What to Expect at Super Smash Con 2023: Brawl

Note: This is a previously released article being published here for longevity.
This article was written by the Brawl Central community, check us out over on: https://brawlcentral.carrd.co/

Super Smash Con 2023 is around the corner. At 223 entrants, this is the largest Brawl tournament since Apex 2014, almost a decade ago. It’s also the most stacked tournament in years, featuring 12 of the current top 15, all three honorable mentions, and many more. Here’s a look at some of the names you may see competing next weekend

Strong Placements

There are multiple people attending this tournament with good placements either at previous tournaments. These include Reaux, Wefflez, and FEAR, who all placed 17th at last year’s SSC, and Blacktwins13, who placed 13th. There’s also Bobakanoosh, who placed 7th at Super Smash Con Fall Fest, tying FEAR’s placement, and Azazel and DJ Delta, who both placed 7th at Return to Subspace 3. Azazel specifically is the best player in Boston, one area with an active local scene to this day. These people have all shown that they have what it takes to get to near the edge of the top, maybe this will be the tournament any one of them can push over that line.

Pros (from a different game)

There are also multiple players entering who became very very good at a later smash title. Some of these were Brawl veterans, and some may have never entered a Brawl tournament before. Apollokage, the best Snake in Ultimate, has entered Brawl at SSC, and his Snake could still be quite proficient in a different engine. Sonix, one of the top five best players in the world for Smash Ultimate, has also signed up for Brawl, and the Blue Blur hasn’t changed too much in gameplan or moveset, so Sonix’s skills could certainly transfer over. Next is SuperGirlKels, who played Brawl back in the day, even netting a win on False (ranked 54th on the 2014 SSBBRank) at SKTAR 3. Her best accomplishments were in Smash 4, where she was ranked 100th on the PGR 100, but her Brawl skills are still there and will be something to watch out for for sure. Finally there is Big D, best known for being the best Ice Climbers in Ultimate, but he was a Brawl Veteran back in the day, and has even entered since the release of Smash 4, placing 9th at GOML 2018 and 5th at GOML 2019. He could bring his old skills back and certainly make waves in the bracket.

The Old School players

There are multiple old school players who are returning to the game at this Smash Con. One of these is Ish, who had decent showings back in the day, including a 49th at Apex 2013, and has good showings in more modern times too, with a 13th place finish at SSC 2018. Another is Iota, who was formerly ranked on the MDVA PR, and more recently placed 9th at SSC 2019. There is also Aqua (also known as Snakeee), who was one of the earliest Zero Suit Samus players, and is returning to the game at this SSC. Finally, there is Fino. This Olimar main had also done well in the Brawl days, with placements such as 25th at MLG Columbus 2010. He recently came back to the game with a 5th place at Sweet Spot 7, and has been grinding netplay to warm up for this tournament. He even got 2nd at The Return #12 recently, a netplay tournament, defeating Kyoz, Gunnermaniac, and Mikeray4. Watch out for any of these players to make their way into the top 16 on Saturday and upset one of the modern top players.

The Wifi Warriors

The Brawl Central discord server has a bustling netplay chat, and some people that have used netplay to hone their skills are making appearances here at Super Smash Con. Ashley, a Snake main, has been playing in multiple Netplay tournaments and placed 5th at The Big House 10. Mario128, a skilled Wario main who also placed 17th last year and 9th at Fall Fest, will be competing again this year. There’s also Tori, who is probably the best solo Marth main in the world right now. He’s been consistently grinding netplay for years, and recently got 4th at Beak Bonk 2023. More recently, at The Return #12, he scored wins over Hinkage and Gunnermaniac, only losing to Mikeray4 and Kyoz. Lastly, there’s Ness682, the best Ness main in the world. He recently got ranked 7th on the Brawl Central Online PR, with a great 4th place showing at The Return #10, beating Hinkage and Player-1’s R.O.B. Watch out for any of these people to have a great run at this tournament.

The European Travelers

Two of Europe’s best are also traveling to the United States for this tournament. Bike, once ranked 16th on the 2018–2019 SSBBRank, and best in Norway in 2019, will be competing in his first offline tournament since 2019, on the biggest stage possible. This Snake main has shown that he had what it takes to hang with the best, but will he prove his 2019 rankings correct? The other traveler is Gardex. Gardex, playing his Mr. Game and Watch, has dominated the Norwegian Brawl Scene in Bike’s absence, and was awarded an honorable mention on the 2020–2022 SSBBRank. He hasn’t been to the US since Apex 2015, but now that he’s returning, he has a chance to prove that the best in Europe can keep up with and surpass the best in North America.

The Edge of the Top

With 12 of the top 15 present and all three honorable mentions, there are plenty of people that have shown they are very good and this could be their chance to break into the top 10. Kiwi had a strong showing at the last SSC, defeating ADHD with Kirby before falling into 9th place, which earned her an honorable mention on the 2020–2022 SSBBRank. This could be her chance to make her case for top 15 and show that the mid tier Kirby can win even at the highest level. Next is Pelca, currently ranked 13th. While he’s fallen a bit from his peak of 6th on the 2018–2019 SSBBRank, and only reached 9th at both SSC 2022 and Apex 2022, this tournament could be his chance to make a comeback. Back to the mid tier heroes, there’s Brawl’s most dedicated lab worker, Max Power, the best Sheik in the world. After upsetting Pelca at Apex 2022 and getting 7th, he was given an honorable mention, and has continued to grind, discover new things about the game, and lab out his Sheik combos, so watch out for him to continue to level up his gameplay and push his mid tier even higher. Then there’s another mid tier hero, and that’s Arch, the world’s best solo Pit main. He was recently ranked 15th on the SSBBRank, with 5th place finishes at SSC Fall Fest and Apex 2022. He’s getting closer to knocking on the door of the top 10, and this could be the event for him to do it. Finally there is Hinkage, recently ranked 11th on the SSBBRank, so it’s fitting that he’s the 11th seed here. This is his first major in years, but he did get 5th at Xanadu Origins. Playing Meta Knight and sometimes King Dedede, this will be his chance to live up to his ranking.

The Top 10

The Top 10 seeds at Super Smash Con this year all are incredible players. They all have shown their skill, and any of them could have a huge run this year.

10. Mikeray4

After getting ranked 6th on the SSBBRank, Mikeray had a somewhat lackluster performance at Xanadu Origins, getting 5th when he was seeded 3rd. However, this is a chance for him to turn things right around. He recently won The Return #12, defeating Tori, Chia, Kyoz, and Fino twice, and if he is playing on point, his Snake can be a very scary creature to have to face

9. Kyoz

Kyoz is the best solo ZSS main in the world, and he got 7th at both last year’s SSC and Apex 2022. He’s already picked up wins on Mikeray4 and Hinkage this season at Xanadu Origins, and is looking to continue and increase his success from last season. This tournament will be a test for him to see if he can push his top 10 ranking from last season even farther.

8. Chia

We now approach the final mid tier hero on this list, Chia. Chia mains R.O.B and last season was able to take down Kyoz at SSC to get 7th place. Keeping a mid tier in the top 10 is no small feat, especially considering ROB’s tough matchups with Meta Knight and King Dedede, but if Chia is playing well, maybe they won’t look so tough, and we’ll see a humble midtier up in top 8 with top tiers like Meta Knight and Diddy Kong.

7. Lux

Lux was a very strong Ice Climbers player back in the prime of Brawl, being ranked 61st on the 2014 SSBBRank. He has recently made a return to the game, grinding netplay, and, at Sweet Spot 7 was able to get 2nd over top 15 players such as RipplePuff and Chia. He has the talent to make waves in this bracket, his first major in almost a decade, so keep an eye out for who he might upset next weekend.

6. Gunnermaniac

Coming off of a 3rd place at Xanadu Origins with wins on Kyoz and Mikeray4, the world’s best Pikachu looks to make his mark once more. He placed 5th last year, being double eliminated in Pikachu’s worst matchup, the Olimar matchup. This year, if he can avoid that, he can push even farther than before, maybe even pull off Pikachu’s first ever Brawl major win.

5. Hoenn

At his last major, Hoenn surprised everyone, defeating 686M and making grand ginals. From this performance, he got ranked in the top 4 on the SSBBRank. This is his chance to solidify himself at the top, and maybe pull off his first ever major tournament victory, at the biggest tournament in almost a decade.

4. Dabuz

The King of New York has shown that he still has his Brawl skills, despite being a top player in Smash Ultimate. At the last two tournaments he’s entered, SSC 2022 and Fall Fest, he has never placed below 4th, only ever ending up below 686M, Cody, or Player-1. Now that he’s shown he can play Brawl and Ultimate at the top level at the same time, can he push even farther and claim that major victory?

3. Player-1

The world’s best Diddy is one of three people in the world with a C tier tournament win or higher this year, after he won Sweet Spot 7, only dropping a single game to Chia. A month and a half later, at Xanadu Origins, he would get second, defeating Cody’s Marth/Olimar in Winners Finals but losing to his Meta Knight in grands. He’s looking to get his first major win here, and considering only two people attending the tournament have actually won a major before, he’s probably the most likely of anyone to become a new major winner.

2. 686M

686M won SSC last year and Fall Fest the year before, and was ranked 1st on the SSBBRank. However, he has been stepping back from the game, dropping Meta Knight and mostly only playing offline. This tournament will be his chance to prove he still has what it takes to hang with the best, and defend his number 1 ranking. He’s won the biggest tournament 2 years in a row, if he can pull this off, he’ll have won the biggest tournament for Brawl 3 years in a row, a feat that has never been accomplished yet by anyone in any Smash title.

1. Cody

Cody has been looking like the best player in the world recently. He won the most recent major, Apex 2022, defeating 686M and Hoenn twice. He also won Xanadu Origins, defeating Gunnermaniac and Player-1 twice, and going 9–0 in games after switching to Meta Knight, including a 6–0 vs Player-1 in Grands (he lost in Winners Finals in a close set when he was playing secondaries). He also has not lost an online tournament in over a year, only dropping 4 sets total this year, always playing secondaries, and always winning the tournament afterwards. Needless to say, he’s good at the game, and has his chance to show it at the biggest tournament in a long long time.

There’s just a preview of the talent that will be competing at Super Smash Con 2023. Make sure to tune in on Saturday morning to watch finals, and check out Brawl Central at https://discord.gg/brawlcentral for the home of anything Brawl.