This Saturday, (April 8), the age-old bout of between the East and West Coasts will be reignited in a 16-man invitational. Eight players from each coast are chosen to participate in this two-day event that will feature three events, Super Smash Bros. Melee singles, doubles and an 8-on-8 crew battle. While this invitational is a surprise to many, the excitement to see each coast's best players duke it out will be a spectacle to watch. Unlike other tournaments, the singles event is not the main attraction. Instead, the crew battle is the featured event, due to the storied history between the East and West Coast.
To summarize Daniel “Tafokints” Lee’s video, there have been several crew battles in the past that aimed to settle this debate, but very rarely could both coasts attend a crew battle at full strength in the early days of Melee, due to difficulty traveling. In addition, during the dark ages of Melee (2008-2013) both sides experienced transition periods where many experienced veterans were leaving and new players were coming in. Of course as a result, these new players would need a few years to hone their skills before becoming top players. Fast forward to MLG Anaheim 2014, another East Coast vs. West Coast crew battle took place. While the East Coast had three Gods (Hungrybox, PPMD, and Mew2King) on their side, they lacked the player depth when compared to the West Coast crew. With the help of Mango taking out 8 God stocks, West Coast ultimately finished victorious. Now thanks to Yahoo Esports, the best eight players from each coast, with the exception of Justin "Plup" McGrath, are going to be in attendance. With enough time for both sides to develop their players since the growth of Melee, this can be considered the fairest East Coast vs. West Coast crew battle in history.
Among the large talent pool from both coasts these are the handpicked representatives to battle for the pride of their coast:
Juan “ Hungrybox ” Debiedma
| Joseph “
Mang0
” Marquez Jason “ Mew2King ” Zimmerman
| Zachary “
SFAT
” Cordoni James “ Swedish Delight ” Liu
| Weston “
Westballz
” Dennis Justin “ Wizzrobe ” Hallett
| Jeffrey “
Axe
” Williamson James “ Duck ” Ma
| Dajuan “
Shroomed
” McDaniel Ryan “ The Moon ” Coker-Welch
| Kevin “
PewPewU
” Toy Sami “ DruggedFox ” Muhanna
| Johnny “
s2j
” Kim Daniel “ ChuDat ” Rodriguez
| Joey “
Lucky
” Aldama Wynton “ prog ” Smith (Commentary) | Brandon “ HomeMadeWaffles ” Collier (Commentary)
D’Ron “ D1 ” Maingrette (Commentary) | Phil “ Phil ” Deberry (Commentary)
| Kris “ Toph ” Aldenderfer (Commentary)
Analyzing both rosters, what is interesting is how much has changed in three years. For instance, out of the eight East Coast players chosen, only three, Hungrybox, Mew2King, and ChuDat, were part of the 10 man crew at MLG Anaheim 2014. In addition, none of the remaining five members were seen in the Top 64 singles of that event. This astonishing change in lineup for the East Coast is a testament to the amount of new top level talent that has risen in a span of three years. While major shifts in hierarchy occurred for the East Coast, the West Coast top players remain relatively the same, with the exception of PewPewU. What has changed for the West Coast is the strength of each player’s skill. Although the East Coast is coming in with new blood, the West Coast players have solidified themselves as the best of the best, with five of their members being ranked Top 10 from last year’s MIOM rankings.
Taking a closer look at the crews, the West Coast appears to be unbalanced, containing five fast-fallers and 3 semi-floaties. For those that are unfamilar, characters such as Fox, Falco, and Falcon are traditionally considered “fast fallers.” Having such explosive characters in their roster can overwhelm another crew. The downside is that it can just as quickly backfire due to their favorable combo weights. Meanwhile, the character spread for the East Coast is more balanced. Their roster consists of two fast fallers, four semi-floaties, and two floaties. In particular, the presence of ChuDat’s Ice Climbers is very advantageous, due to West Coast’s vulnerability to wobbling and lack of a strong counter-pick. In terms of playstyles, the East Coast traditionally is known to be more reserved and methodical in their play, while the West Coast is famous for their aggression and unpredictability. Even though many of these styles have meshed due to the globalization of the community, it will be exciting to see how the old stereotypes manifest during their battle.
Looking at the singles bracket, Hungrybox appears to have a relatively simple route to Winners' Final. His main threat is crossing paths with SFAT in Winners' Semis. However, for that to happen SFAT would need to beat two players that have recently beaten him, The Moon and Axe. On the other side of bracket, the classic match of Mew2King and Mango should happen in Winners' Semis. However, Mew2King’s run in with Shroomed Round 1 and potential run in with Wizzrobe in Round 2 could prove to be a challenge. For Mango, he has a treacherous encounter with PewPewU first, then would go on to face the winner of S2J and ChuDat.
Lastly, the doubles event will mark the return of the Hungrybox and Mew2King team. In addition, strong teams like 4LeafMango (Lucky and Mango) and PewFat (PewPewU and SFAT), will also be vying for the top spot. Continuing with the East Coast and West Coast rivalry, players are only partnering up with their fellow crew mates. In a funny turn of events, each coast has their own "Inspector Lee and Detective Carter". The two "Rush Hour" teams are Swedish Delight and The Moon for the East Coast and Shroomed and S2J for the West Coast. Hopefully these two teams will meet in bracket to settle which crew deserves to be called the true “Rush Hour" team.
Be sure to check out all the action on April 8 and 9. On both days, the event goes live on the Yahoo Esports Twitch channel at 12 pm - 8 pm PST. In addition, Tafokints will be doing behind the scene interviews through out the event. Be sure to root for your favorite players and track their progress on smash.gg
Day 1 (Saturday, April 8)
12:00 pm | Event Start (Doubles)
4:00 pm | Singles Bracket Begins
7:30 PM | East Coast vs. West Coast Crew Battle
9:00 PM | Day 1 End
Day 2 (Sunday, April )
12:00 pm | Day 1 Recap / Day 2 Doubles Begins (Loser Semis)
4:00 pm | Singles Bracket Continues
9:30 PM | Event Ends
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