CEO Dreamland: Melee Preview

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Community Effort Orlando, or CEO, has always been an important tournament to the Super Smash Bros community. Its inclusion into what was once a traditional fighting game event series has not only been a wonderful addition to the growing list of majors, but one that acts as the opener for the “Summer of Smash”. Super Smash Bros Melee alone has had several memorable moments at CEO; this includes Zachary “SFAT” Cordoni’s run last year, William “Leffen” Hjelte’s first USA major win the year before, and Adam “Armada” Lindgren’s bracket reset victory over Joseph “Mang0” Marquez in 2014, to name a few.

However, with CEO’s increasing popularity, it became increasingly difficult to accommodate the needs of all the communities it caters to. And although Smash is still included in this year’s main CEO, series president Alex Jebailey decided to host a separate, Smash focused event called CEO Dreamland on Apr. 14-16 to give smashers the event they dream of.

Even though only two of Melee’s gods, Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma and Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman, are in attendance, the talent pool is still deep with several Top 100 players in attendance. In fact, this tournament could be a hotspot for upsets. Looking at the projected Top 48 on smash.gg, there are a few matches that stand out.

Coming off of his incredible second place finish at Smash Rivalries last week, Justin “Wizzrobe” Hallett is another player to watch out for on Winner’s side. If the results goes as projected, the talented Falcon main will face Kevin “PewPewU” Toy first and then Mew2King. For Wizzrobe, it is not so much what he hasn’t done but if he can do it again. Assuming he makes it pass PewPewU, his rematch versus Mew2King is something everyone should watch. It will be interesting to see how both players will adapt and change their gameplans after Wizzrobe convincingly 3-0 Mew2King at Smash Rivalries, something no Falcon has done since Mew2King’s rise to prominence.

Starting things off in Winner’s Round 1 is Kyle “dizzkidboogie” Athayde vs. Jeffrey “Axe” Williamson. With dizzkidboogie constantly improving and coming off his Apollo IV win in NYC and Axe known to struggle with the Ice Climber’s match up in the past, this game could go either way. In particular, it will be interesting to see which character Axe chooses to play, having used Pikachu, Falco, Young Link, and even Marth. His choice of character and practice prior to this potential meet up will be absolutely crucial considering the level in which dizzkidboogie plays at.

To some this may come as a surprised pick, but personally I am really excited for Hungrybox versus Colin “Colbol” Green. Both players hailing from Florida, this regional team kill could be the upset of the tournament. Looking it on paper it seems Hungrybox is likely to beat Colbol, but factoring in Colbol’s familiarity with the match up, his previous wins over him, and inherent X-factor, having just come short of taking a set from both Armada and Mew2King in the past, this match is one that I recommend people to watch.

Lastly, for this singles event preview, here are three unmentioned players that I recommend to follow throughout the tournament and my reasons why.

Players | Reason
Sami “ DruggedFox ” Muhanna | Recently he has been in red hot form after placing third at Smash Rivalries, with wins of Weston “ Westballz ” Dennis, James “ Swedish Delight ” Liu, Daniel “ ChuDat ” Rodriguez, and SFAT.
Zain “ Zain ” Naghmi | This MDVA Marth main is quickly becoming a household name since his win over Justin “ Plup ” McGrath. Since then, he has continued dominating his region, while racking more wins. Many will remember his 5th place finish at Smash Valley V, where he defeated both Stephen “ Abate ” Abate and Kalindi “ KJH ” Henderson
Toussaint “ 2saint ” Turnier | This up and coming Tri-state Jigglypuff main could have the most upsets by the end of this tournament. Although he has only been playing for around a year and a half, he already boast wins over many of Tri-state’s finest including, Ryan “ The Moon ” Coker-Welch, Hendrick “ DJ Nintendo ” Pilar, Anthony “ Slox ” Detrès, Alex “ Captain Smuckers ” Cottrell, Jacob “ Jflex ” Pinto, and Cody “ iBDW ” Schwab. As a result, 2Saint is currently standing at #15 in the NYC Power Rankings. Lastly, just so everyone knows, this will be his first Smash major.

While the singles event is still the main event at CEO: Dreamland, the doubles event will very much be the focus for a lot of these top players as it is a premier level qualifier for the Fuse Doubles Circuit. Placing well in at this event is crucial in securing one of the coveted eight spots for the final event in Las Vegas (July 16). As a result, many strong teams have appeared ready to fight including, Hungrybox and Mew2King, PewFat (PewPewU and SFAT), Plup and Axe, Grab N’ Go (The Moon and DJ Nintendo), Druggedfox and McCain “MacD” LaVelle, and Colbol and dizzkidboogie. With those invitations in sight, the increase emphasis of doubles will definitely raise the quality of high-level gameplay for the event, making it a must see for spectators.

With CEO's strong history of running incredible tournaments, it will be exciting to see what they pull out for this event. Hopefully, this can become a repeating tournament series for every player to look forward to in the years to come. Don't miss all the action starting April 14-16 and track the progress of your favorite players and track their progress on smash.gg. Check out our viewer's guide to know when and where to tune in for all the exciting matches.

Notable Players

Hungrybox | Mew2King
Plup | SFAT
Axe | Swedish Delight
Wizzrobe | PewPewU
Duck | Nintendude
The Moon | Druggedfox
None | Colbol
dizzkidboogie | MacD
Syrox | Slox
Mafia | Ryan Ford
SmashG0D | Kels
DJ Nintendo | Zain

 

This looks like Hbox's tournament. Unless M2K pulls a UGC

 

Looks like this is gonna be another year where Hbox wins a million tourneys because nobody else shows up.

 

WHAT????
The legendary AlphaZealot liked this post?! He's still around, wow

 

This looks like Hbox's tournament. Unless M2K pulls a UGC

wich he did

 

wich he did

No he didn't. He won the tournament.