Smash Ultimate Summit 3 is right around the corner and the first two players to earn their way in were revealed on Thursday. Counter Logic Gaming’s James “Void” Makekau-Tyson and Aaron “Aaron” Wilhite successfully fended off the 12 other candidates to make it in during the first of three rounds.
Void and Aaron didn’t really have a hard time qualifying when it came to total votes. Aaron in particular amassed an impressive 120,000. For comparison, Void had only 75,000. The total becomes even more impressive when looking at the third-place player Trevor “Atomsk” Hirschen. Atomsk, who at the time of cut-off only had 42,000 – a third of Aaron’s vote totals.
Aaron’s and Void’s Campaigns
Aaron’s high vote total may be thanks to the unlikely help of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, Joe Kelly. The weird collaboration was thanks to the effort of Aaron’s friend, Brandon “Stahly” Brenenstahl. Stahly, who is among the best Knockout City players in the world, got a chance to collaborate with Joe Kelly to host a Knockout City tournament. Since then, Stahly and Kelly have been on good terms. Their relationship was enough to have Kelly make a video supporting Stahly’s friend Aaron for Summit.
HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT.
Joe Kelly of the L.A. Dodgers is OFFICIALLY endorsing #Aaron4Summit!!!!
The top donator on https://t.co/w6iA7nnLUW during the Summit Campaign will receive a SIGNED BASEBALL from Joe!!!
Shoutouts @_Stahly pic.twitter.com/wi5blLZ1dd
— Moist | Aaron (@AaronFGC) August 7, 2021
“HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT. Joe Kelly of the L.A. Dodgers is OFFICALLY endorsing #Aaron4Summit,” Aaron tweeted along with Kelly’s video. “The top donator on twitch.tv/Aaron_FGC during the Summit Campaign will receive a signed baseball from Joe!!! Shoutouts @_Stahly.”
Void on the other hand has been one of the most popular players in the scene for a long time. His campaign didn’t have any endorsements from Major League pitchers, but did have one from Smash Summit 11 champion, Joseph “Mang0” Marquez. Void, who has played Melee in the past, is good friends with Mang0. The two even streamed together on Wednesday in hopes of getting Void closer to qualifying.
Eliminations and at-risk players
With these two getting invited, three players were eliminated from contention as well. Top ten PGRU player, Paris “Light” Ramirez Garcia was one of the biggest shocks when it came to eliminations. Troy “Bassmage” Waters, who is regarded as one of the best Jigglypuff players in the world, was also knocked out of contention.
Heading into the second round of vote-ins, there is already one player who is at risk of being eliminated that stands out. Popular Youtuber and Twitch streamer, Charles “MoistCr1TiKaL” White Jr. recently announced he has started an esports organization and one of its first singing was Smash Ultimate. pro, Kolawole “Kola” Aideyan. Kola is trying to get into Smash Ultimate Summit 3 through voting. However, he will start the second round of vote-ins in last place, despite the big-time endorsement.
The third and fourth players voted into Smash Ultimate Summit 3 will be revealed at 3 PM ET on Saturday, August 14.
