Mike G's manic play-style is really entertaining to watch, and it's really easy to see the influence it had on Armada. I'm very excited to see what Mike G's new Peach looks like when he's done woodshedding her.
And I agree with you, VaNz. It seems like Mikael isn't as recognized as I think he ought to be, and I can only surmise it's because his Peach wasn't very flashy. But that's not to say the technical skill wasn't there; superior tech skill is exactly the reason WHY he was able to employ his ingenuity with so much economy, doing only exactly what he needed to do, and doing it on the first try. This purposefulness is precisely the link that makes Armada and him my two favorite Peaches. Everything they do is so intentional and well-executed because they pay attention to their opponent, and this makes them more than just great Peach players; they're smart players who happen to play Peach.
This is an issue I've been wondering about for some time. Probably, arguably, the top two or three players in the world right now are maining Jigglypuff and Peach, despite the official tier list. The tier list is still representative, by most counts. So the obvious question is why the two or three most successful players do their best with sub-optimal characters? It's a question I don't think we can just shrug off at this point.
The tier list is based on technical data, e.g. hurtbox/size of shield, power/stun/priority/knockback/frame number/hitbox size of specific moves, speed, and so forth. However, something is obviously more important than the data. What is it? Why have these players chosen these characters, or rather, what is it about these characters that makes these players better with them than they are with other characters? Obviously Jiggs and Peach still have deal-clinching moves, like dsmash and rest, but is there something psychological in the advantage for them? Or is it simple maneuverability/flexibility that Peach and Jiggs can offer more of?
