Editing Smasher:Isai

:''Not to be confused with the Colombian player {{Sm|Isa}}.''
{{Infobox Smasher
| name          = Isai
| image         = Isai.jpg
| mainssb       = Pikachu
| 2ndmainssb    = Fox
| otherssb      = Jigglypuff
| 2ndotherssb   = Link 
| moreotherssb  = {{SSB|Mario}}, {{SSB|Samus}}, {{SSB|Luigi}}, {{SSB|Donkey Kong}}, {{SSB|Kirby}}, {{SSB|Yoshi}}, {{SSB|Captain Falcon}}, {{SSB|Ness}}
| mainssbm      = Captain Falcon
| otherssbm     = Sheik
| 2ndotherssbm  = Fox
| moreotherssbm = {{SSBM|Marth}}
| crew          = 
| former crews  = [[MC]], [[CLASH Tournaments]]
| rankingssb    = [[2023 Smash 64 Power Rankings]]: 1st
| winningsssb   = ~$3,993.96
| winningsssbm  = ~$24,547.30
| alias         = malva
| alias2        = MevseC
| realname      = Joel Isai Alvarado
| birthday      = 17
| birthmonth    = 3
| birthyear     = 1985
| location      = San Jose, California
| country       = USA
}}
{{art-wikipedia|Isai (gamer)|Isai}}

[[File:Isaiken.jpg|thumb|300px|{{Sm|Ken}} and Isai of team "[[El Chocolate Diablo]]." (Isai is on the right.)]]
'''Joel Isai Alvarado''', known as '''Isai''' (often pronounced "Isaiah"), is an American ''[[Super Smash Bros. 64]]'' player widely regarded as the world champion and one of the [[greatest of all time]]. He is credited with creating the modern [[metagame]] and was so far ahead of all other competitors that he was virtually untouchable, giving rise to the meme "Isai is too good" within the [[community]]. He [[mains]] {{SSB|Pikachu}} in ''Super Smash Bros.'', but can use the entire cast at a top professional level, choosing to use a variety of secondaries at tournaments. Isai has stated on [[Reddit]] that his favorite characters are {{SSB|Link}}, {{SSB|Mario}}, {{SSB|Luigi}}, {{SSB|Fox}}, {{SSB|Donkey Kong}}, {{SSB|Yoshi}}, and {{SSB|Jigglypuff}}.<ref name="reddit">[http://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/1wqnv7/hi_my_name_is_isai_alvarado_and_my_favorite_game/ "Hi, my name is Isai Alvarado, and my favorite game is Super Smash Bros.! AMA"]</ref>

He is a former ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' player and was [[Smash Panel Power Rankings|ranked]] 7th best in the United States before retiring from the game. He mained {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}} and {{SSBM|Sheik}} in ''Melee'', while using {{SSBM|Fox}} as a secondary. He was ranked first on the ''Melee'' [[NorCal Power Rankings]] in 2006.

After finishing 1st at {{Trn|Apex 2014}}, Isai went on a two-year hiatus period from ''Smash 64'', as he [https://smashboards.com/threads/isai-not-being-at-ssc.413697/post-19905144 preferred] playing more matches against top level players without having to play lower level players first. This break from the game ended when he attended {{Trn|GENESIS 3}} in 2016 where he placed 4th, losing twice to {{Sm|wangera}}.

==Feats==
===''Super Smash Bros.''===
Isai is considered by many to be the best ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' player of all time. The only player to ever beat him in a [[twelve character battle]] is the Japanese champion {{Sm|Jousuke}} (possibly due to the battle being done on the Japanese version of the game) and the only smashers who have shown true competition to his {{SSB|Pikachu}} are {{Sm|wario}} and {{Sm|Gerson}} (one of the best Japanese and Peruvian players, respectively), who have taken multiple matches against Isai in [[ditto]]s, as well as {{Sm|Alvin}} and {{Sm|Nax}}, who are the only two players to have winning records against Isai's Pikachu in tournament sets. Isai is currently ranked 1st on the [[2023 Smash 64 Power Rankings]].

Isai traveled to West Japan in November of 2006 to play the professional players there. He played at Tokyo and a Hokkaido Smashfest in December 2006 and in Osaka in January 2007 and recorded a lot of matches that can be found on his Youtube channel.  
He lost a few games playing as Mario, Samus, DK or Captain Falcon (against {{Sm|Sima}}'s Ness, {{Sm|Hoto}}'s Luigi, {{Sm|Tatsuman}}, {{Sm|Rinko}} and {{Sm|Tsukuru}}), but generally did not have any true competition. 

He won [[MELEE-FC Diamond|FC Diamond]] in 2007, which can be considered the first US major ''Smash 64'' tournament. With 64 participants, it was the largest US ''Smash 64'' tournament for a few years. In grand finals he won Link dittos against {{Sm|Sensei}}.

In 2011 he travelled to Peru to compete against the top players there. At a smashfest in July in Lima he had no competition, but in August in Tacna he had some close matches and lost a few times against {{Sm|Alvin}}, {{Sm|Gerson}} and {{Sm|Marka}}, with his games against Gerson specifically being his [https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/1wqnv7/comment/cf4vw0e/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 favorite matches]. 

Isai is also known for his impressive performance with the low-tier character {{SSB|Link}}. He managed to finish second at [[Apex 2012]] by only using Link, only losing to {{Sm|SuPeRbOoMfAn}}'s {{SSB|Captain Falcon}} and still winning a few matches against the latter. He also won the European tournament [[B.E.A.S.T 7]] using primarily Link.

After winning [[Apex 2014]] with only using {{SSB|Jigglypuff}} and defeating {{Sm|Moyashi}}, the player considered the best {{SSB|Kirby}} in the world twice, this helped Jigglypuff's recent rise on the tier list.

From around 2005-2007, Isai was the leader of his online crew [[MC]]. MC was considered the preeminent crew and recruited some of the best players before its disbandment, later ceding its best crew title to [[PPS]].

In 2023, Isai would win an extremely competitive supermajor with {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2023}}, even sweeping SuPeRbOoMfAn and reverse sweeping {{Sm|Kurabba}} in Grand Finals after losing to him in Winners' Finals.

====CT Live stream====
Isai agreed in November 2013 to regularly stream online sessions of ''Smash 64'' through [[CLASH Tournaments]]' [[Twitch]] channel in exchange of revenue based on viewership count. These take place on Tuesday nights at 8PM PST (11PM EST). Smashers regularly featured on the stream include {{Sm|Bane}}, Mariguas, and {{sm|Near}} among others.

===''Melee''===
Isai in his prime was regarded as the best ''Melee'' {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}} player in the world. Although his placings at ''Melee'' singles tournaments lowered over time, he is one of the few players to have defeated former ''Melee'' world champion {{Sm|Ken}} multiple times. 

Isai and Ken constituted ''[[El Chocolate Diablo]]'', the strongest doubles team in the world circa 2004-2006. El Chocolate Diablo remained undefeated in tournament sets until their loss to {{Sm|Taj}} and {{Sm|Forward}} at a Champ Combo tournament, and placed 1st at every tournament they entered until placing 2nd behind {{Sm|Azen}} and {{Sm|Chillin}} at [[MLG Chicago 2006]]. However, Isai and Ken would later win [[MLG Las Vegas 2006]], the final MLG National Championship for ''Melee'' teams in 2006. Following this win, El Chocolate Diablo became inactive for almost a year until their final appearance at [[Super Champ Combo]], where they placed 7th.

====Loss of interest in ''Melee''====
Despite his success, Isai gradually lost interest in ''Melee'' in 2007. In early 2010, Isai expressed [http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?p=9339324#post9339324 interest] in playing ''Melee'' seriously again, but after smashing with {{Sm|Scar}} and entering a handful of tournaments, Isai still did not find it enjoyable anymore.

==Notable sandbagging incidents==
At Apex 2012, he was unexpectedly convinced by the crowd to play a ''Melee'' exhibition match against the other Smash veteran {{Sm|Captain Jack}}. However, he [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyfxNPkp67Q only sandbagged] and was 4-stocked, much to the audience's disappointment.

==Tournament placings==
===''[[Super Smash Bros.]]''===
{{results|Smash 64}}
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner
|-
|[https://smashboards.com/threads/s-n-l-ssb64-tournament-results.30921/ S.N.L]||August 31st, 2003||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[MELEE-FC Diamond]]||July 12th-14th, 2007||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[https://smashboards.com/threads/ssb-64-tournament-pasadena-results.190775/ Pasadena 64 Smash Tournament]||August 24th, 2008||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[https://smashboards.com/threads/cgc-sfsu-xxv-sep-3rd.200283/ CGC IX]||May 2nd, 2009||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[https://smashboards.com/threads/cgc-sfsu-xxv-sep-3rd.200283/ CGC @ SFSU XII]||October 10th, 2009||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/threads/cgc-sfsu-xxv-sep-3rd.200283/ CGC @ SFSU 15]||February 6th, 2010||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[http://nintendodojo.com/event.aspx?id=7639 Tourney Play 4]||February 12th-14th, 2010||1st||2nd||{{Sm|Jel}}
|-
|[https://smashboards.com/threads/cgc-sfsu-xxv-sep-3rd.200283/ CGC @ SFSU XVI]||March 6th, 2010||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Good Shit German]]||July 25th, 2010||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|64 Washington Tournament||August 21st, 2010||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[GENESIS 2]]||July 15th-17th, 2011||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Apex 2012]]||January 6th-8th, 2012||2nd||1st||{{sm|Nintendude}}
|-
|[[Apex 2013]]||January 11th-13th, 2013||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Apex 2014]]||January 17th-19th, 2014||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[GENESIS 3]]||January 15th-17th, 2016||4th||3rd||{{Sm|Rith}}
|-
|[https://advancedbrackets.com/viewTournament.aspx?id=12902 SFS #23] (low tiers)||June 17th, 2016||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Snosa II}}||June 18th-19th, 2016||3rd||3rd||{{sm|KeroKeroppi}}
|-
|{{Trn|Super Smash Con 2016}}||August 11th-14th, 2016||3rd||1st||{{Sm|Alvin}}
|-
|'''''{{Trn|GENESIS 4'''''||January 20th-22nd, 2017||13th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[B.E.A.S.T 7]]||February 17th-19th, 2017||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[https://www.start.gg/tournament/super-smash-sundays-58/event/smash-64-singles/brackets/132249 Super Smash Sundays 58]||May 21st, 2017||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Snosa III}}||June 17th-18th, 2017||5th||1st||{{Sm|Gyaki}}
|-
|{{Trn|Get On My Level 2017}}||July 28th-30th, 2017||2nd||1st||{{Sm|The Z}}
|-
|{{Trn|Super Smash Con 2017}}||August 10th-13th, 2017||13th||1st||Alvin
|-
|{{Trn|Kansai 2018}}||February 11th, 2018||17th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Called Out 3}}||June 23rd, 2018||2nd||2nd||{{Sm|Kort}}
|-
|{{Trn|Super Smash Con 2018}}||August 9th-12th, 2018||3rd||3rd||{{Sm|Sleepy Fox}}
|-
|{{Trn|Inka Fest 2019}}||July 13th-14th, 2019||4th||4th||{{Sm|Wizzrobe}}
|-
|{{Trn|Snosa 5}}||January 4th, 2020||5th||1st||Sleepy Fox
|-
|{{Trn|Quarantined Rapport}} West {{OnlineIcon}}||March 28th-29th, 2020||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|RAINN Charity Tournament}} West {{OnlineIcon}}||July 11th, 2020||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Keystoned V}}||March 20th, 2022||1st||1st||Josh Brody
|-
|{{Trn|Super Smash Con 2022}}||August 13, 2022||3rd||1st||tacos
|-
|{{Trn|Super Smash Con 2023}}||August 10-13, 2023||1st||1st||SuPeRbOoMfAn
|}

===''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner
|-
|[[Tournament Go 4]]||January 19th, 2003||7th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Snexus 2]]||July 12th, 2003||2nd||2nd||{{Sm|Recipherus}}
|-
|[[Tournament Go 5]]||August 2nd-3rd, 2003||3rd||1st||{{sm|Ken}}
|-
|[[Game Over (tournament)|Game Over]]||January 10th, 2004||3rd||1st||Ken
|-
|[[Zero Challenge 1]]||January 17th-18th, 2004||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Smash 4 Cash]]||June 2004||1st||2nd||{{Sm|Matt Deezie}}
|-
|[[MLG Chicago 2004]]||June 19th-20th, 2004||2nd||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MELEE-FC1]]||July 9th-10th, 2004||3rd||1st||Ken
|-
|[[Tournament Go 6]]||August 21st-22nd, 2004||5th||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG San Francisco 2004]]||September 11th-12th, 2004||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[MLG Los Angeles 2004]]||September 25th-26th, 2004||2nd||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG New York 2004]]||October 24th, 2004||2nd||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MOAST 3]]||January 15th-16th, 2005||1st||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG DC 2005]]||January 29th-30th, 2005||2nd||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG San Francisco 2005]]||February 26th-27th, 2005||5th||1st||Ken
|-
|[[Gettin' Schooled 2]]||June 25th-26th, 2005||7th||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MELEE-FC3]]||July 10th-12th, 2005||4th||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG Seattle 2005]]||September 10th-11th, 2005||5th||1st||{{Sm|Kei}}
|-
|[[MLG Los Angeles 2005]]||October 14th-16th, 2005||1st||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG Atlanta 2005]]||November 25th-27th, 2005||4th||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG New York 2005]]||February 24th-26th, 2006||4th||1st||Ken
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20060325064445/http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=60683 Cataclysm 2]||March 4th, 2006||3rd||1st||{{Sm|Mew2King}}
|-
|[http://nintendodojo.com/ttournament.aspx?id=7 Champ Combo: Yayuhzzz Edition]||March 25th, 2006||9th||1st||Ken
|-
|[http://nintendodojo.com/ttournament.aspx?id=5 Champ Combo: NorCal Edition]||April 8th, 2006||2nd||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG New York Opener 2006]]||April 21st-23rd, 2006||6th||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG Dallas 2006]]||May 19th-20th, 2006||13th||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG Anaheim 2006]]||June 23rd-24th, 2006||4th||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG Chicago 2006]]||July 21st-22nd, 2006||8th||2nd||Ken
|-
|[[Zero Challenge 2]]||August 15th-17th, 2006||&mdash;||1st||{{sm|Captain Jack}}
|-
|[[MLG Orlando 2006]]||August 26th-27th, 2006||4th||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG New York Playoffs 2006]]||October 13th-14th, 2006||6th||3rd||Ken
|-
|[http://nintendodojo.com/ttournament.aspx?id=12 SMASHTALITY 2]||October 21st, 2006||25th||5th||{{Sm|Wes}}
|-
|[[NorCal Tournament]]||October 28th, 2006||9th||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG Las Vegas 2006]]||November 18th-19th, 2006||6th||1st||Ken
|-
|[[Cataclysm 3]]||March 3rd-4th, 2007||13th||1st||Mew2King 
|-
|[http://nintendodojo.com/ttournament.aspx?id=102 Prodigy's Tourney 3/17]||March 17th, 2007||&mdash;||1st||{{Sm|SilentSpectre}}
|-
|[http://nintendodojo.com/ttournament.aspx?id=105 UCLA Monthlies II]||March 24th, 2007||81st||1st||{{Sm|Bob$}}
|-
|[http://nintendodojo.com/ttournament.aspx?id=117 NorCal BiWeekly 4/07]||April 7th, 2007||&mdash;||1st||{{Sm|Tang}}
|-
|[http://nintendodojo.com/ttournament.aspx?id=141 Super Smash Royale III]||April 28th, 2007||2nd||1st||Ken
|-
|[[MLG Long Island 2007]]||May 5th-6th, 2007||7th||1st||Mew2King
|-
|[http://nintendodojo.com/ttournament.aspx?id=192 NorCal BiWeekly 6/30]||June 30th, 2007||&mdash;||2nd||?
|-
|[[MELEE-FC Diamond]]||July 12th-14th, 2007||41st||5th||Mew2King
|-
|[[Zero Challenge 3]]||July 20th-22nd, 2007||25th||1st||{{sm|The King}}
|-
|[http://nintendodojo.com/ttournament.aspx?id=244 NorCal BiWeekly 9/22: Prep 4 SCC]||September 22nd, 2007||&mdash;||2nd||Bob$
|-
|[[Super Champ Combo]] ||September 29th-30th, 2007||33rd||7th||Ken
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/threads/cgc-sfsu-xxv-sep-3rd.200283/ CGC @ SFSU 15]||February 6th, 2010||17th||5th||{{Sm|Scar}}
|-
|[http://nintendodojo.com/event.aspx?id=7638 Tourney Play 4]||February 12th-14th, 2010||7th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[http://nintendodojo.com/ttournament.aspx?id=8579 CGC @ SFSU 16]||March 6th, 2010||25th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[GENESIS 2]]||July 15th-17th, 2011||&mdash;||13th||{{sm|S2J}}
|-
|[[Apex 2012]]||January 6th-8th, 2012||&mdash;||97th||Vans
|}

==Trivia==
*The only four players to have beaten Isai's {{SSB|Pikachu}} in tournament sets are {{Sm|wangera}}, {{Sm|Mariguas}}, {{Sm|Alvin}}, and {{Sm|Nax}}.
*He purchased ''Brawl'' but does not play it. ''Super Smash Bros.'' has always been Isai's preferred ''Smash Bros.'' game; he has been playing ''Smash 64'' since 1999 and [http://allisbrawl.com/forum/topic.aspx?id=11552 ''Smash 64'' online] since 2004.
*Isai often used the in-game tags "VI" and "MEL" in ''Melee''. In ''Super Smash Bros'', his YouTube video tag is "malva" if it is an online match or "Isai" if it is a console match. His nickname "malva" originates from his mother's Windows login name (she used the initial 'm' for her name plus a shortened version of her last name, Alvarado or 'alva'). 
*Isai's YouTube name is MevseC. This nickname originates from the fact that he plays Marvel vs. Capcom (MvsC). He added the two 'e' letters in the middle to make it look cooler and sound like a name.
*Isai calls online Smash "fake Smash" due to the delay and lag experienced online. He also calls it fake Smash because, by definition, it is emulated and thus merely a copy or imitation of the real game on console.
*Noticing that there were exceptional ''Smash 64'' players in Japan and Peru, Isai traveled to both of these countries and played the top players there (e.g. {{Sm|Jousuke}}, the Japanese national champion and {{Sm|Gerson}}, the Peruvian national champion). He is one of the few ''Smash 64'' players to make a serious effort to travel internationally multiple times in order to play the top ''Smash 64'' players from around the world.
*Isai is the oldest player to win a major (as well as supermajor) ''Smash'' tournament, winning ''Smash 64'' singles at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2023}} at the age of 38 years, 4 months, 26 days.

==External links==
*[http://www.youtube.com/user/MevseC Isai's ''Smash 64'' video place on YouTube]
*[http://www.livestream.com/isaissb Isai's Online ''Smash 64'' Channel on Livestream]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxmW1KkMDj8 Isai vs. SuPeRbOoMfAn at Apex 2012]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyv5UENR7aA Isai vs. Kikoushi at Apex 2013]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L3AVPGsgLY Isai vs. Moyashi at Apex 2014]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXn9gY--W6A Episode 3 of ''The Smash Brothers'', a competitive ''Melee'' documentary, which focuses primarily on Isai]
*[https://twitter.com/isaiswitch Twitter] {{dead link}}
*[https://twitter.com/isaissb Old Twitter]
*[https://www.twitch.tv/isaialvarado Twitch]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Northern California smashers]]
[[Category:Pikachu players (SSB)]]
[[Category:Fox players (SSB)]]
[[Category:Link players (SSB)]]
[[Category:Captain Falcon players (SSB)]]
[[Category:Mario players (SSB)]]
[[Category:Kirby players (SSB)]]
[[Category:Luigi players (SSB)]]
[[Category:Yoshi players (SSB)]]
[[Category:Samus players (SSB)]]
[[Category:Ness players (SSB)]] 
[[Category:Jigglypuff players (SSB)]]
[[Category:Donkey Kong players (SSB)]]
[[Category:Captain Falcon players (SSBM)]]
[[Category:Sheik players (SSBM)]]
[[Category:VIP players]]
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