Djent
has written up the biggest names competing. Give it a look!---
Komorikiri
could be Japan's strongest player, and is certainly one of their most consistent. He has progressively drifted away from Sonic, using more and more Cloud. This move has allowed him to conquer Ranai, his previous demon. Though he underperformed at Genesis, he quickly reestablished himself at the NicoNico Tokaigi Championship, finishing 3rd behind Abadango and Nairo. On top of that, he recently displayed an incredibly potent Bayonetta at Sumabato 7, which he used to plow through the losers bracket and eventually win the tournament. His potent duo of DLC characters makes him even more formidable than before, as well as the obvious favorite to win the tournament.Edge
is Japan's most consistent Sheik main and one of the perennial threats to win large tournaments. His impressive resume includes several previous Sumabato wins, 5th place at the Sumabato Qualifiers, and 5th place at Umebura FAT. In the process, he has beaten the likes of Ranai, Earth, Nietono, and Shu. However, he hasn't been to a large tournament in a few months. Will he be able to adapt to the rapidly-changing landscape of top threats? For a player of his ability level, the likely answer is "yes," but you can never be sure with a scene as turbulent as Kansai's.9B
first broke out in Smash 4 using Ryu, managing to beat Ally and Vinnie at Umebura FAT. However, a string of mediocre-to-poor performances followed, culminating with 49th place at Genesis 3. However, 9B has now dropped Ryu for Bayonetta, and is once again a top threat. At Shots Fired 2 this past weekend, he managed to decimate Ranai 3-0, whereas with Ryu he'd never so much as managed a victory. Coming in hot off such a strong performance, he is looking to finally secure himself a large tournament win. Though no matter who he faces in bracket, the road will not be easy.Aki
is another of Japan's strongest players. He has used several characters throughout the game's lifespan and currently co-mains a highly technical duo. His Sheik is especially potent, being one of the few characters to have multiple set wins vs. Ranai. Like Edge, his recent appearances are few and far between, but he did manage a strong 5th place finish at the most recent Sumabato. Unfortunately, he struggles against Gomamugitya's Lucario, who accounts for two of his recent losses. Will he finally best his demon, get a lucky bracket and avoid him, or end up facing early elimination?Earth
is the best Pit player in the world and a consistent threat in Kansai tournaments. At Pre KVO in December, he managed to defeat Ranai twice and win his first Smash 4 tournament. Then at Genesis, he finished in the top 16, attaining the second highest singles placing out of all the Japanese players. At Sumabato 7 he failed to make bracket; however, this could be due partly to his decision to debut his week-old Corrin. It will be interesting to see if he decides to use her more often, or if that one misstep sends him permanently back to Pit. It is worth mentioning that he has also used Fox in the past, so he is not without options.Sigma
is a rising threat at Japanese majors and one of the strongest Toon Link players worldwide. Though he finished strong at both Tokaigi qualifying events, his first exceptional performance came at Sumabato 7 last month, where he defeated perennial threats Saiya and Gomamugitya on his way to a 2nd place finish. Though his results are consistently impressive, he has yet to beat a truly top level player, and seemed to struggle against Komorikiri considerably during grand finals. Nonetheless, he is contributing to the opinion shift on Toon Link's viability and will likely continue to improve.Gomamugitya
is most renowned for his doubles prowess, where he and his partner Taiheita pioneered an unprecedented combination of damage and healing. Since the team healing nerf in patch 1.1.3, he seems to have become more active in singles, and has begun doing serious damage to the established hierarchy. At Sumabato 7 he defeated Shogun and Aki, making it all the way to winners finals before finally losing to Sigma and Komorikiri. He is part of a recent global upturn in Lucario sightings, which have been helped in part by recent mobility buffs. Will he continue to terrorize Kansai with an aura of newfound confidence?Kamemushi
is a long time Mega Man player and doubles terror (with his partner and fellow Mega-Main, Daiki). He has recently added Cloud to his arsenal of characters, which seems to be paying off tremendously. At Umeburas 20 and 21, he used the pointy-haired swordsman to knock Choco out of losers, while also managing to finish in 13th and 7th places, respectively. However, this doesn't mean that he's given up on his perennial favorite. In fact, his unique combination of reach and range gives him a good deal of flexibility. Like the canonical Mega Man, Kamemushi has an answer for anything.Ginko
is one of Japan's premier Pac-Mains...actually, he may be the only one remaining now. Abadango has long since given up on his Namco roots, and now it appears Tea has succumbed to the Bayonetta hype. Now, in addition to carrying fruit, keys, and pellets, Ginko must also carry people's hopes and expectations for his mid-tier character. But he appears to be up to it: at the Sumabato Qualifiers, he finished at a very respectable 9th place. As long as he can avoid Edge (who has knocked him out of losers twice now), people will once again be impressed and intimidated by his Pac-Man.Paseriman
may not have quite the international notoriety as Earth does, but he is a well-established threat within the Japanese tournament scene. At Pre KVO, he managed to defeat Komorikiri's Cloud, and two weeks later he finished 5th at Umebura 20. Paseriman possesses one trump card that Earth lacks: a top-tier secondary. This has allowed him to triumph in certains matchups where Earth has faltered (one example being vs. Brood's Duck Hunt). The one matchup that he really wants to avoid is, ironically, Earth, who defeated him at both previously-mentioned tournaments.You3
(pronounced Yu-san) has done what many Americans insist is impossible: attained several top 8 finishes while going solo Duck Hunt. While some may insist that a character with unreliable kill confirms and smashes can't be viable, You3 (like his fellow houndmaster Brood) is more than happy to prove the doubters wrong. However, the road is only getting tougher and tougher, as the most recent patches have introduced even more potent kill confirms for characters new and old. You3 will have to play better than ever to make it far in bracket, but this dog may possess some new tricks.Kie
sometimes gets overlooked in favor of the more active Umeki and his Daisy. However, with Umeki dropping out of the tournament at the last minute, it might just be Kie's time to reclaim the crown (...no, not the one on Peach's head). Kie's biggest weakness is probably his (relative) lack of tournament experience compared to the other top competitors in attendance. However, his unconventional character choice and deadly raw talent may just be enough to turn heads and upset bracket predictions.Atelier
first gained notoriety by upsetting Kie at a Kyoto University tournament several months ago. Since then, he has continued to impress. At Sumabato 7, he racked up several notable wins against Tea, Macho, and Aki on his way to 4th place. And at a recent Kyoto local, he was victorious, beating out longtime competitors Nasubi and Shogun. His Rosalina is only growing more potent, and although he has yet to reach "top player" status, he is certainly a notable threat coming into Sumabato 8.Shogun
is one of Japan's strongest space animal players (ranking only behind SH). He pulled off a surprising upset at Sumabato 7 by sending Komorikiri to losers, then later eliminated Tea's Pac-Man at the same tournament. Unfortunately, a top 8 finish was not in the cards for him. Shogun is certainly capable of beating top players, but he doesn't have many notable high placements to show for it. Perhaps this will be the time he finally strings everything together.Nasubi
was previously known as Japan's best Wario player for many months. It will perhaps sadden longtime fans to learn that like Abadango before him, he too has gone over to the dark side, opting for a top tier main instead. One can hardly blame him; Wario struggles to keep up against the influx of new DLC characters and their potent long-range normals. His Sheik debut at a recent Kyoto local went fairly well; he finished 3rd behind Atelier and Shogun. Expect even better things from him soon.DIO
is a player who has shown great potential with a character many players now believe to be mid tier. He has very few top 8 placings to show for his efforts, but has taken games from great players such as Ranai. Some would say his character holds him back, and make no mistake, the life of a Yoshi main is rough. But as they say, to make an omelette, you have to lay and throw a bunch of eggs.Rom
barely made any waves in his native country before 2016, yet he suddenly struck gold shortly after reaching California. At the Wombo Wednesday series in January, he managed to place 9th out of 140-odd entrants. Then, at Genesis 3, he made it out of what was easily the most difficult round 1 pool of the entire event. All of this with a character that many people forget is even in the game!RIN
is another player whose breakout performance occurred away from his native country. After a respectable 13th place finish at Wombo Wednesdays, he managed to shock the West by double eliminating False and sneaking into top 32 at Genesis 3. He followed this impressive run up with a 9th place finish at Sumabato 7, where he defeated J!'s Sheik and only lost to top players in Aki and Komorikiri.Macho
is a solid player; he is likely the 2nd best ZSS main in Japan after Choco. Most recently, he finished 9th at Sumabato 7, defeating Ri-ma and J! along the way. He will be looking for revenge against Aki and Atelier, the two players who kept him out of the top 8.FILIP
is the most recognizable smasher from the island province of Kyushu. A regular top placer at the Shulla-bra series, he also frequently travels to other regions as well, and even came to America for Genesis 3. You have to admire both his dedication and talent.Ri-ma
is another player hailing from Kyushu and a regular at the Shulla-bra series (where he recently finished 3rd). At Sumabato 7, he defeated Kie in the first round of bracket. Unfortunately, he ran into Macho the very next round, then lost to Yu-san in losers soon after.Lucia
is the strongest MK player in attendance. His most notable accomplishments to date include wins over Tea and OCEAN, both of whom were sent home early as a result. He was also among the Japaneses players who competed at Genesis 3 and Wombo Wednesdays.Nojinko
plays a character that Japan has not traditionally held in high esteem. Fortunately for him, this translates in part to frequent buffs! It's easy to lose sight of Ike's improved range among all of the Corrin hype, so Nojinko may just surprise some people. You've been given fair warning.In addition to the numerous players mentioned above, there are many threatening mid- and low-tier players worth looking out for. These include HIKARU
, Keya , Nikorin , Hatsuyuki , Taiheita , Dol , and ♪ . It's easy for competitors to forget about these less-used characters while preparing for Sheik and DLC characters, but anyone who does so will likely regret it.---
A special thank you again to
Djent
for writing the player bios and @Jucchan and @juddy96 for help with this article. The stream will take place on SHI_Gaming and is set to start at 9PM EST March 11th. Excited to see these players in action? Tell us in the comments below and stay tuned to Smashboards for future event previews!
