Saturday, August 20 marks the start of an incredible 2-day event for Japan’s Super Smash Bros. Wii U scene. Umebura: The Second Anniversary Tournament (Umebura S.A.T.) is celebrating the legacy of the premier Kanto tournament series. As usual, it will be held at the Ota City Industrial Plaza in Pio, Tokyo and streamed by SHI Gaming. However, this entry has proven to be the most stacked one to date.
Expect to see fearsome Kanto regulars such as Yuta “Abadango” Kawamura, EVO 2nd place finisher Kamemushi and Yuta “DNG|Nietono” Uejima compete against Tri State greats Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada and Samuel “dT | Dabuz” Buzby. Not only that, but the arguable #1 Sheik main Ramin “Mr.R” Delshad will be flying in from the Netherlands! While these international invites were made in advance of last weekend’s Super Smash Con, it just so happens that Nairo, Dabuz, and Mr.R comprised its top 3. And if this level of competition wasn’t enough, Kansai is also showing up in full force, with Ranai and Komorikiri both registered as well. A glimpse of a scene at its best, Umebura S.A.T. is practically guaranteed to provide legendary matches.
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Beginnings
As implied by this event’s name, the Umebura series is now officially two years old. The very first Umebura was a Brawl event organized by renowned Peach main RSZ|Umeki. From the very beginning, he and his staff were able to attract some of the best Smashers in Kanto. Part of its success here comes from its connections to Piosuma, the previous tournament series hosted at the same venue. Many of the same people involved in organizing Piosuma are now Umebura staff members. If you want to watch sets from Piosumas and early Umeburas, you won’t find them on SHI-G; the primary livestreaming and video-releasing crew for Japanese Smash didn’t yet exist. Fortunately, they are still available to watch on the Numeburamovie YouTube channel.
Competition at early Umebura events was fierce, but by the end of the Brawl area, Kansai could edge out Kanto in terms of talent. Not only was Kansai ICs main 9B was largely considered the best Japanese Smasher, but other greats such as Choco and Edge established themselves as well. In tournaments where both regions attended, it was not uncommon to see Kansai come out on top. And while SG|Rain disrupted this trend in the early months of Smash 4, his loss to Ranai and the subsequent Kansai vs. Kansai finals at KSB 2015 proved that may have been an anomaly.
Umebura F.A.T.
Hosted in September of last year, last year’s anniversary tournament set the bar quite high for the present installment. Umebura F.A.T. drew 300+ players and featured three prominent international invites. It marked Nairo’s first trip to Japan, and he was joined by Vincent “Vinnie” Cannino and Elliot “C9Ally” Carroza-Oyarce. Nairo would go on to win the event without dropping a set, helping solidify him as the 2nd best player in the world at that time. His biggest challenge on the way to victory came from 9B, who nearly beat him and eliminated both Vinnie and Ally. For this reason, F.A.T. also legitimized Ryu as a top-tier threat in the minds of many players. The theme of Kansai dominance was still very much present.
Changes
No Smash Wii U scene has remained remotely the same in the past year, and Japan is no exception. Perhaps the most notable changes are the rise of Abadango and Kamemushi and the waning of the Ranai-dominated era. In other words, Kanto appears to be edging out Kansai in once again. This is a reversal of last year’s trend, where Kansai took up 4 of the top 6 spots at Umebura F.A.T. even with Ranai underperforming. Abadango became the first Japanese Smash 4 player to win an American major in Pound 2016, and at EVO 2016, Kanto was second only to SoCal in terms of top 8 representation.
However, none of this is to say that the old guard is no longer relevant. 9B may have long since moved on from Ryu, though his Bayonetta is every bit as dangerous. Komorikiri picked up Cloud and now uses him as a fearsome supplement to his stifling Sonic play. Other long-time competitors such as Rain, Choco and DNG|Nietono have also stuck around, though they aren’t quite as dominant as they were in the early days of the game. And of course, one can’t forget such rising stars as Donkey Kong prodigy HIKARU, Hyrule’s harbinger T and of course the unkillable Lucas Taiheita.
As is the case elsewhere, the pool of talent that comprises top-level Japanese Smash has only expanded. The only difference is that Japan’s results have always been somewhat volatile due to high skill-density. Umebura S.A.T. could mark a new phase in the evolution of the game, or it could offer strange one-off results that are never repeated. Part of the excitement of following the action is that there’s no way to guess in advance! No matter what happens, this tournament will provide a snapshot of an incredibly diverse and talented scene that’s flourishing now more than ever. Hopefully it will spark continued interest abroad and lead to more international travel and competition.
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Viewer’s Guide
Day 1 (Saturday, August 20th):
Time
|
Event
11:00 a.m. | R1 Singles Pools (Wave A)
12:30 | R1 Singles Pools (Wave B)
2:00 p.m. | Doubles Bracket
8:30 p.m. | ClosingDay 2 (Sunday, August 21st):
Time
|
Event
10:30 a.m. | R2 Singles Pools
12:40 p.m. | Main Bracket
8:00 p.m. | Tournament Ends
As mentioned above, you can catch this event streaming on SHI Gaming’s channel. All listed times are GMT+9, putting this event 13 hours ahead of EDT and 16 ahead of PDT. Be sure to account for that when tuning in, as this tournament will run into the morning for US residents.11:00 a.m. | R1 Singles Pools (Wave A)
12:30 | R1 Singles Pools (Wave B)
2:00 p.m. | Doubles Bracket
8:30 p.m. | Closing
10:30 a.m. | R2 Singles Pools
12:40 p.m. | Main Bracket
8:00 p.m. | Tournament Ends
With the sheer amount of talent attending Umebura S.A.T., it is nearly impossible to predict what finals will look like. All 3 international players are coming in hot off of excellent performances at SSC, but several Japanese players have also been playing some of the best Smash of their careers. To make things slightly easier, the seeding has already been determined well in advance:
1) Kamemushi 
2) Abadango
3) Ranai
4) dT Dabuz
5) Earth
6) KEN
7) Nairo
8) Mr.R
9) Komorikiri
10) Pichi
11) T
12) Shuton
13) DNG|Nietono
14) Tsu-
15) Choco
16) SG|Rain
17. Kie
18) Taiheita
19) Yuzu
20) Sigma
21) 9B
22) kept
23) RSZ|Umeki
24) HIKARU
25) ikep
26) FILIP
27) Hikari
28) YOC
29) Hayato.
30) Yui
31) Atelier
32) Fuwa
33) Ri-ma
34) Songn
35) Kisha
36) Raito
37) Eim
38) Nasubi
39) KaPMk
40) taranito
41) Mangalitza
42) Brood
43) You3
44) Kuro
45) Nyanko
46) Oisiitofu
47) Kakera
48) Takera
2) Abadango
3) Ranai
4) dT Dabuz
5) Earth
6) KEN
7) Nairo
8) Mr.R
9) Komorikiri
10) Pichi
11) T
12) Shuton
13) DNG|Nietono
14) Tsu-
15) Choco
16) SG|Rain
17. Kie
18) Taiheita
19) Yuzu
20) Sigma
21) 9B
22) kept
23) RSZ|Umeki
24) HIKARU
25) ikep
26) FILIP
27) Hikari
28) YOC
29) Hayato.
30) Yui
31) Atelier
32) Fuwa
33) Ri-ma
34) Songn
35) Kisha
36) Raito
37) Eim
38) Nasubi
39) KaPMk
40) taranito
41) Mangalitza
42) Brood
43) You3
44) Kuro
45) Nyanko
46) Oisiitofu
47) Kakera
48) Takera
While Japan’s best-of-1 pools format is infamous for its inconsistency, it is worth noting that the players listed here will be floated past pools. Even with this degree of leniency, it is likely that there will be numerous upsets in the final bracket. A full list of R1 pools is available to view here (note: they are in Japanese).
