Smash Summit 4 voting: A look at the players up for nomination

By Daniel “Tafokints” Lee

It’s that time of year again: Smash Summit voting season. More than likely, your Twitter feed is filled with player nominations and retweets.

Smash Summit 4 takes place from March 2-5 at the Beyond the Summit house in Walnut, California. The pot bonuses have increased to a total of $15,000, with $10,000 going to singles and $5,000 to doubles. Along with singles and doubles, the players also duke it out in exhibitions, iron man crew battles, team crew battles, and mafia.

Every Smash event is comprised of 16 players. Ten players are picked based on merit for their recent performances. This list includes:

Adam “Armada” Lindgren
Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma
Joseph “Mango” Marquez
William “Leffen” Hjelte
Justin “Plup” McGrath
Zachary “SFAT” Cordoni
Weston “Westballz” Dennis
Jeffrey “Axe” Williamson
Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman
Kevin “PewPewU” Toy

The remaining six players are decided by the masses. Players that finished in the top 70 on 2016’s SSBMRank could opt into the voting process. Twitter nominations trim the list of nominees to 16, and then a vote is done to determine the final six. The schedule of eliminations and qualifiers are listed below:

Voting Starts: Fri (2/10) 1pm PST

Day 1: Monday (2/13) 1pm PST – Bottom 2 players are eliminated (14 players remain)

Day 2: Tuesday (2/14) 1pm PST – Bottom 2 players are eliminated (12 players remain)

Day 3: Wednesday (2/15) 1 pm PST – Top 2 Advance + Bottom 2 are eliminated (8 players remain)

Day 4: Thursday (2/16) 1 pm PST – Top 2 Advance + Bottom 2 are eliminated (4 players remain)

Day 5: Friday (2/17) 1 pm PST – Top 2 Advance + Bottom 2 are eliminated

The Candidates

Dajuan “Shroomed” McDaniel

Main: Sheik

Region: Northern California

SSBMRank2016: 10

The #10 ranked player on SSBMRank woke up to a surprise when he saw that he didn’t make the invite list for Smash Summit 4. Fans looking to vote for a strong competitive event may want to support Shroomed, who finished fifth at Smash Summit 1 and 2 and seventh at Smash Summit 3 – results that far exceed any of the other candidates’ Smash Summit performances. If voted in, he will also be able to use this year’s event to share more of his personality on the commentator couch.

Mustafa “Ice” Akcakaya

Main: Fox

Region: Germany

SSBMRank2016: 13

Mustafa “Ice” Akcakaya ended last year on a high note with a third place finish at The Big House 6 and marquee wins over Leffen and SFAT. Unlike most other top players, Ice comes from a region that lacks top level talent, and the Smash Summit provides much needed practice against uncommon matchups. His doubles performance is also worth noting, with a second place finish at Genesis 4 while paired with Leffen. An appearance at Smash Summit 4 brings Leffen and Ice together as teammates, where they can continue their momentum after finishing in second place at Genesis 4.

James “Duck” Ma

Main: Samus

Region: Michigan

SSBMRank2016: 15

James “Duck” Ma represents the heart of the Midwest and every aspiring Samus main. At the previous Smash Summit, he finished in seventh, the highest of any voted-in player. He continues to push the potential of Samus and has seen remarkable improvement in all of his matchups. Fans also loved his analytical insight and chemistry with the other players on the commentator’s couch at Smash Summit 3.

Johnny “s2j” Kim

Main: Captain Falcon

Region: Southern California

SSBMRank2016: 16

Johnny “s2j” Kim is the only Captain Falcon player that opted in to the Smash Summit voting. And as a representative of the speedy Falcon, he never fails to excite. Most recently, he had Armada at a 0-2 deficit at Genesis 4, and was one stomp away from giving Armada his worst loss in over six years (Armada came back to win the set 2-3). His gameplay is dynamic, to say the least. Between his amazing reads and “Johnny stock” zero to death combos, you will never know what he is capable of doing next. Expect to see him team with Mango if he finds his way into the Smash Summit.

Joey “Lucky” Aldama

Main: Fox

Region: Southern California

SSBMRank2016: 19

Joey “Lucky” Aldama missed out on the past two Smash Summits, but hopes to come back to Smash Summit 4. He suffered an unexpected knee injury at Smash The Record that kept him on the sidelines at the end of 2016. He came back prematurely to compete at Genesis 4, and despite the physical injury, made an impressive run to finish in ninth place.

Ryan “The Moon” Coker-Welch

Main: Marth

Region: Tri-State

SSBMRank2016: 21

Ryan “The Moon” Coker-Welch stole the show at the last Smash Summit with his memorable commentary filled with ridiculous analogies, interesting analysis, and soothing Mike Tyson-like voice. The Moon continued to push himself with an incredible second half of 2016, placing fourth at Eden, fifth at SSS: Blood for Blood, and ninth at The Big House 6. He slumped a bit at Genesis 4, but fans should be delighted at another potential opportunity to laugh and enjoy his commentary and unorthodox Marth gameplay.

Daniel “ChuDat” Rodriguez

Main: Ice Climbers

Region: Maryland/Virginia

SSBMRank2016: 22

Daniel “ChuDat” Rodriguez has the backing of his long-time friend Kashan “Chillindude” Kahn to make it into the Smash Summit. Both have long aspirations of improving at the Smash Summit events, but realized that they would end up splitting votes. Chillindude took the plunge this time, but hopes to see ChuDat make it in and represent their former crew, H2YL. Chu’s longevity speaks for itself as he continues to churn results with a ninth at Genesis 4. Many fans complain about Ice Climbers, but will make a point to say that they enjoy ChuDat’s unique neutral-heavy style.

Sami “Druggedfox” Muhanna

Main: Fox

Region: Georgia

SSBMRank2016: 23

Calling Sami “Druggedfox” Muhanna a “nerd” doesn’t tell the whole story of his playstyle. Mango described Druggedfox as a player that combines the nerdy aspects of frame data with intuitive reads. Both of these elements have helped Druggedfox perform at a high level with Sheik, Falco, and now Fox. Too often, he goes under the radar in top player discussions because he’s not from a high-profile region such as California or Florida, but his results speak for themselves. In January, he defeated Lucky and Hugo “HugS” Gonzalez to win the first Super Smash Sunday.

Aaron “Professor Pro” Thomas

Main: Fox

Region: United Kingdom

SSBMRank2016: 24

People are slowly recognizing Aaron “Professor Pro” Thomas as another elite talent from Europe. His attention to detail and great work ethic have carried him quickly up the ranks. He had a breakout performance at UGC Smash Open, where he defeated Shroomed and James “Swedish Delight” Liu to finish fifth. His Fox carries several unique strengths, and his ability to maneuver out of shield is second to none. He still needs experience, especially against uncommon matchups, and a Smash Summit appearance could provide that for the rising star from the UK.

David “KirbyKaze” MacDonald

Main: Sheik

Region: Canada

SSBMRank2016: 29

At his peak, David “KirbyKaze” MacDonald was just a tier below the “gods” of Melee and a consensus top 10 talent. He took a break in 2016 to focus on his personal life, but still competed at local events. Now, he’s ready to commit to playing full time and catch up to the competition. He has a winning record against Edgard “n0ne” Sheleby in 2016 and finished in ninth at The Big House 6 where he defeated Shroomed. Though he receives local training with n0ne, an opportunity to play more with top competition at the Smash Summit 4 would help him on his way back to the top.

Hugo “HugS” Gonzalez

Main: Samus

Region: Southern California

SSBMRank2016: 38th

A down year in 2016 has kicked HugS into high gear as he revamped his training and stream schedule. The change in regimen quickly paid dividends and closed the gap between him and the other top Socal players. In 2017, he has a set lead on Lucky, and has taken three sets off Westballz and Johnny “s2j” Kim. Outside of the game, he has built one of the largest Smash streaming channels. Taking the game more seriously, HugS aims to return to the top 20 in the annual rankings, and an opportunity to train at Smash Summit will help him achieve this.

Griffin “Captain Faceroll” Williams

Main: Sheik

Region: Southern California/Midwest

SSBMRank2016: 45th

In 2016, Griffin “Captain Faceroll” Williams rose up the rankings as one of the most improved players in the scene. His resume includes wins overs several top 20 players, including Shroomed and PewPewU. Players aspiring to make the SSBMRank should look at Captain Faceroll as an example of what to do. Within a few years, he made it into the top 50, and that’s largely because he grinded out his fundamentals and attended as many tournaments as possible. His punish game and tech chasing are top notch, and he continues to push himself to learn as much as he can with every event. A trip to the Smash Summit will not go wasted on this rising star.

Jason “InfiniteNumbers” Gauthier

Main: Ice Climbers

Region: New England

SSBMRank2016: 47

Uh-oh, is this another “meme” pick from the New England region? Collectively, the region successfully voted James “Mafia” Lauerman into the previous Smash Summit. The family-like support is strong from the region, but make no mistake: InfiniteNumbers is an amazing player. He shocked everyone at Pound 2016 where he made multiple Top 30 upsets and fought his way to ninth. Since then, he’s placed in the top 48 at The Big House 6 and EVO 2016, and cemented himself into the Top 50 of the annual rankings.

Daiki “Rudolph” Ideoka

Main: Fox/Sheik

Region: Japan

SSBMRank2016: 52

Daiki “Rudolph” Ideoka’s unique gaming posture has earned him the nickname “The Sphinx.” He traveled around the U.S. in late 2015 to grind as many tournaments as possible, and saw remarkable improvement on his return to Japan. In 2016, he won nearly every tournament that he attended and shot up to number one on the current Japanese SSBMRank. In his return to the US, he proved that Japanese players other than Masaya “aMSa” Chikamoto could compete with the world’s best. At The Big House 6, he defeated Druggedfox and played an incredibly close set with Ice.

Andreas “Android” Lindgren

Main: Sheik

Region: Sweden

SSBMRank2016: 63

People forget how formidable Andreas “Android” Lindgren is in singles. This may be due to how much of a monster he turns into when he plays doubles with his brother, Armada. The Lindgren brothers ran through a gauntlet at Genesis 4, defeating Leffen/Ice and PewFat to win the entire event. Critics will say that Armada does the heavy lifting on the team, but Android carried the team in several key moments when his brother struggled. Android’s appearance at Smash Summit 4 would make it one of the most stacked doubles events of the year.

Justin “Syrox” Burroughs

Main: Fox

Region: Colorado

SSBMRank2016: 67

Rarely do we come across a player that can come out of nowhere to defeat the world’s top 25 players, but that’s what Justin “Syrox” Burroughs effectively did. He made his first appearance outside of Colorado at Genesis 3, and made a fan out of PewPewU after taking him to game three in a close set. Within a year, he went from placing 65th at Genesis to finishing 5th at Eden, where he defeated s2j and Colin “Colbol” Green. His resume shows that Eden was no fluke, and he continues to add wins, defeating Lucky, Westballz, and SFAT in sets. Imagine how good this 18 year-old can get with a spot at Smash Summit.

Follow Daniel Lee on Twitter @tafokints.