Tomorrow, Genesis 3 will start and with it, so will many
Super Smash Bros. community traditions. Every single iteration of the beloved series has had crew battles aka team-draft-based combat, and this one will be no different. Many of the community's hypest moments have come from crew battles and with the way Genesis 3 is shaping up, it'll make even more of those moments.
Having crew battle brackets for both
Super Smash Bros. Melee and
Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, Genesis 3 is set to bring the hype for fans of any
Smash game. A key point to note however, is that the formats for the two games are distinct, and each bring something of their own to the tournament. This article will talk about
Super Smash Bros. For Wii U's regional crew battles and each team's structure.
Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Crew Battle Trailer by @Fals1fy
Super Smash Bros. For Wii U is adopting a more traditional, region-based format. Initially, players were to be pulled out and exempted from the first round of pools for the purpose of the crew battles but after deliberation, it was decided that the scene was too young to define who deserved to be given the byes.
After assigning captains to 10 different regions, said captains then chose 4 other teammates to represent their region in the crew battles. Additionally, there will be 2 international crews at the tournament, namely those representing the Japanese and Mexican communities.
Interestingly enough, a European and Canadian crew are missing, with Canada's Elliot "
Boreal | Ally" Carroza-Oyarce representing his oft-visited acquaintances in the Midwestern crew instead.
Northern California
NorCal's lineup is spearheaded by regulars from Showdown's "Come On And Ban Series". An overall strong region, highlights include Norcal Regionals 2nd placer Thomas "
Ito" Gonda (
![Meta Knight :4metaknight: :4metaknight:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
). Most notably, Paragon Los Angeles 5th placer Tom "
Shaky" Salazar (
![Ness :4ness: :4ness:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) will be part of this team, facing off against his former region of Florida. The home team, will NorCal be able to defend the title and take it for themselves?
Japan
The
Japanese crew, by all means, is stacked with the Eastern Asian nation's best. While all of them are global threats in their own right, names that stand out on the list are Yuta "
#THE | Abadango" Kawamura, who has seemed to have dropped his signature
![Wario :4wario: :4wario:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
and
![Pac-Man :4pacman: :4pacman:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
in favor of
![Meta Knight :4metaknight: :4metaknight:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
and
![Mewtwo :4mewtwo: :4mewtwo:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
. Also on as crew are powerhouses are
Ganbaranai (
![Villager Male :4villager: :4villager:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) and Yuya "
Shi-G | 9B" Araki (
![Ryu :4ryu: :4ryu:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
), the former securing the "Japan vs the World" crew battle at Umebura F.A.T almost singlehandedly. If
Ganbaranai brings out his A-game, the bracket will get a lot more interesting, even with the sheer amount of hype as of the moment.
Florida
Can we say, "brothers hype"? Having the two
Lew brothers, Eric "
Panda Global | ESAM" Lew (
![Pikachu :4pikachu: :4pikachu:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) and Justin "
Versus | Nick Riddle" Lew (
![Zero Suit Zamus :4zss: :4zss:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) is nothing to scoff at, especially in a crew as strong as Florida's is. CEO 2015 showed that the region simply can't be slept on with it's pool of talented players like Jestise "
Panda Global | MVD" Negron (
![Diddy Kong :4diddy: :4diddy:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) by their side. One of the narratives going into this is that
Nick Riddle's most frequent doubles partner was none other than
Shaky himself. Will the two former teammates collide in crews?
Southern California
SoCal, like in most
Super Smash Bros. titles, is an extremely talented region. Just recently at 2GG's ESAM Saga, one of their top players, Larry "
#THE | Larry Lurr" Holland (
![Fox :4fox: :4fox:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
), took
ESAM 5-3 in a grudge match. Not only that, but their already existing strength from the
Super Smash Bros. Brawl days was made only stronger with the recent transfers of
Hawaii's best, James "
2GG | Void" Makekau-Tyson (
![Sheik :4sheik: :4sheik:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) and of course, the game's pound-for-pound champion, Gonzalo "
Team Solo Mid | ZeRo" Barrios (
![Diddy Kong :4diddy: :4diddy:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
). With all their recent additions, will SoCal be able to stand up to the Tristate crew?
Tristate
Similarly to SoCal, the Tristate region is primarily composed of
Super Smash Bros. Brawl greats. Current king Nairoby "
Team Liquid | Nairo" Quezada (
![Zero Suit Zamus :4zss: :4zss:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) and top
![Rosalina :rosalina: :rosalina:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Samuel "
Dabuz" Buzby lead the team with
Rush Hour Smash members Tyrell
"Counter Logic | NAKAT" Coleman (
![Ness :4ness: :4ness:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) and Corey "
LoF | False" Shin (
![Sheik :4sheik: :4sheik:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) contributing as well (and making the trailer). Lastly, rising star and heir to the M2K plush toy Gavin "
Tweek" Dempsey (
![Bowser Jr. :4bowserjr: :4bowserjr:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) completes their roster. As an all-star roster, the expectations are high for this teem and it remains to be seen if they can live up to it.
MD/VA
If NorCal is stacked with regulars from their weekly, consider MD/VA's crew "The Best of Xanadu". Stacked with all the faces one might see at VGBC's "Smash at Xanadu", many consider this crew to be the dark horse of the tournament due to the perceived relative strength of the region . However, the likes of Joe "
ARC | Seagull Joe" Raucher (
![Sonic :4sonic: :4sonic:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) and Marcus "Pink Fresh" Wilson (
![Lucas :4lucas: :4lucas:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) play each other a lot, so their ability to understand each other in a crew battle will surely be a huge strength.
Mexico
Losing their top player Leonardo "
Rampage | MKLeo" Perez put a small dent into their crew's chances of victory but don't count them out just yet. Arguably the world's best
![Toon Link :4tlink: :4tlink:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
, Cristian "
Smash Factor | Hyuga" and EVO 2015 13th placer Alejandro "
Rampage | Regi" Martínez (
![Mr. Game & Watch :4gaw: :4gaw:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) are part of this crew, bringing with them their expertise with their characters and match-up unfamiliarity on the part of their opponents.
Texas
Chances are, if you follow competitive
Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, that you've heard of hype-reel master Albert "
Smash United | Trela" Miliziano (
![Ryu :4ryu: :4ryu:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
). Headlining the team, alongside him are
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
legend
Espy Rose and Shockwave weekly hero Karthik "
Karna" Manohar (
![Sheik :4sheik: :4sheik:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
). Texas isn't exactly a region with large coverage, but their players' amazing performances out-of-state say a lot about their scene.
Midwest
Out of all of the crews above, the Midwestern crew might simply be the most slept on. Featuring a spread of players from the region and beyond., each and every single one of their players from Canada's very own
Ally (
![Mario :4mario: :4mario:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) to Julian "
Pulse | Zinoto" Carrington (
![Diddy Kong :4diddy: :4diddy:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) are national level players. Watch out for crew battle expert
Ryuga (
![Ike :4myfriends: :4myfriends:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
).
South
Players from Arizona and Nevada make up the last crew on the list. The Bruce brothers, Shane "
Panda Global | SS" Bruce (
![Villager Male :4villager: :4villager:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) and Shawn "
Smash Entity | K9" Bruce (
![Sheik :4sheik: :4sheik:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) make up a deadly combo, followed up by EVO 2015 7th placer Freddie Omar "
Gameworks | FOW" Williams (
![Ness :4ness: :4ness:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
),
Lycan and top Nevadan
![Pikachu :4pikachu: :4pikachu:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Zeeshan "
Z" Farooqi. Expect to see a ton of diversity from this group.
Overall, crews for
Super Smash Bros. For Wii U are going to be exciting. Who are your picks for the crew battle bracket? Share them in the comments section below.
For more coverage about Genesis 3, stay tuned on Smashboards.