The True North Strong - Brawl
Unlike most other regions, Canada has maintained an active scene for Smash 4's predecessor with Brawl tournaments being held regularly and old Brawl fans keeping the rust off by coming out to compete. Among those strongest and most active in Canadian Brawl will also be present at this tournament: Ally. A champion from the glory years of Brawl, Ally has kept active, entering events still held in the Midwest and Canada. His Snake and Meta Knight have brought him first place Brawl finishes in 2016 at large events like Dismantle 2 and Oh, Did I Win? 2. He is not the only Canadian prepared for battle however. Alphicans, known for his Mr. Game and Watch in Brawl, will be attending the event. Yoshi and Meta Knight player Firefly, who is best known for his breakout Smash 4 performance at Smash @ PAX, is also set to be in attendance. Blacktwins will also bring a Meta Knight and Yoshi to combat while V115, one of the best Zero Suit Samus players in Brawl, will bring her out to compete. Meekspeedy, known in the days of Brawl for rolling around at the speed of sound, will also bring a Sonic to fight.
So will anyone be able to take out Canada and bring home the gold for the USA? TheRapture, famous for being a part of the Smash 4 invitational, will be bringing a Dreamland spectacular of Meta Knight and Kirby. For fans of low tiers keep an eye out for streaming personality Nyani who brings the uncommon choice of Mario to the Brawl. But the true titan traveling in is ANTi. Having not been seen in a serious Brawl major since 2014, it will be interesting to see if the dust can be swept off his Meta Knight to see him return to the glory he once held in the game.
Stand On Guard: Smash 64
While Canada's impressive Smash 64 scene has come out in droves to compete, a few big names have traveled into the country to show what they're made of. Coming all the way from the United Kingdom is Jam, a Pikachu main that has made two other major appearances in the United States at both Apex 2014 and Apex 2015, placing well. Training in a lesser-seen region for Smash 64, will he be able to bring out another strong performance again? MD/VA will also have two major names coming out in BarkSanchez, coming off a recent 5th place at Pound 2016, and Smash 64 tournament organizer and Smash 64 tool developer Shears. Wizzrobe, who tied Bark Sanchez for 5th at Pound 2016, will also be at the event to bring his Yoshi into the 64 arena. Fireblaster will also be traveling in from Connecticut to try and get a repeat high placement like he did with his 5th at Super Smash Con.
In terms of the United States taking on Canada however, no match looks to be as exciting as the potential for KeroKeroppi vs SuPeRbOoMfAn. KeroKeroppi has attempted time and time again to best SuPeRbOoMfAn and failed, being taken down by him at Apex 2015 and more recently Super Smash Con. Every other event has seen KeroKeroppi stopped before a fated rematch he has so longed for. Will GOML 2016 finally give him the fight he so desires?
If any of these players want the gold or to fight the legend that is SuPeRbOoMfAn they will have to manage to battle through some of the best Canada has to offer. Fifteen power ranked players from the best regions in Canada have signed up for the event and are set to compete including:
Montreal: TR3GTheZ (
), HandsomeTom (), Captain Fabulous ()Ottowa: Revan (
), sextc (), Janco (), SHAKE (), Hotspank (), Broly (), cwic-beam (), h2o ()Southern Ontario: YBOMBB (
), Preston (/), *** Vwls (), B Link (),With so many top players and tons of character variety, this is a must-see Smash 64 major for any fans of Smash. 83 Smashers have signed up for the event, who will come out on top?
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The only way to find out is to tune in! Don't forget the tournaments for Brawl and Smash 64 take place on May 21st through 22nd. The stream schedule for the event is available here. To learn more about the Melee side of the tournament be sure to see our official event preview here. Excited to see which Smashers will bring home the glory? Sound off in the comments below and stay tuned to Smashboards to learn more about Smash 4 at GOML 2016 later this week.
