Editing Super Smash Bros. in competitive play

{{Title| ''Super Smash Bros. (64)'' in competitive play}}
{{ArticleIcons|ssb=y|competitive=y}}
{{disambig2|[[Super Smash Bros. 64]] in competitive play|the general competitive scene of the [[Super Smash Bros. Series]]|Tournament play}}
The original ''Super Smash Bros.'' competitive scene did not start at the initial release of the game, unlike all of its successors. In fact, the first ''Smash Bros.'' did not develop almost any competitive community at all until ''[[Melee]]'' was released two years later as a breakout sequel. Only then did the newborn ''Smash'' tournament scene have small groups of people take a second look at the ''64'' version.

==2000s: Small Beginnings==
Due to the primitive infrastructure of the Internet in the early 2000s, and the lack of a pre-existing ''Smash'' fanbase, the ''Smash 64'' competitive scene was initially very small and esoteric. With the founding of Smash World Forums (now [[Smashboards]]) in 2000, dedicated players in North America had a central hub to discuss the game and organize meetups. In Japan, similar community hubs existed, including Sumabura-bu, XMS, and Smabrer's Garden.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bignokh.com/2017/01/26/smash-history-the-early-ages-2001-2003/|title=Smash History: The Early Ages (2001-2003)}}</ref> Notable documented Japanese tournaments from this time include the first Nintendo-sponsored tournaments: {{Trn|Smash Bros. Fighting Battle: Smash Bros. Meijin Deciding Game}}, held at Space World 1999, and events held on the Japan-only children's variety show ''64 Mario Stadium'', which were [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2oBG4NHJ8I broadcast] on television.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306183748/http://smash.captainjack.jp/entry/what-did-the-old-shcool-Japanese-Smash-64-community-look-like|title=What did the old school Japanese Smash 64 community look like?}}</ref> In 2001, {{Trn|Japan United Smash Festa Round-Robin 1}} featured several high-level players for the era, such as {{Sm|Oikawa}}, {{Sm|CaptainJack}}, {{Sm|Prince}}, and {{Sm|Keropi-}}.

Unofficial [[netplay]] tournaments were also starting to gain traction. With the usage of emulators such as Project 64k and 1964, players could compete over the Internet for the first time, setting up competition using websites such as Emulation64 and GameFAQs.

A few years after the release of its sequel, ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'', the ''Smash 64'' competitive scene would slowly begin to grow. In the mid- to late-2000s, top American ''Melee'' player {{Sm|Isai}} was quickly proving his skills at ''64''. His dominance at tournaments in this time made him the undisputed best player in the world, defeating players in Japan as well as the United States. In 2007, he won [[MELEE-FC Diamond|FC Diamond]], the first national ''64'' tournament in the US, as it featured a larger than normal influx of players and spectators alike; it was the largest US ''Smash 64'' tournament for a few years. Japan had a bigger scene with the annual {{Trn|Kanto}} and {{Trn|Kansai}} tournaments always gathering 50-150 players since 2010.

==2012-2016: Apex and Zenith==
Since 2012 and the inclusion at [[Apex 2012]], the scene began to grow. [[Apex 2013]] was the first tournament with Japanese top players in attendance, with {{Sm|Kikoushi}} winning that event. [[Apex 2015]] was the last large [[Apex]] with ''Smash 64'' until Apex 2022 and also had the highest number of participants (188). 

Besides [[Apex]], the next biggest events were the [[Zenith 2013]] and [[Zenith 2014]] tournaments. 
The US tournaments were dominated by the Canadian {{Sm|SuPeRbOoMfAn}}, {{Sm|Isai}} and occasionally entering players from Japan (most notably {{Sm|Kikoushi}} and {{Sm|Moyashi}}).

==2016-present: Increased Growth==
In 2015, the [[Super Smash Con]] series was born and its sequels would become the biggest ''Smash 64'' tournaments.  In 2016, the [[GENESIS]] series returned and [[GENESIS 3]] and [[Super Smash Con 2016]] were the first tournaments with over 200 entrants. [[Super Smash Con 2016]] was also the first US tournament to be attended by Peruvian top player {{Sm|Alvin}}, who would soon become a major threat at US tournaments. At the end of 2016, [[64 League Rankings]], the first global [[power rankings]] for ''Smash 64'', were created.

Around this time, a relatively new player, {{Sm|kysk}}, began competing. Later, a string of major tournament wins, including {{Trn|Kanto 2018}}, {{Trn|Kanto Fall 2018}}, {{Trn|Go Owl Cup}}, {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}, and {{Trn|Kanto 2019}}, led to kysk being widely considered the current best ''Smash 64'' player in the world.

Due to the [[COVID-19]] pandemic, tournaments worldwide were cancelled throughout 2020 as a result of health and safety measures to stop the spread of the virus. The last major of the year, {{Trn|Kanto 2020}}, saw lower-than-expected turnout. Nonetheless, top player {{Sm|wario}} would win the tournament.

==Today==
''Smash 64'' is still a fairly small competitive scene compared to other ''Super Smash Bros.'' games, with the largest tournament gathering 314 entrants compared to ''Melee''{{'}}s 2,372, ''Smash 4''{{'}}s 2,662, and ''Ultimate''{{'}}s 3,522, as well as ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'''s 400. Despite its relatively small size, the ''Smash 64'' scene is still considered to be healthy and stable, as a significant number of players dedicate themselves to practicing the game at a serious level, unlike with ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4''.

==See also==
*[[Smash 64 Player Awards]]
*[[Tournament rulesets (SSB)]]
*[[Tournament rulesets (DSB)]]
*[[Super Smash Bros. Melee in competitive play]]
*[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl in competitive play]]
*[[Super Smash Bros. 4 in competitive play]]
*[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in competitive play]]

==External links==
*[https://supersmashbros.org/ Smash 64 competitive and ranking resource]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{General competitive smash history}}

[[Category:Super Smash Bros.]]
[[Category:Competitive play]]
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