Shintaro “Kuro” Kakihara won Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Singles at Umebura SP 6 in Tokyo, Japan on Oct. 22. Impressively, this A-tier marked Kuro’s first tournament victory since the release of Smash Ultimate. Kuro also succeeded in winning this event as the 37th seed.
Kuro managed to enter top 96 on the winners side of the bracket. There, he scored a pair of upset wins over Ishiguro “Raito” Tetsuya and Tomoki “kept” Ikeda. In Winners Quarters, Kuro earned another impressive victory over Towa “Atelier” Kuriyama.
Kuro dropped into the losers bracket after a loss to Shimizu “Umeki” Masaki in Winners Semis of Umebura SP 6. However, he worked his way back to Umeki by defeating “Lea” and Kengo “KEN” Suzuki in losers. In Losers Finals, Kuro won his rematch against Umeki. Then in Grand Finals, he earned a pair of 2-0 victories against Takuto “Kameme” Ono to win the event.
Umebura SP 6 marked a huge jump in performance compared to Kuro’s recent results. He had not placed in the top 8 of an Umebura event since Umebura SP last December. Back then, he was a Pit main. Now, as a Zero Suit Samus main, Kuro has pulled off his most notable run in Smash Ultimate to date.
More results from Umebura SP 6
“Ron” had an unexpected losers run to top 8 at Umebura SP 6. He dropped into the losers bracket early, losing to “Nesk” in top 96. However, Ron made his way into top 24 with wins over “takera,” “Tarakotori,” and Haoka “shky” Toshiki. His run continued with upset wins over Tsubasa “Tsu” Takuma, Isami “T” Ikeda, and Atelier. Ron finished the event in 7th place.
“Munekin” similarly had a great run to 9th place at this event. As the 65th seed, Munekin upset No. 1 seed and reigning Umebura SP champion Shuto “Shuton” Moriya. Munekin also had victories over “huto,” “Es,” and Tarakotori. These wins allowed him to reach Winners Quarters, an impressive feat for a player who is relatively little-known internationally.
Many of the highest seeds at Umebura SP 6 were upset very early in the bracket. Shuton placed 33rd, with his aforementioned loss to Munekin and another loss to Toshimasa “Choco” Hayakawa. No. 7 seed Seisuke “Kome” Komeda also placed 33rd, losing to the unseeded Hitachi Hazuki and Eita “HIKARU” Hoshi.
