Neat.
Leaving wobbling legal seems like a huge mistake to me (wobble's EVO results clearly demonstrate that he is an excellent player), but whatever.
Good to see melee getting some large-scale consideration.
Why do people always ignore that Wobbles was easily one of the best active players even at Wobbling-banned events? Axe, who frequently makes people's top ten lists, has consistently stated his belief that Wobbles is a superior player.
1. Wobbles has an amazing record even with Wobbling banned. Know who he lost to at Apex 2012? PP and HBox (he beat M2K here by the way). Apex 2013? The two best Peach players in the world, Armada and Vwins. This is someone who was exclusively losing to god tier players and almost-god-tier Peach players prior to this event. He was ranked #1 in Arizona over Axe, who frequently makes peoples' Top 10 lists. Wobbles is a consistently incredible player. Even with Wobbling banned he was still arguably the next best player after the Big 5. It was not unrealistic to imagine him beating any top player (besides perhaps Armada).
2. People have an anti-Wobbling bias that causes them to discount the wins of ICs players with Wobbling on without giving the matter any further thought. I would bet all the liquid assets that I have that a metric ****ton of people would be whining if a Midwest ICs player beat the top solo Marth main in the world with Wobbling legal. Imagine Nintendude beating PewPewU with Wobbling on. Imagine the anti-Wobbling uproar that would ensue. Imagine your own nagging feelings that that win isn't "legit" because Wobbling was on. Then remember that Nintendude beat PewPewU with Wobbling illegal at TBH3 and feel ashamed.
3. No other ICs player placed significantly differently from normal at basically any Wobbling legal event than Wobbles.
4. These problems all arise in part from the frequent Wobbling ban causing no one to adequately prepare for it. Wobbles clearly went into Evo with some impressive Wobbling setups ready and with Wobbling as a key part of his game plan. It is not his fault that his opponents suck at avoiding Wobbling setups and mashing out of grabs. The fastest I think I've ever seen anyone mash out of a grab was Fly Amanita when he played Wobbles at KoC2 because Fly knew full damn well what was going to happen and started mashing like crazy rather than acting all shocked that Wobbles grabbed him and waiting to mash until the Wobbling was already in progress.
5. Saying that Wobbles' Evo results clearly show its exploitability is like saying that Mango's results show shine's exploitability or that Hungrybox's results show rest's expoitability. Start from the position that Wobbling isn't banned and that the metagame has adapted accordingly and then try to make a justification that any obviously non-broken maneuver is "exploitable."
6. Not liking some aspect of a character does not present a reasonable case for banning it, especially when they are (thus far) not broken as a consequence of it. ICs do not win national tournaments. Wobbles, playing the best he's ever played, using setups no one was prepared for, still did not win Evolution 2013. Mango 6-1'd him. In part because Wobbling isn't busted.
7. I hate it when someone says "all you have to do is get a grab." wut. All you have to do is get a grab... above a certain percent... with Nana nearby and in sync. It's not some magic all-consuming force that destroys every matchup in the game.
Wobbles himself has stated that if he were to change Melee or make a Melee sequel or something that he would not have Wobbling in it. But because he's an intelligent, well-reasoned human being, he knows that there is no justification for its illegality and that it is a tool he can keep in his arsenal and use to its fullest effect.
tl;dr I have never heard a reasonable argument for Wobbling being illegal. All I hear is that it's "against the spirit of the game" and people discounting the wins of ICs players with Wobbling legal, neither of which is valid.
