The Challengers
Let's take a quick look at the man to beat first. It takes some serious skills to place 9th at an event like Genesis 3, and this Canadian has them in spades. Ally frequently plays at Michigan events and generally brings home the first place prize. His Mario is notorious for his up-smashes to the point where the phrase "The Ally Zone" has been coined.
V115 was one of the best Zero Suit Samus mains in Brawl, and with her improvements in Smash 4, he has stayed on the top of his game. At Neo Canadia 5, he was only able to pull in 9th and placed under Ally, but just six months later, V115 took a first place over him at EXP 2015. He is also still well known for continued practice in Brawl, which should be interesting to see.
Think Meta Knight is good now? Katakiri was taking names with him BEFORE the buffs happened. Katakiri has shown he can keep up with some of the top pros, placing 4th at FC Smash 15XR: Return and 5th at Shuffle VII. However, it seems that he is playing more Mewtwo as of late. Will he still be able to keep up?
The Defenders
It's not like Michigan is defenseless; some of their finest players are set to attend and defend their house!
Zinoto and Ally have had a storied history of battles since the days of Brawl. While Zinoto has taken down Ally before, he has usually been on the losing side of very close matches. He recently placed 25th at Genesis 3, eliminating Abadango and DJ Jack. Will this be his day to do it again and take 1st?
Many wondered how Rayquaza would do at The Big House 5 and were pleasantly surprised when his Rosalina brought home a 5th place finish. Since the new year, however, he has not been attending many events. Will this break do him good? He may have also been training in solitude, so watch to see if he pulls out new tricks.
Ryuga was able to tie with Ryo for placement at The Big House 5, an impressive feat for his Ike. Now with Cloud added to his arsenal, he's become an even more deadly threat. Placing in the top 100 at Genesis 3, he'll want to keep showing that he has the skills to defend Michigan.
Not many people can say they've placed high with Palutena, so meet one player who can: Yoshi Kirishima. He is currently unranked on the Power Rankings but was able to take 4th place at Rebirth VI. This could be another chance for him to show what Palutena can do. Will he succeed?
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Event Trailer
The event is being put on by local tournament organizer Kider and is expected to maintain the same high quality as all his other events. The tournament stream will be provided by local talent GooshiGaming. A tentative schedule and more information are available on the event's Smashboards Event Post. Excited to see this rumble in The Great Lakes State? Sound off in the comments below and don't forget to tune in - it's sure to be an incredible show!
