There was a once a time in which Mew2King and mental blocks went hand in hand. After Pound 3, Mew2King could not handle Mang0 or Jigglypuff. Hungrybox had his number for years and, for some reason, Armada seemed to get the better end of him in close sets. Yet over the past year, Mew2King has impressively overcome his inner demons to take sets over Mango, Hungrybox, and even Armada, clutching out a set at SKTAR 3. It’s safe to say that the king has returned, but let’s explore this further.

The MLG Format

The MLG tournament format benefits Mew2King the most out of everyone. First of all, each set in round robin pools is best of five, meaning that his opponents cannot ban “Final Destination”, a stage that Mew2King thrives on. Furthermore, Mew2king could have not asked for a better pool (with PPMD, Leffen, Soft, Hax, Remen, and two others from the open bracket). Aside from PPMD, this should be a cakewalk for Mew2king and give him a first or second seed into Winner’s Semis of the final bracket.

Punishment Game

It’s daunting to play against a player that can gimp you at 0% or setup 0-to-death combos consistently. With the nerves and pressure higher than ever, Mew2king only needs a gimp or a strong combo to potentially put his opponents on tilt. He’s done it already several times to Mango this year and PPMD’s Falco last year. No matter what the game state is, you always have to be cautious playing against Mew2King or else see your stocks disappear faster than my audience after I say a pun.

Been there, done that

The MLG stage is not an unfamiliar one for the King of the Mews. His willingness to dictate the tempo of the game via playing aggressive or camping the ledge could play a big hand in stealing wins in sets. The stakes at MLG are at its highest for Melee, rivaling Evo2013, which means that even a person as even keeled as PPMD may succumb to approach and, in turn, throw away stocks trying to fight M2K at the ledge.

The only thing that stops Mew2King is himself. If his confidence level is high, he will be the last one on stage, standing with his giant paycheck, making believers of us all. Are you ready?

MIOM|Tafokints