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For the second year in a row and with the invaluable help of TO’s and community leaders from 17 different countries, Smash en Español is proud to present the annual report for the Latin American scene. It comes as no surprise that communities have grown both in number of events as well as active members for both major Smash titles. Some of the communities from smaller cities have been organized for less than a year now, and it is exciting to see new players from numerous regions in different countries coming together and plugging in their gamecube controllers. If you haven’t done so please consider joining our Facebook group or follow us on twitter to keep up with the region’s news.
Largest Events
Smash Factor in Puebla, Mexico takes the top spot for both games as expected, growing in attendance by 49% in Melee and 25% in Smash 4. Widely regarded as the best event in the area, this year Smash Factor featured top international players n0ne and Hugs for Melee as well as Mr. R and Dabuz for Smash 4. They also partnered with GIMR and VGBootcamp, and brought fan favorite commentators D1 and Keitaro to provide world class streaming for the event. Con Comics Abril in Guadalajara, an amazing event that featured C9 Ally, takes the third spot for Smash 4 and their December event ties in third with UFSmash from Brasil and Rock and Smash, a free tourney organized by a local radio station and a telecommunications company in Nicaragua. Melee may be earning smaller numbers in attendance, but the number of events has more than doubled in the region. Colombia’s ASTRA this year was the first attempt for a major in South America, and it was a great event with players from different countries in attendance. Chile’s and Brasil’s events featured great old school players as well as skilled newcomers.
Our top Representatives
Latin Americans are truly a force to be reckoned with. There’s a number of players who, given the opportunity to travel to US majors, would level up their game to a world class status. Edgar “n0ne” Sheleby, repping the Nicaraguan and the Canadian community has done just that, earning the spot of best latinamerican Melee player this year. n0ne traveled to Colombia and Mexico in 2016, taking both Melee major events and defeating the best latinamerican players, including all time favorite Javier “Javi” Ruiz and Chile’s legend “Dark” to get there . With important victories in several tournamentes this year, including two over mew2king, n0ne has climbed in the ranks placing 18th in this years MIOM ranking with his stylish Falcon and Ganondorf game. He has recently joined Team Allegiance and will be representing them as well as his original sponsor Even Matchup Gaming this coming year.
As Latin Americans we are proud of Chilean world champion and still #1 rank Gonzalo “Zero” Barrios. As of late he has not attended any events in the region though, so in Smash 4 the title for best player goes to young superstar Leonardo “MK Leo” Lopez. The not-quite-yet 16 year old has had an amazing year, running over his rivals in Mexico and finally being able to prove himself outside his turf first in Canada and Brasil, and later in the year in the US where he won 2GGT Saga defeating the biggest names in the game in the process, including Zero himself. Big things are expected from the young prodigy this year as he joins Team EchoFox and will be traveling to many more majors this year.
Both players were featured in the region’s first documentary,where we tailed them at EVO and Smash Factor.
Community leaders and T.O.’s have helped us paint a better picture of each of their countries and scenes, and we’d like now to present that to you, starting from top to bottom.
The Melee scene doubled the number of their events from the previous year as they enter what the community has christened “The 20xx Era”. Look at the top 3 spots and you’ll know why. Cuenti stands taller than the other Fox mains (or other character for that matter), earning top dog bragging rights for this year. At the international level, Puff player JNEW has done quite some work, earning second at Nebulous Prime in NYC, defeating the likes of Captain Smuckers, NY Joey, Slox and Beerman, and ending as runner up only to The Moon. He also won First Attack in Puerto Rico against local hero Excel Zero.
Big strides were taken by the Smash 4 community this year. From home run tournaments to corporate endorsed events with hundreds of players, the game is taking over the island by storm. After Besmash’s success with almost 300 entries last year, Gamescorp entered the picture as the first Smash centered esport team. This year things ran a lot smoother, with bi-weekly events being held and making sure not to step on anyone’s toes by holding tournaments on the same weekend in different cities, understanding that the entire country has to work together to move forward as a whole. Digital Strider, the Cloud / Metaknight dual main dominated the year entirely from the start, with surprising appearances from Sharpyzard the Charizard main who shook things up during the first half of the year, and who earned a decent third place in Puerto Rico’s First Attack.
National major Fighting Fest was a turning point for different reasons, with well known attendees such as DK Will , and Venezuelan players 8A , VeXx, Maikol and Bto. Digital Strider repped the country well by coming in second to DK Will, who was pleasently surprised by the players’ gameplay, especially Stark’s, whose ZSS almost sent him to losers in a tight match. Venezuela’s 8A came in third, and thus top 3 had representatives from the US, Caribbean and South America. Hopes are high for 2017, expecting more from Keekay’s Greninja, and newcomer Chronic’s Sonic, both players that have shown they have what it takes to reach the top. It is also a year where more international travel is expected, as well as receiving more top players from the US scene.
Community leaders: Felix de Jesus & Daniel Cepeda
The Panama Melee community has gone through some changes this year. A lot of the former top players are not currently active, others like former champ BBOY, Joe or CH90, choose not to compete as much but just play friendlies. Raven fought for the first half of the year winning a couple of events, but eventually stepped down as well. This has lead to a surge of new players joining the Melee scene, and their skill has been on the rise drastically. It’s hard to predict who will win a tournament since so many of the competitors have a shot at it. Among the veterans, we can mention a few that have leveled up this year like Edd, Deduva, Felo, LeGo, Jose, Lewis. They can also boast to have the nicest venue when Inno Smashfest takes place. Last year at a beach house, this year at a mountain resort, a great event with great prizes that shakes things up in the community once a year.
JCAM, a young 16 year old from the capital is without a doubt the biggest surprise of the year. He has had the opportunity to travel to the US and compete in events like Paragon, but he credits his rise in skill to netplay and Smash Ladder. The young champ will be attending Genesis 4 in January and has the entire community behind him. Gox barely missed the first spot, with his reads and quick to react style proving he’s one of the contenders for top spot. PM and Smash 4 player MDL saw the light and focused on Melee this year, where he dual mained Puff and Marth to climb his way to third.
Community leader: Giancarlo Della Togna
2016 was a great year for Colombia, as they were able to stand out in the region thanks to both the high activity of the scene as well as hosting the first South American international major, ASTRA 2016. The event was a first step towards a united region and a successful one at that. Melee players had a chance to test themselves against top names in the region, as well as Nicaraguan/Canadian swag master n0ne, who after being sent to losers by Chilean master Dark, ended up winning the event. Two other great events worth mentioning are “GamePartyFest V” and “Torneo Nacional de Cobrawlers”. In both rankings, Smash4 and Melee, the top 3 players are listed in no particular order, and any of them can be regarded as the best player. Lynn, widely regarded as the best Melee player in the country was left out of the ranks for his lack of activity this year. Noir and KDS reign on the coast, while Mokun leads in the countryside as well as being the winner of the national championship.
Community Leaders: Andrés Pérez Melo & Carlos Alberto Potes
Community leaders: Dragmire Dick
The Melee (and 64 for that matter) scene struggles to emerge, being played mainly among small groups in different states around the country. The Smash 4 scene, active and with established rankings for La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, experienced a nice boost this year. The Heavy Machine Gun clan in La Paz, the country’s capital, has dedicated a lot of time to organize events targeted for both established players as well as newcomers. The FGC community in Bolivia has welcomed this initiative and recognizes the Smash community as one of their own, inviting them continuously to participate in larger events that feature all kinds of fighting games, such has Hadouken Dojo International, Up Grade and Anime Party. The community stands on its own though and continues to push for dedicated Smash 4 only events.
Community leader: Ivan Castro Alarcon
The word to describe Melee in Chile is prosperous. The community hit the ground running when word of Colombian major Astra got around, and the Road to Astra circuit began with plane tickets to Barranquilla as prizes pushing top players and challengers alike to give it their all. On top of it all, weeklies began running on video game shop Game Hunterz attracting new players to join. All of this combined lead to a very welcomed rise in skill that had not been witnessed in a while. Community leaders are proud of what’s happening with Melee in South America, and the community has been invigorated by placing themselves on the map and coming out of the dark to shine as one of the strongest scenes all over.
Smash 4 began on a high note that could not matched for the rest of the year: Showdown VII and their 141 entries. After that no real large scale events were held until the end of the year. Regardless, smaller weeklies ran religiously in Santiago and monthlies in other cities like Concepción, Valparaíso and Temuco.
Showdown VII results showed Iori at the top of the list, with Firehao close behind. During the rest of the year though, Harlonga’s Wario started wreaking havoc and cemented himself as a strong contender to the throne, especially when in September Iori placed a meager 7th place and everybody began questioning who the top player was for the first time in a while. Southern Battlefield was the decisive tournament, right at the end of the year, where Iori was able to reclaim his top spot with Harlonga and Firehao closing in behind him. Phantom from Santiago an d Keen from Valparaiso are two other notables worth mentioning as players with top 3 potential.
2017 looks promising, and the community hopes to host a large scale major that brings players from the entire country to compete in record breaking numbers.
Community leaders: Carlos Moreno & Pablo Acevedo
Yes, two Puffs take the top spots in Hbox’s home country, mere coincidence or subtle homage? Either way, the Melee scene took some serious steps this year getting organized and holding events. While still evolving, a lot of the talent there looks forward to the opportunity of representing their country at a larger level this coming year.
The scene as a whole grew both in number of players and events, with attendance records broken often. Lots of new players from smaller regions traveling to compete have increased the difficulty in tournaments, and the exposure gained from being showcased in Player One, a TV show for sports network TyC, boosted the growth of the scene. 2017 looks like a very promising year for the Argentinian community, and international travel is one of their priorities.
Community leader: Kevin Waker
It was yet another year of the battle between long time rivals and friends Aisengobay and Bobesco for the title of best player in Brazil. Starting the year with the absence of Bob, Aisen was reigning free even against the Chilean threats, with Izzi making strong appearances as well. Probably the most improved player this year was Puff main Slug, with clutch games against Aisengobay, Bobesco and Izzi he’s become a real threat. Unfortunately Aisengobay and Izzi underperformed in Colombia’s Astra, and bobesco could not attend even though he won the Road to Astra circuit. Bobesco ended the year with a victory in UFSmash 2, a win that secured him the top spot for the year.
Player 7’s undefeated run finally came to an end this year after patch shenanigans, but he’s back on top, now maining Mario. One of the best surprises came from the north, the state of Manaus specifically, with Nathan, a Ryu player that defeated top player Maroli at a tourney in Fortaleza. Also in Rio de Janeiro, Luffy was proving to all the country that he could be the next top player in winning some tournaments incuding one in Paraguay, and losing only to Player 7. He also traveled to Paraguay and won a Major there. Unfortanelly, Luffy couldn’t make his best at Astra. UFSmash 2 saw all the best players come together and the results were surprising to say the least. Maroli won the tournament, proving to everyone and himself that he’s one of the strongest contenders for the title. Lukitu, from Porto Alegre, got 2nd again with an incredible Fox. Big upsets included Player 7 getting 7th place and Luffy’s 17th. Hopes are high that UFSmash 3 will bring even more people from different states and even from other countries.
Community leader: Anderson Ogura
All in all a great year for our region. If you are ever visiting any of these countries, please feel free to contact their community leaders and they will gladly help you with your trip.
The one about Argentina is kinda wrong, you guys only took one region of the country into account while making the top 3 Melee players, (Buenos Aires) while leaving Córdoba aside, it would be like just taking the west coast into consideration while doing a top Melee players of the states. Hope we can improve this listing In the future.
Con que derecho pones tops que no son?
En base a quien o quienes hiciste la lista?