Welcome back to paradise, smashers. Enjoy your stay.
Flashback to 2015, where Illinois saw the town of Gurnee hold a Smash tournament in Key Lime Cove, an aquatic waterpark. What started off as an event with a clever name and fitting venue from GamersHQ became the meeting grounds for Illinois's largest Smash Bros. event ever, holding over 600 attendees, competitors and spectators. It was truly a sight to behold, with Smash 4, Melee and Project M being the featured games.
Now, it's 2016, and GHQ has returned with Smash 'N' Splash 2. With over 750 confirmed attendees (making it the largest Smash event ever in Illinois!), a new game (Smash 64!), a finished compendium (say hello to a 24 hour venue and special guests!), and so much more, this meeting ground will hold another magnificent tournament. So, read on for the scoop from one of Gurnee's own about this weekend's premier event!
Smash 64: The New Face On the Beach
This year brings forth a new game to Smash 'N' Splash’s lineup, and it’s Smash 64! The classic title’s competitive community has done a fantastic job with organizing events this year, and Smash 'N' Splash looks to be a decently stacked event, with nearly 50 entrants in Singles.
The favorite for this event is Wizzrobe, ranked #1 on Florida’s PR and 5th on the Smash 64 Smashboards Rankings. With his last major tournament victory in Smash 64 being Smash The Record 2015, Wizzrobe is looking to add another tournament win to his belt. He'll face competition from both the Midwest and a handful of out-of-region threats. The Midwest brings forth players such as IBC, Meerkat, Saltsizzle, Uncle Onion, Combo Blaze, and Fishaman P, with hipstur (#1 on the 64 Spring PR for NorCal) leading the out-of-region front.
Melee: The Big Guns
Last year, Melee was Smash 'N' Splash 2's biggest event. Featuring over 250 entrants with big names like Mew2King, Plup, Wizzrobe and the like, it was a strong offering, with M2K winning Melee Singles. However, new competition has washed ashore and is ready to do battle, as well as a certain modification of Melee...
Many of Melee’s biggest players have arrived on the shore to compete with the reigning champion. Even 2015's MIOM #2-ranked Hungrybox is getting in on the competition. Many newcomers have arrived to crash the pool party along with him: Westballz, Shroomed, SFAT, S2J, Duck, Kels, Prince Abu, KJH, and n0ne are but a few of the notable players that are competing, for a total of over 450 entrants in Melee Singles and nearly 100 teams in doubles.
Attendees and compendium supporters at SNS2 can also get themselves a special edition of Dan Salvato's 20XX Tournament Edition modification of Melee (on a physical memory card) which improves upon the previous version and makes it safe for tournament play, removing various crashes and adding lots of features, such as smarter CPUs and more stable replays. 20XXTE will be utilized on as many setups as possible during SNS2 as well, allowing people to save their replays at the event.
Project M: Turning The Tides
Project M returns to Smash 'N' Splash, and this time, it's a part of the Project M Circuit! Players who place high enough qualify to attain more points in the circuit and count towards their end score. Over 200 Project M players are confirmed to be competing in Singles. Many top PM players and high level Melee players will be present, including Strong Bad, ORLY, Ripple, Junebug, Lunchables, Westballz, M2K, Dakpo, Ally, ThundeRzReiGN, Hungrybox, MrLz, and more. Even the ever-elusive Sothe, who took Kings Of The North 4 last year, will be making an appearance from Iowa.
Smash for Wii U: Making A Splash
Last year, Smash 4’s meta during the time of Smash 'N' Splash was quite different. Custom moves were experimented with, and Mewtwo was the only DLC character. Ally was the champion for the first Smash 'N' Splash; now, even more competition has arrived to do battle, including the Midwest's finest, powerful forces from the entire US, the #1 in Smash 4, and even an international guest.
Chicago and Illinois have brought their best talent to Gurnee this weekend to defend their home state. Players like Tyroy, Ned, JJRROCKETS, Dan, Demitus, big_mak, BoScotty, and NiTe, Shel, and Chompy are but a few of the power players The Prairie State has to offer. In fact, the Midwest in general is bringing its absolute best; states like Nebraska (Kwaz, SpankyJ, N), Wisconsin (PowPow, Marshall, Z2G, ZenPB), Kansas (MJG) Minnesota (Sinnyboo242, Triple R, Dexter), Ohio (Day, Darkshad), Michigan (Zinoto), and Iowa (EcneBanjo, Di KinG, Prophet, GNOX) are bringing forth members of their Power Rankings. The Midwest alone is making this a stacked event!
That being said, the world isn't slacking, either. ZeRo will be making his debut to the Smash 'N' Splash series this weekend, along with Ally returning to Gurnee, coming off of his win at Get On My Level 2016's Wii U Singles and Doubles. Mister Eric, District of Columbia R.O.B, will be appearing as well. Mew2King, as with last year, will be competing in Wii U singles as well, this time with his tried and true Cloud. Perhaps most intriguing is the appearance of Abadango, competing thanks to the help of the SNS2 compendium, who is very eager to face Tyroy once again, after he was defeated by him during Loser's Finals of Midwest Mayhem 2.
The Splashing Compendium
This year, the Smash 'N' Splash team decided to utilize a compendium for the event, allowing people to purchase items that would give back to the community. SNS2's compendium featured 5 different rewards. Here's some of the things that were unlocked by donation:
- Abadango Makes a-wait, that's not Greninja, that's actually Mewtwo! Abadango will be competing in Smash for Wii U Singles and Doubles!
- Strong Bad & ThundeRzReiGN join the party! Strong Bad and ThundeRzReiGN will be competing in Project M Singles, and will be teaming in Doubles.
- Coney Keeps it Real! Coney will be on commentary for this year's Smash 'N' Splash; 2 blocks of non-eSports commentary featuring Pooch & Coney are coming as well.
- Swim Your Heart Out! Key Lime Cove will be adding a 24-hour friendlies venue for the event.
- Amateur Brackets! Amateur brackets will be happening for Melee and Wii U on Saturday night.
- Smash Sisters! A Smash Sisters crew battle will occur at the event on Sunday for both Melee and Wii U.
Watching Smash 'N' Splash 2
Want to watch any of the events? You're in luck! There are 5 streamers collaborating to help stream this Smash 'N' Splash 2. For Melee, EventHorizon (a Milwaukee-based Smash streamer) and MeleeEveryday (Chicagoland-based Melee streamer) will be the go-to streams. Smash 64 will be streamed by MeleeEveryday's 2nd Stream. Project M's streamer will be ShineCorp (Aurora-based PM streamer). Lastly, Unrivaled Tournaments will be streaming Smash 4 (Chicagoland-based Smash 4 streamer). If you'd like to view the entire schedule (with times in Central Standard Time), you can do so here.
Liberation is excited for Smash 'N' Splash 2, and he hopes that you all are as well! For those who are attending, I hope to see you there, and for those who are tuning in, please enjoy all of the wonderful streams and content that will be up this weekend.
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