News

In an exciting announcement, Hitbox.tv has announced it will be hiring Giuseppe "Messi" Messina as their Ambassador of Smash. This is part of a plan to help expand those streaming Smash on the Hitbox platform and help the community further thrive as it grows. "This is my chance to start bridging a gap that maybe should have never been there not only in the Smash community, but in the FGC," said Messi on the announcement. "I grew up a competitor, that's probably how I'll go out too." Read on for more of Hitbox's plans with the community!

It was announced today by TeamYP that Jason "Bizzarro Flame" Yoon would be retiring from professional eSports to focus on his career as an attorney. Originally signed by the team in June of 2015, his stunning plays, hard reads, and undeniable style have been a pleasure to watch for many throughout his entire competitive career, as his Ganondorf is considered one of the best in Melee. Bizzarro Flame has this to say in the official announcement:

Competing in Smash with two hands can be difficult as it is, but how about playing with just one? This is the reality of ToeZ, a Smasher from Ontario, Canada. Due to a difficult labor and medical malpractice, his left shoulder broke during birth. After a life-saving operation, he was diagnosed with Erb's Palsy. He has not let this stop him; as his tag suggests, he uses his left toe to play games and compete in Smash. We tracked him down to learn about his amazing story.

Ever wonder how Armada and Android manage to consistenly do their long Zero to Death combos? The increasing popularity of the doubles format has caused an increase in competitiveness. To keep up, players have been searching for static partners to train and improve with together.
Notable examples include PewPewU and Sfat, as well as the famous Team UGS.
Now, Kira from SSBM Tutorials brings us this useful video about the doubles metagame, explaining the importance of synergy, positioning and teamwork. Check it out!

It is common for fighting game communities to create a tier list for their game as a source of reference and debate regarding the tournament viability of the cast. The Smash scene is no exception to this, and all games in the series have had a tier list posted to SmashBoards. More often than not, the website itself was instrumental to the creation of these lists, mainly through projects organized by the so-called Smash Back Room for each respective game.

Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS finds itself in the unique position of receiving patches, DLC characters and stages for more than a year after release, with two more characters still forthcoming. As a result of this, it made sense to hold off on tier list discussion until a period of relative stability came along. The current patch (1.1.3) left the majority of the cast relatively untouched and had Genesis 3 as a major showcase, so we chose this build as a foundation. With the recent...

Welcome to our first ever Smash Recapps! Every weekend there are many Smash tournaments taking place, and sometimes it's hard to catch all the action. Smash Recapps is here to help, compiling the biggest moments from the biggest tournaments and putting them in one convenient place so readers can catch up on Smash. Ready for the biggest moments from the weekend? Let's get started!

Welcome to our second ever edition of the Weekday Watchlist! Need a tournament to watch during the week? We've hunted down the best events from Monday through Friday that have a stream and a Smashboards Event Post to spotlight so readers can get their Smash on every day! Ready to see our Weekday Watchlist? Let's get started!

The Smashboards Rankings System has undergone many changes throughout the past year [2015]. However, even after the creation of our guide on how to use the rankings system, Tournament Organizers have expressed that they would like a clearer idea on how to properly upload brackets. As such, we have created a video guide on how to do just that! If you are a Tournament Organizer, someone who likes to help out their local community, or just interested in seeing how our system works, make sure to give it a watch!


Have questions? Head on over to the Tournament Rankings sub-forum. Additionally, the Rankings Team is still looking for individuals to join our ranks! When...

Niconico Tokaigi has been an incredibly exciting event, with some intense matches and another very special reveal. After a previously announced exhibition match featuring Corrin and Bayonetta took place, the two characters were confirmed for a February 4th release in Japan, which means a February 3rd release in the United States!

With the suspense concluding, we can lay to rest speculation of which Smash game will return to the EVO main stage, with Melee and Smash 4 both being confirmed to be a part of the main lineup. A repeat from EVO 2015 will be Super Smash Bros. Melee returning to the Sunday main stage for finals and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U having their finals on Saturday. With these games locked in place, we can see the spirited enthusiasm felt throughout both the Smash Bros. and fighting game community. With this year’s lineup for the premiere tournament series revealing a return of two Super Smash Bros. games, it can leave some newcomers and veterans alike asking: what does returning to EVO mean for the Smash community?

Welcome back to the Weekend Watchlist! We are happy to bring you our 37th iteration of this list. With the upgrade to the Smashboards Event System taking place last year, it's easier than ever to find a Smash event near you, but for those stuck watching at home, we've used it to compile a list of the best streams each weekend to feature here. So without further ado, here's the Weekend Watchlist!

Last time on 2GGT: A grudge between Larry Lurr and ESAM was settled, Johnny Westside shook the event with his Samus, and many met K9sbruce, the man who dreams to be the future king of Smash. In this 'episode', False and Trela travel to the land of SoCal, where their finest players will do everything they can to defend their region's reputation for being one of the best in Smash 4. Welcome to 2GGT: The False Awakens.

The Umebura Niconico Qualifiers were the largest Smash 4 event to ever take place in Japan. The Sumabato Niconico Qualifiers were incredibly stacked. Now, Niconico Tokaigi will be taking the best players from these qualifiers and pitting them against international guests in an ultimate extravaganza this Saturday!

With several big names heading to PAX Arena, Texas is set to have some serious talent present for some spectacular Smash. However, with the event being announced so suddenly and limited availability to attend, many of the best players in Texas will not even be able to attend. Enter Tech City 10: a local, more cost-effective alternative that boasts Melee, Smash 4, and even Smash 64. As an eSports giant rumbles in Texas, this grassroots event will be trying new things and still expects to thrive.

As a competitor, the desire to win and do well is a driving force in one’s tournament performance. Smash players, and competitive gamers in general, understand this aspiration to do well. However, with all this passion contained in one area, disappointments are bound to occur. It is that strong feeling of frustration that builds up inside during a match, and once the match is over, it can be released as “salt.” The idea of being salty is one that most players have seen several times over the course of their career, and it is a common side-effect of overwhelming passion for the game. Being frustrated or salty is understandable and common; however, if one does not know how to properly manage it, the salt can ruin one’s gameplay for the rest of the tournament. Thankfully, Omni has provided the Smash Community with a new video that provides tips that can teach even the most passionate players how to control their emotions.

Yet another Smash 4 player joins the ranks of those sponsored to play the game: DJ Jack! Famous for double-eliminating ESAM in tournament and defeating Trela in Ryu dittos at Genesis 3, this Floridian Ryu main is ranked number 6 on the Florida power rankings and joins Trail Gaming's already impressive Melee Smash roster of DruggedFox, Blea Gelo, and Spider Sense.

PAX Arena is this weekend at PAX South. The sequel to 2015's Smash @ PAX, PAX Arena will bring even more hype with even more top players. Here are the narratives and details heading into Melee at PAX Arena.

Week 15 is here and it's featuring a Wii U Giveaway? Not bad. This week's Weekly Top 5 Smash Shorts is packed with zero to deaths and introduces a few new characters to the series. If you're interested in Melee Smash Shorts and/or winning a free Wii U make sure you stick around until the end.

What is a Smash Short? As the name suggests, it's a quick moment or series of events in Smash that is so good, you have to share it with someone. We're giving you (yes, you) the opportunity to share those moments for a chance to be selected as one of the Top 5.

The crowd is bouncing. A chant rings out in the room: "King of Smash! King of Smash! King of Smash!" but Ken is nowhere is sight. This isn't even Genesis 3, it's a SoCal local that brought in ESAM as a special guest and 190 entrants packed the halls to defend SoCal's reputation for being one of the most stacked regions in Smash.

One of those players was K9sbruce. 2GGT: ESAM Saga was some people's first look at this player and many learned of his dream of becoming the King of Smash. He took down ESAM, took a game away from ZeRo and kept every match close, but sadly would lose to VoiD in losers finals and not have another shot at the titan of Smash 4. While his run at Genesis 3 was not as bright, he is still passionately pursuing his goal.

Smash has had the honor of being at the largest event for fighting games for several years now, with Smash 4 and Melee both being invited last year to EVO 2015. For Smash 4, it was their first time at the event and the supermajor that tried out customs for the first time. For Melee, another year of proving to the world that the money raised to gain entry into EVO 2013 was worth every penny as they wowed spectators with their storied history.