By: Pabsmonty @ Smash En Español

While many players are taking a well-deserved break after an intense tournament season throughout the summer, things were just heating up for Mexican smashers in anticipation for the country’s biggest national yet: Smash Factor 4. Hosted in Puebla, Mexico, the MVG-sponsored event managed to summon Smash enthusiasts from all parts of the country, and even international players hailing from Guatemala, Chile, and USA (Mew2king, Axe and Medz). Mexican heavy-hitters Javi and Eddy Mexico, both top 32 finalists at this year’s EVO, were the only missing players in an otherwise all-star roster of Mexico’s finest, giving smashers not known to the international community an opportunity to shine and make a name for themselves in the emerging landscape of Smash in the country.

Let the fiesta begin.

Smash Factor has definitely come a long way from its first iteration as a small event hosted at Antonio “Citi” Vargas’ house; now a full-fledged national tournament, with 295 Smash 4 entrants and almost a 100 for Melee, support from recognized sponsors such as MadCatz, AverMedia, Red Bull and Tecnologico de Monterrey, and the addition of side-tournaments for Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3, Ultra Street Fighter 4 and Mortal Kombat X, this assembly of fighting game madness had something for everyone.

On Friday, , players quickly rushed to the designated areas for each game to get some friendlies going and start meeting people. Most of the FGC games got a nice spot with a beautiful kiosk right next to the pool, while smashers walked to the second floor into a large, ballroom-esque space filled with Melee and Smash 4 setups for their enjoyment, as if it were Smash’s very own quinceañera party. Dusk eventually came, and the room just kept filling up as time passed, prompting the event organizers to hype things up (more than they already were) with giveaways and the start of the doubles tournaments for both games. Many of the top players had already lined up to challenge Axe and M2K to dollar-against-peso money matches, giving both sides an opportunity to see what they were going to face the next day in singles; but if there was one noteworthy match that night, it was Bimbo VS Valdo, a best of 5, $100 pesos money match.

It should be elaborated upon as to why this match was so hype and entertaining for the Mexican Melee community. Given that national events are rare in the country, there aren’t many opportunities for top players from different states to face one another, resulting in many online discussions over which state has the better players. Heading these debates were the groups of Tijuana, home of Bimbo and Eddy Mexico, and Monterrey, with Javi, Valdo, Aza, amongst others. After months of trash talk and banter, the time had come for one of these online rivalries to settle, prompting the aforementioned money match to occur. In the end, Bimbo bested Valdo, and Tijuana positioned itself as a worthy rival to the powerhouse of top players Monterrey hosted. The news soon spread online, surprising some and pleasing others, but the true challenge had yet to commence.

Three days of smashing, partying and bonding with the community.

Come Saturday, players arrived at the Tec de Monterrey convention center for singles. Setups for all games were up and running, giving people the chance to warm-up and prepare for the bracket to start. However, some waiting had to be done, for things were running a tad out of schedule, and seeding was being modified so as to make top players not run into each other in the early stages of competition. The fact that transportation from the hotel to the venue was also late complicated things a bit more. Certainly, the exponential progression in attendance that the event had seen was very good, but it also sparked new difficulties for the organizers to circumvent, such as the lack of streams, USF4 top player Gamerbee not being able to assist, or the TO matters mentioned above; Citi falling ill just before everything started was also an issue, but, despite adversity, he managed to pull through to make things work out. However, if there’s one thing that Smash Factor prides itself in, it’s in their ability to unite the community under one roof, and the community is there to support and lend their hand when needed. Special mentions must be given out to the members of LugiaCorp and QTTSmash, both communities for the Smash scene in Guadalajara, which helped stream both Melee and Smash 4 with cellphone internet and a makeshift stream setup, plus support in running the bracket. And with things now back in order, the first day of tournament carried on, until only 16 players where left in Melee, setting the stage for the next day.

After things in the convention center died down, everyone headed back to the hotel to continue the fun where a salty suite was scheduled for that night. Axe was seen in attendance that night, with fellow Arizona player Medz, remarking on just how hype the communities for both games were around this part of the world. Amongst all that was a large Smash 4 crew battle between players from the center region of the country against those of the north, ending with a victory for the center crew. Their prize: The losers had to jump in the pool, and drown in their salty tears.

Things continued on the last day of competition, the fabled championship Sunday, with the final matches for all games to be played out in the main stage for everyone to see. First, the USF4 finals, followed by MAHVEL, which turned out to be quite entertaining after the upset against Evo top 4 finalist Frutsy, who ended in 7th place, and the subsequent victory by international player ApologyMan. Meanwhile, a massacre was ongoing on the Melee side of things as the top 8 was finally decided, with the audience perception rapidly switching from “which state was the best” to “which Mexican can take down the international players and take first”. Tasked with such endeavor were E-X, Bimbo, Aza, Valdo and Yu against Medz (who was knocked into losers by Valdo), Axe and Mew2king.

Grand finalists. Who would’ve guessed?

Despite his profound study of Axe’s play at Evo’s top 8 before the match, Yu fell 2-0 against the party hat Pikachu, while Valdo failed to defeat Mew2king, his doubles teammate from just an hour before, setting the stage for the next battles in the losers’ side of the bracket. Medz took down E-X, while Aza eliminated Tijuana’s last hope Bimbo in a 2-0 Sheik vs Falco matchup, leaving the daunting mission for a Mexican 1st place in the hands of the Monterrey players. Yu faced Medz, but the Arizona top 2 bested the local favorite, followed by a pop off and pointing towards Valdo, telling him “You’re next”, warning him of their next face-off, in revenge of knocking him into losers. The last fight of that round was Valdo vs Aza, two friends pitted against each other, with only one coming out; the victor was Valdo, who was determined on moving forward, believing himself to be capable of taking down the remaining foreigners. Sadly, his run came to a close after an intense Fox ditto match, which ended with a 3-1 victory for Medz, making his earlier injunction come true. Now, with no Mexican competitors left, and winners’ finals approaching, the crowd turned to favor Tempo’s Axe against the MVG gargantuan Mew2king, which started with a close win by Mew2king, followed by Axe making it even, hyping up the crowd as Pikachu chants echoed across the room; unfortunately, Mew2king dominated the remaining games, knocking Axe into losers’ to face his fellow Arizona friend Medz on the road to take on Mew2king again. The Grand Finals, a repeat of the Winners’ side battle, ended the same way, albeit with one match having a sudden change by Axe from Pikachu to Marth, which led to an interesting stare down between the two players at the beginning of it. Besides that, however, Mew2king proved himself once more, and went on to win Smash Factor once more.

But even if the Mexican dream was lost in Melee, things were much different on the Smash 4 side of things, where Netherlands player and EVO 2015 second place holder, Mr. R, was expected to take the championship, only to be surprised by the rise of a 14 year old boy known only by the tag of “Mk Leo”. The wunderkid shocked everyone with a huge upset by knocking the European into losers’ bracket in a very decisive 3-0 Sheik vs Meta Knight match. For a moment it was hard to see if this was really Smash 4 or a sudden time travel back to the old Brawl days, but everyone quickly recollected themselves as they saw Mr. R made his way back to grand finals, defeating Mexican legend Waymas and Smash Factor’s  own Hyuga (who rocks one of the best Toon Links in the world) in hopes of resetting the bracket and winning; but such dream was shattered, for even after one win in the first game by Mr. R, Leo once more showcased the prowess of his Meta Knight and was crowned the first Smash 4 champion of Mexico.

All in all, Smash Factor proved to be a great weekend for the Mexican community. Despite a few issues here and there, both the organizers and the community worked together to make the event run as good as possible, and so it did, giving large amounts of entertainment both to attendants and viewers online, and providing food for thought regarding the talent that is hidden in the land of Mexico, and just what would happen if it’s players were to travel more to international events. Leo calling out TSM| ZeRo is also one of the things that sparked much debate on forums and social media alike. But whatever your thoughts may be on the matter, one thing is for certain: Mexico is out here, and it’s definitely here to stay. This event has set the tone for what could be the future of Smash in the country, no longer limited to online discussions and lack of relationships between smashers; many teams and players have come into the spotlight and are pumped to continue the action, with more tournaments looming about for the remainder of the year, including Thunderstruck in October, and further on. Definitely be on the lookout for what will happen next. The Mexican scene is alive and well, and ready to take names!

Dont be fooled. 14 yr old MK Leo hides destruction behind that smile.