Smasher:ProtoBanham: Difference between revisions

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| name        = ProtoBanham
| name        = ProtoBanham
| image        = Protobanham.png
| image        = Protobanham.png
| mainssbu    = Lucina
| mainssbu    = Min Min
| 2ndmainssbu  = Min Min
| 2ndmainssbu  = Lucina
| retiredssbu  = Inkling
| retiredssbu  = Inkling
| mainssb4    = Cloud
| mainssb4    = Cloud
Line 10: Line 10:
| sponsor = Crazy Raccoon
| sponsor = Crazy Raccoon
| former sponsors    = {{Team|Team Vrilliant}}
| former sponsors    = {{Team|Team Vrilliant}}
| skillssb4    = Professional {{retired}}
| rankingssbu  = [[LumiRank 2023]]: HM (Top 100)
| skillssbu    = Top professional
| bestrankingssbu = [[OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse]]: 4th
| rankingssbu = [[Fall 2019 PGRU]]: 19th
| bestresultssb4 = 9th / 254 at {{Trn|Umebura 30|g=SSB4}}
| bestresultssbu = 1st / 987 at {{Trn|Double Down 2022|g=SSBU}}
| realname    = Naoto Tsuji
| realname    = Naoto Tsuji
| alias        = プロトバナム
| alias        = プロトバナム
Line 21: Line 22:
| country      = Japan
| country      = Japan
}}
}}
'''ProtoBanham''' ({{ja|プロトバナム|Purotobanamu}}) is a Smasher from [[Kantō]], Japan. Although he began competing in ''[[Smash 4]]'', he wouldn't gain global recognition until ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', where he played {{SSBU|Lucina}} and {{SSBU|Inkling}} in the early metagame before picking up {{SSBU|Min Min}} in 2021. He is widely considered the best Min Min and Lucina player of all-time and the best player in Japan from 2021 to early-2022, winning several majors and supermajors during this time including {{Trn|Kagaribi 4}}, {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 6}}, and {{Trn|Eastern Powerhouse Invitational 2}}. Despite being less consistent in Japan since then, he remained one of the best Japanese players, most notably winning the American events {{Trn|Double Down 2022}} and {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 5}}, until his indefinite hiatus from competitive play in 2024 due to health issues.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saM-R8oEyrI|title=ProtoBanham's hiatus}}</ref>


'''ProtoBanham''' ({{ja|プロトバナム|Purotobanamu}}) is a ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' {{SSBU|Lucina}} and {{SSBU|Min Min}} main from Japan who formerly used {{SSBU|Inkling}}. He is considered the best Lucina and Min Min player in the world, and one of the best Inkling players in the world before dropping her. ProtoBanham is currently ranked 2nd on the [[Experimental Smash Player Rankings]], 15th on [[OrionRank Mid-Year 2022]], and 19th on the [[Fall 2019 PGRU]]; he was also ranked 10th on the discontinued [[Japan Player Rankings]]. His Lucina is known for being extremely aggressive and utilizing an excellent advantage state.
On January 5th, 2021, ProtoBanham joined the newly founded Japanese organization {{Team|Team Vrilliant}} (Vrilliant Owl X at the time) as their first ''Smash'' player, along {{Sm|Lea}}.
 
==Playstyle==
With both Lucina and Min Min, ProtoBanham is known for being extremely aggressive and utilizing an excellent advantage state. He uses Lucina's [[Dolphin Slash]]'s intangibility during the beginning frames and fast startup to escape combos as well as an edgeguard (by hitting recovering opponents towards the ledge). He is well known for his [[Shield Breaker]] mix-ups, often catching opponents off-guard. ProtoBanham is famous for his incredible movement with Lucina, in particular being the only top player to heavily utlize [[Wavedash|wavelanding]] into his neutral game.
 
With Min Min, ProtoBanham utilizes her large hitboxes to accumulate damage by ledgetrapping and suppressing his opponent in neutral with the Ramram and Dragon. He is also known to go off-stage with Mega-Watt to finish off a stock, as well as using her [[ARM Hook|up special]] to hit opponents above him and keep them in disadvantage.
 
A notable aspect of ProtoBanham is his unique creativity in both his playstyle and his gameplans. An example of this was during {{Trn|EVO 2019}}, where when grabbing his opponent, instead of the typical throws, he would instead [[grab release]], opting for better positioning due to Lucina's lackluster throws. Another aspect of this is his counterplay game: he is well-known for switching his characters against his opponent even when winning games, either to switch up the tempo of his opponent or heavily utilize stage advantage.
 
==Tournament history==
===Early career===
ProtoBanham's competitive career began in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'' in 2014. However, for most of ''Smash 4'', he was a Wi-Fi Warrior and a relatively unknown player offline, as the majority of his offline tournament presence was in doubles. On the rare occasion he competed in singles, he often did not make it too far into bracket, with the lone exception being {{Trn|Umebura 30}}, where with {{SSB4|Cloud}} he defeated {{Sm|Nietono}}, {{Sm|T}}, and {{Sm|Somé}} to place 9th. As such, ProtoBanham was never ranked on any notable power ranking during this time.
 
This all changed at the start of competitive ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', where ProtoBanham initially played {{SSBU|Lucina}} and {{SSBU|Inkling}}. Although his first major, {{Trn|Umebura SP 2}}, was somewhat of a bust, he became a growing threat in the early months of competitive play thanks to his performances at weeklies, where he was able to defeat several ''Smash 4'' veterans. This rising threat culminated in ProtoBanham's having back-to-back breakout performances, first at {{Trn|Umebura SP 3}}, where he defeated ''Smash 4'' veterans {{Sm|Umeki}} and {{Sm|Abadango}} to place 4th, and then at the Golden Week supermajor {{Trn|Umebura Japan Major 2019}}, where after losing to {{Sm|Cosmos}} in Winner's Quarter-Finals he ran through the Loser's bracket, defeating {{Sm|Tea}} and {{Sm|Raito}} and winning the runback against {{Sm|Cosmos}}, before falling to {{Sm|kameme}} to place 2nd.
 
Many players were first introduced to ProtoBanham through his performance at Umebura Japan Major and his win over Cosmos, who at that time was one of the best players in North America. These players began questioning whether ProtoBanham could replicate his strong performances in North America. This inquiry was answered with ProtoBanham's trip to {{Trn|CEO 2019}}, and although he only finished 13th, spectators were still satisfied with his performance, as he was not only the closest person to defeat {{Sm|MkLeo}} that event, bringing MkLeo to last stocks on game 3, but was also only one of two players who was even able to take a game off him at the event. Ultimately despite only appearing at a few PGR-ranked events, ProtoBanham's strong major performances led to him being ranked 23rd on the [[Spring 2019 PGRU]].
 
The following season further catapulted ProtoBanham as one of ''Ultimate''{{'}}s first rising stars, as his first few major and supermajor performances cemented himself as a top level threat. This included {{Trn|EVO 2019}}, the largest offline ''Smash'' event of all-time, where he won his runback against kameme and defeated yet another one of North America's best players, {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}}. Further top 8 performances and top player wins at the next two {{Trn|Umebura|series}} events led many players to believe ProtoBanham could become one of the best players in the world.
 
Unfortunately, his last two events of the year stagnated his overall season. At {{Trn|Umebura SP 7}}, ProtoBanham unexpectedly lost his first match of the tournament to {{Sm|Yamanaction}} in an upset factor of 14, which remains the biggest upset in competitive ''Ultimate'', and then drowned in pools after losing to {{Sm|Daiki}} for 257th, by far his worst performance at a tournament. He then followed it up with a disappointing 25th-place finish at {{Trn|2GG: Kongo Saga}}, where he once again fell short of expectations after being upset by {{Sm|Big D}} before falling to {{Sm|Kome}} for 25th. Further hurting his season was ProtoBanham's limited attendance at PGR-ranked events, which not only meant he had less opportunities to defeat players ranked above him, but also meant any major underperformance could greatly negatively affect his final standing. Ultimately, ProtoBanham's negatives weighed down his [[Fall 2019 PGRU]] season, as despite having placed top 8 at three of the five majors he attended that season, he was only ranked 19th.
 
===The best in Japan===
Seeking a shift in misfortune, ProtoBanham eventually dropped {{SSBU|Inkling}} to focus on just Lucina. This initially allowed him to have a small rebound, reflected in him placing 4th at {{Trn|EGS Cup 3}} and 9th at {{Trn|EVO Japan 2020}}; however, the [[COVID-19]] pandemic caused competitive play to shut down worldwide, cutting the season short. During the pandemic, {{SSBU|Min Min}} was released as a DLC character, and ProtoBanham eventually picked the character up, initially as just a solo-main in the online metagame, where he most notably qualified for the offline [[Smash World Tour 2021|Smash World Tour]] regional final by placing 4th at {{Trn|SWT: Japan Ultimate Online Qualifier}}. With offline competitive play slowly returning in mid-2021, ProtoBanham chose to play both Min Min and Lucina as co-mains.
 
This decision led to the peak of ProtoBanham's career. At his first notable offline event, the supermajor {{Trn|Kagaribi 4}}, ProtoBanham used a mix of both characters to defeat {{Sm|Shuton}}, {{Sm|Tea}}, {{Sm|Yoshidora}} and {{Sm|Zackray}} twice to win the event, claiming his first-ever major/supermajor win and becoming one of five players to win a major while being seeded outside the top 16 (he was seeded 25th). He then followed it up with two more major wins, all the while defeating veteran Japanese players and up-and-coming rising stars, and although he only placed 5th at the next major, {{Trn|Kagaribi 5}}, he then followed it up with yet another major win at {{Trn|Eastern Powerhouse Invitational 2}} before qualifying for the Smash World Tour finale by winning {{Trn|SWT: East Asia Ultimate Regional Finals}}. ProtoBanham's string of victories and his strategy in frequently switching between the two characters, often times seemingly without reason, not only allowed him to take the throne as Japan's best player in 2021, but also helped establish Min Min as a strong character in the new metagame. ProtoBanham's season concluded with the {{Trn|Smash World Tour 2021 Championships}}, where he ultimately placed 7th, losing to {{Sm|Kola}} and {{Sm|Dabuz}} in the main bracket; however, this rather disappointing finish did not dampen an otherwise stellar 2021, which allowed ProtoBanham to soar into the top 10 for that season, ranking 4th on the [[OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse]].
 
===North American ProtoBanham===
ProtoBanham had finally established himself as one of the best players in the world, and with COVID-19 restrictions winding down throughout 2022, players were eager to see where he would go next. Unfortunately, 2022 marked a severe downturn for ProtoBanham's performances in Japan, as he became infamously prone to upsets. This streak began with {{Trn|Kagaribi 6}}, where he lost to {{Sm|Lea}} in bracket before being eliminated by {{Sm|Zackray}} for 9th. He then missed top 8 at both Golden Week events, losing to {{Sm|showers}} and {{Sm|Hero|p=Japan}} for 17th at {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 7}} and then losing to {{Sm|Asimo}} and {{Sm|Kome}} for 13th at {{Trn|Kagaribi 7}}. He finally reached the top 8 again at {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 8}}; however, he claimed no notable wins at that run. With these underperformances, ProtoBanham lost his throne just as quickly as he had obtained it.
 
Fortunately, ProtoBanham's performances in North America was a completely different story, and it reversed some of the damage that was done to his season. His first international appearance was at {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 4}}, where after having a poor Round Robin and Gauntlet phase, where he was only able to defeat {{Sm|Goblin}}, ProtoBanham tore through the Loser's bracket, which included eliminating {{Sm|Dabuz}}, {{Sm|Tweek}}, and {{Sm|MkLeo}}, before losing to {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}} for 3rd. His win on MkLeo especially not only made up for ProtoBanham's close loss to MkLeo at {{Trn|CEO 2019}}, but also made ProtoBanham the first player to eliminate MkLeo prior to Grand Finals since {{Trn|Get On My Level 2019}}, therefore ending MkLeo's streak of making it to Grand Finals at every event he attended since that tournament. ProtoBanham's prowess over MkLeo was further present at {{Trn|Double Down 2022}}, where ProtoBanham defeated MkLeo's {{SSBU|Corrin}} in Winner's Finals and then his {{SSBU|R.O.B.}} in the Grand Finals reset to take his first-ever North American major win. These two international performances and his 3-1 record over MkLeo were able to save ProtoBanham's season, and although he fell to 15th on the [[OrionRank Mid-Year 2022]], he remained a top 20 player and a top 10 player in Japan.
 
The rest of the year was a similar pattern to ProtoBanham: he failed to place higher than 5th in Japan, but won his third and final international tournament of the year, {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 5}}, defeating many of North America's best players along the way. As such, many players began joking that ProtoBanham was a completely different player in North America than he was in Japan. Without a severe underperformance during this time and with strong records against North America's best players, ProtoBanham was able to reclaim his top 10 spot for the full-year, ranking 7th on the [[OrionRank 2022]], while the half-year ranking [[UltRank 2022]] ranked him as 10th.
 
===Activity decline and hiatus===
Throughout ProtoBanham's career, health problems had plagued him. For example, he had to drop out of {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2019}} to treat his kidney stones, and due to the kidney stones, he has to use the bathroom frequently, which led some commentators and players to incorrectly believe ProtoBanham was "icing" the opponent out. His health issues were most apparent in 2023: it became common for him to throw up every five or ten minutes, and there were times where ProtoBanham had to go to the hospital during a tournament. As such, ProtoBanham's activity declined sharply, and he appeared at a total of four events. His tournament performances as these events were roughly the same as they were in the previous year: his worst performance was in Japan, where he placed 25th at {{Trn|Kagaribi 11}} losing to {{Sm|Flow|p=France}} and {{Sm|Yaura}}, while his best performance was at the North American event {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 6}}, where he defeated {{Sm|Tweek}} and {{Sm|Riddles}} to place 5th. Still, health issues prevented him from traveling further, and although he initially accepted the invite, ProtoBanham was forced to drop out of {{Trn|Watch The Throne}}. Because of his low activity, ProtoBanham was only ranked as an honorable mention on the [[LumiRank Mid-Year 2023]] and the [[LumiRank 2023]], with player point data implying he would have been ranked between 11th and 15th on the mid-year ranking and between 16th and 20th on the full-year ranking.
 
ProtoBanham's last notable event was {{Trn|Tiesute 2}}, which he won over {{Sm|Hurt}}. Months later on April 23rd, 2024, he announced his indefinite hiatus from competitive play.
 
==Rankings==
===''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''===
====[[Panda Global Rankings Ultimate]]====
{|class="wikitable"
!Ranking!!Time period!!Rank!!Character(s)!!Notes
|-
|[[Spring 2019 PGRU]]||February 1st-July 7th, 2019||23rd||{{head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{head|Inkling|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||X-Factor: +5
|-
|[[Fall 2019 PGRU]]||July 13th-December 15th, 2019||19th||{{head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{head|Banjo & Kazooie|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{head|Inkling|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|-
|[[PGRU v3#Japan Top 50 Players to Watch|PGRU v3: Japan Top 50 Players to Watch]]||March 1st-June 13th, 2022||Top 10||{{Head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Min Min|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|}
 
====[[LumiRank]]====
{|class="wikitable"
!Ranking!!Time period!!Rank!!Character(s)!!Notes
|-
|[[UltRank 2022]]||June 18th-December 18th, 2022||10th||{{Head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Min Min|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|-
|[[LumiRank Mid-Year 2023]]||December 19th, 2022-July 23rd, 2023||HM (Top 50)||{{Head|Min Min|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|-
|[[LumiRank 2023]]||December 19th, 2022-December 17th, 2023||HM (Top 100)||{{Head|Min Min|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|}
 
====[[OrionRank|OrionRank Ultimate]]====
{|class="wikitable"
!Ranking!!Time period!!Rank!!Character(s)!!Notes
|-
|[[OrionRank Ultimate: Six Months In]]||January 5th-June 30th, 2019||30th||{{head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{head|Inkling|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|-
|[[OrionRank 2019]]||January 5th-December 15th, 2019||21st||{{head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{head|Inkling|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||X-Factor: +4
|-
|[[OrionRank Pre-Quarantine]]||December 27th, 2019-March 15th, 2020||31st||{{head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|-
|[[OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse]]||April 2020-December 19th, 2021||4th||{{Head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Min Min|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|-
|[[OrionRank Mid-Year 2022]]||December 22nd, 2021-June 26th, 2022||15th||{{Head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Min Min|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|-
|[[OrionRank 2022]]||December 22nd, 2021-December 18th, 2022||7th||{{Head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Min Min|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|}


ProtoBanham won his first major at {{Trn|Kagaribi 4}} in 2021 using Lucina and Min Min. Throughout the year, ProtoBanham was often considered to be the best player in Japan, finishing in 1st place at {{Trn|Seibugeki 8}}, {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 6}}, {{Trn|SWT: East Asia Ultimate Regional Finals}}, and {{Trn|Eastern Powerhouse Invitational 2}}. Although his results saw a dip in 2022, he still made an impressive run at {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 4}}, where he defeated many top players in the loser's bracket, including {{Sm|MkLeo}} and {{Sm|Tweek}}, to place 3rd. Later that year, he won {{Trn|Double Down}}, his first North American major win, over MkLeo in the Grand Finals.
====OrionRank Japan====
{|class="wikitable"
!Ranking!!Time period!!Rank!!Character(s)!!Notes
|-
|[[OrionRank Japan Top 150]]||January 2019-June 2021||6th||{{Head|Min Min|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|-
|[[OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse/Japan|OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse Japan]]||June 2020-December 19th, 2021||1st||{{Head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Min Min|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|-
|[[OrionRank 2022/Japan|OrionRank 2022 Japan]]||December 22nd, 2021-December 18th, 2022||4th||{{Head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Min Min|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|}


In {{forwiiu}}, ProtoBanham was a {{SSB4|Cloud}} main. He had set wins over the likes of {{Sm|Nietono}}, {{Sm|T}}, and {{Sm|Somé}}.
====Japanese Power Rankings====
{|class="wikitable"
!Ranking!!Time period!!Rank!!Character(s)!!Notes
|-
|[[Japan Player Rankings#January 2019 - July 2019|Japan Player Rankings January 2019 - July 2019]]||January 1st, 2019-July 7th, 2019||5th||{{head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{head|Inkling|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|-
|[[Japan Player Rankings#July 2019 - December 2019|Japan Player Rankings July 2019 - December 2019]]||July 8th, 2019-December 27th, 2019||10th||{{head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{head|Inkling|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|-
|[[Experimental Smash Player Rankings]]||October 31st, 2020-March 31st, 2022||2nd||{{Head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Min Min|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|}


On January 5th, 2021, ProtoBanham joined the newly founded Japanese organization {{Team|Team Vrilliant}} (Vrilliant Owl X at the time) as their first ''Smash'' player, along {{Sm|Lea}}.
====LumiRank Japan====
{|class="wikitable"
!Ranking!!Time period!!Rank!!Character(s)!!Notes
|-
|[[LumiRank 2023/Japan Top 200|LumiRank 2023 Japan]]||December 19th, 2022-December 17th, 2023||19th||{{Head|Min Min|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Lucina|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|}


==Tournament placings==
==Tournament placings==
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!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 Placement!!2v2 Placement!!Partner
!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 Placement!!2v2 Placement!!Partner
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Umebura 19}}||August 29th, 2015||25th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Umebura 19|g=SSB4}}||August 29th, 2015||25th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Umebura Japan Major}}||May 6th-7th, 2017||&mdash;||17th||{{Sm|Laki}}
|{{Trn|Umebura Japan Major|g=SSB4}}||May 6th-7th, 2017||&mdash;||17th||{{Sm|Laki}}
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Umebura 30}}||November 18th, 2017||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Umebura 30|g=SSB4}}||November 18th, 2017||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Umebura T.A.T.}}||December 23rd-24th, 2017||&mdash;||5th||FurudoLaki
|{{Trn|Umebura T.A.T.|g=SSB4}}||December 23rd-24th, 2017||&mdash;||5th||FurudoLaki
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Umebura 32}}||May 12th, 2018||65th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://challonge.com/kurobra08 Kurobra 8]||February 10th, 2018||&mdash;||2nd||FurudoLaki
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Umebura Smash 4 Final}}||December 1st-2nd, 2018||&mdash;||4th||FurudoLaki
|{{Trn|Umebura 32|g=SSB4}}||May 12th, 2018||65th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Umebura Smash 4 Final|g=SSB4}}||December 1st-2nd, 2018||&mdash;||4th||FurudoLaki
|}
|}


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!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 Placement!!2v2 Placement!!Partner
!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 Placement!!2v2 Placement!!Partner
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Umebura SP 2}}||January 12th, 2019||25th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Umebura SP 2|g=SSBU}}||January 12th, 2019||25th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-21/events Weekly Smash Party 21]||January 30th, 2019||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-21/events Weekly Smash Party 21]||January 30th, 2019||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
Line 62: Line 166:
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-32-1/events Weekly Smash Party 32]||April 8th, 2019||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-32-1/events Weekly Smash Party 32]||April 8th, 2019||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Umebura SP 3}}||April 13th, 2019||4th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Umebura SP 3|g=SSBU}}||April 13th, 2019||4th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Umebura Japan Major 2019}}||May 1st-2nd, 2019||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Umebura Japan Major 2019|g=SSBU}}||May 1st-2nd, 2019||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|[https://start.gg/tournament/15-sp-ueno-smash-ultimate-weekly-15/events Ueno Smash Ultimate Weekly 15]||June 6th, 2019||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://start.gg/tournament/15-sp-ueno-smash-ultimate-weekly-15/events Ueno Smash Ultimate Weekly 15]||June 6th, 2019||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
Line 72: Line 176:
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-42/events Weekly Smash Party 42]||June 24th, 2019||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-42/events Weekly Smash Party 42]||June 24th, 2019||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|CEO 2019}}||June 28th-30th, 2019||13th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|CEO 2019|g=SSBU}}||June 28th-30th, 2019||13th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Kurobra 17}}||July 13th-15th, 2019||1st||1st||{{Sm|FurudoLaki}}
|{{Trn|Kurobra 17|g=SSBU}}||July 13th-15th, 2019||1st||1st||{{Sm|FurudoLaki}}
|-
|-
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-sp-27-1/events Weekly Smash Party SP 27]||July 19th, 2019||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-sp-27-1/events Weekly Smash Party SP 27]||July 19th, 2019||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
Line 80: Line 184:
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-sp-28/events Weekly Smash Party SP 28]||July 29th, 2019||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-sp-28/events Weekly Smash Party SP 28]||July 29th, 2019||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|EVO 2019}}||August 2nd-4th, 2019||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|EVO 2019|g=SSBU}}||August 2nd-4th, 2019||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Umebura SP 5}}||September 28th, 2019||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Umebura SP 5|g=SSBU}}||September 28th, 2019||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-sp-34/events Weekly Smash Party SP 34]||October 7th, 2019||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-sp-34/events Weekly Smash Party SP 34]||October 7th, 2019||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Umebura SP 6}}||October 22nd, 2019||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Umebura SP 6|g=SSBU}}||October 22nd, 2019||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|[http://challonge.com/toryumon_kiwami_42 Toryumon Kiwami 42]||October 30th, 2019||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[http://challonge.com/toryumon_kiwami_42 Toryumon Kiwami 42]||October 30th, 2019||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
Line 92: Line 196:
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-sp-38-1/events Weekly Smash Party SP 38]||November 11th, 2019||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-sp-38-1/events Weekly Smash Party SP 38]||November 11th, 2019||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Umebura SP 7}}||November 16th, 2019||257th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Umebura SP 7|g=SSBU}}||November 16th, 2019||257th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|[http://challonge.com/toryumon_kiwami_45 Toryumon Kiwami 45]||November 20th, 2019||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[http://challonge.com/toryumon_kiwami_45 Toryumon Kiwami 45]||November 20th, 2019||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|2GG: Kongo Saga}}||December 7th-8th, 2019||25th||13th||{{Sm|Raito}}
|{{Trn|2GG: Kongo Saga|g=SSBU}}||December 7th-8th, 2019||25th||13th||{{Sm|Raito}}
|-
|-
|{{Trn|EGS Cup 3}}||January 13th, 2020||4th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|EGS Cup 3|g=SSBU}}||January 13th, 2020||4th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|EVO Japan 2020}}||January 24th-26th, 2020||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|EVO Japan 2020|g=SSBU}}||January 24th-26th, 2020||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|TSC 13}}||December 26th, 2020||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|TSC 13|g=SSBU}}||December 26th, 2020||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Tamisuma Championship 1}}{{OnlineIcon}}||February 17th, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Tamisuma Championship 1|g=SSBU}}{{OnlineIcon}}||February 17th, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Tamisuma Championship 2}}{{OnlineIcon}}||March 18th, 2021||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Tamisuma Championship 2|g=SSBU}}{{OnlineIcon}}||March 18th, 2021||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|SWT: Japan Ultimate Online Qualifier}}{{OnlineIcon}}||April 17th-18th, 2021||4th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|SWT: Japan Ultimate Online Qualifier|g=SSBU}}{{OnlineIcon}}||April 17th-18th, 2021||4th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|[https://start.gg/tournament/winner-1/event/singles-1/brackets/952577/1513423 Winner!]||June 21st, 2021||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://start.gg/tournament/winner-1/event/singles-1/brackets/952577/1513423 Winner!]||June 21st, 2021||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Kagaribi 4}}||June 26th-27th, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Kagaribi 4|g=SSBU}}||June 26th-27th, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|[https://start.gg/tournament/winner-2/event/singles/brackets/959641/1523099 Winner! #2]||July 5th, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://start.gg/tournament/winner-2/event/singles/brackets/959641/1523099 Winner! #2]||July 5th, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
Line 118: Line 222:
|[https://challonge.com/shinosuma96 Shinosuma #96]||October 9th, 2021||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://challonge.com/shinosuma96 Shinosuma #96]||October 9th, 2021||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Seibugeki 8}}||October 10th, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Seibugeki 8|g=SSBU}}||October 10th, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|DAWN 1}}||October 17th, 2021||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|DAWN 1|g=SSBU}}||October 17th, 2021||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Maesuma TOP 6}}||October 22nd, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Maesuma TOP 6|g=SSBU}}||October 22nd, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Kagaribi 5}}||October 30th-31st, 2021||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Kagaribi 5|g=SSBU}}||October 30th-31st, 2021||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Mjolner 1}}||November 21st, 2021||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Mjolner 1|g=SSBU}}||November 21st, 2021||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|SWT: East Asia Ultimate Regional Finals}}||November 27th-28th, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|SWT: East Asia Ultimate Regional Finals|g=SSBU}}||November 27th-28th, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Eastern Powerhouse Invitational 2}}||December 11th, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Eastern Powerhouse Invitational 2|g=SSBU}}||December 11th, 2021||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Smash World Tour 2021 Championships}}||December 17th-19th, 2021||7th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Smash World Tour 2021 Championships|g=SSBU}}||December 17th-19th, 2021||7th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Kagaribi 6}}||January 8th-9th, 2022||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Kagaribi 6|g=SSBU}}||January 8th-9th, 2022||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|[https://challonge.com/yegeuqe7 MaesumaHIT #8]||February 24th, 2022||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://challonge.com/yegeuqe7 MaesumaHIT #8]||February 24th, 2022||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 4}}||March 3rd-6th, 2022||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 4|g=SSBU}}||March 3rd-6th, 2022||3rd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Maesuma TOP 7}}||May 1st, 2022||17th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Maesuma TOP 7|g=SSBU}}||May 1st, 2022||17th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Kagaribi 7}}||May 4th-5th, 2022||13th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Kagaribi 7|g=SSBU}}||May 4th-5th, 2022||13th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Shinosuma HEROES 1}}||May 21st, 2022||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Shinosuma HEROES 1|g=SSBU}}||May 21st, 2022||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Shin-Ken League}}||May 16th-June 4th, 2022||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Shin-Ken League|g=SSBU}}||May 16th-June 4th, 2022||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Maesuma TOP 8}}||June 11th-12th, 2022||7th||&mdash;||&mdash;  
|{{Trn|Maesuma TOP 8|g=SSBU}}||June 11th-12th, 2022||7th||&mdash;||&mdash;  
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Wave 1}}||June 18th, 2022||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Wave 1|g=SSBU}}||June 18th, 2022||9th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|[https://www.start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-sp-55/event/special-1on1-ultimate-singles/brackets/1147028/1779973 Weekly Smash Party! #55]||June 21st, 2022||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|[https://www.start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-sp-55/event/special-1on1-ultimate-singles/brackets/1147028/1779973 Weekly Smash Party! #55]||June 21st, 2022||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Seibugeki 11}}||July 2nd, 2022||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Seibugeki 11|g=SSBU}}||July 2nd, 2022||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Double Down 2022}}||July 8th-10th, 2022||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|{{Trn|Double Down 2022|g=SSBU}}||July 8th-10th, 2022||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Kagaribi 8|g=SSBU}}||July 30th-31st, 2022||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|JINGI 1|g=SSBU}}||August 15th, 2022||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Maesuma TOP 9|g=SSBU}}||August 27th, 2022||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Wave 2|g=SSBU}}||September 4th, 2022||7th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 5|g=SSBU}}||September 15th-18th, 2022||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Maesuma TOP 10|g=SSBU}}||October 15th-16th, 2022||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|KOWLOON 3|g=SSBU}}||November 5th, 2022||4th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|WINNER! -Next 1-|g=SSBU}}||November 27th, 2022||4th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 6|g=SSBU}}||March 23rd-26th, 2023||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Maesuma TOP 13|g=SSBU}}||June 24th-25th, 2023||7th / 541||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Kagaribi 11|g=SSBU}}||October 7th-8th, 2023||25th / 1,472||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|{{Trn|Tiesute 2|g=SSBU}}||October 28th, 2023||1st / 106||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[https://www.start.gg/tournament/shin-toryumon-51/event/singles Shin Toryumon 51]||June 27th, 2024||9th / 43||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[https://start.gg/tournament/weekly-smash-party-157-1/events Weekly Smash Party 157]||October 9th, 2024||9th / 32||&mdash;||&mdash;
|}
|}


Line 162: Line 294:
*ProtoBanham's signature look is his baseball cap. He wore a Le Coq Sportif cap in every major tournament pre-quarantine. Fanarts depicting Proto consisted of Lucina wearing this cap.
*ProtoBanham's signature look is his baseball cap. He wore a Le Coq Sportif cap in every major tournament pre-quarantine. Fanarts depicting Proto consisted of Lucina wearing this cap.
**After the quarantine and his signing to Team Vrillant, he changed it in favor of a cap from his new sponsor. He also switched when he joined Crazy Raccoon.
**After the quarantine and his signing to Team Vrillant, he changed it in favor of a cap from his new sponsor. He also switched when he joined Crazy Raccoon.
*ProtoBanham was able to place 5th at {{Trn|EVO 2019}} despite suffering from kidney stones. However he dropped out of {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2019}} to have treatment.
 
*Proto is one of four players to win an ''Ultimate'' major while being seeded outside of the top 16 ([[Kagaribi 4]] as the 25th seed), alongside {{Sm|Kuro}} (won [[Umebura SP 6]] as the 37th seed), {{Sm|Quidd}} (won [[Let's Make Big Moves 2022]] as the 32nd seed), and {{Sm|acola}} (won {{Trn|Kagaribi 7}} as the 57th seed).
==References==
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[https://twitter.com/ProtoBanhamSSBU Twitter account]
*[https://twitter.com/ProtoBanhamSSBU Twitter account]
*[https://twitter.com/ProtoBanhampay Second Twitter account]
*[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf4mg3z4dpEcrN5neqVZyvw YouTube channel]
*[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf4mg3z4dpEcrN5neqVZyvw YouTube channel]
*[https://ssbworld.com/players/10327/protobanham SSBWorld profile]
*[https://ssbworld.com/players/10327/protobanham SSBWorld profile]
Line 173: Line 307:
==Gameplay videos==
==Gameplay videos==
===''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''===
===''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9H7p7NeD9o CEO 2019 Winners Top 48- MKLeo (Joker) vs. ProtoBanham (Lucina)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lRLOlPwYiU EGS Cup #3 Winners Quarters - Zackray (R.O.B.) vs. ProtoBanham (Lucina)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lRLOlPwYiU EGS Cup #3 Winners Quarters - Zackray (R.O.B.) vs. ProtoBanham (Lucina)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0rzU2ffBcs EVO 2019 Losers Top 8 - Light (Fox) vs. ProtoBanham (Lucina)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0rzU2ffBcs EVO 2019 Losers Top 8 - Light (Fox) vs. ProtoBanham (Lucina)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txNbHSEEcOs Smash Ultimate Summit 4 Losers Semi-Finals - MkLeo (Pyra/Mythra) vs ProtoBanham (Min Min, Lucina)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIVoEUGZEgg Smash Ultimate Summit 5 Winners Quarters - Sparg0 (Cloud) vs ProtoBanham (Min Min, Lucina)]
[[Category:Kantō smashers]]
[[Category:Kantō smashers]]
[[Category:Cloud professionals (SSB4)]]
[[Category:Cloud players (SSB4)]]
[[Category:Lucina professionals (SSBU)]]
[[Category:Lucina players (SSBU)]]
[[Category:Min Min professionals (SSBU)]]
[[Category:Min Min players (SSBU)]]
[[Category:Inkling professionals (SSBU)]]
[[Category:Inkling players (SSBU)]]
[[Category:Spring 2019 PGRU ranked players]]
[[Category:Fall 2019 PGRU ranked players]]
[[Category:YouTubers]]
[[Category:YouTubers]]
[[Category:VIP players]]
[[Category:VIP players]]
[[Category:Wi-Fi Warriors]]

Latest revision as of 19:59, October 31, 2024

ProtoBanham "プロトバナム"
Protobanham.png
Character info
Smash 4 main Cloud
Other Smash 4 characters Mario, Lucina
Ultimate mains Min Min, Lucina
Retired Ultimate character Inkling
Team info
Sponsor(s) Crazy Raccoon
Former sponsor(s) Team Vrilliant
Rankings and results info
Most recent ranking Super Smash Bros. Ultimate LumiRank 2023: HM (Top 100)
Best historical ranking Super Smash Bros. Ultimate OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse: 4th
Best tournament result Super Smash Bros. 4 9th / 254 at Umebura 30
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 1st / 987 at Double Down 2022
Personal and other info
Real name Naoto Tsuji
Birth date (age 31)
Location Kanto, Japan Japan

ProtoBanham (プロトバナム) is a Smasher from Kantō, Japan. Although he began competing in Smash 4, he wouldn't gain global recognition until Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where he played Lucina and Inkling in the early metagame before picking up Min Min in 2021. He is widely considered the best Min Min and Lucina player of all-time and the best player in Japan from 2021 to early-2022, winning several majors and supermajors during this time including Kagaribi 4, Maesuma TOP 6, and Eastern Powerhouse Invitational 2. Despite being less consistent in Japan since then, he remained one of the best Japanese players, most notably winning the American events Double Down 2022 and Smash Ultimate Summit 5, until his indefinite hiatus from competitive play in 2024 due to health issues.[1]

On January 5th, 2021, ProtoBanham joined the newly founded Japanese organization Team Vrilliant (Vrilliant Owl X at the time) as their first Smash player, along Lea.

Playstyle[edit]

With both Lucina and Min Min, ProtoBanham is known for being extremely aggressive and utilizing an excellent advantage state. He uses Lucina's Dolphin Slash's intangibility during the beginning frames and fast startup to escape combos as well as an edgeguard (by hitting recovering opponents towards the ledge). He is well known for his Shield Breaker mix-ups, often catching opponents off-guard. ProtoBanham is famous for his incredible movement with Lucina, in particular being the only top player to heavily utlize wavelanding into his neutral game.

With Min Min, ProtoBanham utilizes her large hitboxes to accumulate damage by ledgetrapping and suppressing his opponent in neutral with the Ramram and Dragon. He is also known to go off-stage with Mega-Watt to finish off a stock, as well as using her up special to hit opponents above him and keep them in disadvantage.

A notable aspect of ProtoBanham is his unique creativity in both his playstyle and his gameplans. An example of this was during EVO 2019, where when grabbing his opponent, instead of the typical throws, he would instead grab release, opting for better positioning due to Lucina's lackluster throws. Another aspect of this is his counterplay game: he is well-known for switching his characters against his opponent even when winning games, either to switch up the tempo of his opponent or heavily utilize stage advantage.

Tournament history[edit]

Early career[edit]

ProtoBanham's competitive career began in Super Smash Bros. 4 in 2014. However, for most of Smash 4, he was a Wi-Fi Warrior and a relatively unknown player offline, as the majority of his offline tournament presence was in doubles. On the rare occasion he competed in singles, he often did not make it too far into bracket, with the lone exception being Umebura 30, where with Cloud he defeated Nietono, T, and Somé to place 9th. As such, ProtoBanham was never ranked on any notable power ranking during this time.

This all changed at the start of competitive Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where ProtoBanham initially played Lucina and Inkling. Although his first major, Umebura SP 2, was somewhat of a bust, he became a growing threat in the early months of competitive play thanks to his performances at weeklies, where he was able to defeat several Smash 4 veterans. This rising threat culminated in ProtoBanham's having back-to-back breakout performances, first at Umebura SP 3, where he defeated Smash 4 veterans Umeki and Abadango to place 4th, and then at the Golden Week supermajor Umebura Japan Major 2019, where after losing to Cosmos in Winner's Quarter-Finals he ran through the Loser's bracket, defeating Tea and Raito and winning the runback against Cosmos, before falling to kameme to place 2nd.

Many players were first introduced to ProtoBanham through his performance at Umebura Japan Major and his win over Cosmos, who at that time was one of the best players in North America. These players began questioning whether ProtoBanham could replicate his strong performances in North America. This inquiry was answered with ProtoBanham's trip to CEO 2019, and although he only finished 13th, spectators were still satisfied with his performance, as he was not only the closest person to defeat MkLeo that event, bringing MkLeo to last stocks on game 3, but was also only one of two players who was even able to take a game off him at the event. Ultimately despite only appearing at a few PGR-ranked events, ProtoBanham's strong major performances led to him being ranked 23rd on the Spring 2019 PGRU.

The following season further catapulted ProtoBanham as one of Ultimate's first rising stars, as his first few major and supermajor performances cemented himself as a top level threat. This included EVO 2019, the largest offline Smash event of all-time, where he won his runback against kameme and defeated yet another one of North America's best players, Light. Further top 8 performances and top player wins at the next two Umebura events led many players to believe ProtoBanham could become one of the best players in the world.

Unfortunately, his last two events of the year stagnated his overall season. At Umebura SP 7, ProtoBanham unexpectedly lost his first match of the tournament to Yamanaction in an upset factor of 14, which remains the biggest upset in competitive Ultimate, and then drowned in pools after losing to Daiki for 257th, by far his worst performance at a tournament. He then followed it up with a disappointing 25th-place finish at 2GG: Kongo Saga, where he once again fell short of expectations after being upset by Big D before falling to Kome for 25th. Further hurting his season was ProtoBanham's limited attendance at PGR-ranked events, which not only meant he had less opportunities to defeat players ranked above him, but also meant any major underperformance could greatly negatively affect his final standing. Ultimately, ProtoBanham's negatives weighed down his Fall 2019 PGRU season, as despite having placed top 8 at three of the five majors he attended that season, he was only ranked 19th.

The best in Japan[edit]

Seeking a shift in misfortune, ProtoBanham eventually dropped Inkling to focus on just Lucina. This initially allowed him to have a small rebound, reflected in him placing 4th at EGS Cup 3 and 9th at EVO Japan 2020; however, the COVID-19 pandemic caused competitive play to shut down worldwide, cutting the season short. During the pandemic, Min Min was released as a DLC character, and ProtoBanham eventually picked the character up, initially as just a solo-main in the online metagame, where he most notably qualified for the offline Smash World Tour regional final by placing 4th at SWT: Japan Ultimate Online Qualifier. With offline competitive play slowly returning in mid-2021, ProtoBanham chose to play both Min Min and Lucina as co-mains.

This decision led to the peak of ProtoBanham's career. At his first notable offline event, the supermajor Kagaribi 4, ProtoBanham used a mix of both characters to defeat Shuton, Tea, Yoshidora and Zackray twice to win the event, claiming his first-ever major/supermajor win and becoming one of five players to win a major while being seeded outside the top 16 (he was seeded 25th). He then followed it up with two more major wins, all the while defeating veteran Japanese players and up-and-coming rising stars, and although he only placed 5th at the next major, Kagaribi 5, he then followed it up with yet another major win at Eastern Powerhouse Invitational 2 before qualifying for the Smash World Tour finale by winning SWT: East Asia Ultimate Regional Finals. ProtoBanham's string of victories and his strategy in frequently switching between the two characters, often times seemingly without reason, not only allowed him to take the throne as Japan's best player in 2021, but also helped establish Min Min as a strong character in the new metagame. ProtoBanham's season concluded with the Smash World Tour 2021 Championships, where he ultimately placed 7th, losing to Kola and Dabuz in the main bracket; however, this rather disappointing finish did not dampen an otherwise stellar 2021, which allowed ProtoBanham to soar into the top 10 for that season, ranking 4th on the OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse.

North American ProtoBanham[edit]

ProtoBanham had finally established himself as one of the best players in the world, and with COVID-19 restrictions winding down throughout 2022, players were eager to see where he would go next. Unfortunately, 2022 marked a severe downturn for ProtoBanham's performances in Japan, as he became infamously prone to upsets. This streak began with Kagaribi 6, where he lost to Lea in bracket before being eliminated by Zackray for 9th. He then missed top 8 at both Golden Week events, losing to showers and Hero for 17th at Maesuma TOP 7 and then losing to Asimo and Kome for 13th at Kagaribi 7. He finally reached the top 8 again at Maesuma TOP 8; however, he claimed no notable wins at that run. With these underperformances, ProtoBanham lost his throne just as quickly as he had obtained it.

Fortunately, ProtoBanham's performances in North America was a completely different story, and it reversed some of the damage that was done to his season. His first international appearance was at Smash Ultimate Summit 4, where after having a poor Round Robin and Gauntlet phase, where he was only able to defeat Goblin, ProtoBanham tore through the Loser's bracket, which included eliminating Dabuz, Tweek, and MkLeo, before losing to Light for 3rd. His win on MkLeo especially not only made up for ProtoBanham's close loss to MkLeo at CEO 2019, but also made ProtoBanham the first player to eliminate MkLeo prior to Grand Finals since Get On My Level 2019, therefore ending MkLeo's streak of making it to Grand Finals at every event he attended since that tournament. ProtoBanham's prowess over MkLeo was further present at Double Down 2022, where ProtoBanham defeated MkLeo's Corrin in Winner's Finals and then his R.O.B. in the Grand Finals reset to take his first-ever North American major win. These two international performances and his 3-1 record over MkLeo were able to save ProtoBanham's season, and although he fell to 15th on the OrionRank Mid-Year 2022, he remained a top 20 player and a top 10 player in Japan.

The rest of the year was a similar pattern to ProtoBanham: he failed to place higher than 5th in Japan, but won his third and final international tournament of the year, Smash Ultimate Summit 5, defeating many of North America's best players along the way. As such, many players began joking that ProtoBanham was a completely different player in North America than he was in Japan. Without a severe underperformance during this time and with strong records against North America's best players, ProtoBanham was able to reclaim his top 10 spot for the full-year, ranking 7th on the OrionRank 2022, while the half-year ranking UltRank 2022 ranked him as 10th.

Activity decline and hiatus[edit]

Throughout ProtoBanham's career, health problems had plagued him. For example, he had to drop out of Super Smash Con 2019 to treat his kidney stones, and due to the kidney stones, he has to use the bathroom frequently, which led some commentators and players to incorrectly believe ProtoBanham was "icing" the opponent out. His health issues were most apparent in 2023: it became common for him to throw up every five or ten minutes, and there were times where ProtoBanham had to go to the hospital during a tournament. As such, ProtoBanham's activity declined sharply, and he appeared at a total of four events. His tournament performances as these events were roughly the same as they were in the previous year: his worst performance was in Japan, where he placed 25th at Kagaribi 11 losing to Flow and Yaura, while his best performance was at the North American event Smash Ultimate Summit 6, where he defeated Tweek and Riddles to place 5th. Still, health issues prevented him from traveling further, and although he initially accepted the invite, ProtoBanham was forced to drop out of Watch The Throne. Because of his low activity, ProtoBanham was only ranked as an honorable mention on the LumiRank Mid-Year 2023 and the LumiRank 2023, with player point data implying he would have been ranked between 11th and 15th on the mid-year ranking and between 16th and 20th on the full-year ranking.

ProtoBanham's last notable event was Tiesute 2, which he won over Hurt. Months later on April 23rd, 2024, he announced his indefinite hiatus from competitive play.

Rankings[edit]

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

Panda Global Rankings Ultimate[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
Spring 2019 PGRU February 1st-July 7th, 2019 23rd Lucina (SSBU)Inkling (SSBU) X-Factor: +5
Fall 2019 PGRU July 13th-December 15th, 2019 19th Lucina (SSBU)Banjo & Kazooie (SSBU)Inkling (SSBU)
PGRU v3: Japan Top 50 Players to Watch March 1st-June 13th, 2022 Top 10 Lucina (SSBU)Min Min (SSBU)

LumiRank[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
UltRank 2022 June 18th-December 18th, 2022 10th Lucina (SSBU)Min Min (SSBU)
LumiRank Mid-Year 2023 December 19th, 2022-July 23rd, 2023 HM (Top 50) Min Min (SSBU)Lucina (SSBU)
LumiRank 2023 December 19th, 2022-December 17th, 2023 HM (Top 100) Min Min (SSBU)Lucina (SSBU)

OrionRank Ultimate[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
OrionRank Ultimate: Six Months In January 5th-June 30th, 2019 30th Lucina (SSBU)Inkling (SSBU)
OrionRank 2019 January 5th-December 15th, 2019 21st Lucina (SSBU)Inkling (SSBU) X-Factor: +4
OrionRank Pre-Quarantine December 27th, 2019-March 15th, 2020 31st Lucina (SSBU)
OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse April 2020-December 19th, 2021 4th Lucina (SSBU)Min Min (SSBU)
OrionRank Mid-Year 2022 December 22nd, 2021-June 26th, 2022 15th Lucina (SSBU)Min Min (SSBU)
OrionRank 2022 December 22nd, 2021-December 18th, 2022 7th Lucina (SSBU)Min Min (SSBU)

OrionRank Japan[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
OrionRank Japan Top 150 January 2019-June 2021 6th Min Min (SSBU)Lucina (SSBU)
OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse Japan June 2020-December 19th, 2021 1st Lucina (SSBU)Min Min (SSBU)
OrionRank 2022 Japan December 22nd, 2021-December 18th, 2022 4th Lucina (SSBU)Min Min (SSBU)

Japanese Power Rankings[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
Japan Player Rankings January 2019 - July 2019 January 1st, 2019-July 7th, 2019 5th Lucina (SSBU)Inkling (SSBU)
Japan Player Rankings July 2019 - December 2019 July 8th, 2019-December 27th, 2019 10th Lucina (SSBU)Inkling (SSBU)
Experimental Smash Player Rankings October 31st, 2020-March 31st, 2022 2nd Lucina (SSBU)Min Min (SSBU)

LumiRank Japan[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
LumiRank 2023 Japan December 19th, 2022-December 17th, 2023 19th Min Min (SSBU)Lucina (SSBU)

Tournament placings[edit]

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]

Tournament Date 1v1 Placement 2v2 Placement Partner
Umebura 19 August 29th, 2015 25th — —
Umebura Japan Major May 6th-7th, 2017 — 17th Laki
Umebura 30 November 18th, 2017 9th — —
Umebura T.A.T. December 23rd-24th, 2017 — 5th FurudoLaki
Kurobra 8 February 10th, 2018 — 2nd FurudoLaki
Umebura 32 May 12th, 2018 65th — —
Umebura Smash 4 Final December 1st-2nd, 2018 — 4th FurudoLaki

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

Tournament Date 1v1 Placement 2v2 Placement Partner
Umebura SP 2 January 12th, 2019 25th — —
Weekly Smash Party 21 January 30th, 2019 3rd — —
Toryumon Kiwami 6 February 12th, 2019 1st — —
Ueno Smash Ultimate Weekly 8 March 28th, 2019 1st — —
Weekly Smash Party 32 April 8th, 2019 3rd — —
Umebura SP 3 April 13th, 2019 4th — —
Umebura Japan Major 2019 May 1st-2nd, 2019 2nd — —
Ueno Smash Ultimate Weekly 15 June 6th, 2019 2nd — —
Weekly Smash Party 40 June 10th, 2019 7th — —
Weekly Smash Party 42 June 24th, 2019 3rd — —
CEO 2019 June 28th-30th, 2019 13th — —
Kurobra 17 July 13th-15th, 2019 1st 1st FurudoLaki
Weekly Smash Party SP 27 July 19th, 2019 1st — —
Weekly Smash Party SP 28 July 29th, 2019 2nd — —
EVO 2019 August 2nd-4th, 2019 5th — —
Umebura SP 5 September 28th, 2019 5th — —
Weekly Smash Party SP 34 October 7th, 2019 1st — —
Umebura SP 6 October 22nd, 2019 5th — —
Toryumon Kiwami 42 October 30th, 2019 9th — —
Weekly Smash Party SP 38 November 11th, 2019 2nd — —
Umebura SP 7 November 16th, 2019 257th — —
Toryumon Kiwami 45 November 20th, 2019 1st — —
2GG: Kongo Saga December 7th-8th, 2019 25th 13th Raito
EGS Cup 3 January 13th, 2020 4th — —
EVO Japan 2020 January 24th-26th, 2020 9th — —
TSC 13 December 26th, 2020 1st — —
Tamisuma Championship 1Online February 17th, 2021 1st — —
Tamisuma Championship 2Online March 18th, 2021 5th — —
SWT: Japan Ultimate Online QualifierOnline April 17th-18th, 2021 4th — —
Winner! June 21st, 2021 9th — —
Kagaribi 4 June 26th-27th, 2021 1st — —
Winner! #2 July 5th, 2021 1st — —
Shinosuma #96 October 9th, 2021 2nd — —
Seibugeki 8 October 10th, 2021 1st — —
DAWN 1 October 17th, 2021 3rd — —
Maesuma TOP 6 October 22nd, 2021 1st — —
Kagaribi 5 October 30th-31st, 2021 5th — —
Mjolner 1 November 21st, 2021 2nd — —
SWT: East Asia Ultimate Regional Finals November 27th-28th, 2021 1st — —
Eastern Powerhouse Invitational 2 December 11th, 2021 1st — —
Smash World Tour 2021 Championships December 17th-19th, 2021 7th — —
Kagaribi 6 January 8th-9th, 2022 9th — —
MaesumaHIT #8 February 24th, 2022 2nd — —
Smash Ultimate Summit 4 March 3rd-6th, 2022 3rd — —
Maesuma TOP 7 May 1st, 2022 17th — —
Kagaribi 7 May 4th-5th, 2022 13th — —
Shinosuma HEROES 1 May 21st, 2022 2nd — —
Shin-Ken League May 16th-June 4th, 2022 1st — —
Maesuma TOP 8 June 11th-12th, 2022 7th — —
Wave 1 June 18th, 2022 9th — —
Weekly Smash Party! #55 June 21st, 2022 1st — —
Seibugeki 11 July 2nd, 2022 1st — —
Double Down 2022 July 8th-10th, 2022 1st — —
Kagaribi 8 July 30th-31st, 2022 5th — —
JINGI 1 August 15th, 2022 1st — —
Maesuma TOP 9 August 27th, 2022 5th — —
Wave 2 September 4th, 2022 7th — —
Smash Ultimate Summit 5 September 15th-18th, 2022 1st — —
Maesuma TOP 10 October 15th-16th, 2022 5th — —
KOWLOON 3 November 5th, 2022 4th — —
WINNER! -Next 1- November 27th, 2022 4th — —
Smash Ultimate Summit 6 March 23rd-26th, 2023 5th — —
Maesuma TOP 13 June 24th-25th, 2023 7th / 541 — —
Kagaribi 11 October 7th-8th, 2023 25th / 1,472 — —
Tiesute 2 October 28th, 2023 1st / 106 — —
Shin Toryumon 51 June 27th, 2024 9th / 43 — —
Weekly Smash Party 157 October 9th, 2024 9th / 32 — —

Trivia[edit]

  • ProtoBanham's signature look is his baseball cap. He wore a Le Coq Sportif cap in every major tournament pre-quarantine. Fanarts depicting Proto consisted of Lucina wearing this cap.
    • After the quarantine and his signing to Team Vrillant, he changed it in favor of a cap from his new sponsor. He also switched when he joined Crazy Raccoon.

References[edit]

  1. ^ ProtoBanham's hiatus.

External links[edit]

Gameplay videos[edit]

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

Retrieved from "https://www.ssbwiki.com/index.php?title=Smasher:ProtoBanham&oldid=1932160"