The UK has one of the largest Smash scenes in Europe and, though it has seen periods of relative isolation, has always provided the international competition with fierce challengers in various Smash titles. This started back when American Melee player The Doug lived in the UK and was one of the best in Europe, before passing the torch to household names like Fuzzyness and Professor Pro. Over the years, the British scene expanded into Brawl, Project M and Smash 4 and to this day features both mixed and dedicated events that draw in local and foreign attendance. Some of their moments of glory in 2015 were Professor Pro's win over Hungrybox and J.Miller's victory at BEAST V.
Hypespotting V
Although many people immediately think of the strong London scene when it comes to the UK, there are competitive players all over Britain. In the past years they found a new hub in Glasgow, Scotland, as a part of fighting game championship Hypespotting. The fifth edition will take place in the prestigious Hilton Hotel in Glasgow on April 2nd and 3rd and feature double elimination brackets for a whopping 14 fighting games. Both Smash Bros. Melee and Smash Bros. for Wii U are included with a roster that features fan favorites like Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom and Guilty Gear.
Several strong players are already confirmed or likely to be in attendance. On the Melee end they include Professor Pro, the UK’s best Melee player, and Shifting Shadows, a Falcon main who took Melee at Hypespotting 4 and is considered the best player in Scotland. For Wii U you can expect Yackabean, a Toon Link main who has been dominating the Scottish scene, and J.Miller, a veteran Brawl and Sm4sh player who used Luigi to win both BEAST V and Hypespotting 4.
You are encouraged to check out the Hypespotting website for travel info, accommodation and rulesets. Tickets are still available.
Road to Hype
In preparation for Hypespotting V, there will be a string of qualifiers throughout the UK for some of the games featured. At these events you can win seeding benefits and free tournament entry (finalists only), in addition to getting in good practice. For Smash Wii U there will be events in London, Dundee, Gloucester, Dublin and Southampton, for which Nintendo sweetens the deal by graciously providing eShop vouchers for top 3 finishers on top of the regular prize pool. A sixth qualifier is being planned and will be announced through the Hypespotting social media channels.
The first of these qualifiers is Dat BlastZone 9 in London, hosted by longtime TO and Hypespotting 4 finalist G~P. Some of the top players (likely to be) in attendance are Griffith, a high level French Sheik main, Ixis, a Sonic main and one of the UK’s finest, and the aforementioned J.Miller. Registration runs till Thursday on Smash.gg. If you can’t make it, you are encouraged to check out the stream this upcoming weekend at: www.twitch.tv/datteamlive.
Had a surprising amount of fun for a n00b.
