Smasher:Salem

Salem
Character info
Smash 64 main	Kirby
Melee main	Peach
Brawl main	Zero Suit Samus
Smash 4 main	Bayonetta
Retired Smash 4 characters	Sheik, Zero Suit Samus
Ultimate mains	Hero, Snake
Other Ultimate characters	Steve, Shulk
Retired Ultimate characters	Link, Lucina
Project M main	Zelda
Other Project M character	Ganondorf
Team info
Sponsor(s)	Most Valuable Gaming
Former sponsor(s)	CLASH Tournaments, Team Liquid
Rankings and results info
Most recent ranking	Panda Global Rankings 100: 6th
Best tournament result	1st / 338 at Apex 2013 1st / 1,508 at EVO 2017 5th / 802 at Pound 2019
Winnings	~$4,293.90 ~$49,811.68 ~$14,001.50
Personal and other info
Real name	Saleem Akiel Young
Birth date	August 1, 1994
Location	Orlando, Florida

Salem is a former Smasher from Atlantic City, New Jersey, who is currently residing in Orlando, Florida. He is best known for his performances in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and was a notable player during Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's early years, up until his ban in 2021.

In Brawl, Salem was widely considered the best Zero Suit Samus player of all-time. He broke out onto the scene with his surprising victory at Apex 2013, marking the first and only Zero Suit Samus major/supermajor victory in the game. Since then, he has remained Zero Suit Samus' primary representative in North America.

Salem is perhaps better known for his Smash 4 career, where he was not only considered the greatest Bayonetta player of all-time, but also one of the greatest Smash 4 players of all-time, ranking 6th on the Panda Global Rankings 100. In particular, Salem's performances in the second half of 2017 marked the closest someone came to dethroning ZeRo. He was the first player to double eliminate at-the-time best player ZeRo in a set outside of Grand Finals, doing so at Collision XIV, and was also one of two players to double-eliminate ZeRo in more than one tournament, achieving this again in grand finals of EVO 2017 and Midwest Mayhem 10. In addition, his static partner in doubles was Ryuga, and they were considered to be one of the best doubles teams in the world, having placed 2nd at both Frostbite 2017 and DreamHack Atlanta 2017, 3rd at UGC Smash Open, and 4th at Super Smash Con 2017.

Salem was also active during Ultimate's early metagame and the first year of the online metagame. He initially began playing Link but quickly dropped the character for Snake, becoming one of the best Snake players in the world during this time. He also began picking up other characters, including Shulk and Hero, and became the best Hero player in the world during this time. He eventually dropped all the characters for Steve in the online metagame, and became the best online Steve player in the final half of 2021. In addition to singles, Salem regularly teamed with Dark Wizzy in doubles, and they were considered one of the best doubles teams in the early metagame, notably winning Smash Conference United and GENESIS 6.

Due to his involvements with CaptainZack's controversies, he was banned from the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank in early-2021, and since then he has not been active in competitive play.

Playstyle

Similar to Dabuz and Hungrybox, Salem is notorious for his defensive playstyle in both Smash 4 and Ultimate, while in Brawl he is known for having an aggressive item-based playstyle.

In Brawl, Salem had a playstyle focused on racking up damage quickly with items that came from Zero Suit Samus's power suit and to combo setups from Paralyzer and her down smash and to kill with her side special, Plasma Whip.

In Smash 4, Salem played Bayonetta and had a playstyle focused upon waiting patiently for the opponent to make a mistake, and to add on damage with Bullet Arts and Bullet Climax. However, if the opponent made a mistake and Salem could find an opening, he could take a stock within seconds due to Bayonetta's powerful combo game. It was akin to trying to defuse a time bomb, for if the opponent attempted to pressure Salem, he could take their stock, and if the opponent attempted to play defensively and out wait Salem, he would simply tack on damage until the opponent was forced to approach.

In SSBU, Salem's playstyle is dependent upon the placement of items as he played Link and Snake, with major focus upon Link's Remote Bomb and Snake's grenades and C4. With Link, Salem prioritizes stage control and traps, corralling the opponent into a situation where Salem has advantage and can press for control. With Snake, Salem is the most defensive of the current three top Snakes, being MVD and Ally, and will wait constantly for a combo opportunity utilizing the grenades or to constantly hit and run until Salem can KO utilizing Snake's down throw into a read or into an up tilt.

However, when put into a disadvantageous situation, Salem tends to rush his options and acts brashly, resulting in unoptimal decisions, which lead to him losing the lead. Salem works best when ahead, even slightly, and will push his advantage until his opponent mentally breaks and collapses, allowing Salem to take over.

Tournament history

This article or section may require a cleanup. The editor who added this tag believes this page should be cleaned up for the following reason: Reads like a real-time report; not every tournament and win needs to be listed You can discuss this issue on the talk page or edit this page to improve it.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Before playing in the offline scene, he gained fame on the All is Brawl ladder as an incredible Wi-Fi player, dominating the ladder with Zero Suit Samus. He made his offline debut at Concentrate II, placing 5th, where he defeated Nicole, Jbandrew, Will, and Kingtoon. He later attended Apex 2012; while only placing 33rd, he defeated Nick Riddle in bracket, then considered to be the best Zero Suit Samus player in the USA.

Throughout 2012, Salem continued to enter tournaments and place well in stacked tournaments within the NY/NJ region, but it wasn't until a dominating performance at Apex 2013 that he had a standout performance at a major, where he unexpectedly took the tournament. On his path to victory, he defeated top players such as mikeHAZE, Mr. R, Otori, the Apex 2012 champion, Dojo, Mikeneko, and Mew2King in both Winners' and Grand Finals, the latter of which is considered to be one of the most intense sets witnessed in Brawl tournament play. In Grand Finals, the set went to a last game, last hit situation, before Salem won following an extensive war of attrition. His win stunned the community; not only had he won one of the most prestigious Brawl tournaments at the time with a character not considered top tier, but he had also never won a tournament prior to then.

At Apex 2014, Salem advanced through his pool, defeating Mekos. He then defeated V115, before losing to ESAM in Winners'. He proceeded to defeat Pwii and Koolaid, before losing to ADHD in a close set, placing 9th overall, outplacing Nick Riddle once again.

Project M

Salem dabbled with Project M, maining Zelda. At Apex 2014 he advanced to bracket, but lost to Eli right away. He then beat Vectorman before falling to Atomsk placing 33rd. At SKTAR 3 he made a long Losers run beating Ringworm, NinjaLink, Wes, Internet Explorer, MVD, Porkchops, and Larry Lurr, before losing to ZeRo to place 13th.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

At the onset of SSB4's release, Salem initially co-mained Sheik and Zero Suit Samus. His first major tournament was Apex 2015, but he drastically underperformed, failing to advance from Pools following being DQed in Winners and losing to falln in Losers Finals of his Pool. Reversing that poor performance later, he placed 9th place at KTAR XII. At EVO 2015 he made it to Top 32 Losers before losing to Tyrant, placing 25th. He'd place decently at smaller tournaments, placing 7th at SKTAR 4, 2nd at KTAR XVII, 9th at Shots Fired 2, and 5th at Do or DI and KTAR XVIII. Upon Bayonetta's release in February 2016, Salem switched to maining her.

Salem would finally have his breakout performance in SSB4 when he won Collision XIV, double-eliminating ZeRo in close sets in Winners Quarters and Losers Semis, Nairo in Losers Finals, and defeating Tweek in Grand Finals. He then attended Smashadelphia II, where he defeated Sinji, Mr.E, and 6WX convincingly to take the tournament. He then traveled to compete at Smash Conference LXVII, dominantly defeating dyr, Fatality, and Mew2King. In Grand Finals Mew2King would reset the bracket, but Salem won the following set.

Before The Big House 6, Salem entered Little Big House 2, where he defeated Darkshad and Shogun to advance into bracket. In bracket, he defeated Kameme, 6WX, Dath, and Abadango in Grand Finals to win the tournament, thought to be a precursor for his performance at The Big House 6. At The Big House 6, he defeated MJG and Rich Brown to advance into Top 32. In Top 32 he fell to Dabuz in Winners. In Losers he defeated Kameme in the run-back before falling to Nairo, placing at a slightly underwhelming 9th.

At Smash Conference LXVIII, Salem fell to Saj in Bayonetta dittos. He then made an extensive Losers run defeating Child, Rideae, LordMix, 8BitMan, Saj in a close rematch, and reset the bracket against Manny to win the tournament. Salem later returned to Michigan where he won Smashfield Weeklies 61, defeating Ryuga before falling to Ally in Winners Finals, defeating Ryuga again in Losers Finals, and defeating Ally in both sets of Grand Finals. Two days later, he attended Rebirth IX, where he defeated smasher1001 and LOE1, before falling to Zinoto in Winners Finals. He then defeated Rayquaza07 in Losers Finals, reset the bracket against Zinoto, but ultimately lost in a close second set, placing 2nd.

Salem would next enter Olympus, where he defeated 6WX to make Top 8. There, Salem defeated Larry Lurr, but then fell to Tweek in Winners Finals. In Losers Finals, Salem defeated Larry Lurr again, then dominantly took both sets of Grand Finals to take 1st. At KTAR XIX, he defeated Gomamugitya to make Top 48. In Top 48, he defeated False before losing to Tweek. In Losers, he defeated Zinoto, WaDi, Samsora, Nairo, and MKLeo before falling to ZeRo in a run-back in Grand Finals. At UGC Smash Open, Salem lost to ESAM, and entered Top 48 Losers. He then defeated Nero and Vinnie, before succumbing to Kameme, finishing at a disappointing 17th. To end the year, Salem entered 2GGT: ZeRo Saga, where he defeated Samsora to advance to Top 48. He was then defeated by Abadango and eliminated by Dabuz, falling at another 17th place.

Beginning 2017, Salem took Smash Conference LXIX, double eliminating Samsora in Winners Finals and Grand Finals. At GENESIS 4, Salem cruised through Winners, defeating 9B, before being upset by Elegant. In Losers, he defeated You3 before being eliminated by ZeRo, placing 25th.

At Frostbite 2017, Salem defeated Chrim Foish 2-0 and Rayquaza07 2-0 to make it out of pools. In bracket he defeated Komorikiri 3-2 and Shuton 3-1 before being upset by Tsu- 1-3 in winners semis. In the losers bracket he was eliminated by Dabuz 0-3 and finished in 5th place.

At Frame Perfect Series 2, Salem defeated SuperGirlKels 2-0 to make it out of pools winners side. In bracket he was defeated by Ranai 0-3 and sent to losers. In losers he defeated Kome 3-0, Earth 3-1 and ESAM 3-2 before losing to Dabuz 1-3 and finishing in 7th place. One week later at 2GGC: Civil War Salem was upset by Shuton 0-3 in winners Top 96 and sent to losers. In losers he defeated Vinnie 3-0 before losing to Zinoto 0-3 and finishing at a disappointing 25th place.

At KTAR XX, Salem was defeated by Tweek 2-3 in winners quarters and dropped into losers. He then defeated Light 3-1, 6WX 3-0, and Nairo 3-1 in losers before once again falling to Tweek 2-3 and finishing in 4th place.

At CEO Dreamland, Salem defeated Sharpyzard and Wormynugget 2-0 to make it out of pools. In bracket he lost to Marss and ANTi 2-3 finishing in 17th place.

At 2GGC: Nairo Saga, Salem lost in an upset to JK in winners' semis of his pool. Following this, he went on one of the most extended losers runs in Smash 4 history. After beating TLTC 2-0 and Horse 3-1 to make it out of his pool on losers' side, he defeated quiK 3-1, Twi 3-0, Mr. R 3-1, Tweek 3-2, and KEN 3-0 to make it into Top 8 losers' side. Once there, he defeated Elegant 3-1, Ally 3-1 in losers' quarters, Nairo 3-0 in losers' semis, and MKLeo 3-2 in losers' final, before falling to ZeRo in Grand Finals 2-3. In the process of the run, Salem defeated three of the top four seeds of the tournament, and at 2nd place, achieved the highest ever placement of a Bayonetta main at a supernational tournament until EVO 2017 a month later.

At CEO 2017 , Salem lost 0-3 to Nairo in winners quarters, but defeated MVD 3-2 in losers to make top 8 and secure a match with MKLeo in losers top 8. Despite being up 2-1 against his opponent's main Cloud, MKLeo counterpicked Corrin against him, and won the next two games using her to defeat Salem 2-3 and eliminate him at 7th place.

The rise

At EVO 2017, Salem lost to Larry Lurr in winners semis. Following this, he defeated KEN 2-0 in losers quarters, Tweek 2-1 in losers semis, and Larry Lurr 3-1 in losers finals to enter grand finals. Once there, he defeated ZeRo in two sets of grand finals (3-2 each) to win the largest tournament of the year, becoming the first Bayonetta to win a premier tournament. As a result, he was considered the best Bayonetta player in the world in 2017, after briefly losing the title to CaptainZack during the beginning of the year.

At DreamHack Atlanta 2017, Salem won in his pool to make top 64 winners. He then defeated ANTi and Nairo both 3-0 to enter top 8 winners. He lost to Tweek 1-3 in winners semis. In losers, he defeated ANTi again 3-0, Nairo again 3-1 and Tweek 3-1 in a runback. In grand finals, he faced VoiD where he defeated him 3-2 and 3-1 to win his second S-tier tournament (according to the Panda Global Rankings) in a row.

Losing the title to Tweek

In 2018, Salem got 3rd at GENESIS 5 after losing to MkLeo's Marth 0-3 and Mistake 0-3 in the Bayonetta ditto. At Frostbite 2018, he was sent into top 24 losers after being defeated by Fatality 3-2, Salem then defeated Captain Zack 3-2, Shoyo James 3-2, and Tyroy 3-0 putting him in the losers side of top 8. Salem then defeated komorikiri 3-0 and defeated Fatality 3-1 after he sent Salem into losers. Salem's losers run finally ended when he was defeated by Tweek 1-3 in the Bayonetta ditto allowing him to place 4th.

Salem would later go on to Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas where he ended up losing to Nairo and Fatality 2-3 earning him 9th place once again being outplaced by Tweek and Mistake.

Salem later attended MomoCon 2018. There he defeated Wrath 3-0 and Mistake 3-2 in the Bayonetta ditto to advance into top 8 where he defeated Nairo 3-0 before losing to Tweek 0-3 in the Bayonetta ditto. After defeating komorikiri 3-2 in a very close set, he had another close set with Tweek but lost 3-2 ending his run at 2nd.

In early June, he attended Smash 'N' Splash 4. He did not drop a single game in his pools which allowed him to qualify for top 64 winners where he defeated Gackt and Shoyo James in a dominant 3-0 fashion before having a close set with tyroy where he won 3-2 allowing him to move on to top 8 on the winners side. For the first time in a year, Salem managed to beat MkLeo's Marth 3-0 dominantly. In Winners Finals, he barely lost to VoiD 2-3. Later on, he beat MkLeo once again in losers finals 3-1 before losing to VoiD again in Grand Finals 1-3 ending his fantastic run at 2nd place.

Salem's final two tournaments for season 5 of the PGR were at 2GG: Hyrule Saga and CEO 2018. At Hyrule Saga, he defeated Darkshad 3-1 and Shuton 3-0 before losing to Tweek 0-3 and losing to MKLeo 1-3 after Leo was sent into losers early by zaki. This ended his run at 9th place. He had a simular run at CEO 2018 where he defeated MVD 3-0 and Larry Lurr 3-1 before losing to Dabuz and CaptainZack 0-3.

As a result of these placements, he ended up getting 5th on the PGR V5 while losing the title of the best Bayonetta to Tweek who got ranked 2nd.

The remainder of Smash 4

Salem's next tournament would be EVO 2018 where he was sent into losers early by Mr E's Lucina. He defeated Lea and Abadango 2-1, but he was eliminated by Ally ending his run at a disappointing 17th place (His lowest placement since CEO Dreamland).

Salem then went to Super Smash Con 2018, he solidly cruised through pools and defeated SDX in top 32 winners before falling to Nairo 1-3, he then beat MagiMagi in a dominant 3-0 fashion before falling to Mistake ending his run at 7th place.

He then went on to win Shine 2018 where he defeated ANTi 3-2, Dark Wizzy 3-1, Tweek 3-2, and then double eliminated Mistake in winners and grand finals to take the tournament resulting in Salem's first tournament win of 2018.

At The Big House 8, Salem was sent into losers by ESAM in winners quarters, although he was able to defeat 8BitMan to get into top 8, he then lost to yeti's Toon Link 0-3 at 7th place.

Salem's last Smash 4 tournament was at DreamHack Atlanta 2018, where he cruised through pools until he narrowly lost to VoiD in a last hit game 5 situation. Although he beat Karna 3-0. He narrowly lost to Wrath which ended up being his first loss ever versus a Sonic since picking up Bayo, ending his run at 7th place.

Ranking

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

SSBBRank

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
SSBBRank 2014	January 11th, 2013 - June 1st, 2014	18th
SSBBRank 2016-2017	May 20th, 2016 - November 26th, 2017	3rd

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Panda Global Rankings

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
PGR v2	May 13th - December 18th, 2016	13th
PGR v3	January 7th - June 18th, 2017	11th
PGR v4	June 24th - December 3rd, 2017	2nd
PGR v5	December 23rd, 2017 - July 1st, 2018	5th
PGR 100	January 20th, 2015 - November 18th, 2018	6th

OrionRank

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
OrionRank 2016	March 15th - December 18th, 2016	8th
OrionRank 2017	December 24th, 2016 - December 24th, 2017	3rd
OrionRank Mid-Spring 2018	January 1st - May 1st, 2018	9th
OrionRank 2018	January 1st - December 2nd, 2018	7th

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Panda Global Rankings Ultimate

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
Spring 2019 PGRU	February 1st - July 7th, 2019	22nd
Fall 2019 PGRU	July 13th - December 15th, 2019	30th

OrionRank Ultimate

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
OrionRank Ultimate: Six Months In	January 5th - June 30th, 2019	16th
OrionRank 2019	January 5th - December 15th, 2019	17th

Wi-Fi Warrior Rank

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v6	July 5th - December 27th, 2020	10th

OrionRank North America

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
OrionRank North America Top 200	January 2019 - March 2020	10th

Tournament placings

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
Collision V	September 1st, 2012	13th	—	—
Thanks for Playing 4	December 21st, 2013	9th	—	—
Coffee Boys 10	January 15th-16th, 2017	25th	—	—
Smash 'N' Chill Weekly #7	February 28th, 2017	1st	—	—
EagleLAN 2017	April 29th, 2017	2nd	2nd	Waldo
Coffee Boys 14	May 14th, 2017	1st	—	—
Congrats Again: Another North Florida Regional	June 3rd, 2017	13th	—	—

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
Concentrate II	October 30th, 2011	5th	2nd	ANTi
Apex 2012	January 6th-8th, 2012	33rd	65th	Meekspeedy
Winter Shore Smashing	January 14th, 2012	2nd	—	—
Clash of the Titans 6	June 2nd, 2012	5th	5th	Bizkit
SKTAR	July 14th-15th, 2012	17th	—	—
Impact IV	August 25th, 2012	5th	2nd	Chibo
Collision V	September 1st, 2012	5th	3rd	Chibo
Phoenix Saga 5	December 1st, 2012	7th	5th	Meekspeedy
Uprise 11	December 29th, 2012	9th	7th	Blazer
Apex 2013	January 11th-13th, 2013	1st	—	—
Winter Brawl 7	February 23rd-24th, 2013	2nd	—	—
Rescue 2	March 2nd, 2013	3rd	2nd	Vex Kasrani
Rescue 3	July 27th, 2013	7th	9th	Xzax
SKTAR 2	August 3rd-4th, 2013	33rd	7th	Vex Kasrani
Smashacre Gluttony	August 10th, 2013	3rd	3rd	Xzax
Thanks for Playing 4	December 21st, 2013	2nd	—	—
KTAR 8	December 28th, 2013	17th	3rd	ZeRo
Collision 8	January 11th, 2014	3rd	2nd	Vex Kasrani
Apex 2014	January 17th-19th, 2014	9th	9th	Vex Kasrani
SKTAR 3	May 31st-June 1st, 2014	17th	—	—
Apex 2015	January 30th-February 1st, 2015	4th	2nd	Mew2King
Revival of Brawl	November 26th, 2016	1st	2nd	Vincessant
CEO Dreamland	April 14th-16th, 2017	3rd	1st	Mew2King
Super Smash Con 2017	August 10th-13th, 2017	3rd	—	—
Super Smash Con 2019	August 8th-11th, 2019	—	2nd	Chia

Project M

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
Winter Brawl 7	February 23rd-24th, 2013	2nd	—	—
Thanks for Playing 4	December 21st, 2013	3rd	1st	ZeRo
KTAR 8	December 28th, 2013	5th	—	—
Collision 8	January 11th, 2014	1st	—	—
Apex 2014	January 17th-19th, 2014	33rd	—	—
SKTAR 3	May 31st-June 1st, 2014	13th	13th	Xzax
Project Clash 14	October 27th, 2016	17th	—	—

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
Sky's Smash 4 Invitational	November 20th-22nd, 2014	9th	5th	K9
Collision X	November 29th, 2014	5th	5th	Chibo
Collision XI	January 3rd, 2015	9th	7th	Chibo
Apex 2015	January 30th-February 1st, 2015	129th	—	—
Tri-Smash #3	March 7th, 2015	1st	—	—
KTAR XII	March 21st, 2015	9th	9th	Chibo
Smash Forward 03	April 18th, 2015	2nd	1st	Chibo
KTAR XIII	July 12th, 2015	17th	17th	Waldo
EVO 2015	July 17th-19th, 2015	25th	33rd	Chibo
The MollyWhop #17	August 12th, 2015	1st	—	—
SKTAR 4	August 22nd-23rd, 2015	7th	—	—
Smash & Clash 02	February 12th, 2016	1st	1st	Chibo
KTAR XVII	February 13th, 2016	2nd	3rd	Chibo
Smash & Clash 03	February 19th, 2016	1st	5th	Sparky
Brotherly Love X	February 20th, 2016	1st	1st	Vex Kasrani
Shots Fired 2	March 5th-6th, 2016	9th	17th	Chibo
Do or DI	March 11th-13th, 2016	5th	—	—
Brotherly Love XIV	June 4th, 2016	1st	2nd	Chibo
KTAR XVIII	June 11th, 2016	5th	—	—
EVO 2016	July 15th-17th, 2016	33rd	—	—
Collision XIV	September 3rd, 2016	1st	13th	Chibo
Smashadelphia II	September 11th, 2016	1st	—	—
Smash Conference LXVII	September 23rd, 2016	1st	1st	Mew2King
Little Big House 2	October 6th, 2016	1st	—	—
The Big House 6	October 7th-9th, 2016	9th	—	—
Smash Conference LXVIII	October 14th, 2016	1st	1st	Mew2King
Smashfield Weeklies #61	October 20th, 2016	1st	—	—
Rebirth IX	October 22nd, 2016	2nd	3rd	GenericallyNamed
Olympus	October 28th-30th, 2016	1st	4th	Fatality
KTAR XIX	November 19th, 2016	2nd	17th	Chibo
UGC Smash Open	December 2nd-4th, 2016	17th	3rd	Ryuga
2GGT: ZeRo Saga	December 16th-18th, 2016	17th	3rd	6WX
Smash Conference LXIX	January 7th, 2017	1st	1st	8BitMan
Coffee Boys 10	January 15th, 2017	1st	1st	WoundedDragon
GENESIS 4	January 20th-22nd, 2017	25th	3rd	ANTi
Coffee Boys 11	February 19th, 2017	1st	1st	WoundedDragon
Frostbite 2017	February 25th-26th, 2017	5th	2nd	Ryuga
Smash N Chill Weekly #7	February 28th, 2017	4th	—	—
Frame Perfect Series 2	March 18th-19th, 2017	7th	25th	WoundedDragon
2GGC: Civil War	March 24th-26th, 2017	25th	5th	Mew2King
KTAR XX	April 1st-2nd, 2017	4th	5th	Salem's Friend
CEO Dreamland	April 14th-16th, 2017	17th	7th	Mew2King
EagleLAN 2017	April 29th, 2017	1st	1st	Waldo
MomoCon 2017	May 25th-28th, 2017	7th	9th	Larry Lurr
Coffee Boys 15	June 4th, 2017	1st	3rd	WoundedDragon
2GGC: Nairo Saga	June 10th-11th, 2017	2nd	9th	Ally
Mega Smash Mondays 100	June 12th, 2017	9th	—	—
CEO 2017	June 16th-18th, 2017	7th	—	—
Subs Not Scrubs: Hackoru	June 21st, 2017	9th	—	—
Naifu Wars: World War 2	June 23rd, 2017	1st	—	—
UNLOCKED	July 1st, 2017	1st	1st	Mew2King
Coffee Boys 16	July 9th, 2017	1st	1st	WoundedDragon
EVO 2017	July 14th-16th, 2017	1st	—	—
Subs Not Scrubs	July 19th, 2017	1st	—	—
DreamHack Atlanta 2017	July 21st-23rd, 2017	1st	2nd	Ryuga
Super Smash Con 2017	August 10th-13th, 2017	7th	4th	Ryuga
2GGC: SCR Saga	August 19th-20th, 2017	7th	2nd	Mistake
Shine 2017	August 25th-27th, 2017	4th	9th	JK
PAX Arena at PAX West 2017	September 1st-4th, 2017	3rd	—	—
GameTyrant Expo 2017	September 29th-October 1st, 2017	9th	—	—
Little Big House 3	October 5th, 2017	7th	—	—
The Big House 7	October 6th-8th, 2017	5th	7th	Ryuga
2GGC: Fire Emblem Saga	October 14th-15th, 2017	1st	3rd	Ryuga
DreamHack Denver 2017	October 20th-22nd, 2017	2nd	—	—
Too Hot to Handle	October 28th-29th, 2017	5th	17th	WoundedDragon
2GGC: MkLeo Saga	November 4th, 2017	9th	9th	Komorikiri
Tipped Off 12	November 11th-12th, 2017	1st	1st	Mew2King
Midwest Mayhem 10	November 25th, 2017	1st	1st	Tweek
2GG Championship	December 1st-3rd, 2017	3rd	—	—
Smash 4 Boot Camp	December 7th-10th, 2017	1st	5th	MVD
PAX Arena at PAX South 2018	January 12th-14th, 2018	9th	—	—
GENESIS 5	January 19th-21st, 2018	3rd	—	—
Frostbite 2018	February 9th-11th, 2018	4th	—	—
Overlords of Orlando	March 18th, 2018	1st	—	—
Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas	March 24th-25th, 2018	9th	—	—
Collision XV	March 31st, 2018	7th	—	—
Immortal Tech	April 28th, 2018	3rd	2nd	Pugwest
Unrivaled X: Gon' Give It To Ya	May 12th, 2018	1st	1st	ScAtt
MomoCon 2018	May 24th-27th, 2018	2nd	7th	Mistake
Smash 'N' Splash 4	June 1st-3rd, 2018	2nd	5th	CaptainZack
2GG: Hyrule Saga	June 23rd-24th, 2018	9th	33rd	Zethsway
CEO 2018	June 29th-July 1st, 2018	9th	—	—
EVO 2018	August 3rd-5th, 2018	17th	—	—
Super Smash Con 2018	August 9th-12th, 2018	7th	—	—
Shine 2018	August 24th-26th, 2018	1st	4th	MuteAce
Curtain Call 2: Encore	September 1st, 2018	1st	1st	Dark Wizzy
The Big House 8	October 5th-7th, 2018	7th	4th	Dark Wizzy
Super Smash Fight Club 5	November 10th, 2018	3rd	3rd	Dark Wizzy
DreamHack Atlanta 2018	November 16th-18th, 2018	7th	1st	Dark Wizzy

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
Smash Conference United	January 5th-6th, 2019	3rd	1st	Dark Wizzy
Glitch 6	January 19th-20th, 2019	7th	5th	Dark Wizzy
GENESIS 6	February 1st-3rd, 2019	13th	1st	Dark Wizzy
Frostbite 2019	February 22nd-24th, 2019	65th	9th	Dark Wizzy
Ultimate Nimbus	March 3rd, 2019	3rd	—	—
Ultimate Gamer Miami	March 9th-10th, 2019	1st	—	—
Fandom Legends: Smash Ultimate	April 9th, 2019	5th	—	—
2GG: Prime Saga	April 13th-14th, 2019	65th	—	—
Pound 2019	April 19th-21st, 2019	5th	7th	Dark Wizzy
Goodwill of Orange County's Charity Invitational	April 27th-28th, 2019	7th	—	—
Thunder Smash	May 5th, 2019	3rd	—	—
GoTE 4TheKids 2019	May 18th-19th, 2019	5th	—	—
MomoCon 2019	May 23rd-26th, 2019	7th	5th	Dark Wizzy
Smash 'N' Splash 5	May 31st-June 2nd, 2019	17th	—	—
CEO 2019	June 28th-30th, 2019	13th	—	—
Aurora Blitz 2	July 13th-14th, 2019	1st	1st	Dark Wizzy
Paradigm Shift 2019	July 20th-21st, 2019	1st	3rd	Dark Wizzy
EVO 2019	August 2nd-4th, 2019	33rd	—	—
Super Smash Con 2019	August 8th-11th, 2019	49th	7th	Dark Wizzy
Shine 2019	August 23rd-25th, 2019	49th	9th	Mew2King
Port Priority 5	September 7th-8th, 2019	1st	—	—
Glitch 7 - Minus World	September 14th-15th, 2019	13th	—	—
Mainstage	September 20th-22nd, 2019	7th	—	—
The Big House 9	October 4th-6th, 2019	33rd	—	—
Thunder Smash 3: Clash of the Pandas	October 12th-13th, 2019	4th	—	—
2GG: Nightmare on Smashville	October 20th, 2019	3rd	—	—
Overlords of Orlando: OCTOBERLORDS	October 26th, 2019	1st	1st	Dark Wizzy
DreamHack Atlanta 2019	November 15th-17th, 2019	17th	3rd	Dark Wizzy
Tampa Never Sleeps 8	January 18th-19th, 2020	2nd	4th	ScAtt
GENESIS 7	January 24th-26th, 2020	25th	—	—
Frostbite 2020	February 21st-23rd, 2020	25th	—	—
VA Esports Online Open	April 20th, 2020	33rd	—	—
Pound Online	April 24th-26th, 2020	17th	—	—
The Quarantine Series: Major Tournament 1	May 2nd, 2020	49th	—	—
The Box	May 8th-10th, 2020	33rd (DQ)	—	—
Mazer Gaming Gives Back	May 15th, 2020	65th	—	—
King of WiFi Random Characters	May 30th, 2020	97th	—	—
Frame Perfect Series: ONLINE	August 22nd, 2020	3rd	—	—
Frame Perfect Series 2: ONLINE	September 18th, 2020	13th	—	—
Frame Perfect Series 3: ONLINE	November 8th, 2020	1st	—	—
Ultimate 32	November 14th-15th, 2020	9th	—	—
M-Kolosseum 4	November 21st, 2020	25th	—	—
Jingle Jairs	December 5th, 2020	2nd	—	—
Flex on 'Em 2	December 12th, 2020	2nd	—	—
HABBY Birthday 2020	December 19th-20th, 2020	5th	—	—
Mammoth's Ding Dong Ditch	December 27th, 2020	1st	—	—
Frame Perfect Series 4: ONLINE	January 17th, 2021	3rd	—	—
Smash the Router 4	January 23rd, 2021	9th	—	—
The Host Up Invitational	Januray 30th, 2021	1st	—	—
The Airlock	February 13th, 2021	17th (DQ)	—	—
Starlight’s Smash Bash!	March 13th, 2021	7th	—	—
Phoenix Feud	March 22nd, 2024	2nd / 28	—	—

Controversies

Opinions on Melee

Salem is controversially known to heavily dislike the Melee community, which has led to feuds between him and Melee players, particularly Leffen. A notable incident occurred December 23rd, 2018, when Salem argued that "Melee isn't part of the actual Smash community" which he based off of "years of research." Two days later he would post a TwitLonger where he would explain his comments but apologize for "further divid[ing] the Smash community." Nevertheless, his comments were ridiculed and have since become memes in the community.

Both Leffen and Salem were seeded to meet in bracket at multiple tournaments, but upsets or DQs often prevented them from meeting. They finally met in bracket at Super Smash Con 2019, where Leffen beat Salem 2-1 in front of a large crowd.

The controversy arose once again when Salem refused to shake Armada's hand at Mainstage after defeating him, a decision which many smashers viewed as unsportsmanlike.

CaptainZack situation

In early June 2020, amidst a wave of sexual harassment allegations in the community, CaptainZack came out with his testimony against Nairo. In the provided screenshots, Salem was seen encouraging CaptainZack to have sexual encounters with Nairo, and although his name was blocked out, people were able to confirm it was Salem through evidence in the conversation. Following this reveal, Salem's sponsor MVG announced that they would provide him with professional help and give Salem some time for self-reassessment before allowing Salem to rejoin the team.. Six months later, MVG reevaluated Salem and decided to keep him on the roster after stating he had shown commitment to his self-reassessment.

Following Nairo's video, on February 28th, 2021, Salem would release a TwitLonger explaining his side of the CaptainZack story, including Zack's relationship with Nairo, MattyG, and Ally. On Zack, Salem stated that Zack was interested in Nairo, which he didn't think much of because he believed Nairo was also underage. He also stated that Zack ended up lying about the relationship which led Salem to believe Zack made the whole story up. On MattyG, Salem stated that Zack and MattyG also had a relationship and detailed an argument between the two. On Ally, Salem stated that he didn't know much about the relationship other than a few comments made by Zack, and therefore assumed nothing would come out of it. He concluded his TwitLonger by stating that he believed Nairo and even Ally should be unbanned while Zack should be permanently banned. The TwitLonger was criticized for being riddled with grammar mistakes and filled with anecdotes that were not related to the situation, as well as Salem promoting his coaching at the end. A few lines, specifically one that mentions Zero Suit Samus, were also mocked.

Due to the negative reception and following bans from tournaments hosted by Cagt, Grayola, and L4st, Salem would post another TwitLonger on March 20th, 2021. He reiterated that he did not know Nairo's true age, noted how Samsora wanted him to take down a thread on the situation back in July and expanded more on Zack's relationship with MattyG, which he stated was bad for both sides. He ended off stating that MattyG threatened to post a video of Salem giving CaptainZack alcohol if his name was dropped.

Salem's statement on Nairo's age was widely criticized as well; many people refused to believe that Salem, who had known Nairo since Brawl, would not know how old Nairo was in 2017. Following his second TwitLonger, Salem would be permanently banned from the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank.

Trivia

• Salem had never won any tournaments, locals included, prior to his Apex 2013 victory; a similar scenario occurred at Apex 2012, being the first tournament Otori ever won.
• For his victory in EVO 2017, the official twitter of PlatinumGames, the creator of the Bayonetta games, sent him congratulations for winning with Bayonetta.
• Salem was recognized by Forbes in their "30 Under 30 - Games" 2018 list, with his EVO 2017 performance being featured.
  • Hungrybox was similarly recognized for their "30 Under 30 - Games" 2017 list.

External links

• Twitter account
• Twitch channel
• YouTube channel
• Smashboards public profile
• SSBWorld profile

Gameplay videos

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• Apex 2013 SSBB Grand Finals - Salem vs. Mew2King

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

• Collision XIV - ZeRo (Diddy Kong) vs Salem (Bayonetta) - SSB4 Winners
• Collision XIV - Salem (Bayonetta) vs ZeRo (Diddy Kong) - SSB4 Losers Semis
• Olympus - Salem (Bayonetta) vs Tweek (Cloud) - SSB4 Grand Finals
• EVO 2017 - Evo 2017 SMASH WII U GRAND FINALS: ZeRo Vs. Salem | Smash 4