Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, sometimes abbreviated as Smash 4, [1] [2] is a crossover fighting video game for the Wii U. Players control one of 58 characters drawn from Nintendo and third-party game franchises, and try to knock their opponents out of an arena. Each player has a percentage meter which rises as they take damage; characters become easier to knock into the air or out of bounds as the percentage increases. [3] [4] [5]
While Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is in many ways the same game, the Nintendo 3DS being a handheld system severely limits its viability as both a competitive game and a spectator sport. While the game was played competitively for a few months before the Wii U version's release, there have been few if any serious competitions for it since.
Games in the Super Smash Bros. series have been played competitively since the early 2000s, but the inclusion of Super Smash Bros. Melee at the 2013 edition of Evolution Championship Series (EVO), a major multi-game tournament, was seen as a turning point; after EVO 2013, competitive Smash saw an increase in tournaments, media coverage, and attention from Nintendo. [6] Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is the fourth Smash Bros. title; [lower-alpha 1] all four have been played competitively, as has a fan-made mod of Super Smash Bros. Brawl , Project M . [7] [8] While Smash for Wii U tournament rules initially varied, by 2016 they had standardized; [9] the first player to knock their opponent out of the arena twice within a six-minute match timer wins the set. Matches are played as best-of-three sets in early rounds of the tournament and best-of-five sets in later rounds. Tournaments use the double-elimination format; after their first loss players are sent to a lower bracket to compete against other players on their first loss, and following their second loss players are eliminated from the competition. [10]
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U was released in North America and Europe in November 2014 and in Japan the following month. [11] The game was both a critical and commercial success; it received strong reviews, [12] [13] and became the fastest-selling Wii U game in the United States, with almost half a million copies sold within its first three days. [14] As of March 2020, it sold over 5.3 million copies. [15] However, despite the game's popularity, prize pools for Smash tournaments were well below those of other esports. Unlike many other developers, Nintendo does not contribute to tournament prize pools. At EVO 2017, Smash for Wii U had 1,515 competitors and a prize pool of $15,150, funded entirely from entrance fees. At the same tournament, Injustice 2 had a prize pool of $50,000, despite having around half as many competitors, due to funding from its publisher, Warner Bros. Interactive. [16] Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios, widely considered the greatest Smash for Wii U player of all time, stated in 2018 that one could earn more by working at McDonald's than by winning EVO, and that he had earned only $45,000 for winning a world record 56 consecutive tournaments across 2015 and 2016. [16] [17] [18]
Smash Bros. tournaments are generally seeded so that the best players do not face off against each other until the later stages of an event. The most authoritative ranking of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U players is the Panda Global Rankings (PGR). [1] [19] Five editions of the PGR rankings were released, covering tournaments held between 2015 and 2018. The PGR 100, a ranking of the 100 best Smash for Wii U players of all time, was released after the last regular ranking, and factored six more major tournaments into the rankings. In late 2018 the next Super Smash Bros. title, Ultimate , was released, and the PGR shifted to cover that game. In the first two rankings, covering 2015 and 2016, the PGR designated a combined 13 tournaments as major events with increased influence on the rankings. [20] [21] Beginning with the third edition of the PGR, tournaments were grouped into one of four tiers – S, A, B, and C – based on the number of competitors with S being the most prestigious tier and C the least. In the fifth PGR, S was replaced with A+. [22] [23] [24] [25] This list contains all PGR majors, S-tier, A+-tier, and A-tier events from the release of Smash for Wii U through the end of the PGR in 2018.
The following is a list of results from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournaments in 2015 and 2016 considered major by the Panda Global Rankings. [20] [21] [lower-alpha 2]
Tournament | Location | Date | Entrants [lower-alpha 3] | Prize pool | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
APEX 2015 | Somerset, New Jersey, United States | January 30–February 1, 2015 | 734 | $15,055 | ZeRo | Dabuz | Mr. R | 6WX | [26] [27] [28] |
CEO 2015 | Orlando, Florida, United States | June 26–28, 2015 | 512 | Unknown | ZeRo | Nairo | Dabuz | Larry Lurr | [29] [30] |
EVO 2015 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | July 17–19, 2015 | 1,926 | Unknown | ZeRo | Mr. R | Nairo | Abadango | [31] [32] |
Paragon Los Angeles 2015 | Ontario, California, United States | September 5–6, 2015 | 505 | Unknown | Nairo | Dabuz | MVD | Ally | [33] [34] |
The Big House 5 | Dearborn, Michigan United States | October 2–4, 2015 | 512 | $6,120 | ZeRo | Nairo | Dabuz | ANTi | [35] [36] |
GENESIS 3 | San Jose, California, United States | January 15–17, 2016 | 1,096 | $13,930 | ZeRo | Dabuz | Ranai | VoiD | [37] |
Pound 2016 | McLean, Virginia, United States | April 2–3, 2016 | 513 | Unknown | Abadango | Ally | Marss | Mr. R | [38] [39] |
CEO 2016 | Orlando, Florida, United States | June 24–26, 2016 | 906 | Unknown | ANTi | Zinoto | Dabuz | Abadango | [40] [41] |
EVO 2016 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | July 15–17, 2016 | 2,662 | $26,620 | Ally | Kameme [lower-alpha 4] | ZeRo | VoiD | [2] [43] [44] |
Super Smash Con 2016 | Chantilly, Virginia, United States | August 11–14, 2016 | 1,272 | Unknown | Nairo | Dabuz | Mr. R | VoiD | [45] [46] |
The Big House 6 | Dearborn, Michigan, United States | October 7–9, 2016 | 777 | Unknown | ZeRo | ANTi | Komorikiri | Mr. R | [47] [48] |
UGC Smash Open | Collinsville, Illinois, United States | December 2–4, 2016 | 205 | $15,000+ | ZeRo | Abadango | ESAM | Nairo | [49] [50] [51] |
2GGT ZeRo Saga | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | December 16–18, 2016 | 361 | $10,000+ | MkLeo | Larry Lurr | VoiD | ZeRo | [52] [53] [54] |
The following is a list of results from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournaments considered S-tier or A+-tier by the Panda Global Rankings. [22] [23] [24] [25] [lower-alpha 5]
Tournament | Location | Date | Entrants [lower-alpha 3] | Prize pool | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GENESIS 4 | San Jose, California, United States | January 20–22, 2017 | 1,010 | Unknown | MkLeo | Ally | ZeRo | CaptainZack | [56] [57] |
2GGC: Civil War | Santa Ana, California, United States | March 24–26, 2017 | 573 | $15,000 | Dabuz | Fatality | T | CaptainZack | [58] [59] [60] |
2GGC: Nairo Saga | Santa Ana, California, United States | June 10–11, 2017 | 485 | $20,000 | ZeRo | Salem | MkLeo | Nairo | [61] [62] |
CEO 2017 | Ontario, California, United States | June 16–18, 2017 | 611 | Unknown | ZeRo | MkLeo | Larry Lurr | Nairo | [63] [64] |
EVO 2017 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | July 14–16, 2017 | 1,515 | $15,150 | Salem | ZeRo | Larry Lurr | Tweek | [16] [65] |
DreamHack Atlanta 2017 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | July 21–23, 2017 | 393 | $10,000 | Salem | VoiD | Tweek | Nairo | [66] [67] |
Super Smash Con 2017 | Chantilly, Virginia, United States | August 10–13, 2017 | 1,531 | Unknown | Nairo | ZeRo | MkLeo | Mr. R | [68] [69] |
2GGC: SCR Saga | Santa Ana, California, United States | August 19–20, 2017 | 301 | $3,000+ | ZeRo | MkLeo | Larry Lurr | Mistake | [70] [71] [72] |
Shine 2017 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | August 25–27, 2017 | 659 | Unknown | ZeRo | Tweek | Nairo | Salem | [73] [74] |
Game Tyrant Expo 2017 | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | September 29–October 1, 2017 | 332 | $30,000 | MkLeo | Elegant | ZeRo | Larry Lurr | [75] [76] |
The Big House 7 | Detroit, Michigan, United States | October 6–8, 2017 | 512 | Unknown | Dabuz | Marss | Cosmos | ZeRo | [77] [78] |
2GGC: Fire Emblem Saga | Santa Ana, California, United States | October 14–15, 2017 | 351 | Unknown | Salem | Nairo | Komorikiri | Tweek | [79] [80] |
2GGC: MkLeo Saga | Santa Ana, California, United States | November 4, 2017 | 313 | Unknown | Tweek | KEN | MkLeo | Nairo | [81] [82] |
2GG Championship | Santa Ana, California, United States | December 1–3, 2017 | 20 [lower-alpha 6] | $50,000 | MkLeo | ZeRo | Salem | Dabuz | [83] [84] [85] |
2GG: Hyrule Saga | Long Beach, California, United States | June 23–24, 2018 | 780 | Unknown | Tweek | Mr. R | Dabuz | ANTi | [86] [87] |
CEO 2018 | Orlando, Florida, United States | June 29–July 1, 2018 | 679 | Unknown | MkLeo | Tweek | Cosmos | CaptainZack | [88] [89] |
EVO 2018 | Las Vegas, California, United States | August 3–5, 2018 | 1,358 | Unknown | Lima | CaptainZack | Nietono | Mistake | [90] [91] |
Super Smash Con 2018 | Chantilly, Virginia, United States | August 9–12, 2018 | 1,380 | Unknown | MkLeo | Samsora | Tweek | Cosmos | [92] [93] |
The following is a list of results from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournaments considered A-tier by the Panda Global Rankings. [22] [23] [24] [25] [lower-alpha 5]
Tournament | Location | Date | Entrants [lower-alpha 3] | Prize pool | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2GGC: Genesis Saga | Santa Ana, California, United States | January 14, 2017 | 466 | $2,000+ | ZeRo | Komorikiri | VoiD | Tweek | [94] [95] |
2GGC: Midwest Mayhem Saga | Santa Ana, California, United States | February 11, 2017 | 331 | $2,000+ | ZeRo | Tweek | Komorikiri | Ned | [96] [97] |
Frostbite 2017 | Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States | February 25–26, 2017 | 342 | Unknown | ZeRo | Tsu | Nairo | Dabuz | [98] [99] |
Frame Perfect Series 2 | Orlando, Florida, United States | March 18–19, 2017 | 208 | $1,500+ | Kirihara | ZeRo | MkLeo | Komorikiri | [100] [101] |
CEO Dreamland | Orlando, Florida, United States | April 14–16, 2017 | 376 | Unknown | ZeRo | Mr. R | Nairo | Dabuz | [102] [103] |
DreamHack Austin 2017 | Austin, Texas, United States | April 28–30, 2017 | 313 | $10,000 | ZeRo | MkLeo | Ally | Larry Lurr | [104] [105] |
Umebura Japan Major | Tokyo, Japan | May 6–8, 2017 | 478 | Unknown | MkLeo | KEN | Choco | 9B | [106] [107] |
Royal Flush 2017 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | May 12–14, 2017 | 146 | $5,000 | ZeRo | Mr. R | Tweek | VoiD | [108] [109] |
2GGC: Greninja Saga | Santa Ana, California, United States | May 20, 2017 | 350 | $5,000+ | Ally | Larry Lurr | Komorikiri | ANTi | [110] [111] |
MomoCon 2017 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | May 25–28, 2017 | 286 | $5,000+ | Nairo | Fatality | ZeRo | Larry Lurr | [112] [113] |
Smash'N'Splash 3 | Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, United States | June 2–4, 2017 | 444 | Unknown | ZeRo | Ally | Larry Lurr | Tweek | [114] [115] |
2GGC: Arms Saga | Santa Ana, California, United States | July 8–9, 2017 | 200 | $1,500+ | Dabuz | ZeRo | KEN | VoiD | [116] [117] |
PAX Arena at PAX West 2017 | Seattle, Washington, United States | September 1–4, 2017 | 12 | Unknown | ZeRo | Nairo | Salem | Ally | [118] [119] |
2GGC: West Side Saga | Santa Ana, California, United States | September 9, 2017 | 300 | $2,000+ | ZeRo | Tweek | Shuton | KEN | [120] [121] [122] |
IBP Masters Showdown | Santa Ana, California, United States | November 11–12, 2017 | 131 | $10,000 | MkLeo | Larry Lurr | KEN | Komorikiri | [123] |
Genesis 5 | Oakland, California, United States | January 19–21, 2018 | 674 | Unknown | MkLeo | Mistake | Salem | Nairo | [124] [125] |
Frostbite 2018 | Dearborn, Michigan, United States | February 9–11, 2018 | 866 | Unknown | Dabuz | Tweek | Mistake | Salem | [126] [127] |
SML: Battle for Vegas | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | March 24–27, 2018 | 154 | $25,000 | Nairo | MkLeo | Mistake | Fatality | [128] [129] |
SwitchFest | Long Beach, California, United States | April 21–22, 2018 | 162 | Unknown | MkLeo | Nairo | Larry Lurr | Komorikiri | [130] [131] |
Get On My Level 2018 | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | May 18–20, 2018 | 446 | Unknown | MkLeo | Nairo | Mistake | Komorikiri | [132] [133] |
MomoCon 2018 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | May 24–27, 2018 | 353 | $5,000 | Tweek | Salem | Komorikiri | Nairo | [134] [135] |
Smash'N'Splash 4 | Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, United States | June 1–3, 2018 | 527 | $5,000+ | VoiD | Salem | MkLeo | Light | [136] [137] |
Smash Sounds | Brooklyn, New York, United States | July 7–8, 2018 | 261 | Unknown | Dabuz | Abadango | Shuton | Light | [138] |
Shine 2018 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | August 24–26, 2018 | 472 | Unknown | Salem | Mistake | Tweek | Light | [139] [140] [141] |
The Big House 8 | Detroit, Michigan, United States | October 5–7, 2018 | 281 | Unknown | Cosmos | ESAM | Tweek | yeti | [142] [143] |
DreamHack Atlanta 2018 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | November 16–18, 2018 | 280 | Unknown | Tweek | Dabuz | VoiD | Wrath | [144] [145] |
The Evolution Championship Series, commonly known as Evo, is an annual esports event that focuses exclusively on fighting games. The tournaments are completely open and use the double elimination format. As with Super Battle Opera, contestants travel from all over the world to participate, most notably from Japan. The first Evolution was originally held as a Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Street Fighter Alpha 2 tournament called the Battle by the Bay. It changed its name to Evo in 2002. Every successive tournament has seen an increase of attendees. It has been held at various venues across the Las Vegas Valley since 2005. As of 2021, the event is jointly owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment and the Endeavor esports venture RTS.
Adam Lindgren, known by his handle Armada, is a Swedish professional Super Smash Bros. player from Gothenburg. He is widely considered one of the greatest Super Smash Bros. Melee players of all time and the greatest Melee Peach player of all time. Lindgren has won several major tournaments: he is a three-time champion of GENESIS, two-time champion of EVO, two-time champion of Apex and one-time champion of The Big House. Considered one of the "Five Gods" of Melee, alongside Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman, Joseph "Mang0" Marquez, Juan "Hungrybox" DeBiedma, and Kevin "PPMD" Nanney, Lindgren was ranked one of the top two Melee players in the world every year from the beginning of formal rankings in 2013 until his retirement from singles tournaments in 2018, with Lindgren ranked as the number one Melee player in the world in 2015 and 2016. A 2021 list by PGstats ranked Lindgren as the second-greatest Melee player of all time. Lindgren retired from professional Melee singles tournaments in September 2018, citing declining interest in the game, although he still occasionally enters doubles tournaments teaming with his brother Andreas "Android" Lindgren. He also runs a YouTube channel with over 125,000 subscribers.
Juan Manuel DeBiedma, better known by his alias Hungrybox, is an Argentine-American professional Super Smash Bros. player and streamer. Recognized as one of the greatest and most successful Super Smash Bros. Melee players of all time, he is one of the "Five Gods" of Melee along with Adam "Armada" Lindgren, Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman, Joseph "Mang0" Marquez, and Kevin "PPMD" Nanney, and is regarded as the greatest Jigglypuff player in Melee history. He is also an active competitor in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and he has been a member of Team Liquid since 2015. In December 2021 Hungrybox became co-owner of Team Liquid. He is currently ranked the 8th Melee player in the world for 2023. Hungrybox has won over thirty major Melee Singles tournaments between 2009 and 2022, including editions of Apex, The Big House, CEO, DreamHack, EVO, GENESIS, the MLG National Championship, and Smash Summit. He has been ranked one of the top five Melee players in the world every year since formal rankings began in 2013, achieving the top rank a record three consecutive times from 2017 to 2019; retroactive rankings establish him as a top five player in the world every year since 2009, and rank him number one for 2010. A 2021 list compiled by PGstats ranked DeBiedma as the third-greatest Melee player of all time. Despite his "God" status, he is considered one of the most polarizing figures in the Melee community, in part due to the unpopularity of his defensive, counterattack-centric playstyle among part of the community.
Gonzalo Raúl Barrios Castro, known by his gamertag ZeRo, is a Chilean professional Super Smash Bros. player and streamer. He was considered the best Super Smash Bros. for Wii U player in the world throughout his career, with a record-breaking 56 consecutive tournament wins in the game from November 2014 to October 2015, including high-profile tournaments such as EVO 2015 and The Big House 5. Prior to the release of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, he was a top ranked Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Project M player. His best known characters are Diddy Kong in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Pit in Project M, Meta Knight in Brawl, and Fox in Melee. He is the only player to have earned more than US$100,000 playing Super Smash Bros. for Wii U competitively.
Professional Super Smash Bros. competition involves professional gamers competing in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games published by Nintendo. Organized tournament competition began in 2002 with Super Smash Bros. Melee, released for the GameCube in 2001; however, in the series' native Japan, there have been tournaments as early as 1999 with the original Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. Later tournaments have featured the other games in the series, with the two largest and most popular Smash Bros. scenes revolving around Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. Smaller scenes exist for the original game and Project M, a popular fan modification of Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii, and to a lesser extent, Brawl itself. Major Smash Bros. tournaments include the GENESIS, Evolution Championship Series (EVO), Super Smash Con and The Big House annual series. Major League Gaming (MLG) has also previously included Smash Bros. games in its Pro Circuit.
Nairoby Quezada, better known as Nairo, is an American streamer and retired professional Super Smash Bros. competitive player. He is widely considered one of the best players in the history of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. After starting his career on Brawl in 2011, he quickly established himself as one of the best players in the United States, and became regarded as one of the best Brawl players in the world the following year; he would remain seen as a top Brawl player for the rest of his career, and would achieve similar success on Wii U and Ultimate following their respective releases.
The Big House is an annual Super Smash Bros. tournament series held in Michigan since 2011. It is considered one of the largest and most prestigious Smash Bros. tournament series alongside GENESIS, Evolution Championship Series (EVO) and Super Smash Con.
Genesis, stylized as GENESIS, is a series of annual Super Smash Bros. tournaments occurring in the San Francisco Bay Area of the US state of California. The first Genesis tournament took place in 2009 in Antioch at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds.
The 2016 Evolution Championship Series was a fighting game event held in Las Vegas on July 15–17. Being hosted on the twentieth anniversary of the Evolution Championship Series, the event offered tournaments for various video games, including Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Pokkén Tournament. Participation reached record-breaking numbers, with over 5,000 people registering for the Street Fighter competition alone. 2016 was the first time the Evo Grand Finals were held in an arena and were broadcast by ESPN2 in addition to Twitch.
Hajime Taniguchi, better known as Tokido, is a Japanese fighting game player who plays the King of Fighters and Street Fighter franchises. He is known for playing multiple fighting games on a competitive level in addition to Street Fighter, including Tekken, Marvel vs Capcom 3, and BlazBlue. Tokido is a three-time EVO champion, having won Capcom vs. SNK 2 in 2002 as well as winning Super Street Fighter II Turbo in 2007 and Street Fighter V ten years later. Tokido has had 19+ Evolution top 8 finishes in 9 different games across 15 years, a feat surpassed only by Justin Wong.
Gavin Dempsey, also known as Tweek, is an American professional Super Smash Bros. player.
Leonardo López Pérez, better known as MkLeo and sometimes Leo, is a Mexican professional Super Smash Bros. player. He was widely considered the best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate player in the world during the pre-covid era, and was number one in the Panda Global Rankings for the first and second half of 2019. Prior to the release of Ultimate, he was ranked as the best player in the world at Super Smash Bros. for Wii U for the first half of 2018.
Sota Okada, also known by his gamer tag zackray, is a Japanese professional Super Smash Bros. player. As of the end of 2019, he was ranked the seventh best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate player in the world and the highest ranked player from Japan. In October 2019 he won The Big House 9, becoming the first Japanese player to win a premier-tier tournament held outside of Japan.
Enrique Hernández Solís, also known as Maister, is a Mexican professional Super Smash Bros. player. He is widely considered the best Mr. Game & Watch player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, having achieved outstanding results with the character. He was ranked as the sixth best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate player in the world in the Panda Global rankings for the second half of 2019.
Ezra Samsora Morris, better known as Samsora, is an American former professional Super Smash Bros. player from New Orleans, United States.
Tyler Martins, also known as Marss, is an American professional Super Smash Bros. player. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U he won several minor tournaments but failed to take any of the premier-events, and was ranked as the 16th best player of all time in the game. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate he has fared considerably better, winning several premier tournaments and claiming 3rd and 5th in the rankings for the first and second half of 2019, respectively.
Samuel Robert Buzby, also known as Dabuz, is an American professional Super Smash Bros. player. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, he won several major tournaments and was ranked between 3rd and 6th best player in the world throughout the game's competitive history. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he was ranked 7th and 9th best for the first and second halves of 2019, respectively.
William Belaïd, commonly known as Glutonny, is a French professional Super Smash Bros. player. He is the highest ranked Super Smash Bros. Ultimate player from Europe. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, he was ranked the 70th best player in the world of all time. In Ultimate, he was ranked 14th and 8th best in the world for the first and second halves of 2019, respectively. In April 2022 he won Pound 2022, becoming the first European player to win a major Ultimate tournament outside Europe.