ChuDat Signs with Mortality eSports

[The Derrit]

Yesterday evening, Super Smash Brothers Melee veteran and Ice Climbers pioneer ChuDat announced that he has been signed by Mortality eSports. This marks the first fighting game sponsorship for Mortality. ChuDat has been a force in competitive SSBM since the earliest of days and a perennial contender during the MLG '05-'06 seasons. With this new sponsorship, it is likely Chu will be attending MLG, EVO and several other major tournaments in the coming year.

Mortality | ChuDat​

Recently ChuDat has been seen competing at MD/VA locals such as Smash at Xanadu and Bar Wars 2, and training with long-time friend and playing partner Crs.Chillin on Twitch. ChuDat has also started regularly streaming on his own Twitch channel, practicing tech skill and answering questions. His sponsorship is one of several in recent months, with well-known pro gaming teams such as Curse, Liquid and Cloud 9 adding SSBM players to their roster.

Mortality Announcement Video
​

To read the full announcement from Mortality eSports, click here.

The Derrit has lost track of how many SSBM players have been sponsored. Come tell him exactly how many on Twitter at @TheDerrit.

 

[Empyrean]

Congratz to Chu! He certainly deserves it.

 

[Hong]

Great pick-up. Another player getting credit where credit is due.

There are still other players worthy of professional teams. Looking forward to the future.

 

[SSBM_HypnoToad]

He hasn't been doing extremely well. It's an odd choice considering that many amazing players such as Shroomed and Fly Amanita are still left untouched, even though they are arguably better players.

 

[JCDied4U]

He hasn't been doing extremely well. It's an odd choice considering that many amazing players such as Shroomed and Fly Amanita are still left untouched, even though they are arguably better players.

It probably has to do with popularity and recognition, people who appeared in the documentary probably have a much better chance.

 

[PB&J]

I hope he goes to sktar now. that would be awesome. Keitaro- please let him join

 

[The Derrit]

He hasn't been doing extremely well. It's an odd choice considering that many amazing players such as Shroomed and Fly Amanita are still left untouched, even though they are arguably better players.

Shroomed is sponsored by Micro Macro Gaming.

 

[Teran]

Break out the vegetable oil it's a party!

 

[Hong]

He hasn't been doing extremely well. It's an odd choice considering that many amazing players such as Shroomed and Fly Amanita are still left untouched, even though they are arguably better players.

Teams don't want just the best of the best players. Otherwise Team Liquid, no offence, would have not picked up Ken. Don't get the wrong idea: It is still very important, but it's not that simple.

They want players who are good enough to make noise, active enough to attend as many tournaments as possible, and highly prolific. Wear the team tag and uniform, spread awareness of the team, spread awareness of the sponsors, everyone is happy. When the Smash scene has more money, teams will begin to consider choosing players with a greater focus on purely results or potential.

Someone can drop out after advancing to the top 8, but if they get a pop-off like Chillindude, they make waves and can garner more attention than the actual winner of a tournament. Both of the Curse boys have been EXCELLENT pick ups with how well they have increased product awareness.

 

[LinKing]

ChuDat's Revenge to Nintendude

 

[Bazkip]

I guess they're not...giving up on Chu
Kappa

 

[Malkasaur]

Good for Chu! He's a really cool dude. Even more attention for MD/VA as well.

 

[SSBM_HypnoToad]

Teams don't want just the best of the best players. Otherwise Team Liquid, no offence, would have not picked up Ken. Don't get the wrong idea: It is still very important, but it's not that simple.

They want players who are good enough to make noise, active enough to attend as many tournaments as possible, and highly prolific. Wear the team tag and uniform, spread awareness of the team, spread awareness of the sponsors, everyone is happy. When the Smash scene has more money, teams will begin to consider choosing players with a greater focus on purely results or potential.

Someone can drop out after advancing to the top 8, but if they get a pop-off like Chillindude, they make waves and can garner more attention than the actual winner of a tournament. Both of the Curse boys have been EXCELLENT pick ups with how well they have increased product awareness.

I thought it was hilarious that Liquid picked up two players that aren't even that good anymore. Liquid is so dumb

 

[HodgyDot]

Hmm never heard of them, but best of luck to CHUDAT!

 

[HodgyDot]

I thought it was hilarious that Liquid picked up two players that aren't even that good anymore. Liquid is so dumb

Liquid was never about picking up the best people, they have a certain player and mindset they want on there team and to rep them. Ken and KDJ do that well for that Liquid wanted.

 

[Nguz95]

Great article! @ The Derrit Quick note: The name of the tourney you mentioned was Bar Wars 2, not Bar Fights 2.
Still an excellent article.

 

[Sqa$]

Chudat really deserved this position. I've seen some high level play out of him and more so with those underused characters like Ice Climbers and Kirby rather than spaceys, even though he does play a good Fox. Still, Not a lot of people can play the people he plays and he pulls it off amazingly. Props to him!

 

[The Derrit]

Great article! @ The Derrit Quick note: The name of the tourney you mentioned was Bar Wars 2, not Bar Fights 2.
Still an excellent article.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Renji64]

congrats ^.^

 

[itsbme]

I thought it was hilarious that Liquid picked up two players that aren't even that good anymore. Liquid is so dumb

Ken went 2-3 with S2J recently, almost beating him. He's beaten Fly, HMW, taken games off of Westballz, PewPewU, HugS, etc. He keeps on getting better over time. It will take a lot more time, but if he keeps at it he's going to be a threat. So I don't see how Ken isn't good anymore. For the matter, forgive me, for I have never heard of you, but I really think unless you're a high caliber player yourself, you really shouldn't be calling someone who's been placing in tournaments with other pros "not good".

 

[Kink-Link5]

#esports #noscrubs #doritos #monster #gamerfuel

 

[Man Li Gi]

Pardon me, but why aren't the likes of M2K, Armada, Leffen and (hopefully) aMSa getting major team support? The first 3 have truly shown their worth while aMSa is red hot right now. M2K can be awkward sometimes (from the very little I actually know of him as I only see him on streams), but aMSa, Armada and Leffen bring international love and seem like really cool guys (again only from stream and tourneys).

 

[Deleted member]

Good **** Daniel.

 

[_yuna]

For the matter, forgive me, for I have never heard of you, but I really think unless you're a high caliber player yourself, you really shouldn't be calling someone who's been placing in tournaments with other pros "not good".

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

[KayB]

Ken went 2-3 with S2J recently, almost beating him. He's beaten Fly, HMW, taken games off of Westballz, PewPewU, HugS, etc. He keeps on getting better over time. It will take a lot more time, but if he keeps at it he's going to be a threat. So I don't see how Ken isn't good anymore. For the matter, forgive me, for I have never heard of you, but I really think unless you're a high caliber player yourself, you really shouldn't be calling someone who's been placing in tournaments with other pros "not good".

That's dumb logic. So if NBA players under perform or miss shots that they should've made, is no one allowed to criticize their play simply because NBA players are better than them? Are players like Tafokints and Scar not allowed to comment on the performance of the likes of Mango and M2K simply because they aren't better than them? Any basic analysis of results and in some cases video footage can tell you if a player isn't as good as he should be or as good as their competition. It's all relative to the players they fight against and their past performances. The only time when your opinion is completely invalid is if you truly know nothing about the game. But any player could say "He should've landed that wavedash" or "That SD was bad" and they're allowed to say it; they shouldn't be patronized and silenced because they're not known or as good. There's a huge difference between "I think I'm better than this player" and "I think this person isn't that great."

That's not to say opinions from more well-established names don't hold weight, but it's pretty stupid to prevent someone from saying something based on hierarchy, especially if what he's saying isn't completely false.

 

[crispfish]

gratz chuuuuuu
esports baby

 

[itsbme]

That's dumb logic. So if NBA players under perform or miss shots that they should've made, is no one allowed to criticize their play simply because they're better than them? Are players like Tafokints and Scar not allowed to comment on the performance of the likes of Mango and M2K simply because they aren't better than them? Any basic analysis of results and in some cases video footage can tell you if a player isn't as good as he should be or as good as their competition. It's all relative to the players they fight against and their past performances. The only time when your opinion is completely invalid is if you truly know nothing about the game. But any player could say "He should've landed that wavedash" or "That SD was bad" and they're allowed to say it; they shouldn't be patronized and silenced because they're not known or as good. There's a huge difference between "I think I'm better than this player" and "I think this person isn't that great."

That's not to say more well-established names have opinions that don't hold weight, but it's pretty stupid to prevent someone from saying something based on hierarchy, especially if what he's saying isn't completely false.

There's nothing wrong with offering critique, it's another matter to just say Ken isn't good. Didn't even explain why they think that. Just taking a cheap shot at someone from behind their safe computer room. At least if you're going to fire shots, be able to back it up. The fact he's unknown isn't the issue though, it's just saying some snarky comment and being serious about it, and not being able to support their claim.

I've seen posts on smashboards where people think Ken has bad edgeguarding. Even if I don't agree, which I do agree it needs some work, but anyway, I respect the fact that those people explained their point of why. When there's proof to the contrary of your point, and your point is just some cheap shot.... you can still say what you want, but don't get butthurt when someone tells you you're sounding like an ass.

People can say what they want, much like anyone can decide to walk out into the highway because they feel like it. Just don't get mad if you get your ass run over.

 

[Teran]

Some n one nine nine a's usin a thread with good news to talk ****.

Don't matter how long you're gone, SWF don't change

 

[Sashimi]

aMSa is red hot right now.

I see what you did there.

Some people make the argument that Leffen's history discourages sponsors, but I don't think that means much anymore, especially since he's cleaned up his act quite a bit. For Leffen/Armada/aMSa (who technically did get picked up by VGBC, for what it's worth) it could just be that they don't live in North America, and that's where the majority of the major tournaments happen, so it's more cost-effective to sponsor someone else. M2K seems to be less interested in signing with one of those giant sponsors, considering how adamantly he defends EMP and the fact that he just joined P4K. For aMSa, there's also the fact that this summer is probably the last time he's going to the US for Smash.

In any case, they all deserve something!

 

[Thane of Blue Flames]

Literally my favorite player getting some well-deserved recognition.

Keep Chuing, Chu.

 

[SSBM_HypnoToad]

Ken went 2-3 with S2J recently, almost beating him. He's beaten Fly, HMW, taken games off of Westballz, PewPewU, HugS, etc. He keeps on getting better over time. It will take a lot more time, but if he keeps at it he's going to be a threat. So I don't see how Ken isn't good anymore. For the matter, forgive me, for I have never heard of you, but I really think unless you're a high caliber player yourself, you really shouldn't be calling someone who's been placing in tournaments with other pros "not good".

I didn't say he was bad, just not a top candidate for sponsorships.

 

[KayB]

There's nothing wrong with offering critique, it's another matter to just say Ken isn't good. Didn't even explain why they think that. Just taking a cheap shot at someone from behind their safe computer room. At least if you're going to fire shots, be able to back it up. The fact he's unknown isn't the issue though, it's just saying some snarky comment and being serious about it, and not being able to support their claim.

I've seen posts on smashboards where people think Ken has bad edgeguarding. Even if I don't agree, which I do agree it needs some work, but anyway, I respect the fact that those people explained their point of why. When there's proof to the contrary of your point, and your point is just some cheap shot.... you can still say what you want, but don't get butthurt when someone tells you you're sounding like an ***.

People can say what they want, much like anyone can decide to walk out into the highway because they feel like it. Just don't get mad if you get your *** run over.

Well okay, you changed your argument. But anyway what you said is still bad logic. Results are such a basic form of information that really no analysis is needed. Plus, we're in a community where we have easy access to such results. With all that considered, results, especially about more well-established players, are common knowledge or easy to look up. It's like if someone said (now I'm just making this example up) "Nintendo hasn't made an action game since 2010" and then you replied with "Your argument is invalid because you didn't provide proof." It's dumb because you don't really need to provide proof since it's common knowledge, and if you didn't know it, you could look it up yourself to see if it's true. And for the most part, it is true. Ken hasn't had any notable placings in the past years, and the only two notable people he's beaten in recent history is HMW and Fly Amanita. Sure he's taken games off S2J and Westballz, but you can't establish yourself as a top player simply by taking games away from them, or at the very least it would be a difficult argument. You have to have the ability to place very well in tournaments to make that argument. Maybe Ken has that ability and it's only because SoCal is so stacked, but there are no results that prove it. But the point isn't that Ken is or isn't an amazing player; it's the fact that BattleRom made a good point that everybody knows about, and you, for some weird reason, demanded proof when it wasn't necessary. Just look it up.

So tl;dr, as snarky as BattleRom said it, he has a valid point, and whatever, call him out all you want, call him wrong and bring up evidence, but it's dumb to invalidate a VALID point for the lack of evidence when this evidence is well-known and in such a basic, easy to find form.

 

[The Derrit]

Well okay, you changed your argument. But anyway what you said is still bad logic. Results are such a basic form of information that really no analysis is needed. Plus, we're in a community where we have easy access to such results. With all that considered, results, especially about more well-established players, are common knowledge or easy to look up. It's like if someone said (now I'm just making this example up) "Nintendo hasn't made an action game since 2010" and then you replied with "Your argument is invalid because you didn't provide proof." It's dumb because you don't really need to provide proof since it's common knowledge, and if you didn't know it, you could look it up yourself to see if it's true. And for the most part, it is true. Ken hasn't had any notable placings in the past years, and the only two notable people he's beaten in recent history is HMW and Fly Amanita. Sure he's taken games off S2J and Westballz, but you can't establish yourself as a top player simply by taking games away from them, or at the very least it would be a difficult argument. You have to have the ability to place very well in tournaments to make that argument. Maybe Ken has that ability and it's only because SoCal is so stacked, but there are no results that prove it. But the point isn't that Ken is or isn't an amazing player; it's the fact that BattleRom made a good point that everybody knows about, and you, for some weird reason, demanded proof when it wasn't necessary. Just look it up.

So tl;dr, as snarky as BattleRom said it, he has a valid point, and whatever, call him out all you want, call him wrong and bring up evidence, but it's dumb to invalidate a VALID point for the lack of evidence when this evidence is well-known and in such a basic, easy to find form.

Ken is debatably a top 10 player in the best region in the world, and well known for his past exploits. It's a smart pickup any way you look at it.

 

[strawhats]

Well okay, you changed your argument. But anyway what you said is still bad logic. Results are such a basic form of information that really no analysis is needed. Plus, we're in a community where we have easy access to such results. With all that considered, results, especially about more well-established players, are common knowledge or easy to look up. It's like if someone said (now I'm just making this example up) "Nintendo hasn't made an action game since 2010" and then you replied with "Your argument is invalid because you didn't provide proof." It's dumb because you don't really need to provide proof since it's common knowledge, and if you didn't know it, you could look it up yourself to see if it's true. And for the most part, it is true. Ken hasn't had any notable placings in the past years, and the only two notable people he's beaten in recent history is HMW and Fly Amanita. Sure he's taken games off S2J and Westballz, but you can't establish yourself as a top player simply by taking games away from them, or at the very least it would be a difficult argument. You have to have the ability to place very well in tournaments to make that argument. Maybe Ken has that ability and it's only because SoCal is so stacked, but there are no results that prove it. But the point isn't that Ken is or isn't an amazing player; it's the fact that BattleRom made a good point that everybody knows about, and you, for some weird reason, demanded proof when it wasn't necessary. Just look it up.

So tl;dr, as snarky as BattleRom said it, he has a valid point, and whatever, call him out all you want, call him wrong and bring up evidence, but it's dumb to invalidate a VALID point for the lack of evidence when this evidence is well-known and in such a basic, easy to find form.

Ken has beaten westballz before btw...he's taken 1 set from him about 8 months ago or so, if I'm not mistaten.

 

[KayB]

Your point isn't valid. Ken is debatably a top 10 player in the best region in the world.

But the key point is debatably. Ken has earned an official sponsorship before any of the people in the top 10, and there are still quite a few players that are the same league as the people in Top 10 that aren't in SoCal that still aren't sponsored. I'm not saying Ken is bad, but it's common knowledge that Ken isn't placing as well/consistently as players like Westballz and Axe, and those players don't have sponsors. Even players that are considered to be on the same level or slightly better (ex. Nintendude) don't have sponsors. And to be honest, as great as he places at locals, ultimately his performance at regionals and nationals hold more weight, and he hasn't placed notably compared to some of his non-sponsored opponents (that are better than him) at regionals, and he hasn't really been to any nationals. So yeah, generally the argument that his placings aren't as strong as some of the non-sponsored players holds weight.

 

[Time/SpaceMage]

You're my hero Chu. Congrats!

Break out the vegetable oil it's a party!

...Looks like it's time to oil up! >.>

 

[RascalTheCharizard]

"Yeah, somebody sponsor Chudat." -Keitaro

Well, it happened. Rejoice!

 

[itsbme]

You know, it's funny because I never argued about kens placing, which you seem to be going on about. I was talking about how it sounds for someone just to call someone bad. It'd be different if he said, you know ken hasn't placed high at bigger tourneys, why is he picked versus so and so? No, instead he called liquid dumb because ken isn't good anymore. That's what I was referencing. And it honestly sounds ridiculous for some random to call ken bad when he's beaten pro players. Just because ken isn't beating mango and the other top tens consistently that doesn't make him bad. But if that's the case, everyone that doesn't get top ten at a national blows.

Also, maybe liquid picked ken because he shows drive to get better, has the potential, and has been getting better. He has a winners attitude and doesn't quit just because matches aren't going his way. Win or lose he keeps his composer. He shows a lot of maturity. He represents the community well and his team.

 

[electricSprites]

I like it that they also displayed a little bit of Project M gameplay, more One Unit stuff.

Good Job Chu!

 

[TheLegendaryKRB]

I thought it was hilarious that Liquid picked up two players that aren't even that good anymore. Liquid is so dumb

...or they want very well known players on their team. Hell, KDJ is still pretty good.