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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.

n0ne and MKLeo, best Latinamerican players in 2016

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.

Mexico continues its preeminence as the biggest community in Latin America, breaking it’s own records in event attendance by over 40% from last year’s edition. The country has grown to a point where it now has a healthy ecosystem of events for players to attend at national, regional and even local levels. There were pleasant surprises like the rise of newcomer talents like Dream, best Ganondorf in the country; Pinillos, the canonical Sheik; Bedgar, the maverick Fox, and MCMike, the novel Ice Climber. Alongside this, legends Javi and Eddy Mexico continued their recurring strife for the title of best in the Republic, which appeared to be going to the Luigi main’s hands, but was snatched away by The Claw after one final showdown in Smash Factor 5. SF5, by far the biggest Melee tournament in the region was also a boost to the scene, with powerhouses HugS and n0ne giving an exhibition in grand finals.
In the second half, a surprising challenger emerged looking to take a shot at #1: Yu, a low-key Falco main who already had some notoriety, but didn’t compete at big events. Not only a Mexican menace, but also a threat in the Japanese scene, going head-to-head against players like Nanashi, Shippu, Amsa and Rudolph (being the first to take a tournament set off of him after his return from TBH5); now back in his homeland, he certainly showed he had what it takes to hang with the big boys, beating Guadalajara without dropping a set, taking on the Monterrey gauntlet in a loser’s run and coming close to making a bracket reset against Javi in Thunderstruck 4, earning him a spot as the third best player in the country. A special mention must be given to La Gema, for creating plenty of content aimed to showcase the country and its players’ prowess.  The first national Power Ranking is now being worked on as an addition to the already established roster of state PRs.
Mexico’s Smash 4 scene is by far the biggest in the region, having the the top 3 largest tournaments in the area. Smash Factor jumped to a worldwide audience this year by teaming up with VGBootCamp and having top notch  commentary with D1 and Keitaro, as well as bringing top players Mr R. and Dabuz to challenge the title holder MK Leo. Earlier in April, C9 | Ally took Con Comics in Guadalajara, adding yet another big name to the challengers that visited Mexico in 2016. With bi-weeklies in Mexico City, and constant events all over the map it’s easy to see why Mexico has become the strongest in the area. Mk Leo is the unrivaled Numero Uno in the country and there’s high hopes for him on 2017. Hyuga’s strong first half of the year, with great runs in big international tournaments such as G3, CEO and EVO was enough to keep him in the second spot. Sonic main Wonf squeezes into third with important victories this year, including sending Leo to losers in SF5.
Community leaders: Antonio Catarino, Pablo Montero, Lugia Fernandez

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

An excelent year for the island and a lot of its top players, especially exciting in the international level in tournaments like EVO where Smash 4 player DOOM! took 33rd eliminating players Zinoto and Darkshad, and Melee reps Excel Zero and Kata running up to 49th. A vibrant and constantly growing community, Puerto Rico hopes to host more international players to their 2017 edition of First Attack, which has established itself as the Caribbean Major with visitors from many different countries.
Community leader: Edgar Valentin Cortes
The Melee scene may have lost their strongest player Adam as he traveled back to Sweden, but this has been their best year in a while. The almost extinct scene finally organized themselves and started hosting tournaments where both newcomers and old school players have started fighting for the top spot, even hosting neighbors from El Salvador in Gamers Arena.
Smash 4 in Guate had a great year. After a clear dominance by old Brawl masters Randy and P5 during the first half of the year, new players started to emerge as strong contenders for first place. Among them, 14 year old Ryu powerhouse ShinyMark, who placed second in the biggest tournament, Gamers Arena, as well as Pit main Coca and Fox main Coki. Veterans Esteban and Paint have also had a strong year and the scene is at a point where is just about impossible to predict who will take first on the next event. Shououts to Rosa main 4F | Ero, who took his first international event in El Salvador’s Freaky Con facing off against Salvadorean dark knight Ñ | SE503 in grand finals, bringing glory to his country on international turf.
Community leaders: Itzmar Franco & Gustavo Sanchez
2016 has been both a learning experience for the smallest country in the region, with smaller numbers of attendance but a bigger number of events across the year. Zaga Talent Gaming representative Luis Fernando Orellana has once again done it, being the only player to take both top spots for Melee and Smash 4, a rare feat in any scene. Luisfer had a great year, with important victories such as Gamers Arena in Guatemala, where he also took both events. He traveled again to EVO this year, and was featured in the region’s documentary as well.
Melee veteran and Smash en Español team member Antonio “Ant” Reyes secured second spot for the second year in a row, and his partner in crime Kaiser floats in with his Peach in third. Nicaraguan Melee legends Barboza and Bubu, as well as Costa Rican star Helmuth visited earlier in the year, where they took the first three spots, clearly stating that Central American melee is still under their command.
Smash 4 is a constant force that pulls decent numbers in a big number of events and players have been grinding all year to earn enough points for a top spot, but they all fall short to Luisfer’s Diddy. Vanitas, a dedicated player that constantly reaches high placements and mains pretty much the entire roster, takes the second spot, with Green Mario main Flury at his heels. Big events like Freaky Con late in the year are always a great opportunity to host international players, and this year the Guatemalans came in full force, with FGC fanatic Ero taking the singles championship, but the Salvadorean team proved stronger as a whole winning the crew battle in a dominating fashion. Check out the top ten player analysis as provided by the T.O.
Community leaders: Elvin Flores & Rolan Polanco
The Hondurans scene, which dates from way back in 2002, is a tough, intense, sometimes rude but overall very united and bonding community. 2016 was a year full of growth with players that wanted to make a name for themselves. Events like Nutty in June, that featured intense crew battles and Vigilia 66 were full of rivalries and surprises between top players Slender, Zero Virus and Akito. Alpha Akibafest, organized by TO Koops, was  the biggest tournament and paved the way on how tournaments should be run, with great logistics and prizes.  Although they don’t have an official ranking system, the community agrees on their top 3 players as listed above, and against the adversity of having no sponsors or help from organizations, the Melee scene keeps moving forward hoping to grow even more and travel outside the country this coming year.
In Smash 4 monthly tournaments are being held in a healthy but competitive environment. Their biggest event at City Mall reached a record breaking 106 entrants and they hope to continue growing in skill and numbers this year. Rosa main Languebit takes the first spot, with rivals Edu and Milo completing the top 3.
Community leaders: Daniel Martinez & Jose David Castro
It is only fitting and really not surprising that the top spots for both titles in Nicaragua are Captain Falcon mains.
Melee is semi-dormant in the swaggiest of the communities, at least as far as organized tournaments go. The agreed upon top 3 players as listed have used the opportunity Bubu’s break from competitive Melee has provided. They are active in the most underground of ways, getting together to play between themselves and when godfather n0ne is in town there’s sure to be some muscles being flexed around.  Even then, Barboza taking #1 in El Salvador’s Game Fest against his friend and rival Bubu proved that Nicaragua might still just be the strongest in Central America, with only Costa Rica to rival them.
On the flip side, there were a lot of Smash 4 tourneys held this year in different anime conventions and video game events. The biggest and most succesful one was organized by Sudden Death Nicaragua, deemed ‘’ROCK N SMASH’’  and was sponsored by well known radio station LAROCKFM and telecom company MOVISTAR gathering big numbers for both Melee and Smash 4, as well as over 1000 attendees and spectators. Moi’s deranged and in-your-face play style combined with Captain Falcon’s speed rewards him with the top spot, being the toughest competitor in the field. He is well known for his high risk, high rewards decisions as well as superb reads and punish game. Bhio’s mischievous Mario with his tricks and creativity earns him the second spot, with Chez’s patient and methodical Villager squeezing in at third.
Community leaders: Mario Zamora & Carlos Osorno
Melee stands exactly the same as last year, the scene remains unchanged. The rivalry at the top between Duff and Yoshi is a tight one, and the discussion about the top spot can be controversial especially with a low number of tournaments this year. Duff however, flew to Panama for a Road to Astra event where he took first as well as a plane ticket and the entry to the Colombian major representing his country at an international level for the first time. Yoshi and Jair also traveled to Panama earning 2nd and 3rd respectively leading to a Costa Rican sweep in Panama.  Helmuth flew to El Salvador as well, earning 3rd on Game Fest only behind to Nicaraguan powerhouses Barbosa and Bubu. For 2017 players hope to travel to more events.
Smash 4 has grown a lot in numbers and quality. Yei’s top spot remains, but he has been dropping a few games against a few select players as their training pays off. The Costa Rican champion had no real competition in his first international event, No Limits in Panama, where he took first in the satellite to Astra event, unfortunately due to outside circumstances he could not fly to Colombia for the major.  Emile and Fofo’s rivalry is very strong, fighting the second and third spots intensily.
Community leader: Fabian Morales
 

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

 

In the midst of political turmoil, Melee in Venezuela saw an increase in activity, having more than 20 events around the country. Lots of newcomers and rising stars have started elbowing their way into the ranks pushing everyone’s game to a new level. There were no national tournaments this year. Lots of players have been leaving the country for various reasons, including Melee long standing king Wito as well as top player Wari and several others from the Smash 4 scene. These vacant spots on the lists make players try harder to fill those positions, and even during this sad exodus of talent, it was the most active year for the scene since its birth. 2017 will be witnesing a new tournament circuit dubbed M-eelement Championship Circuit hosted in the 3 most active cities: Maracaibo, Maracay and Caracas, with the invaluable aid of Venezuelan legend Michelangelo “Blea Gelo” Greco, a well known Florida local and one of the best Luigi mains in the planet.
The top 3 list is fodder for controversy, as Kimo who is regagarded by many the top player hasn’t faced Dark Crono or Maris in well over two years, leading to doubts as to the actual order of the spots.
Smash 4 has seen a substantial rise in activity as well, both in and out of the country. Top player VeXx was able to prove himself in majors like Genesis 3 and CEO, and 8A earned a very important 3rd in the Dominican Republic’s Paradise Con, only losing against DKWill and local hero Willman. Lots of players have been traveling outside their home states turning local events to regionals.
The top 3 stand strong in their positions, with Garu acting as 8A’s gatekeeper at times but not being able to best VeXx in tournament just yet. East players Maikol and Maui&Sons have had their moments as well, sending both 8A and VeXx to losers in the last event held. Expectation runs high for 2017, when players continue their grind both in and out of their country.
Community leaders: Nelson Ruiz and Vincent Rosciano
Ecuador’s scene has shown growth on both titles. Melee is slowly but steadily gaining momentum  with legends Mijo and FSM staying always on top positions and FSM forcing his way to the second spot. The Smash 4 scene has proven a lot more intense, with organized events in 4 of the biggest cities.  Top dog  Shanes from hails from Quito and his hunger for glory has led him to decisive victories in different events, including the national major just past December. Guayaquil’s own xxAlejoxx’s consistency earned him the second spot. The third spot is contended between veteran Brawl masters Jmk3008 and Krlario. Plans to include one more city on the circuit ar afoot for 2017, and the community is banding together to help get a couple of their players to a major in the US or Mexico.
Community leader: Jorge Andres Arrieta
Colombian major ASTRA inspired the Peruvians to start organizing more events during the first half of the year where newcomers started joining the scene. The community is now more active than ever, having a group of helping the lead TO organize and run events that all have the same long term vision for the community. Australian resident Karu is always an inspiration to the scene and his yearly arrival always stirs things up. As far as tournaments go, Takanakuy and Soul Smasher were both great events and numbers are expected to grow even more this year as a group of melee players plan to go test their skill in Chile. Smash 4 top player Axel was the runner up demonstrating the level of the community to the rest of the region. Hopes are high to see him and the best representatives traveling abroad this year.

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.

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