Dreamhack Winter 2016 Preview: America Invades Europe

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This weekend, from November 25 - 26, Super Smash Bros. Melee is back at DreamHack Winter for the second year running. Like last year, a contingency of America's best has convened on Jönköping, Sweden to battle amongst some of the best in Europe for this year’s crown and $30,000, the second largest prize pool in Melee history.

With a smaller amount of travelling Americans this year and a few notable absentees from Europe’s top level, this DreamHack will give a chance to other players to shine. However at the very top, this tournament is as stacked as almost any other major this year.

Schedule​

Friday 25/11
12:00 – Singles Wave A – Pools A1-A8
13:45 – Singles Wave B – Pools B1-B8
15:30 – Singles Wave C – Pools C1-C8
17:15 – Singles Wave D – Pools D1-D8
19:00 – Teams Bracket

Saturday 26/11
13.00 – Singles Bracket up until top 8
16.00 – Top 8

Be sure to catch the action on the DreamHackSmash Twitch channel and follow the brackets at smash.gg.

Four of the Big Six

Juan “TL | Hungrybox” Debiedma - Last year saw Hungrybox claim first place, $10,000 and begin in earnest his march to the top of the world ranking. This culminated in a stunning victory at Evo 2016. Since then however, he has looked far from the clear favorite.

After failing to win at subsequent summer majors and a fifth place at The Big House 6 he announced his intention to go full-time Smash player and streamer. He is yet to see full returns on his investment though, falling in second place at both Canada Cup 2016 and Smash Summit 3.

Since the PAL changes benefit Jigglypuff heavily in the dreaded Fox match-up, this is surely Hungrybox’s best chance to win a major before the year is out. With the three best Fox players in the world in attendance, that will be no mean feat. Yet, as he so clearly wants to crown his best ever year with a number 1 ranking, he will need perform.

Hungrybox chose to arrive in Europe a week early to adjust and to attend London monthly Kickstart 13. He looked predictably dominating there, winning without dropping a game. He said in the post-tournament interview he felt his performance was around 50%, understandable after a long journey. With his coach Luis “TL | Crunch” Rosias and his girlfriend with him to back him up, he is likely to be in prime form this weekend.

Adam “[A]rmada” Lindgren - Were this a regular NTSC tournament, Armada would be the favorite after winning Canada Cup and Smash Summit 3. With the nerfs to Fox in PAL however, he will have a significantly harder time dispatching his puffball nemesis in the form of Hungrybox, who bested him in the inaugural DreamHack Winter.

Despite that, Armada still has another factor in his favor, the tournament being a rare opportunity to fight Americans on his home soil. This time, it is he who gets the comforts of home and the relative ease of travel, while the Americans have to deal with the issues of travelling.

Armada goes into this event with the most momentum of any of the top echelon. As the last impressions are made for the end of year rankings, this is just as important a time as any to stay hot and there is no one better at being consistent than the "Beast from Sweden".

Joseph “C9 | Mango” Marquez - Despite being American Melee’s fiercest patriot, is drawn out of his country over Thanksgiving weekend for the second consecutive DreamHack. Last year’s visit to Jönköping was an inauspicious one for Mango, losing to two players outside the top 6 and finishing fifth. Having also flopped to a degree at 2015’s B.E.A.S.T 5, this is his chance to take his first-ever European major with Armada in attendance.

At The Big House 6, he went 2-1 in sets with the current favorite Armada, maintaining his strong positive record over him for the year at 7-3. However, his seeding puts him on a path to meet Hungrybox first, who has been more of a stumbling block for him this year, as he sits down but approximately even at 8-10 in sets. If he gets through that 50/50, he would likely be considered the numbers favorite to take the win.

Mango’s legion of fans will be hoping he can turn it on here to return to the end of year number one spot after a relatively poor 2015 and an indifferent first half of 2016.

William “TSM | Leffen” Hjelte - After a long visa-related debacle, Leffen has been trying to get back into the game in time for January's Genesis 4. Depending on how well his practice has been going, we could be in for another GOML 2016. One of the greatest runs of all time, he stormed through the upper bracket and beat all four gods in attendance.

His first two 'serious' tournaments post-return have not been indicative of a stunning return to form, losing to players he would normally be expected to beat. He was double eliminated by a non-top 6 member at Eclipse 2 and was eliminated at 9th by Jeffrey “Tempo | Axe” Williamson at Smash Summit 3, mediocre performances when considering his expected level of play.

On Twitter, Leffen is cautious about his hopes for this event. He suggest that the remainder of the year will be a testing ground for things to come in 2017.

Leffen has reached the top spot before and one can expect for him to do so again. For him, is not a matter of if, but when.

The Chasing Pack
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Justin “CoG | Wizzrobe” Hallett - This year has seen Wizzrobe continue his rapid rise through the ranks of Melee’s elite. He has achieved top 8’s at multiple majors, has beaten Hungrybox 3-0 at a major just two weeks before his biggest ever win and is being considered for top 10 player status.

Last year, in his first trip to Europe, Wizzrobe finished thirteenth. With his 2016 achievements, he will be expecting a much improved placing this time around.

Mustafa “LG | Ice” Akcakaya - While Germany’s best player has been hanging around the upper echelons of Melee for several years now, the past couple of months have seen him on a major upswing.

At Kickstart 11 he beat Weston “G2 | Westballz” Dennis, a feat he had achieved in the past but not in the previous eight sets they had played. Then, at The Big House 6 he had his best placing to date finishing third and impressing the Melee community at large.

On October 21st he stopped being Melee’s best unsponsored player when he became Luminosity Gaming’s second Smash player. He then followed that up immediately by double eliminating Leffen and pushing Armada to the brink at Eclipse 2.

Ice credits some of his improved form to a stronger mindset. If he can bring that, and maybe some more knowledge in the Falco matchup, to DreamHack he will be very dangerous in bracket.

McCain “Splyce | MacD” LaVelle - After a turbulent year, MacD has seen some more solid placings in these past months including 7th at Shine and 5th at Canada Cup. Last year DreamHack saw MacD in top 8 and he will be looking to repeat that this year, and probably go even further, for a last minute boost in end of year ranking.

Aaron “VwS | Professor Pro” - Despite not meeting expectations at The Big House 6, this has been a very strong year of further growth for the UK’s best player. Since the last major he has taken a set from Ice at Kickstart 12, won the best of the rest award with 4th place at Eclipse 2 and won a 200 entrant tournament in Kings of the North V.

His projected bracket has him colliding with Hungrybox in winners quarterfinals. While he does have a set win over the Jigglypuff specialist at Paragon LA, the last time they played was not so pretty for the Fox main. Therefore, a win there would still be a big upset.

Alvaro “Heir | Trifasia” Garcia - After convincingly winning The Contract bracket and sponsorship as well as 5th place in the main bracket he disappointed with a 9th place at Syndicate. A 5th place at Eclipse 2 is a solid result but featured several close sets. Here, Trifasia will be looking to pull off upsets like his win over Stephen Abate at B.E.A.S.T 6 and affirm his claim to fifth best in Europe.

Roberto “Overtriforce” Iglesias - Finishing 4th at Heir 3, stocks in Overtriforce were high during the summer but his results have seen a minor decline. A long time player of the game he will be no stranger to fluctuating performances so watch out for him bouncing back here.

A projected match-up with Professor Pro in winners bracket could swing his way as it has several times already this year.

Andreas “[A]ndroid” Lindgren - Newly joined to the same team as brother Armada, Android achieved a respectable 25th in singles but could not meet expectations in doubles, falling in second place. Here, he will have a strong chance to pull off some upsets and keep his name on the map.

Charles “Revo | Fuzzyness” Kimmelman - The UK’s number two saw a resurgence in his gameplay in early autumn, going through many of Europe’s top players at Syndicate. Therefore, a 65th placing at The Big House 6 is something of a disappointment, despite how insanely stacked the tournament was.

Dedicating most of his time to streaming and speedrunning means his performance is likely to be unpredictable, but he will at least be one of the best placing Europeans.

Mahieddine “Mahie” Tsouria - With the disappearance of France’s top Jigglypuff, Victor “Tekk” Abd, the title of best player is there to be taken. Mahie has been making his claim, with his most notable statement being a set win over Westballz at September’s Forward Smash Tournament 1. Big wins here will advance his claim further and put him in contention for a top 100 placing at the end of the year.

Others players to watch out for include Rocky , Zoler , Daydee and JohnnyFight defending their Swedish homeland. Visiting neighbours include Mayhem and peki from Finland and Zorc from Norway. K-12 has come from Spain and up-and-comer Frenzy is in attendance from the UK, as well as a whole host of other talent.

 

When providing a tournament preview for an overseas event, you really ought to provide time zones for your schedule. I would think this would be a given anyways, but it's doubly important here.