Vayseth's Voyage is an article series written by The Big House Wii U Head TO Vayseth straight from Japan. Every week, he will be bringing you articles on various topics regarding the Japanese Smash Community. Bringing Smash Communities around the world closer and closer together with every article!
Previous Articles:
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Top 3 Wii U Tournament Series
Vayseth's Voyage: KARISUMA 6 Results and Review
Vayseth's Voyage: SUMABATO 9 Results and Review
Vayseth's Voyage: Japanese Game Bars
Vayseth's Voyage: KVOxTSB 2016 Review and Results
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Love of Team Tournaments
Vayseth's Voyage: Vayseth Visits Umebura 23
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Lack of Consistency
Vayseth's Voyage: The Struggling Japanese Melee Community
Vayseth's Voyage: Interview with Double A Battery
Vayseth's Voyage: Komorikiri's Resurgence
Vayseth's Voyage: Making a Difference
Vayseth's Voyage: ZeRo's EVO Training
Vayseth's Voyage: In 1.1.6 Everyone is a Threat
@Vayseth (left), representative for @TBH6 stands with the winner @komorikiri and the TOs @9B and @nojinko.
Sumabato for THE BIG HOUSE was an astounding success. We set new records for stream viewership at a Japanese tournament. It was also the highest level tournament in Japanese Smash 4 history. Many people will quickly point out the absence of @kameme, @abadango, and @ranai but the Japanese community is incredibly deep and the majority of players are not well-known outside of Japan. However, that is exactly why over 200 players from all over Japan came out to compete. They want to get their name out there, be recognized for all their hard work, and be given a chance to compete at one of America's biggest events, The Big House.
Planning this tournament was not easy, and without all of the support from @Sumabato staff members @nojinko and @9B we would not have been able to pull it off. Somehow they were able to secure a hall with only a few months notice for two days, which is extremely difficult to do in Japan. When tournament preregistration capped in 20 minutes they were able to find more space to rent out so we could reopen registration for those who were not able to register in time. We were able to discover new ways to bring Japan an American-style tournament while still accommodating all of the Japanese players' expectations.
If The Big House was going to sponsor the tournament we felt we had to do everything just like it would be done at The Big House. This meant doing away with best of one round robin pools and starting immediately with a double elimination bracket with our rules and our stage list. However, Japanese players are used to being able to play against multiple opponents in a round robin, followed by an A Class tournament bracket or a B Class amateur bracket so doing it this way would drastically decrease the amount of matches played for some players. Eventually, we came up with the schedule we ended up using for the tournament:
Day 1:
@isotaku (left), @komorikiri (middle), @ranai (right) get ready for the doubles side event on day one of the tournament.
We were somehow able to blend the Japanese tournament experience with the American tournament experience and give the Japanese Smash 4 community something truly special. For those who were eliminated early we rented out spare rooms where they could go and register for on demand round robins of four players each. This way players would get tournament level matches against various players and not have to resort to only playing friendlies while they waited for teams to begin.
Day two gave everyone the interesting experience of seeing who would win a traditional Sumabato if we removed the top 32 from the tournament. The side tournament ended just in time to spectate Top 8, so everyone always had something to do at the tournament. As a TO, planning this was an amazing experience and I learned a lot about scheduling and how to accommodate more than just the main event. I encourage TOs to try and find new ways to do the same!
As a sponsor I could not enter or TO the event so I had to find other ways to make myself useful. The ultimate goal of this tournament was to get more exposure to the Japanese scene so I took to Twitter and documented everything as it was happening as best as I could. I uploaded profiles of the Top 32 on day one and profiles of the Top 8 on day two. Multiple Japanese players tweeted out that they were getting tweets from all over the world and really appreciated all the support everyone gave them. I want to thank you for all of your support, especially the legendary Shuton Spirit Bomb.
In the end, @Shuton did not have enough energy to stop @komorikiri from earning a trip to The Big House 6 after missing his opportunity earlier this year at KVOxTSB to go to EVO. Everyone on The Big House TO team wants to congratulate komorikiri on such an amazing performance. I know many people are disappointed that we had such a talented Top 8 yet only one of them could get the trip to The Big House. Many Japanese players registered for The Big House during the Wii U Japan qualifier and I assure you that komorikiri will not be traveling to Michigan alone this October.
@Saturn of the @sumabato staff made this wonderful name card for the tournament. Give them a follow!
Here are the Top 8 results, complete with their profiles I tweeted out (translated bracket provided by @juddy):
1st Komorikiri (Cloud // Sonic; Kansai)
2nd Shuton (Olimar; Kyushu)
3rd Taiheita (Lucas; Chubu)
4th Choco (Zero Suit Samus; Kanto)
5th Hayato. (Toon Link; Kanto)
5th T (Link; Kanto)
7th kept (Villager; Kanto)
7th Tea (Pac-Man // Bayonetta; Kansai)
I want to thank everyone who tuned in to watch the tournament on @Shi_Gaming and for chatting with me on breaks and between matches. I rarely get the opportunity to interact with stream viewers so that was an amazing experience as well. I also want to thank everyone who followed, retweeted, liked, and commented on all the players and all the updates all weekend long. We all worked together to bring Japan something they will not soon forget and I cannot wait until my next opportunity to work with Sumabato to bring everyone something even better. Until then, keep your eyes on The Big House Twitter Account for more exciting updates to come including the Melee Qualifier coming up on August 28th.
Sayonara until next week.
Previous Articles:
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Top 3 Wii U Tournament Series
Vayseth's Voyage: KARISUMA 6 Results and Review
Vayseth's Voyage: SUMABATO 9 Results and Review
Vayseth's Voyage: Japanese Game Bars
Vayseth's Voyage: KVOxTSB 2016 Review and Results
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Love of Team Tournaments
Vayseth's Voyage: Vayseth Visits Umebura 23
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Lack of Consistency
Vayseth's Voyage: The Struggling Japanese Melee Community
Vayseth's Voyage: Interview with Double A Battery
Vayseth's Voyage: Komorikiri's Resurgence
Vayseth's Voyage: Making a Difference
Vayseth's Voyage: ZeRo's EVO Training
Vayseth's Voyage: In 1.1.6 Everyone is a Threat
@Vayseth (left), representative for @TBH6 stands with the winner @komorikiri and the TOs @9B and @nojinko.
Sumabato for THE BIG HOUSE was an astounding success. We set new records for stream viewership at a Japanese tournament. It was also the highest level tournament in Japanese Smash 4 history. Many people will quickly point out the absence of @kameme, @abadango, and @ranai but the Japanese community is incredibly deep and the majority of players are not well-known outside of Japan. However, that is exactly why over 200 players from all over Japan came out to compete. They want to get their name out there, be recognized for all their hard work, and be given a chance to compete at one of America's biggest events, The Big House.
Planning this tournament was not easy, and without all of the support from @Sumabato staff members @nojinko and @9B we would not have been able to pull it off. Somehow they were able to secure a hall with only a few months notice for two days, which is extremely difficult to do in Japan. When tournament preregistration capped in 20 minutes they were able to find more space to rent out so we could reopen registration for those who were not able to register in time. We were able to discover new ways to bring Japan an American-style tournament while still accommodating all of the Japanese players' expectations.
If The Big House was going to sponsor the tournament we felt we had to do everything just like it would be done at The Big House. This meant doing away with best of one round robin pools and starting immediately with a double elimination bracket with our rules and our stage list. However, Japanese players are used to being able to play against multiple opponents in a round robin, followed by an A Class tournament bracket or a B Class amateur bracket so doing it this way would drastically decrease the amount of matches played for some players. Eventually, we came up with the schedule we ended up using for the tournament:
Day 1:
- Singles until Top 32 (Bo3)
- On Demand Round Robin Tournaments
- Teams (Single Elimination)
- Singles Top 32 (Bo5)
- Traditional Sumabato Rules Tournament (for everyone who did not make Top 32, Single Elimination)
- Crew Battle (10v10, 30 Stocks, Kansai vs Not Kansai)
@isotaku (left), @komorikiri (middle), @ranai (right) get ready for the doubles side event on day one of the tournament.
We were somehow able to blend the Japanese tournament experience with the American tournament experience and give the Japanese Smash 4 community something truly special. For those who were eliminated early we rented out spare rooms where they could go and register for on demand round robins of four players each. This way players would get tournament level matches against various players and not have to resort to only playing friendlies while they waited for teams to begin.
Day two gave everyone the interesting experience of seeing who would win a traditional Sumabato if we removed the top 32 from the tournament. The side tournament ended just in time to spectate Top 8, so everyone always had something to do at the tournament. As a TO, planning this was an amazing experience and I learned a lot about scheduling and how to accommodate more than just the main event. I encourage TOs to try and find new ways to do the same!
As a sponsor I could not enter or TO the event so I had to find other ways to make myself useful. The ultimate goal of this tournament was to get more exposure to the Japanese scene so I took to Twitter and documented everything as it was happening as best as I could. I uploaded profiles of the Top 32 on day one and profiles of the Top 8 on day two. Multiple Japanese players tweeted out that they were getting tweets from all over the world and really appreciated all the support everyone gave them. I want to thank you for all of your support, especially the legendary Shuton Spirit Bomb.
In the end, @Shuton did not have enough energy to stop @komorikiri from earning a trip to The Big House 6 after missing his opportunity earlier this year at KVOxTSB to go to EVO. Everyone on The Big House TO team wants to congratulate komorikiri on such an amazing performance. I know many people are disappointed that we had such a talented Top 8 yet only one of them could get the trip to The Big House. Many Japanese players registered for The Big House during the Wii U Japan qualifier and I assure you that komorikiri will not be traveling to Michigan alone this October.
@Saturn of the @sumabato staff made this wonderful name card for the tournament. Give them a follow!
1st Komorikiri (Cloud // Sonic; Kansai)
2nd Shuton (Olimar; Kyushu)
3rd Taiheita (Lucas; Chubu)
4th Choco (Zero Suit Samus; Kanto)
5th Hayato. (Toon Link; Kanto)
5th T (Link; Kanto)
7th kept (Villager; Kanto)
7th Tea (Pac-Man // Bayonetta; Kansai)
I want to thank everyone who tuned in to watch the tournament on @Shi_Gaming and for chatting with me on breaks and between matches. I rarely get the opportunity to interact with stream viewers so that was an amazing experience as well. I also want to thank everyone who followed, retweeted, liked, and commented on all the players and all the updates all weekend long. We all worked together to bring Japan something they will not soon forget and I cannot wait until my next opportunity to work with Sumabato to bring everyone something even better. Until then, keep your eyes on The Big House Twitter Account for more exciting updates to come including the Melee Qualifier coming up on August 28th.
Sayonara until next week.
