Smasher:Westballz

Revision as of 08:32, October 21, 2019 by 107.77.224.141 (talk) (→‎External links: Changed Westballz's Twitter account)
Westballz
Westballz.jpg
Character info
Melee main Falco
Other Melee characters Fox, Captain Falcon, Donkey Kong
Ultimate mains Falco, Donkey Kong
Project M mains Falco, Fox
Other Project M characters Wolf, Captain Falcon
Team info
Sponsor(s) Thunder Gaming
Former sponsor(s) Tempo Storm, G2 Esports
Former crews Team OXY
Rankings and results info
Most recent ranking Super Smash Bros. Melee Summer 2019 MPGR: 26th
Winnings Super Smash Bros. Melee ~$54,239.56
Project M ~$617.50
Personal and other info
Real name Weston Dennis
Birth date (age 33)
Location Burbank, California United States
Miscellaneous info
Skill Super Smash Bros. Melee Top professional
Project M Top professional

Westballz is a professional Melee Falco main with strong Fox and Captain Falcon secondaries from Burbank, California. He is currently ranked 7th on the SoCal Melee Power Rankings, 26th on the Summer 2019 MPGR, and was formerly ranked 7th on the SoCal Project M Power Rankings. Westballz solidified himself as a top 10 player at MLG Anaheim 2014, where he upset Mango 3-0 in pool play. He defeated him again 3-1 in losers' quarters at MVG Sandstorm, where he also defeated Hungrybox in losers' semis 3-2. Additionally, he beat Leffen 3-1 at Dreamhack Winter 2015. Westballz is considered to be among the best Falco mains in the world along with Mango, and is widely renowned as the most technical one.

On July 2nd, 2015, Westballz was picked up by Tempo Storm alongside Axe, however has left the team a year later and signed with G2 Esports. On March 31st, 2019, Westballz left G2 Esports.[1] On August 17th, 2019, he joined Thunder Gaming.[2]

Biography

Origin of the name

Westballz created his gamertag while watching his brother play Halo, and based it off his brother's gamertag "Nickelnutz", replacing "Nickel" with "West" and "nutz" with "ballz".

Playing style

Westballz is often seen as the most technical Falco player in the world in both Melee and Project M. He is infamous for his very high-risk/high-reward punishes, often going for extremely technically demanding combos that can rack up extremely high amounts of damage and put his opponents into dangerous positions. As such, his punish game as Falco, particularly his platform follow-up ability, is arguably the best in the world. A very technical player whose playstyle heavily incorporates shield dropping, Westballz generally tends to show off his tech skill as much as possible such as multishining in place even in a neutral position. He is also known for his flashy secondaries, most notably his Captain Falcon, which he used to land a Sacred Combo on ZeldaFreak at Kings of Cali 3.

Westballz has stated that his success against top-caliber players stems from his ability to condition opponents and mix-up his approaches. He will often utilize a certain set of approaches in friendlies to condition players while learning their playstyle, then when he plays those same opponents in tournament, he will completely switch his playstyle, keeping his opponents adapting while controlling the match.

However, Westballz has a worse neutral game compared to his punish game. A common misconception is that Westballz is a very aggressive player, no matter who he is playing. However, against stronger players, he takes a much slower approach to the neutral game, spacing up tilts and back aerials to try to catch his opponent to then exploit his superior punish game, rather than directly applying pressure. This approach, combined with him not utilizing Falco's Blaster as well as other Falcos such as Mango and PPMD, often leads to his opponent controlling the pace of the match if he cannot get an opening.

Additionally, while Westballz has more wins against top players like Mango and Leffen under his belt than most others of his caliber, he is rather inconsistent, and is infamous for losing games, or even sets, to players far below his skill level. At Rubicon 2, he gained a 3-stock lead on KJH, but attempted to "style" on him with unsafe attacks for the rest of the game, allowing KJH to mount a 4-stock comeback. He also lost to Jake13, a mid-level Falco, at Low Tier City 2, after sandbagging and losing with Donkey Kong in game 1. He also occasionally becomes overwhelmed by pressure, making untimely self-destructs that lead to his defeat, such as in Loser's Semis at Pat's House 2 against Fly Amanita's lone Ice Climber in a last stock, last hit situation. Intending to input a back aerial, he accidentally inputted an unsafe down aerial that spiked Popo onto the stage while he self-destructed, ending his run.

Tournament placings

 

Super Smash Bros.

Tournament Date 1v1 Placement 2v2 Placement Partner
S@X 133 January 18th, 2016 7th

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Tournament Date 1v1 Placement 2v2 Placement Partner
Nice Shot Hugo March 27th, 2010 25th Dunk
Grev X July 17th, 2010 9th
Don't Go Down There Jeff December 18th, 2010 17th
Winter Game Fest VI January 22nd-23rd, 2011 17th 13th Pat
GENESIS 2 July 15th-17th, 2011 41st 7th Baka4moe
Apex 2012 January 6th-8th, 2012 25th 17th StriCNYN3
Winter Game Fest VII January 14th-15th, 2012 3rd
Northwest Manifest March 24th-25th, 2012 4th 9th Tafokints
Rule 6: NorCal Regional July 29th, 2012 7th 4th Scar
The Big House 2 October 6th-7th, 2012 9th 13th Scar
Kings of Cali November 10th, 2012 7th 9th Scar
Apex 2013 January 11th-13th, 2013 33rd 9th Hax
Winter Game Fest VIII January 21st-23rd, 2013 1st
Kings of Cali 2 April 13th-14th, 2013 7th 3rd MacD
NorCal Regionals 2013 April 26th-28th, 2013 4th
EVO 2013 July 12th-14th, 2013 17th
Kings of Cali 3 December 14th-15th, 2013 5th 9th HomeMadeWaffles
Apex 2014 January 17th-19th, 2014 33rd 17th Aisengobay
SoCal Regionals 2014 February 28th-March 2nd, 2014 1st 5th DEHF
The Next Episode March 22nd-23rd, 2014 2nd 5th S2J
Pat's House 2 May 24th-25th, 2014 4th 7th ZeRo
SKTAR 3 May 31st-June 1st, 2014 5th 5th Hax
SSS Lock-In June 14th-15th, 2014 13th
MLG Anaheim 2014 June 20th-22nd, 2014 9th
Kings of Cali 4 July 5th-6th, 2014 7th 5th ZeRo
EVO 2014 July 11th-13th, 2014 13th 17th DoH
Mayhem August 9th, 2014 3rd 2nd Hungrybox
Low Tier City 2 August 16th-17th, 2014 2nd 1st Wobbles
Mayhem September 6th, 2014 2nd 4th Jace
The Big House 4 October 4th-5th, 2014 7th 9th Darkrain
Do You Fox Wit It? November 15th-16th, 2014 17th 7th Connor
Super Smash Sundays 29 December 7th, 2014 1st 2nd Reno
Super Smash Sundays 30 December 21st, 2014 2nd 3rd DEHF
Smash the Target January 3rd, 2015 2nd
Paragon Orlando 2015 January 17th-18th, 2015 4th 7th Axe
Apex 2015 January 30th-February 1st, 2015 33rd 17th DEHF
Aftershock March 28th-29th, 2015 4th 2nd Gahtzu
Monday Night Melee 22 March 30th, 2015 1st
SWEET XX April 4th, 2015 2nd 4th Deep C Squid
I'm Not Yelling! April 11th-12th, 2015 5th 7th Sung
MVG Sandstorm April 18th-19th, 2015 2nd 7th Gahtzu
Mayhem May 2015 May 2nd, 2015 2nd 2nd Sung
Press Start May 9th-10th, 2015 17th 9th Sung
Mayhem June 2015 June 6th, 2015 1st 1st MacD
CEO 2015 June 26th-28th, 2015 4th 4th MacD
FC Smash 15XR: Return July 4th-5th, 2015 5th 2nd MacD
WTFox July 10th-11th, 2015 5th 3rd Wizzrobe
EVO 2015 July 17th-19th, 2015 13th 49th MacD
Super Smash Con 2015 August 6th-9th, 2015 4th
PAX Prime 2015 August 28th-30th, 2015 3rd 3rd Nintendude
Paragon Los Angeles 2015 September 5th-6th, 2015 4th
Rubicon 2 September 12th, 2015 1st 2nd Vro
DreamHack London 2015 September 19th-20th, 2015 2nd
Helix September 26th-27th, 2015 2nd 2nd Overtriforce
The Big House 5 October 2nd-4th, 2015 5th 9th Axe
Smash Summit November 7th-8th, 2015 9th 7th Zhu
Eclipse November 14th-15th, 2015 49th 7th NamiNami
Kickstart 4 November 22nd, 2015 4th 1st Plup
DreamHack Winter 2015 November 26th-29th, 2015 4th 17th Baxon
Forte 3 December 19th-20th, 2015 2nd
GENESIS 3 January 15th-17th, 2016 17th 17th Gahtzu
S@X 133 January 20th, 2016 2nd
Frosty Faustings VIII January 22nd-23rd, 2016 1st 1st Ginger
PAX Arena January 29th-31st, 2016 3rd 5th Wizzrobe
Kickstart 6 February 14th, 2016 1st 1st Overtriforce
B.E.A.S.T 6 February 19th-21st, 2016 3rd
Avalon M-III March 5th, 2016 1st 3rd Faab
Battle of the Five Gods March 17th-19th, 2016 5th
Super Nebulous 4 March 27th, 2016 4th
Pound 2016 April 2nd-3rd, 2016 33rd 3rd MacD
Smash Summit 2 April 21st-24th, 2016 9th 5th Shroomed
Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo April 29th-May 1st, 2016 9th
Get On My Level 2016 May 20th-22nd, 2016 5th 5th MacD
Zotsmash Biweekly 21 June 1st, 2016 2nd
Smash 'N' Splash 2 June 11th-12th, 2016 5th 2nd Wizzrobe
WTFox 2 July 1st-3rd, 2016 9th
EVO 2016 July 15th-17th, 2016 7th
Super Smash Sundays 49 July 31st, 2016 1st 3rd Jace
Clutch City Clash August 6th-7th, 2016 4th 33rd Ice
Super Smash Con 2016 August 11th-14th, 2016 7th 9th Shroomed
Super Smash Sundays 51 August 21st, 2016 1st 1st Wieners
Shine 2016 August 26th-28th, 2016 13th 4th Prince Abu
Syndicate 2016 September 10th-11th, 2016 2nd 2nd Professor Pro
Kickstart 11 September 17th, 2016 2nd
Forward Smash Tournament 1 September 19th, 2016 1st
Super Smash Sundays 53 September 25th, 2016 1st
The Big House 6 October 7th-9th, 2016 13th 5th Plup
SSS: Blood For Blood October 15th, 2016 3rd 2nd The Moon
SoCal Colosseum #5 October 29th, 2016 5th 1st Vro
Smash Summit 3 November 3rd-6th, 2016 9th 7th n0ne
Rewired 2016 November 19th-21st, 2016 1st 2nd Gahtzu
Don't Park on the Grass December 17th-18th, 2016 3rd 13th Gahtzu
SSBM @ Quickly 13 January 7th, 2017 1st 1st S2J
Wednesday Night Fights 2017 Offseason 1.2 January 11th, 2017 1st
Smash at Power 9 #17 January 12th, 2017 1st
Friday Night Turnip 35 January 13th, 2017 5th
GENESIS 4 January 20th-22nd, 2017 7th 25th Prince Abu
Friday Night Turnip 36 January 27th, 2017 1st
SoCal Colosseum 7 January 28th, 2017 4th
Super Smash Sundays 55 January 29th, 2017 9th 2nd Syrox
UCI Biweekly 28 January 31st, 2017 1st
Friday Night Turnip 37 February 3rd, 2017 1st
Smash @ Power 9 #19 February 16th, 2017 1st
Smash @ Power 9 #20 February 23rd, 2017 1st
Smash Summit Spring 2017 March 2nd-5th, 2017 13th 5th Plup
SWEET XXVII March 11th, 2017 1st 4th Vro
Full Bloom 3 March 25th, 2017 7th 7th Vro
Ride or Pie 2 March 27th, 2017 1st
Friday Night Turnip 45 March 31st, 2017 1st
Smash Rivalries April 8th-9th, 2017 13th 5th Axe
Friday Night Turnip 47 April 14th, 2017 1st
Zotcade 17 April 15th, 2017 1st 2nd Mike Haze
DreamHack Austin 2017 April 28th-30th, 2017 13th 9th Wizzrobe
Runback 2017 May 20th-21st, 2017 2nd 1st Plup
The Bigger Balc May 27th-28th, 2017 17th (DQ) 1st Hungrybox
Smash 'N' Splash 3 June 2nd-4th, 2017 9th 5th Wizzrobe
Saints Gaming Live June 10th-11th, 2017 3rd 4th Nightmare
Smash @ Study Hall 7 June 12th, 2017 4th 1st KJH
Super Smash Sundays 60 July 2nd, 2017 1st
EVO 2017 July 14th-15th, 2017 13th
Get On My Level 2017 July 28th-30th, 2017 5th 3rd Hungrybox
Super Smash Con 2017 August 10th-13th, 2017 9th 3rd Axe
Training Mode Tuesdays 21 August 15th, 2017 1st
Shine 2017 August 25th-27th, 2017 9th 7th Syrox
Training Mode Tuesdays 22 August 29th, 2017 2nd
Smash @ Power 9 #47 August 31st, 2017 2nd
Training Mode Tuesdays 23 September 5th, 2017 2nd
Super Smash Sundays 62 September 10th, 2017 2nd 1st Swedish Delight
Training Mode Tuesdays 25 September 26th, 2017 1st
GameTyrant Expo 2017 September 29th-October 1st, 2017 9th 5th Syrox
Smash At The Block October 4th, 2017 2nd
The Big House 7 October 6th-8th, 2017 65th 13th Syrox
Training Mode Tuesdays 28 October 17th, 2017 3rd
DreamHack Denver 2017 October 20th-22nd, 2017 9th 3rd Syrox
Super FamiCon 2017 November 17th-19th, 2017 5th 5th La Luna
Smash at the Block 8 November 29th, 2017 1st
Smash @ Power 9 #58 November 30th, 2017 1st
Pat's House 3 December 2nd-3rd, 2017 9th 5th Syrox
SSS: Blood For Blood 2 December 9th, 2017 2nd 2nd Lucky
The Holiday Bash Smash Invitational December 15th-17th, 2017 9th 4th n0ne
Friday Night Turnip 81 December 22nd, 2017 1st?
Friday Night Turnip 82 December 29th, 2017 2nd
Friday Night Turnip 83 January 5th, 2018 1st
Friday Night Turnip 84 January 12th-13th, 2018 2nd
GENESIS 5 January 19th-21st, 2018 17th 9th Syrox
Noods Noods Noods: Melee Edition January 27th, 2018 5th
Esports Arizona: Talking Stick Resort 3 February 10th, 2018 3rd
UCI Quarterly 4 March 10th, 2018 1st
The Mango March 18th, 2018 7th 1st Syrox
Full Bloom 4 March 24th-25th, 2018 17th 9th Syrox
Noods Noods Noods: Oakland Edition April 7th, 2018 3rd
Flatiron 3 April 21st, 2018 25th 7th Syrox
Super Smash Sundays #64 - The Return April 29th, 2018 1st 9th Babaganoush
Smash Summit 6 May 3rd-6th, 2018 13th 5th Ginger
Get On My Level 2018 May 18th-20th, 2018 17th
Zotcade '18 May 25th-26th, 2018 1st
The Even Bigger Balc July 6th-8th, 2018 25th 4th Babaganoush
Runback 2018 July 14th-15th, 2018 5th 5th Syrox
Melee @ Verdugo West #22 July 18th, 2018 1st
Dreams Collide Melee 18 July 22nd-23rd, 2018 1st
Melee @ Verdugo West #23 July 25th, 2018 1st
EVO 2018 August 3rd-5th, 2018 13th
Super Smash Con 2018 August 9th-12th, 2018 25th
Heir 5 August 17th-19th, 2018 2nd 9th Baxon
Shine 2018 August 24th-26th, 2018 33rd 9th Moky
The Roast of Hugo Gonzalez September 22nd, 2018 4th 9th Babaganoush
The Big House 8 October 5th-7th, 2018 17th 3rd Plup
GameTyrant Expo 2018 November 2nd-4th, 2018 13th
The Mang0: Homecoming November 10th-11th, 2018 5th 4th ChuDat
LACS December 29th-30th, 2018 7th
Smash Camp 2019 January 5th-6th, 2019 7th 7th katfishsquirrelmetronome
Fight For SoCal 2 January 26th, 2019 5th 2nd Shroomed
GENESIS 6 February 1st-3rd, 2019 17th 13th moky
Fight For SoCal 3 February 24th, 2019 1st
Ultimate Nimbus March 3rd, 2019 4th
Fight For SoCal 4 March 17th, 2019 4th
Saving Mr. Lombardi April 13th, 2019 7th
Get On My Level 2019 May 17th-19th, 2019 17th 5th Lucky
Fight For SoCal 5 May 25th, 2019 1st
Smash 'N' Splash 5 May 31st-June 2nd, 2019 13th
Fight For SoCal 6 June 29th, 2019 1st
Smash Factor 8 July 26th-28th, 2019 1st
Nimbus #57 August 22nd, 2019 2nd
Show Me Your Moves 20 August 31st, 2019 1st 1st Slox
Smash Camp: End of Summer September 14th-15th, 2019 9th 5th n0ne
Mainstage September 20th-22nd, 2019 33rd

Project M

Tournament Date 1v1 Placement 2v2 Placement Partner
Super Smash Sundays 2-16-2014 February 16th, 2014 4th
Low Tier City 2 August 16th-17th, 2014 17th 9th iPunchKidsz
The Big House 4 October 4th-5th, 2014 17th
Paragon Orlando 2015 January 17th-18th, 2015 4th
Infinity and Beyond! 48 March 27th, 2015 1st
MVG Sandstorm April 18th-19th, 2015 Top 3 3rd iPunchKidsz
Paragon Los Angeles 2015 September 5th-6th, 2015 25th 17th iPunchKidsz
Smash @ the Balcony 30 January 1st, 2016 1st 1st iPunchKidsz
Smash @ Xanadu Wednesdays 1/20 January 20th, 2016 3rd
The Big Balc May 27th-29th, 2016 9th
Smash 'N' Splash 2 June 11th-12th, 2016 5th Hungrybox
BroCal's Gym: Bulking Season January 8th, 2017 9th 5th SK92
Runback 2017 May 20th-21st, 2017 1st Plup
The Bigger Balc May 27th-28th, 2017 257th

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Tournament Date 1v1 Placement 2v2 Placement Partner
Piranha Plant Grill February 23rd, 2019 17th
Thunder Smash May 5th, 2019 17th
Thunder Smash Tuesday's #13 August 20th, 2019 9th
Nimbus #57 August 22nd, 2019 5th

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Tournament Date 1v1 Placement 2v2 Placement Partner
S@X 133 January 19th, 2016 65th

Trivia

External links

References