Bwett was killing it during a tournament this week as little mac. It was amazing.
He showed some cool stuff, but we should learn from his mistakes and be aware of the lack of knowledge on his opponent's part as well. One example being that down-throw in up/down-smash isn't as solid as it looked. The opponent can DI/VI out of the way, but not all of them did so at first. Secondly Bwett SD'd by using an aerial counter. You've got to be careful when an opponent is attacking you from off stage. Countering an attack like that is a sure-fire way to throw yourself into a position where you can't recover.
The KO Punch is not something you just want to throw out with reads. There are two really solid ways to land it. One is off of block. If an opponent uses an attack you would normally shield-grab on block you can KO Punch instead. Perfect for punishing dash attacks or improperly spaced aerials.
The second solid way to land the KO Punch is via down-tilt. At low to mid percents down-tilt combos into KO Punch. To get the down tilt just play safe and space well with forward tilts. Eventually you'll get an opening off of a roll or empty land/aerial dodge into the ground. Your opponent has to stay mobile because the KO Punch is unblockable.
I'm sure we all saw how he was wrecked by Sheik. Bwett was getting destroyed by Sheik's tilts and grabs that would lead to gimps off stage. For starters Little Mac should be out ranging these attacks with his forward tilt. Unfortunately Bwett was on the defensive most of the match and when he wasn't he was tossing out side-smashes and getting punished for it.
In a match-up like this I feel it is important to stick to quicker smash attacks like up-smash and down-smash, though ideally spacing forward tilts is the best answer. If you HAVE to use side-smash then you should be using the down-tilted version against a grounded opponent. The down-tilted version deals the most shield damage so if properly combined with forward tilt shield pressure you can easily destroy your opponent's shield in a just a few hits.
The last thing I'd like to point out about this match-up is that Sheik shouldn't be that safe when approaching from the air. With proper placement and timing Little Mac should always win trades against an aerial opponent who attacks with their limbs.
When Sheik uses nAir or fAir Little Mac can absorb it with super armor and punish the attack with one of his smashes. Down-smash is actually rather good in this regard because it brings Little Mac really low to the ground and makes it more difficult for the opponent's aerial to land, but at the same time Little Mac's attack has really good wide range if you're not exactly sure where the opponent is going to land. Though it is worth nothing up-smash accomplishes the same goal, but with less horizontal range and more power.
Little Mac vs Villager. I'm sure how often we saw that Villager regrab the ledge and get punished for it. That Villager was good, but not playing Smash 4 correctly. Anyways there's a lot Bwett did wrong here.
First off Bwett was not aggressive enough and lets Villager set up shop too easily. With proper placement and timing Little Mac's dash attack can go through Villager's gyroid as it's deployed and hit Villager. This is the ideal way to get past this move. Bwett kept countering the gyroid but at a distance that kept Villager safe and able to punish Little Mac.
Heck Little Mac can destroy the gyroid with his forward-tilt with good positioning and that is a fast attack that allows Little Mac to react to Villager's approach.
When Villager is on the ledge and decides to jump up and use a fAir, this is not safe for Villager. Bwett got hit a lot here and didn't punish this option. The correct response is Slip Counter. Little Mac takes the projectile hit and moves forward to swing at Villager. Continually punishing this option forces Villager to choose less safe options.
If Villager rides the gyroid back onto the stage DO NOT BLOCK IT. Villager does not go into helpless if he hits something with the rocket. Jump over it or dodge out of the way. Then follow after Villager and punish him when he jumps off the rocket. That landing has lag and is easily punished with a slightly charged up smash.
Little Mac's jabs do not work the same on every character. Some characters will still have the feet on the ground and can act while being hit due to how incredibly low hit-stun the attacks deal. Sheik shielded mid-jab and from experience I know Bowser can perform ANY action during the multi-hit jabs. Against these characters you want to stick with the standard one-two-three jabs unless you hit them while they are in the air.
