Editing Smasher:AMSa

{{lowercase}}
{{for|the similarly named Dutch {{SSBM|Sheik}} player|Smasher:Amsah}}''
{{Smasher Infobox
| name          = aMSa
| image         = VGBC aMSa.png
| mainssbm      = Yoshi
| otherssbm     = Falco
| mainpm        = Lucario
| otherpm       = Yoshi
| mainssb4      = Greninja
| otherssb4     = Yoshi 
| crew          = [[VGBootCamp]]
| skillssbm     = Top professional
| skillpm       = Top professional
| skillssb4     = Top professional
| realname      = Masaya Chikamoto
| rankingssbm   = [[2015 SSBMRank]]: 24th
| birthday      = 27
| birthmonth    = 10
| birthyear     = 1991
| location      = Miyagi, Japan
| country       = Japan
}}
[[File:Apex 2014 - aMSa and Chu.jpeg|thumb|300px|aMSa (standing) after beating {{Sm|ChuDat}} (sitting) in Winners Finals of their pool at Apex 2014.]]
'''aMSa''' is a ''Melee'' {{SSBM|Yoshi}} player from Japan who entered the scene in February 2013. He quickly became known as the best Yoshi player in the world after his strong performances at [[EVO 2013]] and [[Apex 2014]], despite only having played seriously for a short amount of time compared to other professionals. aMSa has tournament results and wins that are unprecedented by other Yoshi mains, finishing top 32 at all EVO tournaments since EVO 2013, 9th at Apex 2014, and 5th at Apex 2015, while having tournament wins over renowned players such as {{Sm|PewPewU}}, {{Sm|Mew2King}}, {{Sm|SFAT}}, {{Sm|Fly Amanita}}, and {{Sm|KirbyKaze}}. In May 2014, aMSa was signed onto [[VGBootCamp]].

aMSa is currently ranked 24th on the [[2015 SSBMRank]].

==Playing style==
aMSa is a very technical and punish-heavy player, heavily incorporating [[double jump cancelling]] and [[parry]]ing into his gameplay as Yoshi to escape pressure and create lengthy, damaging combos of his own. He is also dangerous at the ledge; he frequently utilizes the [[Egg Toss]] ledge stall to bait bad approaches, is able to [[ledgedash]] proficiently, and threatens early KOs by occasionally using ledge-hoped [[Egg Lay]]s as a mixup. He also makes the most out of Yoshi's otherwise mediocre mobility with his fantasic platform movement and ledge snap tricks, as shown partially in his [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UufV85QoCVE tech skill video]. aMSa also has a large amount of game knowledge; he has compiled a detailed chart of KO percentages for all of Yoshi's smash attacks on every stage, utilizes [[port]] mechanics to gain extra frames to escape otherwise guaranteed [[chain grab]]s from {{SSBM|Sheik}}, and has very precise aim with Egg Toss, especially when edgeguarding or extending combos. As Falco, aMSa focuses on precise and technical movement and grab setups to gain an advantage against those who counterpick to Yoshi's weaker stages.

aMSa's weaknesses stem from his higher reliance on gimmicks compared to other players of his caliber. As Yoshi has an inherently weaker neutral game than top-tiered characters, aMSa sometimes takes gambles that rely mostly on his opponents' lack of knowledge of Yoshi's hitboxes, such as throwing out up smashes in neutral as an anti-air. He also struggles against {{SSBM|Peach}} players, and players with a more patient playstyle in general who can combat his egg zoning (such as {{Sm|Hungrybox}}). aMSa has more even sets against smashers with more familiarity with the Yoshi matchup, especially in Japan.

==History==
===EVO 2013===
After taking top 8 in a Japanese tournament using only Yoshi, aMSa piqued the interest of the international scene. He made his international debut at EVO 2013, where he managed to sweep through his pool without losing a set, knocking smashers such as {{Sm|Flow}} and {{Sm|Codi}} into losers' bracket and making it to quarterfinals on the winners' side. He then managed to take a game off of {{Sm|Mew2King}} in the second round of brackets, shocking many spectators, although Mew2King still ended up defeating aMSa 2-1. In losers' bracket, aMSa defeated another notable smasher in {{Sm|Mr. F}}, achieving a final placement of 25th after losing to {{Sm|DaShizWiz}}. He later played many other top players in friendlies, including {{Sm|Armada}}, {{Sm|Axe}}, and {{Sm|Hungrybox}}, managing to hold his own in each one (most of his matches went to the last stock); his most notable moment in these matches was when he [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CMBBO0PNwM&t=6m50s 4-stocked SilentSpectre], which many other professionals have never achieved, in or out of tournament brackets.

aMSa's performance split the community's opinions on him; some claimed that he had the potential to take top 16 in his next national event, while others claimed that his relatively high placement was the result of a comparatively easy bracket compared to that of many other players. His stellar performance at EVO resulted in smashers voting him in at 77th best in the world on the [[2013 SSBM Player Rankings]]; even there, however, panelists shared split opinions, with several top professional players arguing that he was overrated and would not perform as well in the future.

===Apex 2014 and the pre-MLG season===
aMSa returned to the United States to compete in [[Apex 2014]]. Defying all expectations again, he tore through winners' bracket in the first round of pools on the first day, beating {{Sm|Green Ranger}} 2-0 and {{Sm|ChuDat}} 2-1 for the winner's position, and defeated {{Sm|Kage}} in a best-of-5 exhibition match 3-2. The next day, he caused more enormous upsets by defeating {{Sm|Silent Wolf}} 2-1 and {{Sm|Fly Amanita}} 2-0, securing a spot in winners' finals of the pool. However, he was then defeated by {{Sm|PPMD}} in winners' finals and {{Sm|Colbol}} in losers' finals, resulting in his 9th place finish in the second largest ''Melee'' tournament at the time. After the tournament, he once again fought many other professionals in various exhibition matches, managing to take a game off of {{Sm|Tafokints}}, win best of 3 sets against {{Sm|MattDotZeb}} and {{Sm|Vish}}, and win best of 5 sets against {{Sm|SFAT}}, {{Sm|Westballz}}, and {{Sm|Mew2King}}'s sandbagging choices. Although he did not perform as well in doubles with fellow Yoshi main {{Sm|V3ctorman}}, he still garnered an enormous amount of fan support for demonstrating unprecedented levels of play with his character.

aMSa would later attend the Japanese [[MLG Anaheim 2014]] qualifier, [[Sumabato DX Melee 11]], in May. However, he performed very poorly and did not win a single set, being taken out by his training partner {{Sm|Sheik}} in winners' bracket and then by {{Sm|Shippu}} in losers' bracket, finishing last at 13th place. This performance did not give him enough MLG points to qualify for the championship bracket, and although he took 2nd at [[KVO 2014]] the day after, he needed to travel out of country again to accumulate enough points.

Two weeks later, aMSa traveled to France to attend [[Republic of Fighters 3]], a 5000 point qualifier. At this tournament, he achieved a first seed in his second round of pools after defeating {{Sm|Däumling}} and {{Sm|Cyr}} 2-0, and defeated players such as {{Sm|porc}}, {{Sm|Trif}}, and {{Sm|Zgetto}} in winners' bracket before being knocked into losers by {{Sm|Armada}}. He then defeated {{Sm|Overtriforce}} 3-1 in losers' quarters, and knocked out {{Sm|Ice}} 3-0 in losers' semis (with a 3-stock lead at the end of game 1), before losing to {{Sm|Leffen}} 2-3 in an incredibly close set in losers' finals that went down to the last stock, to take 3rd place overall in the singles portion of the tournament. Placing 3rd at this tournament allowed him to gather enough points to qualify for the MLG Anaheim 2014 championship bracket. He also teamed with {{Sm|Cyr}} in doubles and placed 7th.

===Summer of Smash 2014===
At MLG Anaheim 2014, aMSa didn't do well in his pool; he brought several of his opponents, such as {{Sm|Fiction}}, Westballz, and {{Sm|ZeRo}}, to game 5 (often down 2-0 in his favor), but almost always lost in 3-game reversals. Even though the tournament weighed game counts as well as match counts, his stray wins were not enough for him to be seeded any higher than losers' round 1 in the championship bracket. In the championship bracket, he faced {{Sm|S2J}} first, and won the first two games. However, just like many other players in the championship pools the day before, S2J came back 2-3, knocking aMSa out and into a 17th place finish overall. aMSa also attended [[CEO 2014]], but did not make it out of his bracket pool, losing to {{Sm|PorkChops}} 2-3 in winners' finals and {{Sm|Wenbo}} 1-3 in losers' finals of the pool, thus placing 33rd in ''Melee'' singles at the tournament. However, he did slightly better in ''Melee'' doubles, where he placed 9th with {{Sm|PL}}.

aMSa made his next appearance at [[Kings of Cali 4]], where he defeated both {{Sm|MacD}} and {{Sm|Scar}} 2-0 in the second round of pools, and was seeded first coming out of his pool into the top 32 bracket. He defeated {{Sm|DendyPretendy}} 3-0 and {{Sm|Ken}} 3-0, setting up a match between him and Mew2King in winners' quarters. In a shocking upset, after losing the first game, aMSa was able to win the set 3-1. He then lost to {{Sm|Mango}} 0-3 in winners' semis, and to {{Sm|Lucky}} 0-3 in losers' quarters, however, resulting in a 5th place finish overall in singles. In doubles, he placed 7th with PL, losing to Westballz and ZeRo 1-3 in losers' top 8.

The following week, aMSa attended [[EVO 2014]], and won a local tournament at Press Start Gaming Center shortly before the main event started, defeating Ice 2-0, {{Sm|G$}}, and Ice again 3-2 for the 1st place finish. Like the previous year, he swept through his round 1 pools without dropping a set, then defeated {{Sm|Tai}} in the second round bracket before losing to {{Sm|PewPewU}}'s Fox 0-2. In losers', aMSa defeated {{Sm|Lambchops}} and {{Sm|Swedish Delight}} before losing to {{Sm|S2J}} again, ending his tournament at 17th place overall.

===Apex 2015===
aMSa first attended the Apex Qualifier [[Battle Gate Way 6]] in December 2014, where he placed 2nd, losing to {{Sm|Sobameshi}} in Winner's semis before defeating the likes of {{Sm|K.F}}, {{Sm|Kounotori}}, {{Sm|Flash}} and Sobameshi in a rematch before being defeated by Shippu in Grand Finals. He did not attend any other Apex Qualifiers or major tournaments until [[Apex 2015]].

At Apex, aMSa swept through his round 1 pool, getting 1st seed with no difficulty. In R2 Pools, he defeated top players such as {{Sm|Laudandus}} to make it into Top 48 bracket in Winner's side. There, he defeated Fly Amanita once again 2-0 before falling to Leffen 0-2. aMSa then made an amazing loser's bracket run, defeating {{Sm|Zhu}} 2-0, Lucky 2-1, and SFAT 2-0 to make Top 8, surpassing even his previous year's performance. In Top 8, he defeated {{Sm|KirbyKaze}} 3-1 before falling to Mango in a last stock, game 5 position 2-3 to end his run at 5th place, the highest placing competitor outside of the Top 6, at the biggest Melee tournament at the time, cementing his status as one of the best current players in the world.

===Other ''Smash'' games===
While aMSa is not known to play ''SSB64'' or ''Brawl'', he does play the ''Brawl'' mod ''[[Project M]]''. He initially started with {{PM|Yoshi}}, as he did in ''Melee'', but later decided not to play as Yoshi competitively in said mod, stating that he wants to focus on the unique aspects of it instead of treating it as another ''Melee'' title, as well as stating that certain key aspects of the character didn't resemble his ''Melee'' [[Yoshi (SSBM)|appearance]] ([[Parry|Parrying]], for example.) Thus, aMSa uses {{PM|Lucario}} instead, and is considered one of the most technical and powerful ''PM'' {{PM|Lucario}} mains in the world. He exhibits mastery over Lucario's many complex movement options and combos that not many other Lucario mains utilize in their playstyles, and has frequently been the highest-placing Lucario player in several large regional and international ''Project M'' tournaments.

With Yoshi, aMSa placed 65th at [[Apex 2014]] in ''Project M'' singles, barely failing to make it out of his bracket pool. He later made his debut with Lucario at NINJA4, where he placed 2nd; he lost to {{Sm|Kaito}} in winners' semis, then defeated {{Sm|Shippu}}, {{Sm|Katiwari}}, and {{Sm|Opinthin}} to make it to Grand Finals against Kaito, where he lost again. He placed 2nd again at [[Republic of Fighters 3]]; he lost again in winners' semis, this time to {{Sm|Zen}} 1-3, then defeated {{Sm|Yomi}} 3-0, {{Sm|Clade}} 3-0, and {{Sm|Zen}} 3-1 in a rematch, then lost to {{Sm|Professor Pro}} 0-3 in Grand Finals.

At [[CEO 2014]], aMSa placed 9th in ''Project M'' singles; he made it out of his pool on the winners' side, but lost to {{Sm|ZeRo}} and {{Sm|TheReflexWonder}} afterward. He also placed 7th in ''Project M'' doubles with {{Sm|DJ Nintendo}}.

aMSa was also a participant in the [[Super Smash Bros. Invitational]] at [[E3 2014]], and was one of two international participants (along with ZeRo). Even with {{SSB4|Yoshi}} unavailable for selection, he reached the four-way finals round using {{SSB4|Olimar}}. He had the same score but less percent than ZeRo after the match ended, but it did not grant him the win under the Invitational rules; he was subsequently eliminated by popular vote in favor of ZeRo to take 3rd place overall. After the game's release, he picked up {{SSB4|Greninja}}, and consistently places well in ''Smash 4'' tournaments, placing 9th at Apex 2015, which included a 2-0 victory over {{Sm|Ally}} and close 1-2 loss to {{Sm|MVD}}, as well as defeating {{Sm|Boss}}, {{Sm|Nick Riddle}}, {{Sm|Rich Brown}}, and {{Sm|J.Miller}} in Round 2 pools. He also has a Yoshi secondary, but does not play him as often, as he is afraid that the dissimilarities between Yoshi's incarnations in ''Melee'' and ''Smash 4'' will hinder his gameplay with both of them.

==Tournament placings==
===''[[Melee]]''===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner
|-
|[[EVO 2013]]||July 12th-14th, 2013||25th||&mdash;||{{Sm|Sheik}}
|-
|[[Apex 2014]]||January 17th-19th, 2014||9th||65th||{{Sm|V3ctorman}}
|-
|[[Sumabato DX Melee 11]]||May 4th, 2014||13th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[KVO 2014]]||May 5th, 2014||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Republic of Fighters 3]]||May 17th-18th 2014||3rd||7th||{{Sm|Cyr}}
|-
|[[MLG Anaheim 2014]]||June 20th-22nd, 2014||17th||25th||{{Sm|PL}}
|-
|[[CEO 2014]]||June 27th-29th, 2014||33rd||9th||PL
|-
|[[Kings of Cali 4]]||July 5th-6th, 2014||5th||7th||PL
|-
|PSG Tournament||July 10th, 2014||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[EVO 2014]]||July 11th-13th, 2014||17th||33rd||PL
|-
|Sumabato DX 29||August 16th, 2014||4th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|Sumabato DX Melee 12||August 17th, 2014||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|Battle Gate Way 5||August 31st, 2014||4th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|NINJA5||September 13th, 2014||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Battle Gate Way 6]]||December 13th-14th, 2014||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|Sumabato DX Melee 13|| c. December 2014||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Apex 2015]]||January 31st-February 1st, 2015||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[KVO 2015]]||May 2nd-4th, 2015||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[EVO 2015]]||July 17th-19th, 2015||25th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Battle Gate Way 8]]||August 9th, 2015||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[CrazyHand 2015]]||August 14th-15th, 2015||2nd||2nd||{{Sm|Eggplant}}
|-
|[[CrazyHand Winter 2015]]||December 26th-27th, 2015||5th||2nd||{{Sm|Sanne}}
|-
|[[Battle Gateway 9]]||January 24th, 2016||4th||-||-
|-
|[[Pound 2016]]||April 2nd-3rd, 2016||13th||33rd||{{Sm|Toph}}
|}

===''[[Project M]]''===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner
|-
|[[Apex 2014]]||January 17th-19th, 2014||65th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|NINJA4|| ||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Republic of Fighters 3]]||May 17th-18th, 2014||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[CEO 2014]]||June 27th-29th, 2014||9th||7th||{{Sm|DJ Nintendo}}
|-
|Umebura 4.5||July 21st, 2014||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|}

==={{forwiiu}}===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner
|-
|[[Super Smash Bros. Invitational]]||June 10th, 2014||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Apex 2015]]||January 30th-February 1st, 2015||9th||13th||{{Sm|Abadango}}
|-
|[[KVO 2015]]||May 2nd-4th, 2015||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[EVO 2015]]||July 17th-19th, 2015||33rd||Top 16||{{Sm|Mr.II}}
|-
|[[Pound 2016]]||April 2nd-3rd, 2016||65th||7th||Mr.II
|-
|[[KSB 2016]]||April 29th-May 1st, 2016||49th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|}

==={{for3ds}}===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner
|-
|[[Umebura 8]]||September 23rd, 2014||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Sumabato 0]]||October 25th, 2014||7th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|}

==Trivia==
*aMSa maintains a YouTube channel where he posts discoveries about new innovations in Yoshi's and Greninja's metagames. He also uses his channel to upload videos of friendlies and mostly local tournament matches, and occasionally uploads sets involving Japanese players in larger tournaments (such as [[EVO 2013]]) that weren't streamed.
*In the Apex 2014 "Salty Suite", aMSa faced off against {{Sm|DJ Nintendo}}'s {{SSBM|Bowser}} in the "Battle of the Dinos" and won 3-0. When asked to give a statement before the match, aMSa replied "I play to win," repeating said statement after he won. This phrase, commonly deliberately misconstrued as "I pray to win" (due to [[Wikipedia:Perception of /r/ and /l/ by Japanese speakers|"l" sound being pronounced like "r" in Japanese]]), has become a meme in the ''Smash'' community associated with aMSa, with his fans using the statement to cheer him on during tournaments or on streams.
**At Republic of Fighters 3, aMSa played throughout most of the tournament using the tag "IPTW", referencing this phrase.
*aMSa is the only non-American member of the [[VGBootCamp]] crew.

==Gameplay videos==
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UufV85QoCVE The Red Essence - A Yoshi tech skill video by aMSa]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLlKmi9NIlw Fly Amanita (Ice Climbers) vs. aMSa (Yoshi)]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjl6qCke0NI Apex 2014 - aMSa vs GC Silent Wolf - SSBM]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebQvOigmfDU Overtriforce vs. VGBC.aMSa (Yoshi) - Losers Q.F.]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDnKE5J7ki8 KoC 4 - VGBC | aMSa (Yoshi) Vs. P4K EMP | Mew2King (Sheik, Fox) SSBM Winners Quarters - Melee]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-RRq5yMpTc Apex 2015 - VGBC | aMSa (Greninja) Vs. Boreal_Ally (Mario) - SSB4]

==External links==
*[http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1HF_YmkC8znqpCHBDKB30A aMSa's YouTube channel]

[[Category:Japanese smashers]]
[[Category:Yoshi professionals (SSBM)]]
[[Category:Lucario professionals (PM)]]
[[Category:Yoshi professionals (PM)]]
[[Category:Greninja professionals (SSB4)]]
[[Category:VIP players]]
[[Category:2013 SSBMRank ranked players]]
[[Category:2014 SSBMRank ranked players]]
[[Category:2015 SSBMRank ranked players]]
[[Category:2014 SSBMRank top 25]]
[[Category:2015 SSBMRank top 25]]
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