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Sheik (SSBM): Difference between revisions
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Despite being considered one of the best characters in the game, Sheik was well known in the ''Melee'' community for her lack of success as a solo main. Prior to 2023, solo Sheik had won only a single major level tournament ({{Sm|Captain Jack}}'s victory at {{Trn|MLG San Francisco 2004}}), and had never won a supermajor, even behind lower-tiered characters such as {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, {{SSBM|Pikachu}}, and {{SSBM|Yoshi}}. This was largely due several factors: the first being that her most prominent top level players, {{Sm|Mew2King}} and {{Sm|Plup}}, switched to other characters in certain matchups, particularly against Hungrybox's Jigglypuff; as a result, her metagame advancements stagnated compared to those of the other top tiers. Most ''Melee'' community members believed that winning a supermajor as solo Sheik required a lucky bracket that avoided running into Hungrybox (the #1 ranked player from 2017 to 2019), as well as extremely optimized play versus the multitude of Fox players that was considered unfeasible at the time. | Despite being considered one of the best characters in the game, Sheik was well known in the ''Melee'' community for her lack of success as a solo main. Prior to 2023, solo Sheik had won only a single major level tournament ({{Sm|Captain Jack}}'s victory at {{Trn|MLG San Francisco 2004}}), and had never won a supermajor, even behind lower-tiered characters such as {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, {{SSBM|Pikachu}}, and {{SSBM|Yoshi}}. This was largely due several factors: the first being that her most prominent top level players, {{Sm|Mew2King}} and {{Sm|Plup}}, switched to other characters in certain matchups, particularly against Hungrybox's Jigglypuff; as a result, her metagame advancements stagnated compared to those of the other top tiers. Most ''Melee'' community members believed that winning a supermajor as solo Sheik required a lucky bracket that avoided running into Hungrybox (the #1 ranked player from 2017 to 2019), as well as extremely optimized play versus the multitude of Fox players that was considered unfeasible at the time. | ||
However, perceptions of Sheik's competitive viability were completely revived following the rise of {{Sm|Jmook}}, who burst onto the world stage in 2022. His breakout performance at {{Trn|GENESIS 8}}, where he defeated Plup and {{Sm|iBDW}}, two Fox players who were known for hardly ever losing sets to Sheik, en route to a 2nd place finish, only falling to {{Sm|Zain}}, the number one ranked player, in grand finals. Jmook became a consistent tournament threat throughout the rest of 2022, boasting strong records against almost all the other top ten players, and continued to develop solo Sheik even against her most difficult matchups. Many believed that his first tournament victory, and solo Sheik's first supermajor win, was coming in a matter of time. Jmook pushed Sheik's defensive and punish game to never before seen levels. He became well known for utilizing Sheik's incredible [[crouch cancel]]ing abilities, [[Needle Storm]] edgeguards, and landing grabs at significantly higher rates than other Sheik players. In particular, Jmook was the first player to truly optimize Sheik's reaction [[tech chasing]] versus the space animals, being able to consistently convert [[zero-to-death]]s vs. Fox and Falco and off of a single grab. With these advancements, many players began to rethink the Sheik-Fox matchup, arguing that Jmook's unforgiving punish game vs. Fox was enough to tilt the matchup more in Sheik's favor. Jmook finally won his first major at {{Trn|GENESIS 9}}, nine months after his breakout performance, becoming the second solo Sheik player to win a major, the first ever solo Sheik to win a supermajor, and the only solo Sheik to win a major in the modern era. He then won his second major at {{Trn|Collision 2023}} two months later. | However, perceptions of Sheik's competitive viability were completely revived following the rise of {{Sm|Jmook}}, who burst onto the world stage in 2022. His breakout performance came at {{Trn|GENESIS 8}}, where he defeated Plup and {{Sm|iBDW}}, two Fox players who were known for hardly ever losing sets to Sheik, en route to a 2nd place finish, only falling to {{Sm|Zain}}, the number one ranked player, in grand finals. Jmook became a consistent tournament threat throughout the rest of 2022, boasting strong records against almost all the other top ten players, and continued to develop solo Sheik even against her most difficult matchups. Many believed that his first tournament victory, and solo Sheik's first supermajor win, was coming in a matter of time. Jmook pushed Sheik's defensive and punish game to never before seen levels. He became well known for utilizing Sheik's incredible [[crouch cancel]]ing abilities, [[Needle Storm]] edgeguards, and landing grabs at significantly higher rates than other Sheik players. In particular, Jmook was the first player to truly optimize Sheik's reaction [[tech chasing]] versus the space animals, being able to consistently convert [[zero-to-death]]s vs. Fox and Falco and off of a single grab. With these advancements, many players began to rethink the Sheik-Fox matchup, arguing that Jmook's unforgiving punish game vs. Fox was enough to tilt the matchup more in Sheik's favor. Jmook finally won his first major at {{Trn|GENESIS 9}}, nine months after his breakout performance, becoming the second solo Sheik player to win a major, the first ever solo Sheik to win a supermajor, and the only solo Sheik to win a major in the modern era. He then won his second major at {{Trn|Collision 2023}} two months later. | ||
Although Sheik's perceived competitive viability has continued to rise, she is still considered a step below the other top tiers. While her viability has been aided by the relative scarcity of Ice Climbers players following the [[wobbling]] ban, her extremely difficult matchup vs. Jigglypuff is what holds her back from the highest tiers. Hungrybox still maintains a lopsided record over Jmook, and Jmook has been able to dodge Hungrybox through both his major victories so far. As such, it remains to be seen whether Sheik mains will be able to overcome their challenges in the Jigglypuff matchup. Sheik still remains popular as a secondary character, especially among spacie mains, as many Fox and Falco players (most notably {{Sm|Leffen}}) have started using her as a counterpick against Marth; she is also known for excelling against mid-tiers like {{SSBM|Yoshi}} and {{SSBM|Pikachu}} that other top tiers, in particular Marth, can struggle with. | Although Sheik's perceived competitive viability has continued to rise, she is still considered a step below the other top tiers. While her viability has been aided by the relative scarcity of Ice Climbers players following the [[wobbling]] ban, her extremely difficult matchup vs. Jigglypuff is what holds her back from the highest tiers. Hungrybox still maintains a lopsided record over Jmook, and Jmook has been able to dodge Hungrybox through both his major victories so far. As such, it remains to be seen whether Sheik mains will be able to overcome their challenges in the Jigglypuff matchup. Sheik still remains popular as a secondary character, especially among spacie mains, as many Fox and Falco players (most notably {{Sm|Leffen}}) have started using her as a counterpick against Marth; she is also known for excelling against mid-tiers like {{SSBM|Yoshi}} and {{SSBM|Pikachu}} that other top tiers, in particular Marth, can struggle with. | ||