Smash Summit 2: The Case For ESAM

As Smash Summit 2 heads into its voting phase, players will be paying with their wallets on which six players will be invited to attend the event alongside those ten already invited. Smashboards is giving the opportunity to all those involved to come here and make the case for why they should make it in. When ESAM begun to place high during the nominations phase it lead to a lot of controversy among Melee fans. He gained his eligibility by coming in 25th at The Big House 5 and has gotten a massive swing in both nominations and votes from his Smash 4 fans for this Melee event. So why should this top Smash 4 player have a shot at Smash Summit 2? Here is the case for ESAM.

A History In Melee​

While many assume ESAM may have started playing Smash in Brawl, this seriously isn't the case. He began playing competitive Melee all the way back in 2005. "My brother (Nick Riddle) and his friend (Seibrik) told me to. I got 5th out of 70 or so at my first tournament." He took Melee very seriously as well, managing to make the Florida Power rankings for Melee many times before Brawl's release and he wasn't just good in singles either. "My old training partner Rexx were one of the best doubles teams in Florida," he told us.

He has always played as Samus in Melee, so much so that it's in his name. "ESAM is for 'Everybody Sucks At Melee,'" he said jokingly "By that, I mean Eric SAMus. She's my favorite video game character, I main her in Melee, and Melee only allowed you 4 spots in your tag so ESAM was born." His love stemmed from watching his Dad play Super Metroid. "He played it to completion multiple times when I was too young to really get what was going on. I would sit on his back and watch him play, and so I came to like her."

Uuaa and ESAM vs Hungrybox and QVDS In 2009
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While he loves Melee he never really considered dropping Brawl for it full time and doesn't intend to do so for Smash 4 either. "I enjoy the game, but the community is a little more unwelcoming and I am close friends with many more Smash 4 players," he explained. "I would love to have consistent high level practice in Melee since I love the game and I definitely have shown that I'm amazing at it." He also wanted to make it clear that Melee is something very important to him. "Melee is a big focus for me, don't get it twisted. My main sphere of influence is obviously Smash 4 considering I'm a top 10 player, but I never stopped caring about Melee. I make a lot of YouTube videos for Smash4, and between that, the stream, and tournaments, I don't really have TIME to practice Melee outside of locals or maybe a few hours a week to solidify tech skill. If I had 6 more hours in a day you bet I would play more Melee, but I'm living off of Smash right now and Smash 4 is more lucrative in my case, so I'm obviously going to focus MORE on it."

It was his training partners that really inspired him to focus more on Brawl. "I pretty much stopped playing Melee completely for about a year and a half once Brawl came out. My main training partners also switched to Brawl so we played it a lot. My first time playing Melee after Brawl came out was at Winterfest, which happened in December of 2009 where I lost to FullMetal (The only tournament set I've ever lost to a solo marth player) and DJ Nintendo. After that I played both side-by-side, but the Brawl community was significantly larger in South Florida so I focused mainly on that, where I became a national threat within the next year."

The Case For ESAM​

ESAM at one point on Twitter had said to not give him the votes but went on to change his mind part way through the nominations phase. What were his motivations in joining the Smash Summit? At first he definitely wanted to go but he was worried of the exact kind of adverse reaction he relieved from the Melee community. "To clarify, I did want to go to Smash Summit 2 at first, which is why I opted in before any of the nomination stuff took place. After a while I thought that I didn't really want the Melee Hate Mob to go after me if I took a spot from someone they deemed more worthy." In the end he decided to enter for himself. "After a day or so, I decided screw it, this is for me and not for the people that are going to hate on me regardless. I am doing this so I can get better at Melee and enter more Melee events and beat people and do what I WANT TO DO with the game, not worry about the community."

So for those who think another Melee star deserves the spot, why pick ESAM? In his own mind, he can't force people to. "I can't convince people that don't like me to suddenly like me. I am rarely Melee player's favorite as I do not stream it/make videos/live in an exposed area. I don't want those people's votes, I just want them to not hate me because I'm a 'Smash 4 player' when I'm just a 'Smash player'. It's a skill + Popularity contest. I made it to the opting in phase, so people cannot deny my skill. This part is a popularity contest, and I am extremely popular....just not necessarily with the die-hard Melee fans. And that's OK by me because if I make it I'm sure I'll gain quite a few new fans."

ESAM also firmly beleived that his attendance at Smash Summit 2 might bring in new players from Smash 4 who've never taken Melee seriously to be invested in watching. "There is always some cross-viewership at majors that host both events, but I'm sure a large portion of my EFAM will watch Summit because I'm in it," he explained. "I hope that it opens them up to more Melee and I hope me being there opens up people's minds and shows them that just because someone is a top player at 1 game they can also hang with the best of another. I have always wanted to be a top top level melee player. I have the mindset, but I have never had nearly enough high/top level practice. This can open up a whole new world for me as I will get DAYS to practice with everyone. I would be so excited to get in."

ESAM also believes he has what it takes to beat some of the players already nominated to attend. "I've taken out a decent number of names Including but not limited to The Moon, Soft, Porkchops, Blea Gelo, and Alex19. With just a few tournaments under my belt, I still got number 81 on MIOM, but my potential RIGHT NOW is already much higher than that."

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For those wanting to see ESAM playing Melee in action be sure to check him out at Tiger Smash which will feature Redd and Milkman and is set to be streamed this weekend by ClashKingStudios. Did ESAM make a good case? If so be sure to go vote for his entry into the Smash Summit. Disagree with his case? Tell us in the comments below and don't forget to stay tuned to Smashboards as other stars make their case to enter Smash Summit 2.

 

ESAM (Eternal Samus) was a 13 year old kid slaying people in Melee in 2007 in Florida, and was known as the best FL. Samus main. I remember he took sets off of players that were arguably top 5 in FL. He seemingly came out of nowhere, and within I think was about 6 months he was a force to be reckoned with. This was before Brawl came out. Then when Brawl came out, he was amazing and one of the best, and Smash 4 even still.

ESAM meets the requirements, so he should be granted the opportunity.
Sadly, it seems nowadays the majority of smash enthusiasts just follow the trends on the stigma that is allotted to players by the general "community," which now consists mostly of fans than players because of how commercial and mainstream Smash has become, contributing to this fan based mindset instead of fact based. Player skill and performance respect should be determined by their placings in notable tournaments, not how they are perceived.

lmao using 2007 stuff to back up why he should run for a 2016 Melee event.

ESAM is not a top 20 level player in 2016, and he wasn't one in 2015 either. He's the oddball. He simply doesn't belong.

 

lmao using 2007 stuff to back up why he should run for a 2016 Melee event.

ESAM is not a top 20 level player in 2016, and he wasn't one in 2015 either. He's the oddball. He simply doesn't belong.

It's a popularity contest from what I can tell at this point.

Vote with your voice/I think wallet later on.

 

You must not know the history of ESAM before Brawl came out.

Yeah, he was wrecking people in 2007, but so were a lot of players that are irrelevant now, and that was when Ken was the king of smash. No one cares about what happened 9 years. That was a time when wavedash->f-smash was still an advanced technique. And hey, at least Ken got 13th at EVO last year. ESAM's biggest accomplishment in Melee is 25th at Big House.......oh my god, watch out Armada, ESAM is coming for you! Comparing 2007 Melee to 2016 Melee is like comparing night and day. It's practically a whole different game. ESAM does not belong. Period. If Smash 4 people want to vote for him and see him go win-less in every single match and waste everybody's time, then go ahead. It's the Smash 4 community that will be hurt, not Melee's. So if that's what the Smash 4 community wants to happen, then please vote for him. It's their loss.

 

Yeah, he was wrecking people in 2007, but so were a lot of players that are irrelevant now, and that was when Ken was the king of smash. No one cares about what happened 9 years. That was a time when wavedash->f-smash was still an advanced technique. And hey, at least Ken got 13th at EVO last year. ESAM's biggest accomplishment in Melee is 25th at Big House.......oh my god, watch out Armada, ESAM is coming for you! Comparing 2007 Melee to 2016 Melee is like comparing night and day. It's practically a whole different game. ESAM does not belong. Period. If Smash 4 people want to vote for him and see him go win-less in every single match and waste everybody's time, then go ahead. It's the Smash 4 community that will be hurt, not Melee's. So if that's what the Smash 4 community wants to happen, then please vote for him. It's their loss.

And you don't think that ESAM has developed as a player since 2007? He's made eligibility. He's a damn good player. I say if he gets voted in, let him test his ability. If the melee community doesn't want him in, then vote for someone else.

 

Why are people bringing up 2007 stuff? ESAM isn't a nominee because of his 2007 Melee play, but his 2015 and 2016 Melee play. As someone who's first tournament was in January 2007, I don't remember hearing ESAM's name as a top 50 player name, and nor do I remember hearing anything from 98% of the people following Melee now.

There are very few of us competitive Melee players from 2007 compared to how many players have caught on from 2008 on. And besides that, most of us don't get stuck in the past of Melee (while we do look back from time to time, which is normal), but are rather focused on the excitement of the present.

And that's all I need to know. For ESAM, Melee is a side game at best. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to go at the beginning. He even had a segment on the MIOM podcast with Tafokints where he tried to convince people to play Smash 4 over Melee. He is not passionate about the game. It makes me mad as hell that he might get in when players like Hugs and Duck, who have been traveling and getting good places all year long, won't. All because he got 25th at Big House 5 with a not even particularly impressive run.

1. The guy who won last year's Capcom Cup, Kazunoko, plays Street Fighter as a side game. He's primarily known for his Guilty Gear X/XX and Guilty Gear Xrd play.

Guess what? He still got one of the 32 invites and still won the last Capcom sponsored Ultra Street Fighter IV tournament and that 120,000 AMERICAN DOLLARS GRAND PRIZE!!! (that's a lotta money)

2. ESAM may have lucked out at TBH5, but he certainly earned his weight at other events, notably Dreamhack last winter aka the biggest venue for esports (along with its' ownership group the ESL) that aren't developer run. That's pretty impressive.

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Summit events aren't necessarily about skill (although there are requirements for obvious reasons) so much as about pleasure for the attendees and viewers. And if people vote him in, then they are voicing their opinion that he brings them pleasure via entertainment in his play and persona.

You guys can dislike his words or my words all you want (that includes myself), but you can't deny his skill, His skill, after all, is what earns him a spot as a nominee in the first place.

Really, if you don't want ESAM, vote for someone else. If you want someone else over ESAM, vote for someone else.

And if you really don't like who gets voted in, either don't watch the event or don't watch them play. It isn't that hard, especially when there's hundreds of Melee streams to follow on Twitch and other streaming platforms (you guys would be freaked out by how many Smash streams I follow; easily over 300).

A friend of Mango. That tells you all you need to know.

Uhhhhhh there's more to it than that. He's beaten damn near everyone in SoCal in sets + he sent Silent Wolf to loser's bracket at Genesis 3 in pretty dominant fashion. He got top 32 at HTC Showdown and TBH5.

He also got 17th at Genesis 3 (the 2nd biggest Melee tournament ever entrance-wise) tied with the likes of Lucky (MIOM 12), Westballz (MIOM 8), Shroomed (MIOM 10), Silent Wolf (MIOM 11), HugS (MIOM 20), Connor (MIOM 72) and MacD (MIOM 15). Oh and he's taken sets against most of those people before.

He's not too far off skill-wise from the likes of HugS, S2J and Lucky (the rest of the top 5 Norwalk crew along with NorCal), who are all top 20 players. He was one of the most improved players in 2015 (going from not even considered for the MIOM 100 in 2014 to 67th in 2015). In 2016 he is pushing farther, and likely he may be one of the most improved players of the year again. He could be moving towards a top 30 or even top 20 placement this year, and he's all but guaranteed a top 50 placing at this point.

He's a part of that elite Norwalk pack, and he earned his spot. We shouldn't be bashing him as merely "Mango's friend" when he has beaten people recently who have gotten top 8 at multiple majors and super majors, and he routinely takes games off of Mango and Lucky and S2J on streams in practices.

 

This really isn't a solid case at all. 2007 is too long ago to be considered relevant, and we all know how little his TBH5 run actually meant.

If we're talking about skill, there are a good 60-70 players at least that are more deserving.
If we're talking about who needs to great practice The Summit proves, the practice is pretty much wasted on him since he's not going to devote any more time to this game than what he already does.
If we're talking about the viewer experience, most of the viewers are going to be pretty bored watching ESAM lose every set he plays.

He has some interesting views on the game, but most of those views are fairly negative and I don't think we'll be hearing much of them at the Summit anyway.

The only real thing about ESAM that makes him worth considering over the dozens of better players is being a top Sm4sh player. While that's great for Sm4sh players who want to watch, the majority of viewers will be pretty annoyed.

He'll draw viewers, which is great and all, but the only actual appeal ESAM has over dozens of other players is that he's a top player for Sm4sh.

 

ESAM isn't primarily a Melee player, and he isn't good at Melee either. Its irrelevant that he plays other games at a high level. He offers next to nothing for Melee play.

I mean... isn't him like the 80th best player in the world or something? I agree that everyone there has a lot more to back them up and are more skille, don't get me wrong. But using the sentence "not good at melee" it's a huge exageration... He would probably be a way better spot if he attended more melee tourneys tbh.

 

Just read his post on the Smash reddit. How egotistical can someone be? Calling his tweet about not caring for Melee PR and trashing the Melee community constantly in his post. His claim about not being able to get good because of no practice partners his laughable when you have examples of players like Armada, PPMD, Leffen, and Ice who have no one to practice with yet are still world class.

I fully believe he's doing this to spite Melee at this point. I hope he goes through some type of repercussions for this.

 

I fully believe he's doing this to spite Melee at this point. I hope he goes through some type of repercussions for this.

He's not.

If anything I got that from his perspective the melee community was being incredibly toxic to him, telling him to get cancer, jump off a bridge and go back to Tr4sh.

He wasn't being entirely PC with what he was saying to the melee community but I do believe him when he has been saying this has happened to him as a result of this.

 

Uhhhhhh there's more to it than that. He's beaten damn near everyone in SoCal in sets + he sent Silent Wolf to loser's bracket at Genesis 3 in pretty dominant fashion. He got top 32 at HTC Showdown and TBH5.

He also got 17th at Genesis 3 (the 2nd biggest Melee tournament ever entrance-wise) tied with the likes of Lucky (MIOM 12), Westballz (MIOM 8), Shroomed (MIOM 10), Silent Wolf (MIOM 11), HugS (MIOM 20), Connor (MIOM 72) and MacD (MIOM 15). Oh and he's taken sets against most of those people before.

He's not too far off skill-wise from the likes of HugS, S2J and Lucky (the rest of the top 5 Norwalk crew along with NorCal), who are all top 20 players. He was one of the most improved players in 2015 (going from not even considered for the MIOM 100 in 2014 to 67th in 2015). In 2016 he is pushing farther, and likely he may be one of the most improved players of the year again. He could be moving towards a top 30 or even top 20 placement this year, and he's all but guaranteed a top 50 placing at this point.

He's a part of that elite Norwalk pack, and he earned his spot. We shouldn't be bashing him as merely "Mango's friend" when he has beaten people recently who have gotten top 8 at multiple majors and super majors, and he routinely takes games off of Mango and Lucky and S2J on streams in practices.

Yes genius, that's exactly why I said being a friend of Mango's "tells you all you need to know", because he obviously gets that big time practice and experience against major opponents from being with Mango and the Norwalk crew. I even said in my first post that unlike ESAM, Alex19 actually has worthy enough cred to warrant his entry into an exclusive event like Summit. And that was the post why Red Ryu asked who Alex19 was. So you're just needlessly repeating what I've already said.

 

He's not.

If anything I got that from his perspective the melee community was being incredibly toxic to him, telling him to get cancer, jump off a bridge and go back to Tr4sh.

He wasn't being entirely PC with what he was saying to the melee community but I do believe him when he has been saying this has happened to him as a result of this.

All online communities are going to do this. Toxic fans exist everywhere. When he said that if a Melee player came to a Smash 4 Summit, the Smash 4 community would welcome him with open arms is a complete and utter lie, and he knows it. He himself complained about Smash 4 fans bullying Vinnie. He knows people around Smash 4 are toxic. He's making stuff up to help his case, while damaging it by completely trashing the community of the event he's trying to attend. You think trashing the community of the event he's trying to go to is gonna help get him votes? That post made him look like a egotistical punk. I agree the people saying horrible things like telling him to jump off a bridge should go jump off a bridge themselves, but ESAM is making a bad impression for both the Melee and Smash 4 communities. I still think people should vote for whoever they want. If the people that vote for him want to see him get rekt, then by all means do so.

 

All online communities are going to do this. Toxic fans exist everywhere. When he said that if a Melee player came to a Smash 4 Summit, the Smash 4 community would welcome him with open arms is a complete and utter lie, and he knows it. He himself complained about Smash 4 fans bullying Vinnie. He knows people around Smash 4 are toxic. He's making stuff up to help his case, while damaging it by completely trashing the community of the event he's trying to attend. You think trashing the community of the event he's trying to go to is gonna help get him votes? That post made him look like a egotistical punk. I agree the people saying horrible things like telling him to jump off a bridge should go jump off a bridge themselves, but ESAM is making a bad impression for both the Melee and Smash 4 communities. I still think people should vote for whoever they want. If the people that vote for him want to see him get rekt, then by all means do so.

I agree with they exist in all communities.

I'm just saying that what he is saying about how one community is treating him I would believe it given what I saw on reddit and even here.

He's getting a lot more crap than he deserves.

 

And you don't think that ESAM has developed as a player since 2007? He's made eligibility. He's a damn good player. I say if he gets voted in, let him test his ability. If the melee community doesn't want him in, then vote for someone else.

It doesn't matter if the entire Melee community doesn't vote for him, because the Smash 4 community is voting for him in droves. That's the problem here. The Melee community is voting for different Melee players they like, where as the Smash 4 community is only voting for ESAM. And most of the people voting for ESAM don't even care about Melee. Is it his fault for wanting the chance to be at an event like Summit? No, of course not. But there are people way more qualified for Summit that won't get a chance because of people that don't care about Melee voting someone for a Melee event who is mainly a Smash 4 player.

The fact is, it's a Melee event. And ESAM's Melee cred is a fraction of his cred in Sm4sh/PM/Brawl. I mean I don't really care, because I'm still gonna watch Summit regardless because of the 15 others there that aren't ESAM, but I understand the problem people have with him being there. That is the people actually giving valid arguments, not the ones telling him to go jump off a bridge because those people need to reassess where their lives are.

 

It doesn't matter if the entire Melee community doesn't vote for him, because the Smash 4 community is voting for him in droves. That's the problem here. The Melee community is voting for different Melee players they like, where as the Smash 4 community is only voting for ESAM. And most of the people voting for ESAM don't even care about Melee. Is it his fault for wanting the chance to be at an event like Summit? No, of course not. But there are people way more qualified for Summit that won't get a chance because of people that don't care about Melee voting someone for a Melee event who is mainly a Smash 4 player.

The fact is, it's a Melee event. And ESAM's Melee cred is a fraction of his cred in Sm4sh/PM/Brawl. I mean I don't really care, because I'm still gonna watch Summit regardless because of the 15 others there that aren't ESAM, but I understand the problem people have with him being there. That is the people actually giving valid arguments, not the ones telling him to go jump off a bridge because those people need to reassess where their lives are.

My only argument for him being there.

He met the requirements the event set-up.
It's a popularity contest.

He fit both, that is why he is #1 in votes.

 

Although hey, if ESAM being in the race is gonna help Wobbles get more votes, because of them both being on Panda Global and ESAM always promoting Wobbles, then I'm all for ESAM being here. Because I want Wobbles in really badly.

 

It doesn't matter if the entire Melee community doesn't vote for him, because the Smash 4 community is voting for him in droves. That's the problem here. The Melee community is voting for different Melee players they like, where as the Smash 4 community is only voting for ESAM. And most of the people voting for ESAM don't even care about Melee. Is it his fault for wanting the chance to be at an event like Summit? No, of course not. But there are people way more qualified for Summit that won't get a chance because of people that don't care about Melee voting someone for a Melee event who is mainly a Smash 4 player.

The fact is, it's a Melee event. And ESAM's Melee cred is a fraction of his cred in Sm4sh/PM/Brawl. I mean I don't really care, because I'm still gonna watch Summit regardless because of the 15 others there that aren't ESAM, but I understand the problem people have with him being there. That is the people actually giving valid arguments, not the ones telling him to go jump off a bridge because those people need to reassess where their lives are.

Fair enough. I suppose sm4sh players choosing who gets in to a melee tournament might not be the best route...I suppose the only thing we can hope is that some of those that are just playing sm4sh watch some of the tournament and decide to get in to the melee scene themselves. Assuming he gets in, that is.

 

I mean... isn't him like the 80th best player in the world or something? I agree that everyone there has a lot more to back them up and are more skille, don't get me wrong. But using the sentence "not good at melee" it's a huge exageration... He would probably be a way better spot if he attended more melee tourneys tbh.

But he doesn't, he plays Smash 4. Maybe if he played a lot more Melee, then sure maybe he'd be a Melee god like how he was a Brawl/PM/Smash4 god, but he doesn't play Melee very often, and as a result, is not that good, so why should people vote for him?

 

I'm a Sm4sh player, but I play Melee and PM as well. I ended up using my votes on S2J, because I saw ESAM up there at #1 and thought, well, he's a shoe-in. ESAM is popular, pretty good at Melee, and ended up wanting to go. Isn't Smash Summit like, supposed to be really chill, made to see player interaction instead of just winning? I think ESAM meshes with that kind of environment better than some of the other players. But hey, it's an opinion.

 

But he doesn't, he plays Smash 4. Maybe if he played a lot more Melee, then sure maybe he'd be a Melee god like how he was a Brawl/PM/Smash4 god, but he doesn't play Melee very often, and as a result, is not that good, so why should people vote for him?

Because he got a placement result to qualify and he has a large following.

Plus people keep reiterating that he is "bad" he's not honestly.

 

Because he got a placement result to qualify and he has a large following.

Plus people keep reiterating that he is "bad" he's not honestly.

He's "bad" at Melee when compared to many other qualified Melee players. That's what they mean. But when comparing his performance in Melee to how other top Smash 4 players are at Melee, then he is really, really good. Abadango places something like 534th at Melee majors, which is no exaggeration, compared to ESAM's 25th at TBH5. So I guess that could be another appeal to voting for ESAM.

And honestly, I actually want ESAM in now, just because if him being in the race helps get Wobbles in there too, then we can see ESAM and Wobbles interact on stream, which will be funny.

 

Hmmmm...I don't think one 25th placing is necessarily enough evidence to support getting into this kind of tournament. If his motives are as true as he says though, it would be interesting to see him compete. I sincerely hope if he makes it that he doesn't embarrass himself though. Then again if he makes it, I'm sure he'll have plenty of motivation to perform better than before. Nonetheless, I only support ESAM in this if he is intent on actually bringing something to the Melee community, not gaining popularity.

 

This really isn't a solid case at all. 2007 is too long ago to be considered relevant, and we all know how little his TBH5 run actually meant.

If we're talking about skill, there are a good 60-70 players at least that are more deserving.
If we're talking about who needs to great practice The Summit proves, the practice is pretty much wasted on him since he's not going to devote any more time to this game than what he already does.
If we're talking about the viewer experience, most of the viewers are going to be pretty bored watching ESAM lose every set he plays.

He has some interesting views on the game, but most of those views are fairly negative and I don't think we'll be hearing much of them at the Summit anyway.

The only real thing about ESAM that makes him worth considering over the dozens of better players is being a top Sm4sh player. While that's great for Sm4sh players who want to watch, the majority of viewers will be pretty annoyed.

He'll draw viewers, which is great and all, but the only actual appeal ESAM has over dozens of other players is that he's a top player for Sm4sh.

How do you know he's gonna lose though are you a ****ing fortune teller

 

Okay, Esam really doesn't deserve to go to smash summit 2 for a couple of reasons

1) He is not as good as all the other people who are qualified, which means that he is going to get eliminated quickly if no going 2-0. I'm not saying he isn't good but he plays sm4sh not melee so he's not going to be able to match the other people who play melee full time.

2) There are only 6 people who can enter this tournament through votes and Esam plays smash 4, this means he is taking the away the opportunity from someone who actual plays and wants to grow in melee

 

ESAM is in. End of discussion.

 

And that's all I need to know. For ESAM, Melee is a side game at best. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to go at the beginning. He even had a segment on the MIOM podcast with Tafokints where he tried to convince people to play Smash 4 over Melee. He is not passionate about the game. It makes me mad as hell that he might get in when players like Hugs and Duck, who have been traveling and getting good places all year long, won't. All because he got 25th at Big House 5 with a not even particularly impressive run.

Can you please provide a link, or citation, to the podcast where ESAM "tried to convince people to play Smash 4 over Melee"?

I want to see it for myself.