competition is at its highest point. Our streamers have stepped up their game over the last few years. Our TOs, commentators, technology and fans have all grown in skill, potential and numbers.

This is what I can see Melee reaching. Maybe not in 2016. But with a game with the kind of longevity that Melee has, it could get to that point.

Like I mentioned, these are all just ideas. Nothing I say is the law. It’s just something to get the ball rolling, like Tafokints did for a number of us just days prior.