Randall00
Propitious Plumber
Tournament Results!
'Consider me a spokesperson for the Edmonton community. Consider yourself very lucky if anyone from here ever dares come to compete in a Calgary "tournament" again, all thanks to you....'
—MagnuM, Mods please close this..., 2005
—MagnuM, Mods please close this..., 2005
At Melee's End was a two-day smash event in Calgary, Alberta, Canada held on December 15th and 16th, 2007, bringing together players from not only the Central Canada Smash Circuit, but representation from B.C.'s west coast smashers and some of eastern Canada's finest.
Four competitive events were held in the two-day time frame...these are the results:
1: Shinigami (Hitsugaya + Kage) ($320.00)
2: Espada (Patooty + CowEar) ($90.00)
3: Santa and His ***** (ManLi + FalseFalco) ($45.00)
4: MonkeyTown (MikeMonkey + Blunted_Object10)
5: T2 (PKT92 + DJT88)
6: Super Ultra Random Death (Geed, SuPeRbOoM)
7: Dallarious (MagnuM + Steve)
7: Crimson Silence (Buddyvishnu + Chaoszero)
9: Hope You Got 10 Bux! (=] + Kithkin)
10: The Blind Walruses (Spin-Dash + Frio)
11: Tilt (Sieg + Neat)
12: The Undecided (I T I + F T F)
13: Team Splooge (Alphicans + Fosh)
13: Team Inconvenience (Dasupalouie + Fogel)
13: The Prodigy (5950, R.L.Prodigy)
13: 10 People Ahead (LemonLau + Kizu)
17: Pwn Stars (Janitor + K Lover)
18: The Pimps of Just Illicitness (Nitrocidal + JAPMAN)
19: Pro Impact Players (RJM + MICH) - Honorary 19th place finish for the final team performance of the Players
AME Crew Battles
1: BERT (Patooty + CowEar + Blunted_Object10) ($155.00)
2: Team Better (feat. The Warrior Kage) (Kage + Hitsugaya + ManLi) ($45.00)
3: Whitest Kids You Know (MikeMonkey + MagnuM + FalseFalco) ($25.00)
4: Go Step On a Gay ***** (=] + Steve + Sieg + SuPeRbOoM + Geed)
5: Pro Impact Players (feat. CAPS LOCK) (JAPMAN + RJM + MICH + DJT88 + PKT92)
5: The Four Horsemen (Kizu + LemonLau + Fogel + Dasupalouie)
7: The n00b School Bus (Frio + Fosh + Alphicans + Spin-Dash)
2: Team Better (feat. The Warrior Kage) (Kage + Hitsugaya + ManLi) ($45.00)
3: Whitest Kids You Know (MikeMonkey + MagnuM + FalseFalco) ($25.00)
4: Go Step On a Gay ***** (=] + Steve + Sieg + SuPeRbOoM + Geed)
5: Pro Impact Players (feat. CAPS LOCK) (JAPMAN + RJM + MICH + DJT88 + PKT92)
5: The Four Horsemen (Kizu + LemonLau + Fogel + Dasupalouie)
7: The n00b School Bus (Frio + Fosh + Alphicans + Spin-Dash)
AME Smash 64
1: SuPeRbOoM (1 x Super Mario Galaxy)
2: ManLi
3: Geed
4: BackItch
5: =]
5: R.L.Prodigy
7: Kithkin
7: JAPMAN
9: Sieg
9: Frio
9:Nitrocidal
9: Spin-Dash
13: K Lover
13: RJM's Bye
13: Alphicans
13: Neat
17: Patooty
17: 5950
17: MagnuM
17: dreadheaddude
17: Poo
17: Dingo
17: QAZ
17: Dan
25: Janitor
25: Valdemar
25: CowEar
25: FalseFalco
1: SuPeRbOoM (1 x Super Mario Galaxy)
2: ManLi
3: Geed
4: BackItch
5: =]
5: R.L.Prodigy
7: Kithkin
7: JAPMAN
9: Sieg
9: Frio
9:Nitrocidal
9: Spin-Dash
13: K Lover
13: RJM's Bye
13: Alphicans
13: Neat
17: Patooty
17: 5950
17: MagnuM
17: dreadheaddude
17: Poo
17: Dingo
17: QAZ
17: Dan
25: Janitor
25: Valdemar
25: CowEar
25: FalseFalco
AME Singles
1: Kage($470.00)
2: FalseFalco ($135.00)
3: Hitsugaya ($70.00)
4: Blunted_Object10
5: CowEar
5: MikeMonkey
7: SuPeRbOoM
7: Fogel
9: LemonLau
9: M
9: MagnuM
9: ManLi
13: Nitrocidal
13: PKT92
13: BackItch
13: Patooty
17: Steve
17: K Lover
17: Janitor
17: Alphicans
17: Dasupalouie
17: Pawl
17: dreadheaddude
17: =]
25: DJT88
25: Frio
25: R.L.Prodigy
25: I T I
25: Fosh
25: JAPMAN
25: 5950
25: Beeble
33: Neat
33: Poo
33: Valdemar
33: Spin-Dash
33: Sieg
33: Joe
33: Kizu
33: Kithkin
49: Dan
49: PH
49: QAZ
AME VIDEOS
At Melee's End - A Personal Note...
2: FalseFalco ($135.00)
3: Hitsugaya ($70.00)
4: Blunted_Object10
5: CowEar
5: MikeMonkey
7: SuPeRbOoM
7: Fogel
9: LemonLau
9: M
9: MagnuM
9: ManLi
13: Nitrocidal
13: PKT92
13: BackItch
13: Patooty
17: Steve
17: K Lover
17: Janitor
17: Alphicans
17: Dasupalouie
17: Pawl
17: dreadheaddude
17: =]
25: DJT88
25: Frio
25: R.L.Prodigy
25: I T I
25: Fosh
25: JAPMAN
25: 5950
25: Beeble
33: Neat
33: Poo
33: Valdemar
33: Spin-Dash
33: Sieg
33: Joe
33: Kizu
33: Kithkin
49: Dan
49: PH
49: QAZ
AME VIDEOS
Pre-AME
In a classic clash of East Coast and West Coast, Blunted_Object10 of B.C. and Kage from Quebec put $5.00(CDN) on the line, not long after both their planes had landed in Calgary.
AME Crew Battles
AME Doubles
AME Singles
Post-AME
The fine camera work of Officiall CCSC Smash Cinematographer Janitor rewards us with a series of neatly spliced montages, off-the-cuff interviews and a plethora of inside jokes that most people won't even understand!!
At Melee's End - Pro Impact CCSC Championship Trailer
Randall's Epic Shoutouts!
In a classic clash of East Coast and West Coast, Blunted_Object10 of B.C. and Kage from Quebec put $5.00(CDN) on the line, not long after both their planes had landed in Calgary.
- Blunted_Object10 (Falco) vs. Kage (Ganondorf) - Best of 5 Money Match - 12-14-2007
AME Crew Battles
AME Doubles
- FalseFalco + ManLi vs. Kage + Hitsugaya - Losers Bracket Finals (Best of 5)
- Patooty + CowEar vs. Kage + Hitsugaya - Winners Bracket Finals (Best of 5)
- Patooty + CowEar vs. Kage + Hitsugaya - CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS (Best of 5)
AME Singles
- Patooty vs. Kage - Winners Bracket, Round Six (Best of 3)
- Patooty (Fox) vs. Kage (Ganondorf) - R1
- Patooty (Fox) vs. Kage (Ganondorf) - R2
- MikeMonkey vs. ManLi - Losers Bracket, Round Six (Best of 3)
- MikeMonkey (Marth) vs. ManLi (Fox) - R1
- MikeMonkey (Marth) vs. ManLi (Marth) - R2
- MikeMonkey vs. Fogel - Losers Bracket, Round Seven (Best of 3)
- MikeMonkey (Marth) vs. Fogel (Sheik) - R1
- MikeMonkey (Marth) vs. Fogel (Sheik) - R2
- MikeMonkey (Captain Falcon) vs. Fogel (Sheik) - R3
- FalseFalco vs. Blunted_Object10 - Winners Bracket Semi-Finals (Best of 3)
- FalseFalco (Falco) vs. Blunted_Object10 (Falco) - R1
- FalseFalco (Fox) vs. Blunted_Object10 (Falco) - R2
- Hitsugaya vs. Kage - Winners Bracket Semi-Finals (Best of 3)
- Hitsugaya (Sheik) vs. Kage (Ganondorf) - R1
- Hitsugaya (Sheik) vs. Kage (Ganondorf) - R2
- Hitsugaya (Sheik) vs. Kage (Ganondorf) - R3
- Hitsugaya vs. Blunted_Object10 - Losers Bracket Semi-Finals (Best of 3)
- Hitsugaya (Marth) vs. Blunted_Object10 (Fox) - R1
- Hitsugaya (Sheik) vs. Blunted_Object10 (Falco) - R2
- Hitsugaya (Peach) vs. Blunted_Object10 (Falco) - R3
- Kage vs. FalseFalco - Winners Bracket Finals (Best of 5)
- FalseFalco (Falco) vs. Kage (Ganondorf) - R1
- FalseFalco (Falco) vs. Kage (Ganondorf) - R2
- FalseFalco (Falco) vs. Kage (Ganondorf) - R3
- FalseFalco (Falco) vs. Kage (Ganondorf) - R4
- FalseFalco (Falco) vs. Kage (Ganondorf) - R5
- Hitsugaya vs. FalseFalco - Losers Bracket Finals (Best of 5)
- Hitsugaya (Peach) vs. FalseFalco (Fox) - R1
- Hitsugaya (Peach) vs. FalseFalco (Fox) - R2
- Hitsugaya (Peach) vs. FalseFalco (Fox) - R3
- Hitsugaya (Peach) vs. FalseFalco (Fox) - R4
- Hitsugaya (Peach) vs. FalseFalco (Fox) - R5
- Kage vs. FalseFalco - CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS (Best of 5)
- Kage (Ganondorf) vs. FalseFalco (Falco) - R1
- Kage (Ganondorf) vs. FalseFalco (Captain Falcon) - R2*
- Kage (Ganondorf) vs. FalseFalco (Fox) - R3
- Kage (Ganondorf) vs. FalseFalco (Fox) - R4
- Kage (Ganondorf) vs. FalseFalco (Falco) - R5
- Kage (Ganondorf) vs. FalseFalco (Captain Falcon) - R6
- Kage (Ganondorf) vs. FalseFalco (Fox) - R7
Post-AME
The fine camera work of Officiall CCSC Smash Cinematographer Janitor rewards us with a series of neatly spliced montages, off-the-cuff interviews and a plethora of inside jokes that most people won't even understand!!
At Melee's End - Pro Impact CCSC Championship Trailer
- At Melee's End - Episode 1 - Day 1 Montage; Interviews with winning teams, etc.
- At Melee's End - Episode 2 - Spotlight on R.L.Prodigy and 5950, AME's youngest competitors.
*denotes incomplete video...
Randall's Epic Shoutouts!
For those of you who were able to make it out to my tournament, I am very grateful that you came and am glad to hear that everyone seemed to have a good time. I arranged the vast majority of this event completely on my own, but I didn't do it for myself so much as I did it for all of you and it means a lot to me that you made the effort to come down, despite the lack of readily available parking, cool 17º temperatures in the gymnasium and the seriously cramped housing situation.
However, without further ado, here are my individual thanks and nods of admiration...
However, without further ado, here are my individual thanks and nods of admiration...
- =] - Levi, I've known that you would be a force in the smash community since the day you landed that big Mario f-air finisher on me in Red Deer a year and a half ago. Your gameplay is entertaining to watch and I'm sad to say that I didn't catch hardly any of your play at AME, despite wanting to. I'm glad you weren't completely screwed in the brackets, too--it looked like a challenging fight up and you won every match I expected you to. Your ability to learn and adapt to the awkwardities of smash so quickly are dangerous to us all--I have a feeling you're gonna wreck us all come Brawl time.
- 5950 - Steven, you're an enthusiastic young smasher and I hope that you and Andrew both continue to stick with it. Both of you played really well amidst substantially older competition.
- Alphicans - You are like...THE premiere Central Canada Young Link player! It takes a lot of patience to play the little Hylian warrior and I wish that I would've been able to find the time to have a ditto with you or something. Perhaps in the future! In the meantime, don't stop drinkin' that Lon Lon Milk....NEVER Stop!
- Andy Clash - I didn't see much of you after the registration, and incidentally, I only have you down as having officially registered for the Low Tier tournament....which didn't happen. Sorry about that, man, but I hope you got to get a few matches in and had some fun anyway!
- BackItch - This tournament would have failed miserably and buried Calgary's smash community under immovably large chunks of rubble if it weren't for you. Thank you, Chad, for housing all of Fort Sask, Ottawa and most of B.C.--not to mention bringing televisions, keeping a close eye on things, fielding the smash 64 bracket and calling out matches when both my microphone batteries and my energetic charisma had run out. I wish I had seen you play CowEar in Pools--although I like to joke, your play style really is more than just the turnip-to-turnip-to-turnip-to-stitchface-to-bomb-to-anotherstitchface combo and although it was a surprise at first, in hindsight I can see how you might've won that match.
- Beeble - Mike, thanks for putting up with being the odd man out on Day 1--it sucks that you had to arrive so late and I had almost forgotten to get a ride to you at the bus terminal amidst the flurry of activity that went on. I definitely enjoyed the matches we got to play at my house--I think we're pretty well-matched players and that makes it easy to recognize subtle changes I can make to improve my own game.
- Blunted_Object10 - Thanks a lot for making it out, Eric--I thought for sure that you weren't gonna be able to a month or two ago. I don't have all the videos that I hoped I was going to have at the end of this tournament, but we've got some prime stuff of you from your money match with Kage and especially that final crew battle footage. I've always felt there's just not enough of that Blunted_Object guy's matches on the ol' YouTube. Say hello to your brother for me--I hope I get to see Brown Town on my turf some day for the next generation of smash.
- CowEar - And I totally didn't expect that you would make it out either! Thanks for coming, Ryan--it's a real treat for me to have all these top players out of B.C. coming out for this. I always wanted to watch a match between you and Eric, but didn't get the chance--what with his reputation for pummeling Foxes, I'd like to see what it takes to win in a situation where you know each other's gameplay so well.
- Dan - Dan Westman! (not to be confused with the Dan that punished everyone so harshly in 64) You've probably never even heard of SmashBoards and I don't know how you heard about this tournament, but I'm glad you did! Thanks a lot for coming, and I hope to see you again.
- Dasupalouie - Thanks for coming, Luis, and thanks for putting up with the floor spot for sleeping. I saw those pictures you uploaded to Facebook and they do a great job of communicating the absolute horror that is my prison cellar basement--I love it!
- Dingo - Man, are you actually a Mewtwo player? You were also only registered for Low Tier (which, again, didn't happen) and Smash 64 (where you actually did pretty well). I hope you got to play a few matches outside of the tournament setting too and look forward to seeing you again at future events.
- DJT88 - Jeremy, you and your brother have been so supportive of this little smash community I've been trying to build since the beginning and I can't thank you enough. I'll do everything I can to make it out to your guys' smashfest this coming weekend....or whenever it was. Thanks also for playing on our crew--we were lacking in Pro Impact Players, dontcha know.
- dreadheaddude - Good to see you guys again, Baker--I didn't expect the whole lot of ya to make it out, but I'm sure glad you did. You actually finished pretty well at 17th--good work, son!!
- FalseFalco - Holy ****, Carl, you turned it ON towards the end of this tourney! I mean, you know, I was feeling pretty okay only getting 2-stocked by you at Levi's place awhile back, but ****, I wouldn't be able to handle the fluidity of that Fox you were rockin' in the finals and Luigi would probably just misfire off the edge in desperate fear of platform-cancelled d-airs. I can't believe Kage beat you, but as I told him, when a set goes 3-0 one way and then 3-1 the other way...I don't believe the match is truly decided and I hope I get to see you guys play again. I could watch it for days. I hope the second place finish doesn't sit in your brain for too long--you treat the game very much like I do on some levels, though you are albeit considerably more talented and therefore hold even greater expectations of yourself. But don't be fooled, you were on fire at AME and it should more than make up for whatever disappointment you felt from Toronto.
- Fogel - Cameron, you are living, breathing evidence that the smash community is in fact a national body of players and I'm very appreciative that you were willing to travel across the country to my tournament completely on your own, just as I did when we were housed with Andy in Mississauga. You placed really well in the brackets and ended up being the sole eliminator of MagnuM--which no doubt leaves the poor guy with even more disdain for Sheik than a Bowser player deserves! In any case, I wish I could've seen you and SuPeRbOoM play it out in a tiebreaker set for 7th, but I just didn't have the staff. We'll likely meet again, sir! Good luck with the scene in Ottawa.
- Fosh - Now that I've got the full results in front of me and the full names of everyone involved, I am now completely clear on the differences between Fosh and Frio....hahaha, sorry for the confusion, Anthony. I hadn't really heard much about you until this tournament was approaching. You had a tough bracket and I didn't get the chance to see you play, but it's almost inevitable that I'll be in Edmonton again, so if you're stickin' with smash, I'll see you again.
- F T F - Didn't get your name, but I'm liking this "initials with spaces between your letters" scheme that you and Josh got goin'. Hope to see you again!
- Frio - Maybe I confused Fosh and Frio in part because Frio was wearing FalseFalco's jacket, and that's enough F's to fill my Cosmetology report card. Thanks a lot for coming, Mark--you and Luke helped strengthen some of that Edmonton representation that came in so bountifully.
- Geed - I know you guys tend to be 64 players and I'm sorry that there wasn't more emphasis or enthusiasm on the 64 portion of the event--such is the way of things for a tournament like this and I was just glad that some real 64 players were able to come out for this to make that part of the day more than just a novelty. I appreciate it.
- Hitsugaya - It was a pleasure having you over at my place, John and I'm sorry I haven't been able to locate your missing passport (yet). I sure hope I do, though, I'd hate to see you miss The DAN 2 because of this. You're an interesting player to watch and I would've liked to have seen more of your Peach, but you really seem to play the matchups and counterpicks at a level that I don't even have the energy for as a Luigi purist.
- I T I - Josh! And here I thought you were just an MSN robot, programmed to say, "****, I really want to go, but I can't get a ride!" Thanks so much for arranging to make it for this tournament, I really appreciate it and was pleasantly surprised to see you show up for both days. You beat a lot of players that I wouldn't have expected you to beat and watching you and F T F take out Frio & Alphicans was one of the few set conclusions I actually got see. Solid performance and a surprisingly refined Jigglypuff for a non-competitive player (until now, that is!).
- Janitor - Awesome work with the filming and historical documentation of the tournament, Victor--that takes a lot of work off my shoulders and decorates the whole event with a cherry on top. Your enthusiasm in Red Deer is what bridges the gap between Calgary and Edmonton's communities and I'm sorry we didn't get to play any proper matches. Yours was the one friendly I had for the whole tournament and though I was in no condition to be playing, you can bet that you won't find my own submission to the PR without your name on it. Thanks for bringing such a variety of Red Deer smashers, too--I wasn't even sure PALO DA SUFFOCATA existed...
- JAPMAN - You were the first to arrive and your dedication to the local smash community since moving from Victoria has been nothing but helpful to me and all of us, really. It's hard to get people who are willing to travel across the city for a tournament but you're dedicated enough to travel across the city just for a little smashfest at Levi's. Thanks for fueling the fire, Sho!
- Joe - Joe, I think you were part of the "Dan" crowd who probably hasn't heard of SmashBoards, but again, I appreciate you guys coming down, no matter how you heard about it. Hopefully I find some means to get in touch with you in the future.
- K Lover - While Victor is the voice of enthusiasm and charisma for Red Deer, you are voice of reason, Sean and I appreciate your continued help in both recognizing my organizational needs before the event and...uhh..."translating."
- Kage - I can't think of a name better suited to a warrior than Roustane Benzeguir! Thanks for being so easy to work with in organizing all of the housing and travel arrangements and your kind copy of Super Mario Galaxy, which I can now play rather than be forced to give away. As the sole east coast representative, you tossed a lot of us around like rag dolls and made one hell of a match with our top players. This side of the country has never seen a Ganondorf quite like yours and I hope we can see it again some day. Perhaps you'll have to defend that trophy! See you again, Roustane.
- Kithkin - My failure to give you a shoutout in the first edit of this post was not intentional and in retrospect, I'm not even sure how I missed it with the player list right in front of me. In any case, thanks for fielding some of those interviews with Victor--you asked some of the hard-hitting questions! "What did Mike do wrong!?" Thanks for staying faithful to the game and still staying interested without grinding yourself into dust with training and practice as some of us tend to do. It keeps it a lot more fun that way and though I cringe everytime you don't wavedash to edgehog in the easiest of situations, I am glad to see that you were able to enjoy some tournament success along the way, too. Hang on to that Lizness Time if you can--you've actually been really helpful and supportive from my point of view since she came around despite the fact that none of your other SoCal people seem to take any of it seriously. Anyway, I'll see ya 'round. (P.S. Sheik is gay.)
- LemonLau - Sid, dude, you got worked in Pools what happened!?! Haha, well I was glad to see you do pretty well in the brackets anyway, and you were only one of only three players who took a game of the set off of Kage in Singles. Unless I wrote it down wrong. Always a pleasure, Sid, thanks for coming!
- M - It's been awhile since we saw you play, Allan--it's easy to forget how good you are sometimes! You cleaned up pretty good in your Pools; I wish I could've seen a Samus ditto with you and Tiep, but what can ya do...
- MagnuM - Thanks for recognizing the kind of effort that it took to put this together, Stu. Your gratuity is very appreciated and I'm sorry I wasn't even around to arrange for ideal sleeping quarters for you. You officially have future dibs on a couch. BOWSER POWERED!
- ManLi - Manuel, every tournament in the world would be better off if they had you in attendance. Your positive attitude and support throughout were very helpful, but I'm not sure that came across while running on low food/low sleep as I was. Thank you also for playing out 64 matches at the sacrifice of not being able to watch some of the final rounds happen, just to make the tournament ran smoothly (or to try and legitimately win Super Mario Galaxy!). Like I said, I'll be coming out to B.C. sometime next year and I wouldn't do so without making sure I see a few of my favourite west coast smashers. Perhaps I'll meet ya at the Greyhound station. You're also the first competitive player in the world to openly compliment my Fox, and since you play him so well, it means more to me than the one-time-only bi-weekly participants whose jaws drop to the floor when they get wallshined to 70%.
- MICH - ...
- MikeMonkey - A pleasure having you over, Mike--you veteran Punch Crew people are supah cool and I wish I'd met both you and the SSBM scene in Edmonton a little sooner. Too bad I missed your set with Hitsugaya; I'd've liked to have seen how that went. Until next time...
- Neat - Riley.....Riley.....Riley.....Riley, you have a match....Riley, station 12. Riley....Riley, Riley....
- Nitrocidal - Did you bust out much Kirby for this Alex!? I didn't get to see, but I sure hope you at least won a few matches in his shoes. And as completely unacceptable and gay as it is.....I secretly hope that you gave some nubs a Nitrocide® or two just for kicks....
- Patooty - Thanks for helping me coordinate with you and Ryan in regards to getting your travel plans and housing situation sorted out. I've always known you to be a Samus player, but I didn't get to see much of that this time around--is the Fox just too powerful!? Haha, great work in teams, Tiep--B.C. more or less dominated doubles.
- Pawl - Great to see you again, Pawl! You're still a great player...why haven't we seen you at any bi-weeklies? I hope you hang around for Brawl and maybe we'll see you again. (In fact, this leaves me wondering what ever happened to that xlonesoulx guy, too...)
- PH - Hey Simon--you had a pretty rough couple of matches and you were in the absolute toughest Pool around. If there's anyone who should be complaining about brackets at all, it'd be you and for that I apologize. And you know what? You were one of the first people to register, I don't even remember what you look like and I don't even know what city you're from. If you're from Calgary, I hope we'll see you at future local tournaments--if not, I hope to see you again anyway out of town!
- PKT92 - Preston, you played so well at this tournament! Tied for 13th, eliminating most of Red Deer by yourself! Above your brother, even! And you guys did really well in Teams too, amidst some tough competition. Thanks for playing with us in crews; you did us proud!
- Poo - Thanks for coming out, Dustin. I know you guys haven't been up on this competitive scene for particularly long, or if the notion of participating more regularly even appeals to you, but I appreciate the effort in making it out, even just to have a casual good time smashing with friends.
- QAZ - Hey, you actually played pretty well and had an unfortunate bracket in which you played our top guy across three provinces and then ended up being eliminated by the guy you defeated in Pools. You all seemed to enjoy yourselves okay and I appreciate you coming for the main event.
- R.L.Prodigy - Hahaha, you eliminated my brother!!! AHAHAHA! WELL DONE, LIL' SIR!
- Sieg - I feel as though I didn't get to talk to you guys from Fort Saskatchewan enough, but I suppose that's because you were housed with Chad. And appropriately so, as he is perhaps the most enthusiastic 64 player in the city--and incidentally, the same guy who eliminated you from the 64 bracket. Thanks for your cooperation throughout the event!
- Spin-Dash - Thanks for being supportive of this event and I hope that your first tournament experience was a great one. Also, thank you for being so cooperative and polite in the company of so many total strangers in such a totally strange house. We had a few good matches and I can see that you'll have a very interesting Link if you keep playing with those guys up in Edmonton. They'll learn ya good! Look forward to seeing you again.
- Steve - I think you're a fantastic player, Steve and I'm glad you were able to make it down for this tournament. Someone pointed out something rather interesting to me after the event and I believe it completely: If you hadn't lost to Tiep in the second round, I believe you could've beaten Kage. This would've made the tournament equally interesting, but in a different way. If everything else went more or less the same, then Kage would've had to eliminate Eric and you'd likely be duking it out with Hitsugaya....all matches that would be great to see. Hope that Red Coach wireless internet kept you entertained reading EC/WC trashtalk on the way back home!
- SuPeRbOoM - I should've at least played you one match, man, but it looks like it'll be a rain check. I'm not sure if the horrified cries of being totally obliterated in 64 get tiresome for you or not, but it sure was hilarious to listen to the agonized cheers and shouts from the 64 station when one of your sets was in motion. Take a break from the mighty Z-cancel for now and play through all those Galaxies--you earned that and a whole lot more.
- Valdemar - Dean, you are made of win. You don't even really play this game and were kind enough to show up just because it was important to me. Thank you.
At Melee's End - A Personal Note...
When I first drew up the plans for this, I had a name for it right away because I had intentionally planned for it to coincide with Nintendo's planned release date for Super Smash Bros. Brawl--which would inevitably (maybe not right away--but inevitably nonetheless) kill a lot of the competitive Melee community. What I didn't realize at the time, was just how potent that name would come to be in my own eyes as the events themselves began to unfold.
Most anyone who reads this thread can attest to the things that I've done to build a smash community in Calgary out of virtually nothing and although I think a lot of people believe it would collapse without my help, I would prefer to think that I've now set the foundation for something that people want to see again and maybe, just maybe, might be willing to create themselves. I am very proud to have been able to do this and even happier that it has garnered enough interest to bring players to my tournaments from all over the country, and at least stir some interest in a few others. It makes me proud to know that players from Calgary are now known as good players in smash communities other than our own and I wouldn't trade that for anything. I have a passion for the game-turned-sport that Melee has become which few in this community can match. But I am exhausted.
I gave too much too fast to smash and a lot of the community wasn't ready for what I was trying to do. Having shouldered this burden almost entirely on my own, I can still smile and say it was worth it, but I never would've devoted such time into it to begin with if I were a happy enough person in my day-to-day life to not need such an all-encompassing distraction. As the community grew, so did the responsibilities and all of a sudden, I don't know I had bitten off more than I could chew.
You should understand this about the smash community, though: none of it is hard. Uploading videos is not hard, advertising a tournament is not hard, making these epic posts isn't hard, hosting bi-weeklies is not hard and finding others who play the game is not hard. It only becomes hard when it falls in the lap of one person--it is hard when the administrative portion takes over to the point that you can't be a member of the community that you've created. I miss being able to play the game instead of worrying about being a good tournament host and watching every match happen, ready to call the next one and record the results. When I first played smash, I never envisioned this--and not because I didn't want to, but rather because it was a very different game for me then and had a very different meaning. It was about me and my friends being really good at a game that nobody we knew could challenge us at. This is not uncommon and, in fact, it's probably the very reason that the first tournaments in the world ever took place to begin with. My friends that I played with included: MICH, JIN and JON. The Pro Impact Players.
JON had been losing interest in the game before it ever truly got competitive and to my knowledge, he has not played the game with any degree of seriousness since I was first learning how glorious it was to be able to wavedash->grab somebody with Luigi. He did not attend At Melee's End, despite five months notice and an offer of a ride from his curent home in interior B.C.
JIN was a Link player, and at one point hailed to be the best Link in Alberta, though I feel that would be challenged now by even the likes of Spin-Dash. He attended several of our Pro Impact BI-WEEKLY Smash events in Calgary...primarily because MICH, JIN and myself all lived in the very same house where they were being hosted. Despite this fact, he became notorious for not attending our own bi-weeklies and it eventually got to the point where it was more of a surprise to see him at home than it was not. He has since moved to a new location, while MICH and I live in a different house entirely because it suits our travel requirements better. JIN did not attend At Melee's End, despite five months notice, repeated phone calls, and reminders right up to the day before people started arriving out of town.
MICH is best known in the community as the author of the Ice Climbers advanced tutorial video called Two Climbers, Two Hands in which he demonstrates the unlocked potential of the Ice Climbers in competitive play--a potential which has yet to be explored; he even discovered a "Tilt C-stick" desync that had never been shown before. MICH has always been the best of the four of us--even since smash 64, and we always looked up to his ability to play and went to him to learn more about the game. We used to play the game for hours in straight one-on-one matches because it captured our interest in a similar way. The most fun I ever had with smash was still with Mitchell on his probably-laggy-widescreen TV in his parents' basement, not being able to get past the wrath of his Ice Climbers. MICH came for Day 1 of At Melee's End, but did not attend the main event as he said he would, and as a result of this failure to attend on the part of the Pro Impact Players, I didn't even play in my own tournament.
The event was a success for the community and the unmet expectations of my friends makes me even more grateful for each and every one of you who made the effort to come out and play. By the end of it, I was so incredibly exhausted that the tournament was ultimately a failure for me personally, because I had vested so much emotional weight into seeing my friends--my crew mates--the Pro Impact Players--the people for which the very tournament was named--come out to support me through a very difficult challenge and an exciting achievement. It was my error, and I will not be hosting another tournament under the same expectations ever again. I will retain the Pro Impact name in the interest of product longevity, I suppose, but as of now, I'd say it's safe to say that the Pro Impact Players are a retired SSBM crew, who no longer compete.
We'll see what happens for Brawl season, but as for now, only look forward towards the end of January for Pro Impact Final Smash at the new house. Luigi wants one last go at it!
Thank you all for coming out, and thank you all for still having the spirit for the sporting side of smash , shaking the hands of your fellow players and plugging in to the Cube like it's the right thing to do; and thank you for keeping it alive, still self-destructing in matches after playing the game for years, and still willing to throw that risk on the line in a tournament you know you can't win, and still being able to stand around a television with baited breath in awe, still rooting hard for a player and cheering these matches as they happen, even now...at melee's end.
GAME!
Most anyone who reads this thread can attest to the things that I've done to build a smash community in Calgary out of virtually nothing and although I think a lot of people believe it would collapse without my help, I would prefer to think that I've now set the foundation for something that people want to see again and maybe, just maybe, might be willing to create themselves. I am very proud to have been able to do this and even happier that it has garnered enough interest to bring players to my tournaments from all over the country, and at least stir some interest in a few others. It makes me proud to know that players from Calgary are now known as good players in smash communities other than our own and I wouldn't trade that for anything. I have a passion for the game-turned-sport that Melee has become which few in this community can match. But I am exhausted.
I gave too much too fast to smash and a lot of the community wasn't ready for what I was trying to do. Having shouldered this burden almost entirely on my own, I can still smile and say it was worth it, but I never would've devoted such time into it to begin with if I were a happy enough person in my day-to-day life to not need such an all-encompassing distraction. As the community grew, so did the responsibilities and all of a sudden, I don't know I had bitten off more than I could chew.
You should understand this about the smash community, though: none of it is hard. Uploading videos is not hard, advertising a tournament is not hard, making these epic posts isn't hard, hosting bi-weeklies is not hard and finding others who play the game is not hard. It only becomes hard when it falls in the lap of one person--it is hard when the administrative portion takes over to the point that you can't be a member of the community that you've created. I miss being able to play the game instead of worrying about being a good tournament host and watching every match happen, ready to call the next one and record the results. When I first played smash, I never envisioned this--and not because I didn't want to, but rather because it was a very different game for me then and had a very different meaning. It was about me and my friends being really good at a game that nobody we knew could challenge us at. This is not uncommon and, in fact, it's probably the very reason that the first tournaments in the world ever took place to begin with. My friends that I played with included: MICH, JIN and JON. The Pro Impact Players.
JON had been losing interest in the game before it ever truly got competitive and to my knowledge, he has not played the game with any degree of seriousness since I was first learning how glorious it was to be able to wavedash->grab somebody with Luigi. He did not attend At Melee's End, despite five months notice and an offer of a ride from his curent home in interior B.C.
JIN was a Link player, and at one point hailed to be the best Link in Alberta, though I feel that would be challenged now by even the likes of Spin-Dash. He attended several of our Pro Impact BI-WEEKLY Smash events in Calgary...primarily because MICH, JIN and myself all lived in the very same house where they were being hosted. Despite this fact, he became notorious for not attending our own bi-weeklies and it eventually got to the point where it was more of a surprise to see him at home than it was not. He has since moved to a new location, while MICH and I live in a different house entirely because it suits our travel requirements better. JIN did not attend At Melee's End, despite five months notice, repeated phone calls, and reminders right up to the day before people started arriving out of town.
MICH is best known in the community as the author of the Ice Climbers advanced tutorial video called Two Climbers, Two Hands in which he demonstrates the unlocked potential of the Ice Climbers in competitive play--a potential which has yet to be explored; he even discovered a "Tilt C-stick" desync that had never been shown before. MICH has always been the best of the four of us--even since smash 64, and we always looked up to his ability to play and went to him to learn more about the game. We used to play the game for hours in straight one-on-one matches because it captured our interest in a similar way. The most fun I ever had with smash was still with Mitchell on his probably-laggy-widescreen TV in his parents' basement, not being able to get past the wrath of his Ice Climbers. MICH came for Day 1 of At Melee's End, but did not attend the main event as he said he would, and as a result of this failure to attend on the part of the Pro Impact Players, I didn't even play in my own tournament.
The event was a success for the community and the unmet expectations of my friends makes me even more grateful for each and every one of you who made the effort to come out and play. By the end of it, I was so incredibly exhausted that the tournament was ultimately a failure for me personally, because I had vested so much emotional weight into seeing my friends--my crew mates--the Pro Impact Players--the people for which the very tournament was named--come out to support me through a very difficult challenge and an exciting achievement. It was my error, and I will not be hosting another tournament under the same expectations ever again. I will retain the Pro Impact name in the interest of product longevity, I suppose, but as of now, I'd say it's safe to say that the Pro Impact Players are a retired SSBM crew, who no longer compete.
We'll see what happens for Brawl season, but as for now, only look forward towards the end of January for Pro Impact Final Smash at the new house. Luigi wants one last go at it!
Thank you all for coming out, and thank you all for still having the spirit for the sporting side of smash , shaking the hands of your fellow players and plugging in to the Cube like it's the right thing to do; and thank you for keeping it alive, still self-destructing in matches after playing the game for years, and still willing to throw that risk on the line in a tournament you know you can't win, and still being able to stand around a television with baited breath in awe, still rooting hard for a player and cheering these matches as they happen, even now...at melee's end.
GAME!