Played in first tournament yesterday (questions)

[dhif24]

So I have some questions about tournaments in general

1. can someone explain to me how the stage selection works? I just told the other guy to pick whatever cause I didnt understand

2. how can I get better? I dont have good internet at my place so I can't play online, I play with my friends alot but its way different than tournament play (my friends like to camp and play defensively which is fine but it seems in tournaments that this style doesn't work, you have to be good at approaching) is playing against computers good practice? I read somewhere level 8s are better training than 9s

So I lost both sets and both matches

Match1 I played a sonic as luigi, I always like this matchup because I can usually space with fireballs and punish the spin dash approaches with grabs into combos etc. is this matchup in luigi's favor? He ended up gimping me off stage with the spring

Match2 I played a sub par cloud (should of won this no excuses) I was up 2 stocks in the first match and had him up to about 60% then he came back and killed me pretty early with a limit break on the edge - kind of frustrated with this matchup since I've never played cloud before

So it was fun but definitely didn't play to potential, any advice? thx

 

[IsmaR]

You should try reading this thread.

http://smashboards.com/threads/a-guide-to-becoming-a-competitive-smash-4-player.370561/

As far as stage selection, ask your local TO (tournament organizer) about it. Each tournament has a specific/set list of stages that one is allowed to pick from. These range from "neutral/starter" (stages with little to absolute nothing hindering gameplay, such as Battlefield, Final Destination/Omega Form stages, and so on) to "counterpick" (stages with layouts/elements that may favor certain characters but are still relatively good for competitive play, such as Duck Hunt or Lylat Cruise). If there's any stage in particular you prefer playing on, you can come to an agreement with the other player before starting.

If you're looking for general advice on what to do, you should ask in this thread:

http://smashboards.com/threads/game-play-advice-and-general-discussion.382927/