Defend!! Canada Invades Strong Island’s Biggest Esports Event

JUNE 15, 2019 - Tri state is known as one of the strongest regions in Smash Ultimate Esports. Among the many areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut some of the loudest and most proud Super Smash Bros. players hail from Long Island. With many greats such as T1’s Anti, Mid Tier Summit’s Suarez and Team Liquid’s Dabuz (who is ranked #4 on Panda Global Rankings Top 100), it’s no wonder why Long Island is the most rambunctious place in the world.

Photo Credit @GameonFest

Although Long Island is filled with amazing talent, it is one of the most expensive places to run a major tournament. no majors have ever taken place in Long Island, until this past weekend. Enter local Esports organizations, AON Gaming and Game on Fest. With the help of a few investors they were able to book an event at the legendary Paramount in Huntington, NY: a stage that hosted greats such as Billy Joel, Ed Sheeran, Rod Stuart, Joan Rivers, and now, Long Island’s biggest ever Esports event.

This event caught the attention of over 240 players, including Canadian free agent Ally. Ally is #5 according to Panda Global Rankings Top 100. Needless to say, he’s pretty good. This set the stage for a matchup as old as the game itself: Dabuz vs. Ally. However, it wasn’t going to be an easy road for either of the two warriors.

Also in attendance was Rouge Light hailing from Connecticut, EUnited Samsora from Florida, and Deadly Alliance Sinji from the Big Apple. Considering how strong the competition was, all of the participants needed to bring their “A-game” to make it through the long day.

I was able to catch up with competitors “Dabuz” and “Light” before the event. Although Light was excited about the event, he wasn’t able to get much rest as he had attended a graduation party the night prior. Light is known for his impeccable Fox play; a dangerous character that requires quick reflexes to pilot. Lack of rest could cause him to miss vital kill confirms.

Photo Credit @HangmanXII

On the other hand Dabuz was well rested and ready to go. Despite his confidence he was concerned about the recent changes to his main character, Olimar. Dabuz began to explain that the recent adjustments to his shield and spacing options made the character less ideal for particular matchups. He then stated that he had “another plan” if things didn’t go his way throughout the day. With Ally waiting in the shadows of the day’s event, Dabuz would need to exceed all expectations in order to win against such a fierce Snake main. When I caught up with the Canadian, he didn’t have much to say; you could tell that he was focused as he watched his competition warming up.

Before this tournament, Dabuz had a 0-2 record against Ally for the season. He lost to him at Pound and Momo Con earlier this year, but here lies the difference for the day’s event: Dabuz wasn’t in Maryland or Georgia, he was in his home state. Today was the day to break his losing streak. The journey to top 8 was filled with electrifying performances. Lesser known players Protom, NickC, and WDBTHtGP, all made it to this destination. The stand out performer of the day was WDBTHtGP. In a shocking turn of events, he was able to upset Sinji in an extremely close bout. His character choice of Mii Brawler was unexpected as he was able to eviscerate other players off stage and take their stocks. These three players were joined by Suarez, Samsora, Light, Dabuz, and Ally to round out the top 8. As the waves cleared, two players appeared to be a cut above the rest. My predictions from the start of the day were correct: Ally made it to winners side and Dabuz to the losers side. It was here we saw Dabuz’s “plan” take effect.

Both players took their seats for grand finals. Stage Select. Character Select. Then a long pause. Dabuz zoned in on the monitor. The crowd roared. Then, he did the unthinkable. He breezed past Olimar and went straight to his main character from the previous iteration of Smash; the character that made him a household name: Rosalina and Luma. The entire venue was in shambles. Although Rosalina was a great fighter in Smash for Wii U, the changes presented in Ultimate made her a worse character: lack of jab one kill confirms, weakened neutral air, and low KO potential if Luma isn’t there to deal the final blow. Despite the odds Dabuz stuck with his guns and continued to play the entire set out with Rosalina. Dabuz won that first set with some patient gameplay, but the second set would be the true test.

Back and forth the players went: grenade pull to gravitational pull, advantage state to disadvantage state, both players trying to take it home for their countries. Long Island was wailing for their hometown player. The deafening hometown chant of “YERRRR” shook the floor.

Dabuz was able to take it to game 4 of the second set, but by that point Ally knew exactly how to combat Dabuz’s passive bait and punish playstyle. Before long he was counter attacking with the precision of a special ops soldier. With two stocks up in the final game, Ally silenced the American crowd with a final drop kick high above the ledge. Ally defeated Dabuz on his own turf.

Ally playing with his trophy. Photo Credit @gs_pnut

As Ally raised his golden retro yet futuristic trophy in the air, Dabuz stormed off the stage in frustration. Second isn’t enough for this top player, but I am sure this isn’t the last we’ve seen from him. Dabuz is a student of the game and is known for analyzing his sets and improving on what he did wrong. Meanwhile Ally is looking primed to be the number one player for the season. Will anyone be able to stop this Canadian expert? Only time will tell.

Final Standings: 1. Free Agent Ally, 2. Liquid Dabuz, 3. Rogue Light, 4. Mid Tier Summit Suarez, 5. eUnited Samsora and Free Agent NickC, 7. Free Agent Protom and Free Agent WDBTHtGP