Florida played host to the Community Effort Orlando or CEO tournament this weekend, one of the biggest fighting game community contests of the year. After several tense matchups and fiery games between both Melee and Smash for Wii U competitors, two victors emerged.
In Melee, Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma defeated Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman to win another tourney. Hbox has been taking many tournaments throughout 2016, and a lack of some of his biggest rivals and a home field advantage gave him the edge to take another Melee title. While other top competitors such as Justin “Plup” McGrath and Zac “SFAT” Cordoni also impressed, the competition was lacking in some of its top players. Joseph “Mang0” Marquez and William “Leffen” Hjelte were both suddenly unable to attend due to unspecified personal reasons, and current best in the world Adam “Armada” Lindgren also missed the tournament. Still, this continues Hbox’s string of summer wins, which he’s looking to continue at the upcoming WTFox 2 and EVO 2016.
Smash 4’s tournament was crazy for a host of different reasons. Top players were beaten left and right, with number one ranked Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios falling day one to massive underdog Palutena main Jose “Prince Ramen” Tijerina, and the upsets only continued from there. Players like Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada, Elliot “Ally” Carroza-Oyarce, and Eric “ESAM” Lew were all knocked out of the bracket earlier than expected, creating some surprise runs from lesser-rated players. The eventual victor was Jason “ANTi” Bates, who after making it rain money off of the stage upon his entrance (the second best intro of the evening, after Cristian “Hyuga” Medina’s Luchador tribute), defeated surprise midwest Diddy Kong underdog Julian “Zinoto” Carrington in a close Grand Finals set. Recently sponsored by Dream Team, ANTi struggled to find footing until a crucial Cloud counterpick gave him the edge and his first Smash 4 Major.
The next big tournament for both games is this weekend, at Tennessee’s WTFox 2. You can find the full Top 8 CEO results for both games below.
Top 8 Melee:
1. Liquid | Hungrybox (Jigglypuff)
2. Echofox | MVG | Mew2King (Sheik, Marth)
3. CLG | SFAT (Fox)
4. PG | Plup (Sheik, Samus)
5. Tempo | Axe (Pikachu, Falco)
5. WFX | Shroomed (Sheik)
7. ROOT | ChuDat (Ice Climbers)
7. COG | Wizzrobe (Captain Falcon)
Top 8 Smash 4:
1. DT | ANTi (Mario, Cloud, half of the rest of the cast)
2. Zinoto (Diddy Kong)
3. DT | Dabuz (Rosalina, Olimar)
4. Abadango (Mewtwo, Meta Knight, Pac-Man)
5. SF | Hyuga (Toon Link)
5. Mr. R (Sheik)
7. eLevate | Larry Lurr (Fox, DK)
7. False (Sheik, Marth)
Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
