On January 1st at 11:59 pm, registration for Project M singles at We Tech Those 3 will close. The third installment of the east coast tournament series currently has over 170 entrants, making it the largest installment yet. As with previous events, Project M singles will be the main focus, though it will also feature Project M doubles and crews as well as brackets for Super Smash Bros. Melee Singles and Doubles
The Project M community has come a long way since the first We Tech Those back in 2015. The event saw 160 total entrants, with the return of several “old school” players, such as Jake “Frozen” Somma and Christopher “Gurukid” Berrios, who placed 3rd and 4th respectively. However, neither could beat the reigning PM champion at the time, Arjun “Junebug” Rao, who took the tournament over Dustin “Darc” Hayes. Despite Junebug’s win, many were pleasantly surprised with players like Frozen, Guru and Darc placing as well as they did.
One year later, We Tech Those 2 took place at the same venue, but with a much smaller audience. With PM ceasing development about 7 months prior, the playerbase for the game had been dwindling. This time, there were only 109 entrants in PM singles, but that didn’t stop the event’s hype. Top 8 saw the rise of MD/VA’s Falcon player SonED as he managed to take out Brian “DVD” Sherbert and Alex “Hyperflame” Mireles. His impressive run ceased as New York's Mario player, Anthony "Gallo" Gallo, knocked him out in the losers bracket. Gallo would go on to beat Junebug and then lost to Pete “Envy” Grieco in losers finals. This led to a New Jersey grand finals, with Envy facing off against famed Mewtwo and Meta Knight player Michael “Emukiller” Silbernagel, who beat Envy 3-0 to seal his first place victory.
As We Tech Those 3 approaches, the tournament is already shaping up to be even more exciting than the first two events. With the cancellation of the 2017 Project M Circuit and the announcement that the conclusion tournament to this circuit, Olympus, will not be happening this year, We Tech Those 3 is now becoming the alternative to Olympus 2. With this in mind, players from all over the country are flying in to compete, starting 2018 off with a bang. Let’s take a look at some of the players we have lined up for this event.
Thomas “ThundeRzReiGN” Thammavongsa:
Coming in at number 1 on the 2016 PM Rank, Thunderz continued his reign throughout 2017, placing first at Cashed Out, Frozen Pheonix, Super Smashed Bros, CGC 2017, The Bigger Balc, Supernova 2, Balcy’s Palace and Fair and Balanced, just to name a few. He managed to use his Donkey Kong and Captain Falcon to place within top 5 at every major tournament he attended, only losing to other top players. With these results, many may see Thunderz as the shoo-in for We Tech Those 3, but there are many other threats in his way.
Malachi “Malachi” Covington:
While Thunderz has been dominating the west coast, Malachi has established his dominance over on the east coast. Throughout 2017, he’s won Flex Zone 2, Downfall 6, Bounty Hunters, Low Tier City 5 and Immunity 2. While his resume isn’t as strong as ThundeRzReiGN’s, Malachi has been the biggest roadblock in Thunderz’s path. He currently has a positive win rate over Thunderz, beating him at The Bigger Balc, Low Tier City 5, and Blacklisted 3. Although he lost to Thunderz at the recent west coast tournament Fair and Balanced, Thunderz may have to face off with Malachi again at We Tech Those 3, this time on the east coast.
Alex “Hyperflame” Mireles:
Currently regarded as the best Lucas player in Project M, Hyperflame has more than proven his ability with strong results in the last few months. Most notably, he won Blacklisted 3 back in July, beating Malachi in both winners and grand finals, taking everyone by surprise. He went on to place 3rd at Super Smash Con, and 1st at Tipped Off 12, beating the likes of Gallo, Jose “Jfyst” Rosario, and Thomas “Silver” Manning. Although he’s not quite as consistent as Malachi and Thunderz, Hyperflame is sure to provide his fair share of upsets at We Tech Those 3.
Zachary “Lunchables” Sain:
Of all the top players attending this event, Lunchables seems to be the wild card. Previously regarded as one of Project M’s best players, Lunchables has been on and off of hiatus since for about two years. While many began to brush him off, disregarding his ability to compete after his hiatus, he proved to everyone he’s still a threat by placing second at Olympus at the end of 2016. Since then, he’s attended very few tournaments with decent results, most notably placing 7th at Smash ‘N’ Splash 3. He’s now been making a small return to the game, attending locals in Texas where he’s since made somewhat of a comeback. Nevertheless, We Tech Those 3 will be the first time he’s traveled outside of Texas for a tournament since Smash ‘N’ Splash 3, so this could be his chance to return to the scene in style.
Michael “Techboy” Leleniewski:
Of all the players mentioned recently, Techboy is the youngest and newest to the scene. He first garnered attention with his Ice Climbers after placing 9th at Shuffle: Battle of the Midwest, and has since proven himself on multiple occasions. He placed 5th in Project M at Smash ‘N’ Splash, beating Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma to make it to top 8. Since then, he’s managed to take a set off of ThundeRzReiGN at Showdown: Battle Royale 2 to take 1st place, and has continued to dominate the Michigan scene. Many players now consider him the best Ice Climbers player, and it's likely that he's going to show everyone why he's earned that title at We Tech Those 3.
With so many players attending, there are many different regions being represented. Some notable regions include:
New York:
One of the more notable New York players attending We Tech Those 3 is the famed Messiah “Phresh” Williams. Anyone who doesn’t consider Techboy to the best Ice Climbers player probably regards Phresh as number 1. In fact, not only has he been a top player longer than Techboy, but he even managed to beat him at Smash ‘N’ Splash 3. Recently, he’s also placed 5th at Low Tier City 5. Now, being at the same tournament as Techboy again, Phresh has a chance to prove himself as number 1.
Another notable New York player is Trent “Zhime” Moss. Zhime was one of New York’s old school players, establishing himself as the best Zelda player since before the release of Project M 3.0. However, his seemingly indefinite hiatus has made many question his title. With poor placings at his most recent tournament, We Tech Those 3 could give him a chance to prove his worth.
New Jersey:
While New Jersey often gets overshadowed by New York, they’re coming into We Tech Those 3 full force. First off on their list of representatives is Kyle “Switch” Carlon, who’s been asserting himself as the best in his state all year. He’s won several east coast monthly tournaments in the past few months, and took 1st place at CGC Redux and 5th at Blacklisted 3. He’s without a doubt the best Wolf player right now, and a joy to watch.
Right behind Switch is DVD, whose Toon Link remains to be a threat on the east coast. With two separate wins over Techboy this year, he’s managed to place top 5 at every large tournament he’s been to since Blacklisted 3, including Supernova 2, Low Tier City 5, and CGC Redux.
Next up is New Jersey’s wild card. For a period, Envy was considered to be one of the best players in the game, ranking 14th in the 2016 PM Rank. Since then, his placings in tournaments have been inconsistent, but by no means bad. He’s proven that he can not only hold his own on a national stage, but also that he’s still one of New Jersey’s best players. With recent strong placings, such as his 5th place finish at Immunity 2 and his 3rd place finish at Project M Showdown 6, Envy is absolutely worth keeping an eye out for this tournament.
Finally, we have Emukiller. Although he’s been somewhat inactive in terms of the national scene this year, he’s placed well at the tournaments he’s attended. This includes a 2nd place finish at Super Smash Con, and 9th place finishes at both The Bigger Balc and Supernova 2. His Meta Knight is sure to continue to deliver clean and exciting play this coming January.
Connecticut:
Unsurprisingly, the two biggest names in Connecticut will both be attending We Tech Those 3. Kyle “Kycse” Carrero, notably placing 5th at Salty Juans 4 and 2nd at CGC Redux, is currently considered to be the best Charizard main by many players. Similarly, his doubles partner Flipp, is considered to be the best Snake player in Project M right now. However, Flipp boasts a much more impressive resume than Kycse, placing 4th at both Salty Juans 4 and Blacklisted 3, as well as 2nd at Supernova 2 and The Bigger Balc. Both of these players have proven their skill and consistency, and will likely be looking to make top 8 at We Tech Those 3.
Maryland/Virginia:
First up in MD/VA is Junebug, a previous number 1 player. For most of 2015, Junebug was regarded as the best Project M player, and even won the first We Tech Those event. Of course, since then, a lot has changed for both Junebug and the Project M community. While he remained dominant in 2016, coming in at number 5 on the PM Rank, his more recent placements in Project M have been far from number 1 status. While that may not sound very good for him, he’s still managed to make at least top 8 at almost every event he’s attended in 2017, most notably placing 5th at Supernova 2.
The other MD/VA player is, like Junebug, another Diddy Kong main. Raseen “Bacon Pancakes” Khan has been on the come-up recently, placing 5th at Tipped Off 12 and 1st at Worlds Collide. While one 1st place finish may not seem all too impressive, he managed to beat Techboy twice to secure his placement. It’s likely BP will have a lot more to say for himself at We Tech Those 3.
Texas:
Not to be overshadowed by Lunchables, Texas has two other representatives looking to make waves this tournament. The first of which is Michael “Luck” Provonsil, a long time player who was dominant in Project M 3.0. Recently, his Diddy Kong has placed 5th at Balcy’s Palace and 9th at Salty Juans 4. While he’s had stronger results in Texas, it’s hard to say how well he will do at We Tech Those 3, considering the fact that he hasn’t travelled to the east coast for a tournament since Flex Zone 2 in February.
Conversely, Texas also brings a player who hasn’t had strong results until recently. Shahid “Fearless” Jivani and his Lucario have been making waves in the PM scene since Frozen Phoenix 2017, with wins over many of Canada’s best players. Since then, he’s placed 5th at both Clutch City Clash 2 and Blacklisted 3, beating both Kycse and Darc.
Other:
As for notables from other regions, we have Jfyst from Florida, Jacob “Dirtboy” Smith from Michigan, and Silver from Massachusetts. Jfyst made a name for himself at The Bigger Balc, where he beat Phresh and had an incredibly close game 5 set with Thunderz, which he inevitably lost to place 17th. Since then, his Sonic has net him a 9th place finish at Supernova 2, and a 3rd place finish at Tipped Off 12.
As for Dirtboy, he’s managed to secure himself a spot as a contender for the best Squirtle player in Project M, placing 3rd at Frozen Phoenix 2017 and 7th at Smash ‘N’ Splash 3. This year, he’s managed to take sets off of players like Techboy and Kycse, to name a few. He’ll also be teaming with Techboy in doubles.
Finally, we have the Falco main, Silver. With his fairly unpopular character, he placed 5th at Tipped Off 12, and 3rd at CGC Redux. He also has wins over top players like Flipp, Kycse, and Phresh. Without Darc attending this year, Silver is going to have to work even harder representing Massachusetts, but he’s already proven to us that he can.
That about wraps up the players who you won’t want to miss! While there are only about twenty people listed here, there’s many more skilled players attending, so you should keep an eye out! Either way, We Tech Those 3 is shaping up to be what Olympus 2 could have been: A finale to the 2017 year in Project M.
If you’re interested in We Tech Those 3, you can check out the event page here.
If you want updates on the tournament , you can see the Facebook page for the event here.
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