Smasher:Steeler

Steeler
Character info
Brawl main	Pokémon Trainer
Smash 4 main	Charizard
Ultimate main	Pokémon Trainer
Team info
Crew(s)	Wichita Crew
Rankings and results info
Most recent ranking	Southern Kansas Power Rankings: 9th
Winnings	~$750 ~$2,000
Personal and other info
Real name	Sam
Location	Kansas

Steeler is a dedicated Pokémon Trainer main in the Midwest region, and one of the only tournament players, if not the only player, to actively and exclusively main Pokémon Trainer or Charizard in each of their iterations.

He was once considered to be one of the best Brawl Pokémon Trainer mains in the Midwest and Southwest. Steeler was very active in the Pokémon Trainer community and was at one time in charge of matchup discussions. He retired after placing 33rd at MLG Dallas 2010.

Steeler returned to the scene upon the release of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U as a Charizard main. Despite the disappointment of losing the Pokémon Trainer team and experimenting with other characters, he was most proficient with Charizard throughout his career. Although he did not achieve the same level of notoriety as before, he was formerly ranked as high as 2nd on the Wichita Smash 4 Power Rankings and had wins over players such as Mr. Doom, exJORDANary, and CrazyColorz5.

Steeler is currently a Pokémon Trainer main, having been reunited with his full team from Brawl. He began his Super Smash Bros. Ultimate career in the Columbus, OH region, and achieved honorable mention on the Winter 2019 Columbus Power Rankings before moving back to Kansas. Since then, he has been active in that tournament scene and placed on every South Kansas Power Ranking until taking a break in late 2022. His most notable wins thus far have been over MJG, ilikepieinmouth, and Very Freezer.

Playstyle

In Brawl, he personally preferred to use Squirtle and Charizard through out his matches, using Ivysaur more sparingly due to the Pokémon's subpar tether recovery. Squirtle was by far his best Pokémon, being a powerful force against most opponents, whereas his Charizard was competent against tougher characters such as Meta Knight. He had been known to use Ivysaur for specific matchups however, but generally avoided the character.

In Smash 4, Steeler used his experience from Brawl to transition into playing Charizard as a standalone character. He was well-regarded for playing at a deficit and making comebacks by abusing Charizard's weight and power, while committing to a calm and controlled playstyle despite playing from behind. When custom moves were legal, he was a vocal advocate of the Dragon Rush variation, which accounted for a lot of the issues he had with Flare Blitz. Once custom moves were banned, Steeler showed a tendency to shy away from Flare Blitz for offensive purposes due to its high risk and unreliable hitbox, even to his slight detriment. This reticence continues to this day in Ultimate.

The hallmark of his playstyle in Ultimate is the uncanny resemblance to his playstyle in Brawl; he is again most comfortable using Squirtle to rack up damage, while using Charizard to tank stocks and secure KOs, especially after the nerfs to Ivysaur in patch 4.0.0. Despite his pessimism for Ivysaur, he is still more than willing to use it in many edgeguard]ing scenarios and will rely on it in certain matchups. Regardless, all three Pokemon having been significantly buffed from their prior incarnations have combined to make Steeler a tournament threat in his region.

Tournament placings

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
No Koast v3	March 14th, 2010	17th	13th	Radium
Phase 10	June 26th, 2010	25th	9th	P4
SLAST	July 10th, 2010	17th	3rd	Domo
SLAST v2	September 18th, 2010	33rd	9th	Typ_Ex
MLG Dallas 2010	November 5th-7th, 2010	33rd	—	—

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
EVO 2015	July 17th-19th, 2015	257th	—	—
Nexus	July 23rd-24th, 2016	49th	25th	Regulating_Mofo
No Man's Land	March 18th, 2017	33rd	5th	Regulating_Mofo
Arcadian Fury	September 9th, 2017	25th	—	—
Arcadian Fury 2	April 7th-8th, 2018	17th	—	—

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
Emergence 3: The Return Of Steeler	April 20th, 2019	9th	7th	Clel
Emergence 5: The Fight For The Crown	July 20th, 2019	2nd	4th	Clel
Raise the Steaks	August 31st, 2019	17th	9th	Clel
River Rumble	October 5th, 2019	33rd	17th	Clel
Wave The Wheat 2019	October 19th, 2019	9th	2nd	Mr. Doom
Sweet Spot 6	February 15th, 2020	33rd	—	—
Heartland Showdown 2020	March 7th-8th, 2020	33rd	—	—

External links

• Twitter account
• Twitch channel