The year 2015 is off to a smashing start, as APEX 2015 is already confirmed to be bigger than last year and B.E.A.S.T. 5 is looking to shatter the attendance records for Europe. Since 2008, the record for the highest amount of entrants in a European Melee singles bracket belonged to Epita Smash Arena 2 in Paris, which saw 231 players duke it out before Amsah claimed victory over Captain Jack in grand finals. Almost 7 years later, B.E.A.S.T. 5 closed its registration with over 400 players in attendance, of which 368 will be entering Melee singles. The event will also feature teams for Melee and singles for both Smash 4 and Project M.
The tournament, hosted by Lolex and Armada in Sweden, recently gained a lot of momentum when it was announced as the European qualifier for APEX 2015, sporting a $1000 pot bonus and various other benefits. Smashboards threw in a sponsorship of their own, further increasing the pot and means of promotion. There will be 18 countries represented other than Sweden, with favorable fares resulting in a whopping 79 entrants from the UK. In a rare turn of events, the American Smash scene is bringing out D1 to commentate alongside returning B.E.A.S.T. commentators such as Mike Haggar, King Funk and Alpha Dash and Avalon commentators Aqua and Tiersie.
Perhaps even more exciting is the fact that C9 Mang0 will be challenging Armada on his home turf. Signing up relatively late, the current world champion is a favorite to be in grand finals. Last summer Mang0 and Armada went back and forth over the course of several events, though their rivalry did not come to full fruition as it was Hungrybox who surprisingly beat Armada twice at EVO 2014. Mang0 and Armada met once more at The Big House 4, with Mang0 defeating Armada in losers semis before moving on to take the event. He will surely have a harder time in the PAL version of the game, where Fox has received several nerfs while Peach is more or less the same.
The third player aiming for gold is Leffen, who has proven himself capable of taking games or even full sets against the small group of top players long considered virtually untouchable. He made top 3 at the Big House 4, where he lost to Mew2King and Mang0 after beating both Hungrybox and Armada. The latter has since brought it back in several European tournaments, but will need to be on guard as Leffen is arguably the best Fox in the Peach matchup. It will also be interesting to see how another set between Mang0 and Leffen will play out, as Mang0 ended both their sets in 2014 with a devastating 4-stock.
While Spanish top players are notably absent, Ice from Germany is a clear favorite for top 4. Not too long ago, Ice made a successful main switch from Sheik to Fox, going so far as taking games against Armada and beating Leffen in Fox dittos over the summer at Hit & Stun 2 in Spain. Recent times have been a little bumpy for Ice however, as in November of last year he got 5th at DrommeLAN 4.0 after losing to Leffen and Over and 3rd at Avalon VI after losing to Armada and, surprisingly, Amsah.
The Netherlands is represented by their power ranked top 3; Amsah, Zgetto and LLL.Jeapie. While the first two haven’t traveled nearly as much lately as they used to, all three are capable of making top 5 at this event. With Jeapie running wild a good show is already guaranteed, though Swedish regulars such as Android and Dev have proven more than capable of making his tournament life difficult. The Dutch are sure to have a strong presence in teams as well, as Zgetto will have access to his regular partner and countryman Adam, in addition to Amsah and Jeapie having joined forces. Earlier today, Amsah created some last minute drama as he missed his flight, citing his alarm as the culprit. He paid a hefty fee to get on another flight and nearly escaped his team partner’s wrath, who had already proven his loyalty by passing on an opportunity to team with Mang0.
The clear favorites to win Melee teams are Armada and Android, who have already taken several events together. Their toughest competition will likely be from Leffen & Ice, Mang0 & Baxon and the Dutch teams mentioned before.
The Smash 4 singles event will be the biggest in Europe yet at 133 entrants, though unfortunately Mr-R will not be attending. With the game having seen little competition in Europe so far, a lot can happen, though it is of note that both Armada and Leffen will try to monkey their way through. The Project M event benefits a lot from the UK attendance at 154 entrants and will likely feature sets between Armada, Professor Pro and Leffen in its later rounds.
B.E.A.S.T. 5 will be live streamed by both VGBootCamp and Salty Playground. You can find the schedule here.
Thanks go out to Ryuker for providing the pictures.
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(I am Dutch myself.)
