Super Smash Bros. in competitive play: Difference between revisions

{{Title| ''Super Smash Bros. (64)'' in competitive play}}

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 little documentation of this era having survived to this day. 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-}}.

 

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.

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).