Hey Everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve blogged on this page. With my internet going down the crapper at my new place, I figure I should start again. Here are my thoughts going into Genesis 3:

1. From ~750 to ~3500 unique entrants!

It’s pretty crazy to see the amount of growth into Smash over the past 4 years. At Genesis 2, we had a tiny venue and a stream from a phone connection. Melee didn’t quite hit Evo 2015’s entrants, but when we compare Genesis 3 to Apex 2015, we see massive growth. This is great for our game’s landscape going into 2016 and beyond.

2. The 1-1 Draw.

Both Genesis have featured an Armada vs. Mango Grand Finals. The score is 1-1. Who can get to two first? It seems like Armada is the logical choice, given his impressive 2015 resume, and Mango has been on a slump in most of 2015. This will get interesting…

3. Hungrybox

Or could things shuffle with North America’s new #1 player? Armada was on the path to a storybook 2015 ending at Dreamhack before Hungrybox dismantled him in Winner’s Finals and Grand Finals. With Best of 5 sets and Leffen potentially out of the picture, Hungrybox has a smooth ride into Top 8. With an analyst and a healthy mindset into 2016, this may be the start of a reign for him. Interestingly enough, Hungrybox hasn’t been known to string together consecutive tournament wins at super-majors. Maybe this will change soon.

4. Leffen’s Visa

Maybe we should get him a mastercard… Okay that was a bad joke, but with the other big 6 members (in relative healthy condition) in attendance, Genesis 3 could have been the first tournament since Evo 2014* that featured all of the Big 6. It’s unfortunate and, hopefully, we will see this opportunity soon – I’m crossing my fingers on this. To add on the prestige of Genesis 3, we have an impressive 75 out of 100 of SSBMRank2015 in attendance along with several hidden bosses.

5. Plup’s Rise

If we were to have a thought experiment, would people rather play Plup deep in the bracket or PPMD? Although a prime PPMD is still very scary, Plup seems equally scary to play against. With an impressive performance at Smash Summit and Dreamhack, Plup does seem to be a strong lock into Top 8 and a reasonable pick for Top 4. How often have we said that about a non big 6 player in the past year?

6. Best of 5s in all of Top 64

Great move by the Genesis team to make this decision. Hopefully, everything gets recorded. However, this will mean significantly less upsets (which is probably a good thing). Players like Hungrybox and Leffen thrive in Best of 5s. If you are a playing Fantasy on Smash.gg, refrain from making overzealous upset predictions, especially late in bracket.

7. Sponsored by Nintendo?

Great, we will see more Splatoon ads. #kappa. But in all seriousness, it’s a good thing and legitimizes the Genesis brand with possible future benefits.

8. Top 8 Auditorium

If you remember Genesis 1 and 2, we were in a dingy venue that was overcrowded and, frankly, very smelly. Although it had the “e-sports” feel to it, I definitely am in favor of nicer venues that have actual space to move around. Top 8 is in a concert hall – something that I never foresaw happening in 2011.

9. Salt Salt Salt

Of course, the yearly SSBMRank will create salt and has single-handedly burned the word “bias” down into the grave. This begs the question: Who’s going to step up and prove their rank was fraudulent? Which Top 64-seeded players will prove to be overrated and sink in R2 pools? I can’t wait for the social media chatter on this one.

10. Mango’s Character Dilemma

Will he go all Fox? All Falco? Both? Mango tried Falco at Dreamhack to moderate success, losing to Plup in Winners and Westballz in Losers. It seems clear to me that his Falco is a huge underdog in certain matchups such as Westballz’s Falco and untested against players such as Hungrybox. Meanwhile, his Fox hasn’t had significant success against characters such as Sheik, Marth, Pikachu, and Fox in 2015. With such a stacked bracket, Mango will have to figure out something soon or sink into another less-than-stellar placement.

Bonus: 11. My Top 8

1. Armada –

2. Hungrybox

3. Mew2king

4. Plup

5. Mango/Westballz

7. PPMD/Axe