Editor’s Note:

The following article was written by Juggleguy and has been re-published as a mirror copy on the Melee It On Me website. You can find the article in its original entirety here on Smashboards.

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Melee in 2010: Year in Review
The third annual Smash tournament industry report

Previous Editions
[2007]
[2008] (none)
[2009]

Overview of 2010

Coming off one of its best years ever, the rejuvenated Melee community looked to take further strides in 2010. Questions surrounding the tournament scene were bold and full of optimism; How far could the game and its tournament scene really expand? What bits and pieces of metagame potential were still yet to be fulfilled? Would anyone dethrone Mango and take over the dominance at the highest levels? Melee in 2010 provided these answers and many more as it re-affirmed the game’s tremendous post-Brawl comeback.

Nothing quite says ‘Melee’ more than a classic installment of *Pound* hosted by Team Arlington, as #4 kicked off the calendar year with the biggest names in the country and European juggernauts Armada and Amsah in attendance. Building off the momentum of a strong 2009, *Pound 4* produced the largest turnout in Melee history with a massive 350 entrants and easily became the most international Smash tournament of all-time. The event featured the East Coast national debut of world-class players such as Amsah, Strawhat Dahean, and Overtriforce, but it was SilentSpectre who stole the show. The renowned Captain Falcon pro from California stormed to 2nd place in teams with Darkrain and pulled off what many consider the upset of the year by defeating Armada in singles. As the best in the world were eliminated one by one, a familiar name once again stood tall. Mango’s victory over rival Hungrybox secured him the *Pound 4* crown and an apparent stranglehold on the title of world’s top Melee player. However, few could predict the unlikely succession of national tourney winners that would surprise the Melee world over the next eleven months.

Tournament organizer Plank (right) tries to contain the record-breaking crowd (left) at *Pound 4*

(from left to right) Legendary Captain Falcon pros Scar, Hax, Darkrain, and SilentSpectre in the Ryan Roberts Memorial Event at *Pound 4*

Show Me Your Moves 11, hosted by AOB, produced East Coast’s first major turnout to a Midwest tournament since Event 52 in 2008, elevating the tournament into a pseudo-national. The trademark Midwest series had seen itself upgrade to national status before; Mango and Mew2King clashed at SMYM10 in 2009. However, without these two powerhouses in attendance, the Midwest stood its ground, preventing East Coast players from breaking top 8 with the exception of the winner himself. Jman’s victory made him the first Fox main to place 1st at a Melee tournament of 100+ entrants since PC Chris did it at OC3 in 2007.

While much of the nation’s spring and early summer was seemingly spent in recovery from *Pound* 4, West Coast generated tournament hype with some creativity of its own. CGC @ SFSU XVI became the first tournament to feature the “Good Player Fund” – a pool of donations by members of the NorCal community in an effort to bring top out-of-state players into attendance. The idea was a huge hit, as DaShizWiz delivered a spark that only a top out-of-state player could by sweating out a pair of thrilling victories over SilentSpectre and then over Falcomist on his way to 1st place.

Good S*** German, hosted by JB, brought the spotlight back to NorCal and back to Mango, who used Mario to sting the competition and bulldoze through to Grand Finals. Incredibly, at this point in the summer, the ten largest tournaments of 2010 had been won by nine different players (Mango, Jman, Mew2King, Wobbles, DaShizWiz, SilentSpectre, Armada, Hungrybox, and HugS in order of tournament magnitude) using nine different characters (Falco, Fox, Sheik/Marth, Ice Climbers, Falco, Captain Falcon, Peach, Jigglypuff, and Samus). In comparison, at the same point in 2009 the ten largest tournaments of the year had been won by just three different players (Mango, Mew2King, and Darkrain) using five different characters (Falco/Jigglypuff, Marth/Sheik, and Captain Falcon). The national Melee scene finally had a degree of intrigue that had been missing since Mango started his reign of dominance in early 2008, and players and TOs everywhere were ready for another national.

Old school vs new school: Germ (left) and Scar (right) duke it out at Good S*** German.

SilentSpectre (right) clutches out a win against PewPewU (left) at Good S*** German

They would get their wish in August. APEX 2010, the giant annual Smash national hosted by Alex Strife, became the second Melee tournament of the year to break 200 entrants. Famous for becoming the most international Brawl tournament of all-time, APEX 2010 also posed and answered several questions about the national Melee scene; many wondered if Armada could finally break through to win his first American tournament or if Mango could bounce back from his “Scorpion Master” episode to top the placings again. Instead, Hungrybox grabbed the headlines, dropping just two games throughout the tournament on his way to claiming the biggest national title of his career. Hungrybox’s dominating performance at APEX 2010 combined with his subsequent victory at Tipped Off 6 led to renewed discussion of the tier list, resulting in the second official MBR update of 2010 in just four months. The new ranking saw Jigglypuff move four spots up, an unprecedented jump in the history of Melee’s tier list.

Hungrybox (left) claimed victory in dominating fashion at APEX 2010

Even Melee players joined in on watching Brawl’s final few sets at APEX 2010

Still, many were not convinced.

The final stretch of 2010 would solidify it as hands-down the most unpredictable year in Melee history. 163 players attended Revival of Melee 3 looking to do damage, but none predicted the magnitude with which RoM would affirm its reputation as the tournament of upsets. For the second straight RoM, the Melee community watched Mango make a shocking exit; KirbyKaze followed in the footsteps of Kage, rolling to 3rd place with a win over Mango in winners, and Hungrybox earned his first career victory over his archrival by knocking him out in losers. However, it was Dr. PeePee who remained immune to upset syndrome at the end of the weekend. The Falco pro from North Carolina took his character’s game to new heights, defeating a sound Mew2King to claim the prestigious title of RoM 3 champion. He became the fifth different player of 2010 to win a Melee national of more than 100+ entrants.

Named after the famous soundbite from a Mango vs SilentSpectre match in 2009, “Don’t Go Down There Jeff!” was a perfect culmination of the year’s rollercoaster of national storylines. The tournament strengthened West Coast’s reputation as arguably the strongest Melee region in the world; Fly Amanita and Lucky both brought Hungrybox back to reality with a pair of upsets to eliminate him from the tournament. However, neither player could stop Jman, who grinded out his second out-of-region tournament victory of the year. With Lucky and Zhu rounding out the top three, Don’t Go Down There Jeff! became the first national of 100+ entrants in Melee history to feature an all-spacies, exclusively-spacies top three. Its results were a fitting end to a year full of twists and turns in a game that some thought had no surprises left in it.

KirbyKaze (left) made an impressive run to Winners Finals at Revival of Melee 3

Two of the best game faces in the business: Jman (left) vs Dr. PeePee (right) at Revival of Melee 3

25 Noteworthy Tournaments from 2010

This list is based on popularity and importance as determined by number of participants, prize money, and prestige.

*Pound 4* (350 participants)
1/16/10 – 1/18/10
Arlington, VA
1: Mango
2: Hungrybox
3: Amsah
4: Armada
5: Mew2King
5: Jman
7: Zhu
7: Lucky
9: SilentSpectre
9: Dr. PeePee
9: Tope
9: Plank
13: Darkrain
13: Linguini
13: Hax
13: DEHF

Hot D!ckings! (48 participants)
1/30/10
St. Louis, MO
1: Kels
2: Darkatma
3: JBM
4: Smeesh
5: dmac
5: Tyser
7: Lixivium
7: Viperboy

CGC @ SFSU XV (59 participants)
2/6/10
San Francisco, CA
1: HugS
2: SilentSpectre
3: Lucky
4: HMW
5: Lovage
5: Shroomed
7: Darrell
7: Scar

TourneyPlay 4 (41 participants)
2/13/10
Irvine, CA
1: Mew2King
2: SilentSpectre
3: Bladewise
4: Eggz
5: Silent Wolf
5: DEHF
7: Isai
7: Replicate

CGC @ SFSU XVI (81 participants)
3/6/10
San Francisco, CA
1: DaShizWiz
2: Falcomist
3: SilentSpectre
4: Shroomed
5: Lucky
5: HugS
7: Scar
7: Lovage

SMYM 11 (108 participants)
3/13/10
Champaign, IL
1: Jman
2: Kels
3: Trail
4: Chad
5: Chexr
5: Tink
7: Darkrain
7: Drephen
9: Vanz
9: HBK
9: G$
9: Cosmo

Nice Shot Hugo (77 participants)
3/27/10
Long Beach, CA
1: SilentSpectre
2: Lovage
3: Axe
4: HugS
5: Forward
5: Light
7: Fly Amanita
7: Scar

ZEST 5 (60 participants)
5/1/10
Zoetermeer, The Netherlands
1: Armada
2: Zgetto
3: Amsah
4: Adam
5: Ice
5: Remen
7: Faab
7: Utto

Intimikill 2 (32 participants)
5/22/10
Norman, OK
1: Iori
2: Arc
3: Boomstick
4: IHSB
5: dmac
5: Darkrain
7: JF
7: DoH

CEO 2010 (62 participants)
6/5/10 – 6/6/10
Orlando, FL
1: Hungrybox
2: Colbol
3: Dr. PeePee
4: ChuDat
5: Tope
5: Uberice
7: Plank
7: Darkrain

Epita Smash Arena 4 (73 participants)
6/26/10 – 6/27/10
Villejuif, France
1: Armada
2: Amsah
3: Zgetto
4: Adam
5: Remen
5: Pasi
7: Fuzzyness
7: Makenshi

POE 3 (83 participants)
6/26/10
Evansville, IN
1: Wobbles
2: Zhu
3: Iori
4: Kels
5: Cosmo
5: Tink
7: MacD
7: BigD

Good **** German (84 participants)
7/24/10 – 7/25/10
San Francisco, CA
1: Mew2King
2: Mango
3: SilentSpectre
4: Lucien
5: HugS
5: Lucky
7: PewPewU
7: Fly Amanita

APEX 2010 (220 participants)
8/6/10 – 8/8/10
New Brunswick, NJ
1: Hungrybox
2: Armada
3: Mew2King
4: Dr. PeePee
5: Wobbles
5: Axe
7: Jman
7: Zhu
9: Hax
9: DaShizWiz
9: Eggm
9: Vanz
13: Darc
13: Cyrain
13: IB
13: ChuDat

SNY 1 (109 participants)
8/10/10 – 8/12/10
Birmingham, United Kingdom
1: Armada
2: Zgetto
3: Faab
4: Makenshi
5: Fuzzyness
5: Neutroni
7: Aniolas
7: IVP
9: Marc
9: Joanna Dark
9: Vincent
9: Qlex

SCSYN 3 (45 participants)
8/21/10
Chicago, IL
1: Mew2King
2: Cosmo
3: Kels
4: Matt R
5: Tink
5: Dart
7: Bigy
7: Tom R

Sleepy’s Birthday Bash (49 participants)
9/18/10
Durham, NC
1: Dr. PeePee
2: Everlasting Yay
3: Mike G
4: Dop
5: SleepyK
5: LoZR
7: Jim
7: Twitch

CGC @ SFSU XXI (66 participants)
9/25/10
San Francisco, CA
1: Axe
2: Shroomed
3: HugS
4: SilentSpectre
5: Lovage
5: SFAT
7: Replicate
7: Bob$

Tipped Off 6 (89 participants)
10/16/10 – 10/17/10
Duluth, GA
1: Hungrybox
2: Dr. PeePee
3: Tope
4: Colbol
5: XIF
5: Rayku
7: RockCrock
7: Chad

HD Remix (76 participants)
10/23/10
St. Louis, MO
1: Kels
2: Dekuschrub
3: Matt R
4: ihavespaceballs
5: Tom R
5: Dart
7: Cosmo
7: Tink

Revival of Wisconsin (38 participants)
11/13/10
Appleton, WI
1: Kels
2: Tink
3: Chexr
4: Cosmo
5: Vro
5: Quaz
7: Sanchaz
7: Rat

SWEET III (48 participants)
11/13/10
Ann Arbor, MI
1: Shaeden
2: Velynn
3: Shady
4: Moose
5: Duck
5: 4%
7: aaj
7: Toadster

Revival of Melee 3 (163 participants)
11/20/10 – 11/21/10
Nanuet, NY
1: Dr. PeePee
2: Mew2King
3: KirbyKaze
4: Jman
5: Hungrybox
5: Lucky
7: Darc
7: VanZ
9: Mango
9: HugS
9: Eggm
9: MacD

SWEET IV (50 participants)
12/4/10
East Lansing, MI
1: Unknown
2: Kels
3: Drephen
4: WeonX
5: Tink
5: Idea
7: Dart
7: Velynn

Don’t Go Down There Jeff! (108 participants)
12/18/10 – 12/19/10
San Francisco, CA
1: Jman
2: Lucky
3: Zhu
4: Hungrybox
5: Mango
5: Fly Amanita
7: s2j
7: Falcomist
9: SilentSpectre
9: HugS
9: MacD
9: Taj

Important Notes

* Top 8 players are listed for tournaments with fewer than 100 participants.
* Top 12 players are listed for tournaments with 100-200 participants.
* Top 16 players are listed for tournaments with more than 200 participants.
* More than $32,000 was given out in singles across these 25 tournaments.
* Summer continued its reputation as the season of attendance, featuring three tournaments of 80+ entrants in as many weeks.
* Attendance spiked in the last six weeks of the calendar year as both power coasts held regional events of over 100 participants.
* Collectively, the six biggest 2010 tournaments distributed $16,000 in singles prizes and close to $24,000 across singles, doubles, crews, and 64 tournaments.
* 12 of the 25 tournaments listed here are also listed on AllisBrawl.
* The average attendance over 21 of these events is 94 players (excluding TourneyPlay 4, Intimikill 2, SCSYN3, and Revival of Wisconsin).
* The Global Smasher Compendium has more than 1000 members.
* In 2010 alone, an estimated 300 Melee tournaments were listed through the Smashboards Tournament Listings or Regional Zones.
* To little surprise, neither MLG nor EVO supported Melee in 2010. VGBootCamp picked up sponsorship for the two biggest Melee nationals of the year.

Videos

Top 10 Melee User Videos Overall

Berserker
~ 29,700 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=238BPPK4xd0

Revolution
~ 27,700 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17J6BbaTR18

Pound 4 Top 48
~ 18,400 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D0rdMfaWHw

game theory: table of contents
~ 14,000 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL_qxSAgDgc

Hungrybox Da Bess
~ 13,200 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM_zrV3Dt_I

Silent Wolf: All Systems Go
~ 12,300 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58miKihjjcU

WTF HAX!
~ 11,500 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPbVqAzD7lg

Crazy Little Jungle Bird
~ 11,000 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdMA9wSDFUc

What do you think of Jigglypuff?
~ 9,500 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA-ICReHRk8

Best Dropzone Ever
~ 9,400 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el6IDZP0kEQ

Top 10 Melee Tournament Videos Overall

Armada (Peach) vs Mew2King (Marth) 1
~ 16,200 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm8KUKEE5Rk

Armada (Peach) vs Mew2King (Fox) 2
~ 15,900 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcVkxA1gVvU

Armada (Peach) vs Mew2King (Fox) 3
~ 15,000 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOFWwWH0yaM

SilentSpectre (Falcon) vs Armada (Peach)
~ 14,000 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3tg-RxS7Lc

Dr. PeePee (Falco) vs Mew2King (Marth/Sheik)
~ 13,200 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdwhcf87s3s

Mango (Falco) vs Jman (Fox)
~ 12,200 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3oFPSq8mZo

DaShizWiz (Falco) vs Falcomist (Marth)
~ 12,100 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCTDso5yiOo

Mango (Fox/Falco) vs Amsah (Marth)
~ 9,400 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmIYBjKDNYc

Jman (Red) vs Lucky (Neutral)
~ 8,500 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BarU4eVipb0

Darkrain (Black) vs SilentSpectre (Green)
~ 7,700 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykA7V1DhbjU

Growth

2004’s largest tournament: TG6
100 people: 2 (TG6, GO)
200 people: 0

2005’s largest tournament: FC3
100 people: 6 (FC3, GS2, MLG DC, MLG SF, BOMB 4, MOAST 3)
200 people: 0

2006’s largest tournament: MLG New York Playoffs
100 People: 10 (MLG New York Opener, MLG Dallas, MLG Anaheim, MLG Chicago, MLG Orlando, MLG New York Playoffs, FC6, OC2, SMYM 6, Gauntlet)
200 People: 2 (MLG New York Playoffs, FC6)

2007’s largest tournament: EVO World
100 people: 14 (OC3, FC-Diamond, Cataclysm, EVO South, EVO West, EVO World, Smash Royale III, RoS 4, Innsomnia, Pound 2, C3 September, SCC, VLS, UCLA IV)
200 people: 5 (FC-Diamond, Pound 2, SCC, EVO World, and OC3)

2008’s largest tournament: ESA 2
100 people: 4 (Pound 3, UCLA V, ESA 2, Event 52)
200 people: 2 (Pound 3, ESA 2)

2009’s largest tournament: Genesis
100 people: 10 (SMYM 9, Revival of Melee, Mango Juice, Smash Attack, ESA 3, Genesis, SMYM 10, TSL 4, Pat’s House, RoM 2)
200 people: 1 (Genesis)

2010’s largest tournament: Pound 4
100 people: 6 (Pound 4, SMYM 11, APEX 2010, SNY 1, RoM 3, DGDTJ)
200 people: 2 (Pound 4, APEX 2010)
300 people: 1 (Pound 4)

Closing Thoughts

Melee looks to continue its national dominance in 2011. Enormous events such as Pound 5, SMYM 12, and Genesis 2 are already booked months ahead of time, and an exciting inter-continental Road to Apex series promises to increase hype and attendance power in the fall. However, as the economy continues to claim Smash victims throughout the country, TOs everywhere have recognized the need to hold fewer, but bigger tourneys. With smaller events becoming few and far between, what does the future hold for the local scene? Admirably, many communities have ushered in a new generation of Melee players to the competition; West Coast is exemplary of this, featuring some of the youngest top Melee players in the country. The Midwest is rebuilding its community by introducing a new generation of players as well; TOs in Michigan hosted interuniversity monthlies, a first in the Smash community, and players in Wisconsin hosted their very own revival of Melee event late in the calendar year.

If 2009 was about revival, 2010 was about variety. The year proved many skeptics wrong, including those who thought Melee could not attract new names to its community or produce further metagame development. Instead, the competitive Melee tournament scene is in the best shape it’s ever been in during the post-Brawl era. While veterans such as Mew2King may eventually fade away, the community has stayed strong to its commitment to bring back old names and introduce new ones, and the metagame is arguably developing faster than it ever was during the MLG “golden” days. Finally, one of the biggest questions to consider in 2011 is also the most simple: who really is the best in the world at Melee? With five different players winning the six biggest tournaments of 2010, there is no easy answer. TOs everywhere have stepped up to provide a comprehensive lineup of national and regional events, and with the explosion of Melee onto the media through YouTube, the stage is set for Melee players to prove themselves in the national spotlight once again. The coming year hopes to provide more answers, more exploration, and much more excitement to those who stay true to the game.

Europe group photo at *Pound 4* with cameo appearances by Zhu and Vidjo

Player nametags at *Pound 4*

Veteran Peach players Mike G (left) and Vidjo (right) at *Pound 4*

(from left to right) Wife and Pakman commentating on a bracket match between Darkrain and Zhu at *Pound 4*

(APEX 2010)

Mango (left) reveals the story behind “Scorpion Master” to Dogysamich (right) at APEX 2010

Armada (middle right) and Aniolas (far right) interview with the Twins (left) at APEX 2010

Mango vs Hungrybox moneymatch at APEX 2010

(Revival of Melee 3)

(from left to right) Swiftbass, Lovage, GMoney, and Teczero at Revival of Melee 3

Famous YouTube uploaders HomeMadeWaffles (left) and Prog (right) at Revival of Melee 3

Revival of Melee 3 Grand Finals: Dr. PeePee (left) vs Mew2King (right)

Credits to:
crismas (Pound 4 photos)
DJ Nintendo (Pound 4 photos)
PBnJ (Pound 4, APEX 2010 photos)
UsurperKingZant (APEX 2010 photos)
VGBootCamp (APEX 2010 photos)
Alukard (RoM 3 photos)
Teczero (for sticking this thread =P)
Fly Amanita (for two factual corrections)
Chain-Ace (for one factual correction)
JPOBS (for one factual correction)
Slhoka (for info on European tourneys)

Thanks for reading, everyone. Please reply with questions, comments, or corrections!
I’m honored to be able to write this thread for the second straight year and I hope you enjoy the finished product as much as I do. LONG LIVE MELEE