79,735
edits
Smasher:Marss: Difference between revisions
m
the first sentence was mainly to introduce Marss' career overall. being one of the best players pre-pandemic is already mentioned in his Ultimat section
mNo edit summary |
m (the first sentence was mainly to introduce Marss' career overall. being one of the best players pre-pandemic is already mentioned in his Ultimat section) |
||
| (19 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown) | |||
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
| former sponsors = {{Team|Denial Esports}}, {{Team|Panda}} | | former sponsors = {{Team|Denial Esports}}, {{Team|Panda}} | ||
| rankingssb4 = [[Panda Global Rankings 100]]: 16th | | rankingssb4 = [[Panda Global Rankings 100]]: 16th | ||
| rankingssbu = [[LumiRank 2024. | | rankingssbu = [[LumiRank 2024.2]]: 23rd | ||
| bestrankingssb4 = [[PGR v3]]: 14th | | bestrankingssb4 = [[PGR v3]]: 14th | ||
| bestrankingssbu = [[Spring 2019 PGRU]]: 3rd | | bestrankingssbu = [[Spring 2019 PGRU]]: 3rd | ||
| Line 30: | Line 30: | ||
{{art-wikipedia|Marss}} | {{art-wikipedia|Marss}} | ||
'''Marss''' is a Smasher from Cranston, [[Rhode Island]] who currently resides in Massachusetts. He is known for being one of the best [[Zero Suit Samus]] players in two separate ''Smash'' titles | '''Marss''' is a Smasher from Cranston, [[Rhode Island]] who currently resides in Massachusetts. He is known for being one of the best [[Zero Suit Samus]] players in two separate ''Smash'' titles as well as one of the greatest ''Smash'' players from New England. | ||
He was first known for his performances in {{forwiiu}}, where he was considered the second best {{SSB4|Zero Suit Samus}} player in the world after {{Sm|Nairo}}, appearing on all five iterations of the [[PGR]], ranking top 20 on every list until the [[PGR v5]], and ultimately ranking 16th on the [[PGR 100]]. He especially was the undisputed best ''Smash'' player in New England up until 2018, becoming the region's primary representative in top competitive play. Although he never won a major, he came close at many events, most notably placing 2nd at {{Trn|The Big House 7}}. | He was first known for his performances in {{forwiiu}}, where he was considered the second best {{SSB4|Zero Suit Samus}} player in the world after {{Sm|Nairo}}, appearing on all five iterations of the [[PGR]], ranking top 20 on every list until the [[PGR v5]], and ultimately ranking 16th on the [[PGR 100]]. He especially was the undisputed best ''Smash'' player in New England up until 2018, becoming the region's primary representative in top competitive play. Although he never won a major, he came close at many events, most notably placing 2nd at {{Trn|The Big House 7}}. | ||
In-spite of the character's nerfs and initial lukewarm perception, Marss continued to play {{SSBU|Zero Suit Samus}} in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', establishing himself as not only the greatest Zero Suit Samus player of all | In-spite of the character's nerfs and initial lukewarm perception, Marss continued to play {{SSBU|Zero Suit Samus}} in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', establishing himself as not only the greatest Zero Suit Samus player of all time, but also one of the best players in the world in the early metagame, ranking 3rd and 5th on the [[Spring 2019 PGRU]] and [[Fall 2019 PGRU]], respectively. His performances, including winning several majors such as {{Trn|Collision 2019}}, {{Trn|Smash Factor 8}}, and {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}, contributed to an improvement to Zero Suit Samus' perception in the early metagame, leading many to believe the character was a top-tier during this time. Following the pandemic, Marss began shifting his focus towards content creation, and despite seeing some occasional success was never able to achieve the same level of consistency he saw in the early metagame. With Zero Suit Samus' results and perception declining during this time, Marss remains the primary Zero Suit Samus representative in competitive play in spite of his lower activity at open major events. | ||
In addition to singles, Marss is often considered one of the best doubles players in the world, having seen success with a variety of different partners at many majors. He regularly teams with fellow New England player {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}}, and the pair is considered one of the best doubles teams in the world, especially in the early metagame where they won doubles at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2019}}, {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}, and {{Trn|Frostbite 2020}}. | In addition to singles, Marss is often considered one of the best doubles players in the world, having seen success with a variety of different partners at many majors. He regularly teams with fellow New England player {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}}, and the pair is considered one of the best doubles teams in the world, especially in the early metagame where they won doubles at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2019}}, {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}, and {{Trn|Frostbite 2020}}. | ||
| Line 46: | Line 46: | ||
===In ''Ultimate''=== | ===In ''Ultimate''=== | ||
Marss retains his signature aggression and movement, but due to her changes from the previous game, has adapted a more conditioning and callout-based playstyle. While he mostly uses ZSS' usual neutral options, such as zair, nair and up-air, to poke around, he is also known for his unorthodox options, such as his heavy usage of forward-tilt, considered one of Zero Suit's weaker moves, to tech chase and call out dash-ins; and using the first two hits of jab on shield to then grab, or delaying the third hit of her jab to punish parry attempts. Marss rarely resorts to the "timeout ZSS", preferring to overwhelm his opponent with pressure and momentum, and only opting to camp when given no other option. Marss is also well-known for using movement to download and condition an opponent, often dash-dancing at burst range, empty tomahawking, and running into shields to intimidate opponents to stay in shield or jump out. | Marss retains his signature aggression and movement, but due to her changes from the previous game, has adapted a more conditioning and callout-based playstyle. While he mostly uses ZSS' usual neutral options, such as zair, nair and up-air, to poke around, he is also known for his unorthodox options, such as his heavy usage of forward-tilt, considered one of Zero Suit's weaker moves, to tech chase and call out dash-ins; and using the first two hits of jab on shield to then grab, or delaying the third hit of her jab to punish parry attempts. Marss rarely resorts to the "timeout ZSS", preferring to overwhelm his opponent with pressure and momentum, and only opting to camp when given no other option. Marss is also well-known for using movement to download and condition an opponent, often dash-dancing at burst range, empty tomahawking, and running into shields to intimidate opponents to stay in shield or jump out. | ||
==Tournament history== | |||
===Breakout Rookie=== | |||
Before {{forwiiu}}, Marss recorded a single Brawl tournament on April 2nd, 2013 where he placed 9th/38, playing {{SSBB|Zero Suit Samus}}. Marss began actively playing ''Smash 4'' in mid-2015, also as a {{SSB4|Zero Suit Samus}} player, and quickly established himself as the best player in New England, placing first at every weekly he attended as well as at multiple regional events, never placing below 4th during the year and ultimately ranking 1st on the first iteration of [[New England Power Rankings]] for ''Smash 4''. He broke out onto the national scene at {{Trn|GENESIS 3}}, where he placed 7th defeating {{Sm|MVD}} and {{Sm|Komorikiri}} before ultimately being eliminated by fellow Zero Suit Samus player {{Sm|Nairo}}. A few months later, he placed 3rd at {{Trn|Pound 2016}} defeating {{Sm|ESAM}} and {{Sm|Tweek}} before losing to {{Sm|Abadango}} and {{Sm|Ally}} in Winner's and Loser's Finals, respectively. For these results, Marss was ranked 13th on the [[PGR v1]], the second-highest Zero Suit Samus player after Nairo. | |||
===A Solid Hold=== | |||
Having established himself as one of the best players in the world, Marss entered the next season with high expectations. Following a few regional victories and a 5th place finish at {{Trn|Apex 2016}}, however, Marss hit his first roadblock of the season at {{Trn|CEO 2016}} where he placed 25th, being upset by {{Sm|Rideae}} and eliminated by {{Sm|falln}}, his lowest placement up to this point. He bounced back at {{Trn|EVO 2016}} placing 9th and matched that placement at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2016}}; he made his first major top 8 appearance at {{Trn|The Big House 6}}, placing 7th, before finishing 9th again at {{Trn|UGC Smash Open}}, his final major of the season. Despite lower peaks than his first season and a poor major showing, Marss' consistency at supermajors and dominance regionally led him to be ranked 15th on the [[PGR v2|second iteration of the PGR]], only two rankings lower than his first. | |||
By this time, Marss had established himself as a flashy, sometimes disrespectful youngblood who often went for risky plays (most notably with Zero Suit's down air off-stage) or occasionally sandbagged, such as playing [[ditto|dittos]] or pockets against players worse than him, at times leading to mild backlash. Marss began the third PGR season with somewhat disappointing finishes at back-to-back majors, placing 13th and 17th at {{Trn|2GGC: GENESIS Saga}} and {{Trn|GENESIS 4}}, respectively. Despite this, he continued his regional dominance with first-place finishes at {{Trn|GUMS 12}}, {{Trn|Invasion 12}}, and {{Trn|NES4 Invitational}}, notably defeating {{Sm|Light}} at in Grand Finals at all 3, New England's fastest rising star for who he was becoming a bracket demon of. His next supermajor, {{Trn|2GGC: Civil War}}, however, saw his highest placement at a major since Pound 2016 where, after losing to {{Sm|Ranai}} in winners, he defeated {{Sm|6WX}}, {{Sm|Tweek}}, and {{Sm|Nietono}} in consecutive game-5 sets, tearing through {{Sm|Falln}} 3-0 and {{Sm|Abadango}} 3-1, defeating {{Sm|Locus}} in another game-5 set, before ultimately being stopped 0-3 by {{Sm|CaptainZack}}. Marss rode this momentum into {{Trn|CEO Dreamland}}, placing 7th and losing {{Sm|Dabuz}} and {{Sm|Nairo}}, two of his biggest bracket demons. Although he dropped his first set to {{Sm|Light}} at {{Trn|GUMS 15}}, he responded by swifty 6-0'ing him in Grands, maintaining his iron-fisted grip on New England's scene. | |||
With the end of the season around the corner, however, Marss hit another roadblock at {{Trn|Royal Flush}}, where he placed 25th after being upset by {{Sm|IcyMist}} and {{Sm|Frozen}}, his worst performance to date. He did similarly poorly at {{Trn|2GGC: Nairo Saga}}, placing 25th losing to {{Sm|JK}} and {{Sm|FOW}}. Just when it seemed like his higher performances this season would be overshadowed by these two lackluster placings, however, Marss struck back at the final tournament of the season, {{Trn|CEO 2017}}. En route to a 7th place finish, Marss defeated players such as {{Sm|Fatality}}, {{Sm|Manny}}, and {{Sm|Ranai}}, securing a 14th ranking on the [[PGR v3]] despite some underperformances. | |||
===Inconsistencies at the End=== | |||
The latter half of 2017 marked both Marss' highest peak and some of his worst performances to-date. Similarly to the beginning of the prior season, Marss placed 13th and 17th at the first two supermajors he attended, {{Trn|Shine 2017}} and {{Trn|GameTyrant Expo 2017}}, respectively. Marss would be double-eliminated by {{SSB4|Bayonetta}} players at the former, a character which was beginning to prove to be a problem for him, and was ultimately eliminated 3-0 by {{Sm|Dabuz}} in the latter, someone who he had yet to take a set off. However, like the previous season, Marss bounced back at his next supermajor not even a week later, {{Trn|The Big House 7}}. After losing to {{Sm|Ally}} in Winner's, Marss proceeded on one of the greatest Loser's runs in ''Smash 4'' history, starting with {{Sm|CrazyColorz5}} 2-0, {{Sm|Xzax}} 3-1, {{Sm|dyr}} 3-1, before defeating {{Sm|CaptainZack}} 3-1, someone who he had never won against up to this point. Marss continued this momentum, defeating {{Sm|VoiD}} 3-1, {{Sm|Ally}} in the runback 3-1, {{Sm|MVD}} 3-0, and, perhaps most notably, a 3-0 against {{Sm|ZeRo}} in Loser's Semi-Final. After dispatching of {{Sm|Cosmos}} in Loser's Final 3-1, Marss slid his way into Grand Finals where he was finally stopped in his track by Dabuz 0-3, who still proved too high a hurdle to climb. Despite this, The Big House 7 is still Marss' greatest performance in Smash 4. Marss could not keep up the consistency at later events, however, and his very next major, {{Trn|2GGC: MkLeo Saga}}, saw yet another 25th placement from him. Although he ended his season with another regional win at {{Trn|GUMS 19}}, his multiple underplacements ended up hurting his ranking more than his Big House performance could help, and Marss was ultimately ranked 19th on the [[PGR v4]], his lowest to-date. | |||
His final ''Smash 4'' season was arguably his weakest, beginning with a 9th place finish at the invitational {{Trn|Smash 4 Boot Camp}} and perhaps more notably, a 2nd place finish at {{Trn|Overclocked}}, his first-ever regional event that he dropped to Light, who was beginning to become more of a rival than just a bracket blessing. He placed 17th at his first supermajor of the season, {{Trn|Frostbite 2018}}, and placed 2nd once again at {{Trn|Overclocked II}}, being double-eliminated by Dabuz. With his major results lacking and his regional dominance slipping, Marss entered {{Trn|2GG: Hyrule Saga}} and exited with his worst placement of all-time, where he was upset by up-and-comer {{Sm|Maister}} and ultimately eliminated by {{Sm|Komorikiri}} to place 49th. Although he managed consecutive 9th place finishes at his next supermajor and major, {{Trn|CEO 2018}} and {{Trn|Smash Sounds}}, respectively, 2018 proved to be his biggest slump yet, cemented by a 33rd finish at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2018}} and a 13th at {{Trn|Shine 2018}} to round out Smash 4's last PGR season. Marss would end up being ranked 25th on the [[PGR v5]], his lowest ranking in the series; however, he still proved to be a consistent high-level threat through the game's entire lifespan, being ranked at least top 25 on every [[PGR]], and thus was ultimately ranked 16th on the [[PGR 100]]. | |||
===Reaching the Top of ''Ultimate''=== | |||
At the beginning of [[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]], {{SSBU|Zero Suit Samus}}'s reception was very lukewarm. In the transition from ''Smash 4'' to ''Ultimate'', Zero Suit lost many of her tools that helped her thrive in the former game, such as her ladders, throw combos, and kill setups. While her top representative in ''Smash 4'', {{Sm|Nairo}}, soon dropped her in favor of {{SSBU|Palutena}}, Marss, however, chose to stick with his ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4'' main, a decision that soon paid off. Although he initially struggled, placing 25th at {{Trn|GENESIS 6}} and 17th at {{Trn|Frostbite 2019}}, Marss began on a tear starting with {{Trn|Collision 2019}}, where he dropped only a single set to Nairo in Grand Final's, defeating past demons such as Dabuz and the aforementioned Nairo to take his first-ever major tournament in any ''Smash'' game (although a controversial moment arose when Marss accused {{Sm|Wishes}} of receiving in-game coaching during game 5 of their set, leading to it being replayed). After a 7th place appearance at {{Trn|Suplex City Smash}} and a disappointing 25th at {{Trn|2GG: Prime Saga}}, Marss placed no lower than 4th at his next 5 major/supermajors to round out the Spring 2019 season: 3rd at {{Trn|Pound 2019}}, 2nd at {{Trn|Get On My Level 2019}}, 3rd at {{Trn|MomoCon 2019}}, 4th at {{Trn|Smash 'N' Splash 5}}, and 2nd at {{Trn|CEO 2019}}. Notable also was his record against {{Sm|MkLeo}}, the indisputed best player in the world, being 4-5 in sets, making him one of the few players during this time that held a somewhat competitive record. Following his best season performance in any ''Smash'' title, Marss was ranked 3rd on the [[Spring 2019 PGRU]], by far his highest ranking ever and establishing himself as one of the best ''Ultimate'' players in the world. | |||
Marss continued his streak coming into the Fall season, placing 3rd at {{Trn|Low Tier City 7}}, 5th at {{Trn|Defend the North 2019}}, and finally a 1st place finish at {{Trn|Smash Factor 8}}, double-eliminating MkLeo at the latter with no sets dropped. His top 5 streak would be ended at {{Trn|EVO 2019}}, where he lost to {{Sm|Nietono}} and {{Sm|Light}} for a solid but underperforming 13th. He quickly bounced back at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2019}}, where he once again placed 4th, and matched this placement at {{Trn|Shine 2019}}. Despite a dip at {{Trn|2GG: SwitchFest 2019}} where he placed 7th as the 1st seed, he found himself a 3rd place finish at {{Trn|Mainstage}} a few weeks later. However, Marss failed to meet his seed again at his next 3 events, placing 9th at {{Trn|The Big House 9}}, 2nd at {{Trn|Thunder Smash 3: Clash of the Pandas}}, and 9th at {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 2}}. Marss would round out the season with another major victory, this time at {{Trn|DreamHack Atlanta 2019}}, in another flawless run that double-eliminated {{Sm|Samsora}}. Despite his biggest major victories yet, Marss would end up slightly dropping on the mid-year ranking, securing 5th on the [[Fall 2019 PGRU]]. | |||
===The Pinnacle and the Pandemic=== | |||
Marss began the season with a solid 5th place at {{Trn|Let's Make Big Moves}}. After winning regional {{Trn|Overclocked Ultimate IV}}, Marss entered {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}, the largest offline North American tournament of the year and the largest in the world since {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2019}} the year prior. Due to the talent and sheer amount of entrants attending, some viewed the winner of the tournament as a pre-emptive indicator of the best player in North America. Immediately, Marss swept through his pools, not dropping a single game until top 16, where he emerged victorious from a 5-game bout with {{Sm|Maister}}. In Winner's Semi-Finals, Marss quickly dispatched {{Sm|ESAM}} 3-0 before defeating {{Sm|Samsora}} 3-1 in Winner's Finals. Facing him in Grand Final's was {{Sm|MkLeo}}, who forced his way back from Loser's after a loss to Samsora in Winner's Semis. In arguably one of the most shocking Grand Finals in ''Ultimate'' history, Marss would end up 3-0'ing MkLeo to take the tournament, having not dropped a set the entire tournament, marking his greatest performance across all ''Smash'' titles and his first and only supermajor title. For a brief period after this, some even considered Marss the unofficial best player in the world, given his comtemporary 8-9 set record against MkLeo, something unmatched by any of the other top players at the time. | |||
Marss would never get the chance to prove this, however; at his next event, {{Trn|Frostbite 2020}}, Marss ended up placing a disappointing 17th after taking consecutive losses to {{Sm|Paseriman}} and {{Sm|Zackray}}. Immediately following this, the whole of North America was placed in lockdown after the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], forcing a pause to offline competitive play for over a year. Like fellow New England player Light, Marss rarely participated in online events, choosing to shift his focus instead to content creation, especially on platforms Twitch and YouTube. During the online era, Marss chose mainly to play in invitationals and less-serious tournaments, such as {{Trn|King of WiFi Random Characters}}. The only open online tournament Marss participated in was the {{Trn|SWT: NA Northeast Ultimate Online Qualifier}} Last Chance Qualifier, where ended up placing 13th. | |||
===Fall from the Top and Shift to Content Creation=== | |||
By mid-2021 when offline tournaments were beginning to return, many were unsure of the effect of online play on the competitive scene. Some believed that with offline returning, many "Wi-Fi Warriors" would be outclassed by the old guard of offline-only players like Marss, since Wi-Fi tournaments didn't necessarily reflect the environment and response-time in offline play. Others believed that with so little playtime, offline-only players would actually find themselves unable to keep up with the grinding that many online players had put in. Marss added fuel to the fire after a [https://x.com/Marss_NE/status/1409204212001607683 controversial tweet] that requested early registration for top players "rather than 2 dudes who are gonna go 0-2 and ask top players for pictures only after they lose", which received some backlash from the community. After a couple regional showings, Marss made his first major appearance at {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 3}}, where he placed 4th. Marss made his first post-pandemic supermajor appearance at {{Trn|Riptide}}, and was eliminated at 33rd by {{Sm|Anathema}} and {{Sm|LeoN}}, marking his worst ever ''Ultimate'' performance so far. His [https://x.com/PandaGlobal/status/1437174405692411905 results graphic] became a meme, with players often posting it after placing 33rd at a tournament. | |||
==Rankings== | ==Rankings== | ||
| Line 104: | Line 133: | ||
|- | |- | ||
|[[LumiRank 2024.1]]||December 18th, 2023 - July 15th, 2024||75th||{{Head|Zero Suit Samus|g=SSBU|s=20px}}|| | |[[LumiRank 2024.1]]||December 18th, 2023 - July 15th, 2024||75th||{{Head|Zero Suit Samus|g=SSBU|s=20px}}|| | ||
|- | |||
|[[LumiRank 2024.2]]||July 16th - December 16th, 2024||23rd||{{Head|Zero Suit Samus|g=SSBU|s=20px}}|| | |||
|} | |} | ||
| Line 584: | Line 615: | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{Trn|LACS Rivals}}||November 23rd-24th, 2024||7th / 8||—||— | |{{Trn|LACS Rivals}}||November 23rd-24th, 2024||7th / 8||—||— | ||
|- | |||
|{{Trn|Luminosity Makes BIG Moves 2025|g=SSBU}}||January 3rd-5th, 2025||65th / 832||—||— | |||
|- | |||
|{{Trn|Luminosity Madness|g=SSBU}}||March 2nd, 2025||5th / 130||—||— | |||
|} | |} | ||