Super Smash Bros. Melee Singles at Get On My Level 2019 concluded on May 19. Joseph “Mang0” Marquez emerged victorious, earning his first major tournament victory since Super Smash Con 2017. Of course, many players who fell short of first place still made significant runs at the event.
Canada’s darling Kurtis “moky” Pratt made the most unexpected run to Top 8 at GOML Melee Singles. He upset Kalindi “KJH” Henderson and even took Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma to game five before dropping to the losers bracket. From there, he defeated Joey “Lucky” Aldama and Justin “Plup” McGrath, ultimately finishing in 7th place. Though he technically retired in March, GOML 2019 proved to be moky’s best tournament to date. Along with Ryan Ford, moky also placed 3rd in Doubles.
Jeffrey “Axe” Williamson made an impressive run to Grand Finals after suffering a fairly early loss to James “Swedish Delight” Liu at Get On My Level 2019. Axe beat Johnny “S2J” Kim, Zain “Zain” Naghmi, Zachary “SFAT” Cordoni, Justin “Wizzrobe” Hallett, and William “Leffen” Hjelte before losing to Mang0 and placing 2nd. Axe made a similar run through losers at GENESIS 6, where he also placed 2nd.
JUST ANOTHER WEDNESDAYhttps://t.co/VCinUyhqbG tell your friends
— Tempo🌩️| Axe (@TempoAxe) May 19, 2019
Mang0 and Axe play each other on their personal streams every Wednesday, a fact which Axe referenced in the above tweet. However, Mang0 Axe Wednesdays are much more casual than GOML’s Sunday Grand Finals. During their weekly streams, Mang0 and Axe will typically participate in iron man challenges (where they must win with every character in the game) on non-competitive stages with items turned on.
Returns to glory
Wizzrobe participated in GOML Melee singles, making it his first Melee tournament since Smash Summit 7 in November 2018. Wizzrobe made a strong run through losers after dropping a set to S2J in winners bracket. He defeated KJH, Edgard “n0ne” Sheleby, Swedish Delight, moky, and Hungrybox. Wizzrobe lost to Axe in Losers Semis, placing 4th overall. Wizzrobe earned a spot in Smash Summit 8, as he placed the highest of all non-invitees at the event.
Leffen also made his return to Melee after spending the first part of the year focusing on Smash Ultimate. Despite being rusty, Leffen made it to Top 8 by overcoming Avery “Ginger” Wilson and Zain. He then cruised to Winners Finals with a 3-0 victory over Hungrybox. Losses to Mang0 and Axe left him in 3rd place at his first tournament back.
Surprise endings
SFAT was something of an odd man out in Winners Semis at GOML Melee Singles. While Mang0, Hungrybox, and Leffen are considered to be among the “gods of Melee,” SFAT is not. SFAT earned his spot in winners side of Top 8 by upsetting Masaya “aMSa” Chikamoto and Plup. He then lost to Mang0 and Axe to place 5th.
Hungrybox and Plup, the top two seeds at the tournament, both underperformed at this event. First seed Hungrybox placed 5th, losing to returning veterans Leffen and Wizzrobe. Plup placed 9th, losing to SFAT and moky. Plup notably relied on Fox throughout these two sets, despite predominantly maining Sheik.
