With over 1,900 people currently registered, the Ludwig Ahgren Championship Series 4 is on track to be the second-largest Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament of all time, only behind Evo 2016. Here’s everything you need to know about Ludwig “Ludwig” Ahgren’s upcoming online Melee supermajor, LACS 4.
The tournament’s $30,001 prize pool will narrowly place it within the top 10 largest prize pools in Melee history. Payouts will go to everyone in top 16, with the winner earning $9,001. Additionally, the tournament will be a fundraiser for the tournament organizers of the recently-postponed Genesis 8.
How to watch LACS 4 Melee Singles
LACS 4 Melee Singles will feature three main streams. Ludwig and Anthony “Slime” Bruno will provide commentary on Ludwig’s YouTube channel. Meanwhile, Brandon “YungWaff” Collier will stream the event on his Twitch channel.
Finally, Beyond the Summit will stream matches as part of GenAssist, a three-day content block that will also raise money for the Genesis tournament organizers. Although these three will be the primary streams, Aiden “Calvin” McCaig suggested the possibility of unofficial restreams, including a French stream.
Genesis got postponed to April… but we couldn't wait that long for some Melee.
Join us this weekend on @BTSsmash for thirty-four (34) hours of premium Melee content to raise money for the Genesis crew.
This is #GenAssist. pic.twitter.com/FW4IZabBuQ
— Melee It On Me (@MeleeItOnMe) January 25, 2022
Melee players can register for LACS 4 up until 4:59 a.m. ET on Jan. 26. Here is the schedule for matches on Jan. 29:
- 12 p.m. ET – East Coast pools
- 2 p.m. ET – West Coast pools
- 2:30 p.m. ET – East Coast top 64 qualifiers
- 4:30 p.m. ET – West Coast top 64 qualifiers
- 6:30 p.m. ET – Combined East and West Coast top 64
The tournament will conclude with the top 12 on Jan. 30. However, the LACS TOs have not yet announced what time matches will begin on Championship Sunday.
Players to watch
Smash Summit 12 champion Cody “iBDW” Schwab will almost certainly be the first seed going into the tournament. With neither Joseph “Mang0” Marquez nor Zain “Zain” Naghmi currently registered, iBDW is the clear favorite to win. Even so, he will have to prove he can avoid upset losses against players like Avery “Ginger” Wilson and John “KoDoRiN” Ko, both of whom beat him at Mainstage 2021.
Since the event is restricted to North America, Europe’s No. 1 player, William “Leffen” Hjelte, has traveled to the United States in order to enter it. This will mark his first appearance at an open-bracket American major since Genesis 7 in January of 2020. As a result, Leffen could get long-anticipated rematches against top players who weren’t at Smash Summit 12, like Justin “Plup” McGrath and Jeffrey “Axe” Williamson.
Landed in America!
Baiken looks sick, stage looks amazing, combo maker is goated if implemented well.— TSM Leffen (@TSM_Leffen) January 25, 2022
In addition, Melee Samus turned Ultimate Pikachu Eric “ESAM” Lew will enter his first Melee Singles tournament since 2018 at LACS 4. He previously peaked as No. 68 in the world in 2016, with wins over the likes of Weston “Westballz” Dennis, Robert “Wobbles” Wright and Julian “Zhu” Zhu. This weekend, viewers will get to see if ESAM can shake off the rust and make a deep run in a Melee bracket.
We back in business baby pic.twitter.com/ZawiPOcJdN
— ESAM (BALD) (@imESAM) January 25, 2022
