Sasha
Smash Journeyman
Link to original post: [drupal=772]My Disappointment in Mew2King[/drupal]
To start off, this is not a post designed to bash M2K. This is merely a recounting of a tournament experience I recently had.
In the town where I come from, I am undoubtedly the best smasher around. Since the release of Super Smash Bros. in 1999, I have been a loyal fan to the series. My friends and I have played for hours on end on countless days for years. When Smash World Forums was started, we followed every advanced technique, combo, and rising pro we could find. Needless to say, my friends and I got to be very skilled at the games.
This being said, one of my favorite pros from the Melee tournament scene was Mew2King. I saw this young player start as a humble tournament goer and become a god among the Smash community. Every time he won a tournament, I would cheer. I was so happy when this pro smasher became recognized as one of the best around, saying "See? I told you this one would be special." Soon Mew2King rose to the ranks of PC Chris and Ken. He then rose above even those incredible players to stand alone at the top of the Smash community as the Best of the Best. I was in awe of this unbelievable smasher and I strove to be as good as him in any way that I could.
January 31, 2008 -- Super Smash Bros. Brawl is released in Japan. Some have already begun to doubt the place that Melee's pros will have on the decidedly less technical game that is Brawl. Truly, the faces of PC Chris and DaShizWiz have seemingly disappeared from the forefront of the tournament scene; however, I knew that some would rise to the challenge.
Mew2King did not disappoint. His technical abilities in Melee were second only to his mindgaming prowess that were the true secret to his dominance in Smash. Using this same defining trait, Mew2King soon became the best in the world at yet another Super Smash Bros. game. M2K, with his trusty M1K alongside him, destroyed competitor after competitor, losing to only a select few and learning to beat them soon after.
My friends and I, still fans of the series after nine long years, were still playing and becoming the best of our neighborhood. Though we never much enjoyed the tournament scene of the Melee days, even though we did win the ones we went to, we soon became avid tournament-goers with the release of Brawl. I led my crew through tournament after tournament, leaving no competitor unbeaten, no cash prize unclaimed, no scrub Meta Knight un-destroyed. It was a joyous time in which we enjoyed our local dominance, though it was surely nothing compared to that of the national professional players.
We soon began to be noticed by the Smash community. People saw me as the leader of a new dominant crew, much as the crew of DBR in the days of Melee. I began to receive invites to less local tournaments from well-known Tournament Operators. Many of them wished to see how I would fair against their own local pros. Wishing to test myself and win a little cash on the side, I decided to travel to these tournaments, some as many as eight hours away. However, with each tournament, I became more and more disappointed. Every time I entered in a tournament, I expected to be beaten within the first few rounds. Surely, there would be some beast of a player who would trounce my local-boy skills and move on to the true pros of the game.
This never happened. I went through tournament after tournament, always with the same result: Victory for me. How was this possible? How could I be beating all of these so-called "pros?" And there were indeed some well-known players among those tourney-goers. Azen, Dojo, SuperflySanti, Ally. The list goes on.
Finally, one day I received an email from a Tournament Operator, asking me to fly to the supposed "largest tournament ever conceived." I was inclined to deny the invitation, my tournament-going spirit waning in wake of my recent wins. Yet, there was something that caught my eye. Mew2King was on the list of invites!
My jaw dropped. Mew2King? M2K? THE M2K???
I couldn't believe it. This was my chance! Not only might I finally be beaten, but I might even get the chance to face the best smasher in the entire world!
I immediately accepted the invitation and began to pack my bags for the tournament. I called all of the members of my crew, telling them of this unbelievable opportunity. Nobody could believe it! They were all jealous for the chance to meet Mew2King. They wished me luck as I entered Los Angeles International Airport, hoping to see me come back both beaten and glorious.
I arrived at the tournament location. Once again, I found myself face to face with the who's who of the smash community. Even the old Melee pros had shown up to watch the spectacle. Unable to contain myself, I signed up on the tournament entree list and waited for the fun to begin.
Soon it had started. I breezed through the first through rounds without a sign of Mew2King. I had seen his name on the entree list! Surely he must be here somewhere. Another round passed and still no Mew2King. Another pro defeated and still no Mew2King. Suddenly, at the Losers' Finals, there he was. He had just won the Winners' Finals a minute ago. Just seeing him standing there almost made me lose the match.
Soon my match was over, and the Grand Finals were about to begin. I shook M2K's hand, feeling myself tingle all over as I looked into his eyes and saw my impending defeat. We sat down to play and I got ready for the most epic Smash battle of my life.
The first match began. My Snake was going to face his Meta Knight. The room was hot with anticipation as the countdown to the match began on Smashville. The match started and I quickly began to spam my grenades like the devils of hell were upon me!
I wish that moment could have gone on forever. I was frozen in time, fighting Mew2King, THE Mew2King, in a game of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. But soon the climax of the tournament went into a quickly deepening spiral as the match went on.
I soon found myself with three stocks left and him having only one and around 125%. One quick Up-Tilt and the match was over. I looked at Mew2King to see him look as stunned as I felt. Had I really just 3-stocked M2K? The next match began on Final Destination.
Same result.
Mew2King thought furiously for a way to beat me as I sat there astonished and disappointed at the man I had come to proclaim a god. I could feel my heart sink even as he thought of which stage his MK could easily beat my Snake on.
Even as he picked Rainbow Cruise, I already knew that I was going to win. M2K was rattled. His hands were sweating on the controller. He even caused his own death while try to gimp me as we fell back down to the ship.
The match ended. I had won. The tournament-goers erupted in cheers and applause, but all I could do was sit there, silent and broken.
I was the best. Me. The best. Better than M2K, better than NinjaLink, better than Ally. The best.
Mew2King was destroyed. He had never expected to be beaten so badly, especially by a local smasher like me. I felt the same way. As Chu Dat reached over to shake my hand, I bolted from the room. I wanted to be far, far away from that godforsaken place where my dreams had come to naught.
I found myself landing in LAX before I knew what I was doing. My friends were there to welcome me home. I couldn't speak. I sobbed as they supported me and brought me home, thinking that I had indeed lost to the great Mew2King.
When I was finally coherent enough to tell them what had happened, they were speechless. When one of them was finally able to speak, he said I should be thrilled that I had become the best in world! It had been what we'd always wanted!
But no. It was not what I had wanted. I wanted Mew2King to be the best forever. I wanted to be able to worship this man. Yet here I sat, broken-hearted, the best of them all.
And so I declare, here, today, that I am once and for all quitting the game of Super Smash Bros.
And to Mew2King: enjoy your game. Enjoy your community. You can have it all to yourself.
Goodbye.
-----------------------------------------------
EDIT: Mission Accomplished. :D
To start off, this is not a post designed to bash M2K. This is merely a recounting of a tournament experience I recently had.
In the town where I come from, I am undoubtedly the best smasher around. Since the release of Super Smash Bros. in 1999, I have been a loyal fan to the series. My friends and I have played for hours on end on countless days for years. When Smash World Forums was started, we followed every advanced technique, combo, and rising pro we could find. Needless to say, my friends and I got to be very skilled at the games.
This being said, one of my favorite pros from the Melee tournament scene was Mew2King. I saw this young player start as a humble tournament goer and become a god among the Smash community. Every time he won a tournament, I would cheer. I was so happy when this pro smasher became recognized as one of the best around, saying "See? I told you this one would be special." Soon Mew2King rose to the ranks of PC Chris and Ken. He then rose above even those incredible players to stand alone at the top of the Smash community as the Best of the Best. I was in awe of this unbelievable smasher and I strove to be as good as him in any way that I could.
January 31, 2008 -- Super Smash Bros. Brawl is released in Japan. Some have already begun to doubt the place that Melee's pros will have on the decidedly less technical game that is Brawl. Truly, the faces of PC Chris and DaShizWiz have seemingly disappeared from the forefront of the tournament scene; however, I knew that some would rise to the challenge.
Mew2King did not disappoint. His technical abilities in Melee were second only to his mindgaming prowess that were the true secret to his dominance in Smash. Using this same defining trait, Mew2King soon became the best in the world at yet another Super Smash Bros. game. M2K, with his trusty M1K alongside him, destroyed competitor after competitor, losing to only a select few and learning to beat them soon after.
My friends and I, still fans of the series after nine long years, were still playing and becoming the best of our neighborhood. Though we never much enjoyed the tournament scene of the Melee days, even though we did win the ones we went to, we soon became avid tournament-goers with the release of Brawl. I led my crew through tournament after tournament, leaving no competitor unbeaten, no cash prize unclaimed, no scrub Meta Knight un-destroyed. It was a joyous time in which we enjoyed our local dominance, though it was surely nothing compared to that of the national professional players.
We soon began to be noticed by the Smash community. People saw me as the leader of a new dominant crew, much as the crew of DBR in the days of Melee. I began to receive invites to less local tournaments from well-known Tournament Operators. Many of them wished to see how I would fair against their own local pros. Wishing to test myself and win a little cash on the side, I decided to travel to these tournaments, some as many as eight hours away. However, with each tournament, I became more and more disappointed. Every time I entered in a tournament, I expected to be beaten within the first few rounds. Surely, there would be some beast of a player who would trounce my local-boy skills and move on to the true pros of the game.
This never happened. I went through tournament after tournament, always with the same result: Victory for me. How was this possible? How could I be beating all of these so-called "pros?" And there were indeed some well-known players among those tourney-goers. Azen, Dojo, SuperflySanti, Ally. The list goes on.
Finally, one day I received an email from a Tournament Operator, asking me to fly to the supposed "largest tournament ever conceived." I was inclined to deny the invitation, my tournament-going spirit waning in wake of my recent wins. Yet, there was something that caught my eye. Mew2King was on the list of invites!
My jaw dropped. Mew2King? M2K? THE M2K???
I couldn't believe it. This was my chance! Not only might I finally be beaten, but I might even get the chance to face the best smasher in the entire world!
I immediately accepted the invitation and began to pack my bags for the tournament. I called all of the members of my crew, telling them of this unbelievable opportunity. Nobody could believe it! They were all jealous for the chance to meet Mew2King. They wished me luck as I entered Los Angeles International Airport, hoping to see me come back both beaten and glorious.
I arrived at the tournament location. Once again, I found myself face to face with the who's who of the smash community. Even the old Melee pros had shown up to watch the spectacle. Unable to contain myself, I signed up on the tournament entree list and waited for the fun to begin.
Soon it had started. I breezed through the first through rounds without a sign of Mew2King. I had seen his name on the entree list! Surely he must be here somewhere. Another round passed and still no Mew2King. Another pro defeated and still no Mew2King. Suddenly, at the Losers' Finals, there he was. He had just won the Winners' Finals a minute ago. Just seeing him standing there almost made me lose the match.
Soon my match was over, and the Grand Finals were about to begin. I shook M2K's hand, feeling myself tingle all over as I looked into his eyes and saw my impending defeat. We sat down to play and I got ready for the most epic Smash battle of my life.
The first match began. My Snake was going to face his Meta Knight. The room was hot with anticipation as the countdown to the match began on Smashville. The match started and I quickly began to spam my grenades like the devils of hell were upon me!
I wish that moment could have gone on forever. I was frozen in time, fighting Mew2King, THE Mew2King, in a game of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. But soon the climax of the tournament went into a quickly deepening spiral as the match went on.
I soon found myself with three stocks left and him having only one and around 125%. One quick Up-Tilt and the match was over. I looked at Mew2King to see him look as stunned as I felt. Had I really just 3-stocked M2K? The next match began on Final Destination.
Same result.
Mew2King thought furiously for a way to beat me as I sat there astonished and disappointed at the man I had come to proclaim a god. I could feel my heart sink even as he thought of which stage his MK could easily beat my Snake on.
Even as he picked Rainbow Cruise, I already knew that I was going to win. M2K was rattled. His hands were sweating on the controller. He even caused his own death while try to gimp me as we fell back down to the ship.
The match ended. I had won. The tournament-goers erupted in cheers and applause, but all I could do was sit there, silent and broken.
I was the best. Me. The best. Better than M2K, better than NinjaLink, better than Ally. The best.
Mew2King was destroyed. He had never expected to be beaten so badly, especially by a local smasher like me. I felt the same way. As Chu Dat reached over to shake my hand, I bolted from the room. I wanted to be far, far away from that godforsaken place where my dreams had come to naught.
I found myself landing in LAX before I knew what I was doing. My friends were there to welcome me home. I couldn't speak. I sobbed as they supported me and brought me home, thinking that I had indeed lost to the great Mew2King.
When I was finally coherent enough to tell them what had happened, they were speechless. When one of them was finally able to speak, he said I should be thrilled that I had become the best in world! It had been what we'd always wanted!
But no. It was not what I had wanted. I wanted Mew2King to be the best forever. I wanted to be able to worship this man. Yet here I sat, broken-hearted, the best of them all.
And so I declare, here, today, that I am once and for all quitting the game of Super Smash Bros.
And to Mew2King: enjoy your game. Enjoy your community. You can have it all to yourself.
Goodbye.
-----------------------------------------------
EDIT: Mission Accomplished. :D
