Smasher:Tafokints
| Tafokints | |
|---|---|
| |
| Character info | |
| Melee main | Sheik |
| Other Melee character | Ness |
| Ultimate main | Mario |
| Other Ultimate character | Link |
| Team info | |
| Former sponsor(s) | Cloud9, Counter Logic Gaming |
| Former crews | Melee It On Me |
| Personal and other info | |
| Real name | Daniel Lee |
| Location | Los Angeles, California 
|
Tafokints is a Melee Sheik main, commentator, analyst and writer from Cupertino, California currently residing in Los Angeles. He was formerly ranked 13th on the SoCal Melee Power Rankings. He became a member of Melee It On Me in 2013 as a content creator.
Tafokints started as a Ness main, but quickly switched to Sheik after watching some Captain Jack and Isai videos. While attending UCLA, he trained with players such as Aesis and S2J to get better. In 2011, he started hosting a NorCal local tournament series in Campbell.
In 2014, Tafokints started SSBMRank, a project inspired by ESPN.com's annual "NBARank" project, ranking active Melee players based on their overall performance in the year. He is well-known for his event previews, often-failed "Tafo-predictions", and general guides. At Apex 2015, #Tafostats hashtag premiered on the VGBootCamp stream, featuring head-to-head stats from many of the top players.
In recent months, Tafokints has aimed to improve the Melee It On Me channel with "Tafo Talks", which covers current events, player content, and historical analysis.
On December 30th, 2016, Tafokints joined Cloud9 as Mango's official coach[1]. In late April of 2018, Tafokints and Cloud9 parted ways. This departure allowed Tafokints to become a business development manager for Counter Logic Gaming[2].
Tournament placings
Super Smash Bros. Melee
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GENESIS | July 10th-12th, 2009 | 127th | — | — |
| Pound 4 | January 16th-18th, 2010 | 97th | — | — |
| The Big House | October 22nd, 2011 | 17th | — | — |
| Apex 2012 | January 6th-8th, 2012 | 129th | — | — |
| Northwest Manifest | March 24th-25th, 2012 | 9th | 9th | Westballz |
| Kings of Cali | November 10th, 2012 | 25th | 9th | Toph |
| Apex 2013 | January 11th-13th, 2013 | 33rd | 25th | Milkman |
| EVO 2013 | July 12th-14th, 2013 | 49th | — | — |
| Super Smash Sundays 4 | September 22nd, 2013 | 5th | 3rd | S2J |
| Super Smash Sundays 8 | November 17th, 2013 | 9th | 4th | S2J |
| Kings of Cali 3 | December 14th-15th, 2013 | 25th | 33rd | Susa |
| Apex 2014 | January 17th-19th, 2014 | 25th | 25th | ROFL |
| SoCal Regionals 2014 | February 28th-March 1st, 2014 | 17th | 7th | Tai |
| The Next Episode | March 22nd-23rd, 2014 | 33rd | 9th | Tai |
| Pat's House 2 | May 24th-25th, 2014 | 13th | 9th | Tai |
| MLG Anaheim 2014 | June 20th-22nd, 2014 | 45th | — | — |
| EVO 2014 | July 11th-13th, 2014 | 49th | — | — |
| The Big House 4 | October 4th-5th, 2014 | 49th | 13th | Redd |
| Super Smash Weekend | November 9th, 2014 | 13th | — | — |
| Do You Fox Wit It? | November 15th-16th, 2014 | 13th | 9th | HomeMadeWaffles |
| Super Smash Sundays 30 | December 21st, 2014 | 5th | — | — |
| Apex 2015 | January 30th-February 1st, 2015 | 33rd | 17th | Redd |
| Press Start | May 9th-10th, 2015 | 17th | 9th | Mike Haze |
| Mayhem June 2015 | June 6th, 2015 | 9th | 7th | Peligro |
| CEO 2015 | June 26th-28th, 2015 | 25th | — | — |
| Mayhem July 2015 | July 11th, 2015 | 9th | 5th | Mike Haze |
| EVO 2015 | July 17th-19th, 2015 | 49th | 13th | Redd |
| Mayhem 25 | August 2nd, 2015 | 17th | 7th | MikeHaze |
| Mayhem - 8/22 | August 22nd, 2015 | 9th | 3rd | Kira |
| Paragon Los Angeles 2015 | September 5th-6th, 2015 | 49th | — | — |
| The Big House 5 | October 2nd-4th, 2015 | 65th | 33rd | Dr. Z |
| UCSD Super TriWeekly | November 21st, 2015 | 9th | 3rd | MacD |
| Super Smash Sundays 36 | November 15th, 2015 | 13th | 2nd | MacD |
| Super Smash Sundays 39 | January 10th-11th, 2016 | 17th | — | — |
| GENESIS 3 | January 15th-17th, 2016 | 97th | 33rd | Redd |
| PAX Arena | January 29-31st, 2016 | 13th | 7th | Arc |
| Mayhem 25 | March 26th, 2016 | 9th | — | — |
| Super Smash Sundays 43 | April 17th, 2016 | 9th | — | — |
| Mayhem 27 | May 14th, 2016 | 9th | 5th | dunk |
| Mayhem 28 | June 11th, 2016 | 17th | 17th | Mair |
| Super Smash Sundays 46 | June 19th, 2016 | 4th | 9th | SacaSuMoto |
| CEO 2016 | June 24th-26th, 2016 | 33rd | 13th | Swiftbass |
| EVO 2016 | July 15th-17th, 2016 | 49th | — | — |
| Super Smash Con 2016 | August 11th-14th, 2016 | 25th | 13th | Mafia |
| Shine 2016 | August 26th-28th, 2016 | 17th | 9th | Swiftbass |
| NorCal Loves Teams | September 10th, 2016 | 17th | 7th | Nintendude |
| Get Smashed at the Foundry 100 | October 4th, 2016 | 7th | — | — |
| The Big House 6 | October 7th-9th, 2016 | 97th | 33rd | Swiftbass |
| SSS: Blood For Blood | October 15th, 2016 | 33rd | 9th | Dr. Z |
| GENESIS 4 | January 20th-22nd, 2017 | 129th | 17th | R2DLiu |
| DreamHack Austin 2017 | April 28th-30th 2017 | 49th | — | — |
| UnTILTed 4 | June 21st, 2017 | 9th | 1st | Nonsense |
| UnTILTed 5 | June 28th, 2017 | 4th | 1st | S2J |
| EVO 2017 | July 14th-15th, 2017 | 65th | — | — |
| UnTILTed 8 | July 19th, 2017 | 2nd | 1st | S2J |
| Super FamiCon 2017 | November 17th-19th, 2017 | 17th | — | — |
| The Mango | March 18th, 2018 | 65th | — | — |
| GENESIS 6 | February 1st-3rd, 2019 | 65th | — | — |
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GENESIS 6 | February 1st-3rd, 2019 | 513th | — | — |
Trivia
- Tafokints fought Tian in a first-to-5 $1,000 money match at Apex 2014's "Salty Suite" and ended up winning 5-1. This is the most money won in a Melee money match tied with Leffen's money matches with Mang0 and SFAT and Zomba's money match with MKBigBoss.
- Tafokints won the Puzzle Fighters side event at EVO 2018.
- Tafokints is known to be of a high skill level in other puzzle games, such as Tetris.
Gameplay videos
External links
- Twitter account
- Tafostats, Tafokints's website containing various statistics on competitive Melee
- "Friendlies: Tafokints, the Analyst" on Redbull eSports
