Editing Smasher:ESAM

| 2ndotherssb4    = Mewtwo

| retiredssb4    = Corrin

| winningsssbm    = ~$1,975.86

| winningsssbb    = ~$10,403.25

| winningsssb4    = ~$31,261.55

| winningsssbu    = ~$23,869.91

| rankingssb4    = [[PGR 100|Panda Global Rankings 100]]: 17th

| realname        = Eric Lew

| birthday        = 17

| country        = USA

}}

In {{forwiiu}}, ESAM was also a {{SSB4|Pikachu}} main, considered the best Pikachu player in the world; he also had a {{SSB4|Samus}} secondary, and was one of the best Samus players in the world alongside {{Sm|IcyMist}}. ESAM was ranked 1st on the final [[Oklahoma Power Rankings|Oklahoma ''Smash 4'' Power Rankings]] and 17th on the [[PGR 100|Panda Global Rankings 100]]; he was also formerly ranked 2nd on the [[South Florida Smash 4 Power Rankings]].

ESAM regularly teams with {{Sm|MVD}} in [[doubles]], and the pair are considered one of the best doubles teams in the world. They formerly lived in the same city in Oklahoma and regularly practice against each other.

==Tournament history==

At the beginning of ''[[Smash 4]]'', ESAM was invited to [[Sky's Smash 4 Invitational]] where he lost to {{Sm|FOW}} 0-2 in winners. In losers he defeated {{Sm|Trela}} 2-1, {{Sm|Zinoto}} 2-0, FOW 3-0, and {{Sm|ZeRo}} 3-1 before losing to {{Sm|Mr. R}} 1-3 and placing second.

At [[Super Smash Con 2015]], ESAM defeated {{Sm|DKwill}} 2-0, and {{Sm|Nairo}} 3-2 before losing to ZeRo in a very close set in winners finals, 2-3. He would then defeat Nairo 3-1 in losers finals before losing his rematch with ZeRo 0-3 in grand finals, where he used Yoshi in Game 2. ESAM later traveled to California for [[Paragon Los Angeles 2015]], where he defeated {{Sm|Angbad}} 2-0 and Zex 2-0 before losing to {{Sm|6WX}} 0-2. In losers he defeated {{Sm|AC}} 2-0 before losing to {{Sm|SlayerZ}} 1-2 and finishing at 13th place. In October, ESAM traveled to Michigan for [[The Big House 5]]; he also entered Smashfield Weeklies 9 which was happening before the event. At the weekly, he defeated {{Sm|Megafox}} 2-1, Abadango 2-0, and {{Sm|Ally}} 3-2 before Ally defeated him 3-1 in both sets of grand finals. At The Big House 5 itself ESAM defeated {{Sm|smasher1001}} 2-0, and {{Sm|Shel}} 2-0 to make it into top 32. In Top 32, ESAM defeated Trela 2-0 before losing to Dabuz 0-3 and being eliminated by ZeRo 1-3 and ultimately finishing at 9th place.

To finish off the year, ESAM entered [[Frame Perfect Series]] where he defeated {{Sm|Day}} 2-0 to make it out of pools. In bracket ESAM lost to {{Sm|DJ Jack}} 1-2. In losers ESAM defeated Day 2-0 again, {{Sm|Ryo}} 2-1, {{Sm|Manny}} 3-2, and {{Sm|Fatality}} 3-1 before being eliminated by DJ Jack 3-1 finishing in 4th place.

[[File:ESAM at BEAST 6.jpg|thumb|150px|ESAM at B.E.A.S.T. 6]]

His short win streak was ended at [[Midwest Mayhem 3]], where he lost to Tyroy 0-2 in winners quarters. In losers bracket he defeated MVD 2-1, {{Sm|BoScotty}} 3-0, and {{Sm|Ksev}} 3-1 before being eliminated by {{Sm|False}} 2-3 and ultimately finishing in 4th place. At [[Low Tier City 4]] ESAM lost to {{Sm|Hyuga}} 1-2 in bracket. In losers he defeated {{Sm|Aerolink}} and {{Sm|MJG}} to make top 8 losers side. In top 8 he defeated {{Sm|P2P with Gibus}} 3-0 before being eliminated by Hyuga 1-3. At [[CEO 2016]] ESAM defeated {{Sm|Mister Eric}} 2-0 to make it out of pools. In top 64 he defeated {{Sm|Wrath}} 2-1 before losing to Dabuz 0-2 and being eliminated by {{Sm|Saj}} 1-2 and placing 17th. At [[EVO 2016]] ESAM was upset by {{Sm|NickC}} 1-2 in pools. In losers he eliminated {{Sm|Sinji}} 2-0, Falln 2-0, {{Sm|DJ Jack}} 2-0, and {{Sm|HIKARU}} 2-0 before being eliminated by Trela 1-2 and finishing at a disappointing 25th place. At Trail Gaming League 8, ESAM took the tournament defeating {{Sm|Seibrik}}, NickRiddle, and MVD, but not before MVD reset the bracket. At [[Super Smash Con 2016]], ESAM defeated {{Sm|Rayquaza07}} 2-1 in round 2 pools before losing 0-2 to {{Sm|Ryo}} and {{Sm|Dark Wizzy}}, finishing at an all time low of 33rd place. However, he performed well in Melee, getting 13th and defeating {{Sm|lloD}}, {{Sm|Zhu}}, and {{Sm|Westballz}}.

Late November and early December, ESAM had by far his best performance of the year. At Kings of the North, he took first place defeating {{Sm|Skorpio}} 2-0, {{Sm|yeti}} 3-1, and JJROCKETS 3-0 and 3-1. At [[UGC Smash Open]], he defeated {{Sm|James}} 2-0 and {{Sm|Salem}} 3-1 to make it out of pools. In top 48 he defeated {{Sm|VoiD}} 3-2 and CaptainZack 3-0 to make top 8 winners side. In winners semis he narrowly lost to Abadango 2-3. In losers quarters he defeated VoiD 3-2 again and Nairo 3-1 before being eliminated by Abadango 3-0 finishing with a very respectable 3rd place.

ESAM notably won [[Smashadelphia 2017]], defeating Dabuz 3-1 in winners finals. In grand finals, he lost the first set to Dabuz 1-3, but ultimately won the second set 3-2.

Prior to the release of ''Ultimate'', ESAM was already hyping up {{SSBU|Pikachu}}'s potential in the new game, noting the new combos the character could perform thanks to its new neutral air. ESAM proved his opinions right at {{Trn|Don't Park on the Grass 2018}}, where he placed 2nd out of over 500 players and falling only to {{Sm|MVD}}.

Sticking with Pikachu, ESAM began the first ''Ultimate'' season with a strong 7th place finish at {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}, defeating {{Sm|Ally}} and {{Sm|Tweek}} along the way. This, however, initially seemed as an outlier: despite consistently placing top 8 at a regional level during that season, including winning {{Trn|Battle of BC 3}} over Ally, ESAM saw mediocre results on a national level, placing 65th at {{Trn|Frostbite 2019}}, 33rd at {{Trn|2GG: Prime Saga}}, and 25th at {{Trn|Pound 2019}}. He also struggled against the {{SSBU|Peach}} matchup and notably lost two sets against the up-and-coming Peach player {{Sm|MuteAce}}. Both his results and his struggle against Peach, however, did not deter ESAM, and he continued to lab Pikachu to try and bring out its true potential. This potential was shown at {{Trn|Get On My Level 2019}}, where ESAM ran through Ally, {{Sm|Cosmos}}, {{Sm|Nairo}}, and even {{Sm|MkLeo}} to ultimately place 3rd, his best tournament run of the season. ESAM capped off the first season with a 9th place at {{Trn|CEO 2019}}, where he finally overcame the Peach matchup by defeating MuteAce. Due to these performances and wins, ESAM was ranked 16th on the [[Spring 2019 PGRU]].

Despite these setbacks, however, ESAM ended up seeing his best season yet, largely due to his performances at both {{Trn|Glitch 7 - Minus World}} and {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 2}}. At Glitch 7, ESAM tore through the entire tournament, defeating Nairo, Tweek, and Light twice to win the tournament, marking his first victory at a major tournament. At Summit, ESAM once again defeated MkLeo as well as {{Sm|Dabuz}} and {{Sm|Zackray}}, but fell to his bracket demons MuteAce and {{Sm|Maister}} to place 5th. These results, as well as his victory at the Canadian regional {{Trn|Rising Stars at EGLX 2019}}, once again cemented him as a top 20 player, and he rose two spots on the [[Fall 2019 PGRU]], placing 14th.

Coming off of a rather inconsistent season, ESAM began the third season looking better than ever, placing 3rd at {{Trn|Glitch 8 - Missingno}} and 4th at {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}. The season, however, was cut short due to the [[COVID-19|COVID-19 pandemic]], which brought tournament play online for a full year. This did not hinder ESAM, as his character was largely unaffected in the online metagame. Although underperforming at {{Trn|The Quarantine Series Opening Invitational}}, he placed 9th at [[Tournament:The Quarantine Series: Minor Tournament 1|the next Quarantine Series tournament]], defeating {{Sm|Kola}}. His final, and best, notable placement was at {{Trn|The Box}}, where despite being upset by Gos, he made a grueling Loser's run, defeating {{Sm|Sparg0}} and {{Sm|Epic_Gabriel}} along the way, to ultimately place 4th. These results allowed him to be ranked 14th on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5]], mirroring his Fall 2019 PGRU placement.

Although ESAM was rather inactive at WWR-ranked tournaments in the following season, he returned during the seventh season, mostly to participate in online tournament circuits. He qualified for {{Trn|The Pandemic Anniversary Series}} by winning the second qualifier, {{Trn|Return to Subspace: ONLINE}}, over {{Sm|Capitancito}}, and saw another top 8 placement at the fourth qualifier, {{Trn|Collision Online 2021}}. He then qualified for the {{Trn|SWT: NA East Ultimate Regional Finals}} by placing 2nd at {{Trn|SWT: NA Southeast Ultimate Online Qualifier}}, losing to {{Sm|Vendetta}} twice. His final notable tournament of the online era was at {{Trn|Pandemic Anniversary Series: Finale}}, where he once again placed top 8. Although he did not attend that many tournaments, ESAM's results at the notable tournaments he did attend helped him be ranked 18th on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7]].

Ultimately, however, ESAM fell short of these expectations, as he failed to come close to the run he had at Glitch 8.5. Despite being seeded first at {{Trn|Super Smash Con: Fall Fest}}, he fell short significantly by losing to {{Sm|ApolloKage}} and {{Sm|IcyMist}} to place 17th. Although he came out of Round Robin on the winner's side at {{Trn|SWT: NA East Ultimate Regional Finals}}, he fell to {{Sm|Kola}} and {{Sm|Wrath}} to place 7th, failing to qualify for the [[Tournament:Smash World Tour 2021 Championships|championship tournament]]. His final two tournaments - {{Trn|Mainstage 2021}} and {{Trn|CEO 2021}} - also ended in disappointment: despite placing top 16 at both tournaments, he failed to make any notable upsets. These placements dashed away any hopes for ESAM to be the best player in the post-pandemic metagame, and by the end of the year, he was ranked in the A-tier (or top 13) on the [[PGRUContenders North America]] - below other players who had won major tournaments that season such as {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}} and Kola - and 18th in the world on the [[OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse]].

==Playstyle==

However, this limits himself as well as he cannot utilize his aggression to full potential resulting in him being suppressed and unable to take back control of the match. When he cannot find an opening or cannot edgeguard, ESAM [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE1IyGZgLOs lacks the ability to find a way back into the match] unless he regains the momentum to quickly fight back. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lqgPD_-rnQ His edge guarding and edge trapping ability] is phenomenal especially against characters with weak or lackluster recoveries. He utilizes [[Thunder]] to limit his opponent's options and Pikachu's quick multi-hit aerials to cover large spaces to where the opponent is continuously forced stage. Now, in ''Ultimate'', with the inclusion of Pikachu's [[down air]] [[spike]], ESAM has another option to finish off an opponent.

===''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''===

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

===''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''===

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner

|-

|-

|}

!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner

|-

|-

|-

|-

|[http://shoryuken.com/2015/01/11/kumite-in-tennessee-15-streaming-live-from-murfreesboro-tennessee/ Kumite in Tennessee 15]||January 9th-11th, 2015||2nd||1st||{{sm|Reflex}}

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|[http://tloc.challonge.com/sw33 Shockwave 33]||June 10th, 2015||1st||—||—

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

||[http://pulse-gaming.challonge.com/SFW9 Smashfield Weekly #9]||October 1st, 2015||2nd||—||—

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|[http://challonge.com/HiNsmash Hot Import Nights Tournament #4]||December 26th, 2015||1st||—||—

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|[http://vgbootcamp.challonge.com/SatX07052016SSB4 Smash @ Xanadu Tuesdays 7/5]||July 5th, 2016||1st||—||—

|-

|-

|[http://challonge.com/tgl8smash4pro Trail Gaming League 8]||August 6th, 2016||1st||—||—

|-

|-

|[http://versus.challonge.com/s4_081816 VSGC Weekly 8/18]||August 18th, 2016||4th||—||—

|-

|-

|[http://challonge.com/Tgl9smash4singles Trail Gaming League 9]||September 10th, 2016||1st||1st||MVD

|-

|-

|[http://challonge.com/tgl10smash4singles Trail Gaming League 10]||October 15th, 2016||3rd||1st||MVD

|-

|-

|[http://urt.challonge.com/ignition55 Ignition #55]||November 2nd, 2016||1st||—||—

|[http://e2c.challonge.com/755b081w Poplar Creek Bowl Weekly #72]||November 3rd, 2016||1st||1st||MVD

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|[http://versus.challonge.com/s4_122216 VSGC Weekly 12/22]||December 22nd, 2016||1st||—||—

|[http://versus.challonge.com/s4_122916 VSGC Weekly 12/29]||December 29th, 2016||1st||—||—

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|[http://versus.challonge.com/s4_022317 VSGC Weekly 2/23]||February 23rd, 2017||1st||—||—

|-

|-

|-

|[http://versus.challonge.com/s4_031617 VSGC Weekly 3/16]||March 16th, 2017||1st||—||—

|-

|-

|-

|-

|[http://versus.challonge.com/s4_040617 VSGC Weekly 4/6]||April 6th, 2017||1st||—||—

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|[http://hptournaments.challonge.com/BTT12 Backthrow Thursdays #12]||May 25th, 2017||2nd||1st||MVD

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|{{b|UNLOCKED|tournament}}||July 1st, 2017||2nd||—||—

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|[http://challonge.com/toryumon_studiosky18T Toryumon Weekday Tournament x STUDIO SKY #18]||January 24th, 2018||7th||—||—

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|[https://smashok.challonge.com/NMJ36 No Moore Johns 36]||April 27th, 2018||1st||1st||MVD

|[https://smashok.challonge.com/NMJSingles38 No Moore Johns 38]||May 11th, 2018||2nd||—||—

|-

|-

|-

|-

|[https://smashok.challonge.com/NMJ41Sing No Moore Johns 41]||June 8th, 2018||1st||—||—

|[https://smashok.challonge.com/NMJ43Singles No Moore Johns 43]||June 22nd, 2018||3rd||—||—

|-

|-

|[https://smashok.challonge.com/NMJ46 No Moore Johns 46]||July 13th, 2018||1st||—||—

|[https://smashok.challonge.com/NMJ47Singles No Moore Johns 47]||July 20th, 2018||2nd||1st||MVD

|-

|-

|-

|-

|[https://smashok.challonge.com/SSD72Smash4 Sooner Smash Dojo #72]||August 31st, 2018||2nd||1st||MVD

|-

|-

|[https://smashok.challonge.com/SSD75 Sooner Smash Dojo #75]||September 28th, 2018||1st||—||—

|-

|-

|[https://smashok.challonge.com/SSD77Singles Sooner Smash Dojo #77]||October 12th, 2018||2nd||—||—

|-

|}

!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 Placement!!2v2 Placement!!Partner

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|[https://challonge.com/sws173u Salt Water Smash 173]||February 20th, 2020||1st||—||—

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

===Hypocrisy allegations===

Throughout the years 2012 to 2014, ESAM would say multiple racial slurs on websites such as Smashboards and on {{Sm|NAKAT}}'s stream [https://smashboards.com/threads/pgd-happy-birthday-red.229275/post-14019802]. One of the comments, "go boxing ring", has since become a meme in the community. Since then, however, ESAM has harassed multiple people for doing similar acts. This includes Bocchi, who was 15 when she said slurs, whereas ESAM was 22. ESAM also notably called for people to harass {{Sm|Kiyarash}} over a screenshot of someone using his username to say multiple slurs. In the past, he had done the same thing to {{Sm|FOW}} and {{Sm|MJG}} when false allegations were made about them. After the Kiyarash incident, ESAM then made a tweet criticizing other ''Smash'' players for "supporting cancel culture" and for trying to actively harm someone's image despite his previous actions [https://twitter.com/imESAM/status/1271807872976986114].

*On April 19th, 2019, ESAM infamously lost a $500 money match against {{Sm|Samsora}} at {{Trn|Pound 2019}}, with Samsora winning 10-1 and both competitors subsequently joking about the match together on [[Twitter]].

**In the singles bracket at the same tournament, he lost to {{Sm|MuteAce}} 1-2 in Winners and lost to {{Sm|LingLing}} 2-3 in Losers, meaning he lost 15 total games to Peach at one tournament.

==References==

[[Category:Oklahoma smashers]]

[[Category:Newfoundland smashers]]

[[Category:Samus players (SSB)]]

[[Category:Samus players (SSBM)]]

[[Category:VIP players]]

[[Category:Livestream commentators]]

[[Category:YouTubers]]