Smasher:Salem
| Salem | |
|---|---|
| Salem2016.jpeg | |
| Character info | |
| Brawl main | Zero Suit Samus |
| Other Brawl characters | Snake, Marth |
| Smash 4 main | Bayonetta |
| Other Smash 4 characters | Lucina, Samus, Marth, Sheik, Zero Suit Samus, Villager, Robin, Ryu |
| Project M main | Zelda |
| Other Project M character | Zero Suit Samus |
| Team info | |
| Crew(s) | Most Valuable Gaming |
| Former crews | CLASH Tournaments |
| Rankings and results info | |
| Most recent ranking |  2014 SSBBRank: 18th  Panda Global Rankings v2: 13th (X-Factor: +1) |
| Winnings | ~$3,749.00 ~$5,250.63 |
| Personal and other info | |
| Real name | Saleem Akiel Young |
| Birth date | |
| Location | Florida 
|
| Miscellaneous info | |
| Skill | Top professional Top professional  Top professional
|
Salem is an American smasher from New Jersey, currently residing in Florida who mains Zero Suit Samus in Brawl, Zelda in Project M, and Bayonetta in Smash 4. He was considered the best Brawl Zero Suit Samus in the world when he was active, and was infamous for his incredible usage of Zero Suit Samus's Power Suit Pieces to rack up damage at the onset of matches. He became known for his unexpected victory at Apex 2013, one of the most prestigious Brawl tournaments in the world.
In Smash 4, he is widely considered to be one of the best Bayonetta players in the world alongside CaptainZack, having taken sets off of players such as ZeRo, Nairo, Ally, MkLeo, Larry Lurr, Abadango, Kameme, Marss, and Tweek.
Salem is currently ranked 13th on the Panda Global Rankings, and 3rd on the New Jersey Smash 4 Power Rankings. He was formerly ranked 18th on the 2014 SSBBRank, and 6th on the Tristate Brawl Power Rankings. Due to his aforementioned dominance at Apex 2013, he was signed by CLASH Tournaments. He has since joined MVG.
At Collision XIV, Salem became the 15th player to take a set off of ZeRo and the first to double eliminate him in tournament outside of Grand Finals.
Tournament history
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 took a set off of Nick Riddle, then considered to be the best Zero Suit Samus player in the USA.
Throughout 2012, Salem continued to enter tournaments and place well, but had yet to enter the public eye until a dominating performance at Apex 2013, 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, 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 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 elimnated 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.
Tournament placings
Super Smash Bros. Melee
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collision V | September 1st, 2012 | 13th | — | — |
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concentrate II | October 22nd, 2011 | 5th | 2nd | ANTi |
| Apex 2012 | January 6th-8th, 2012 | 33rd | 65th | Meekspeedy |
| 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 |
| Apex 2013 | January 11th-13th, 2013 | 1st | — | — |
| Winter Brawl 7 | February 23rd-24th, 2013 | 2nd | — | — |
| Rescue 2 | March 2nd, 2013 | 3rd | — | — |
| 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 |
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 |
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 |
Gameplay videos
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
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
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.
