Now, as one of the big summer events approaches, we will be following ESAM as he prepares for the second installment of Super Smash Con.
Last year, ESAM placed 2nd in both the Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Smash for Wii U tournaments. He gave a stellar performance in both games, beating Nairoby “Nairo” Quesada for the first time in Brawl and taking Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios to a super close game 5 when ZeRo was still reigning supreme at Smash 4.
But ever since then, ESAM’s placings have been average at best, failing to get Top 8 at almost every major event. Despite that, he always got at least top 16 and his loses were to other fellow top players, even getting 9th place at Genesis 3 and Pound 2016. However, EVO 2016 saw ESAM’s lowest placing to date, at 25th, losing to an unranked player. Despite that, ESAM is not discouraged, and he’s ready to improve.
“My recent results haven't even been bad, just bad for my standards. I'm still one of the more consistent players; I haven't had a result lower than 25th (which even players like Ally and Nairo have dipped below).” says ESAM. “I've been having weird mindset issues where I know something is bad or wrong but I kinda go, ‘Well it'll still work, totally’ and then I do it and get punished. At EVO, those mindset issues actually weren't there, but my fingers weren't cooperating with me. However, I'm happy that I feel better in my mind because you can grind out tech skill, but you can't grind out correct decision making.”
Looking to make a repeat of his great placements last year, ESAM isn’t going in without a plan. “I've been grinding tech and trying to solidify my movements, but I'm also headed down to Miami to visit my family,” ESAM explains. “While I'm there I'm hoping to get some fests with all the great South Florida players (MVD, Nick Riddle, 8Bitman, DJ Jack, etc.) and go to a few locals. Hopefully I can just play super solid there and then bring it with me to SmashCon.”
With powerful rivals such as ZeRo, Nairo and Samuel “Dabuz” Buzby, ESAM is ready for anything with a very optimistic state of mind. “I'm never scared of anyone going in. If I'm on point I can beat any player in the world.” No barrier is too high for Eric, as he approaches without fear to the big stage. Well, maybe a little…
For the first time ever, SSC will host an event in which four players will be competing with each other in each four of the Smash games. With multigame threats such as Justin “Wizzrobe” Hallet, ZeRo and of course, Jason “Mew2king” Zimmerman, ESAM discusses his game plan. “I think the bracket goes I play ZeRo and Wizzy plays M2K. I'm not particularly great at 64, so that's a toss-up, but I'm 99% sure I'll win Brawl and Melee. So if I win 64, or I beat him badly in Brawl/Melee, I should win. For the other side, I hope Wizzy wins”. He also humorously adds, “If M2K makes it, GG more than likely.”
And at the end of the day, Super Smash Con is not only a multi-game tournament, but a fan convention with many things to do, and ESAM is planning to enjoy every moment of it. “I'm driving up from NC to Smashcon with my friend Pixel. We road-tripped last year and decided to do it again. I'm gonna be staying with Panda people, so that'll be fun because I love interacting with them.”
With that we will be saying our goodbyes to ESAM, wishing him the best of luck in all his events. Be sure to stay tuned to Smashboards, because we will be looking at more player’s personal journeys in the upcoming week.
Last edited by a moderator:
