- Not to be confused with Smasher:CaptainJack.
| CaptainZack "Secretary" | |
|---|---|
| |
CaptainZack at Showdown: Battle Royale 3.[1]
| |
| Character info | |
| Melee main | Peach |
| Brawl mains | Olimar, Zero Suit Samus |
| Other Brawl character | Peach |
| Smash 4 mains | Bayonetta, Peach |
| Other Smash 4 characters | Wii Fit Trainer, Rosalina & Luma, Olimar, Samus, Mii Swordfighter, Cloud, Mario |
| Ultimate mains | Bayonetta, Peach, Daisy |
| Other Ultimate characters | Byleth, Palutena, Zelda, Wii Fit Trainer, Rosalina & Luma |
| Project M main | Zelda |
| Team info | |
| Former sponsor(s) | Phoenix1, Polar Ace |
| Former crews | No Limit Gaming, DMG Alliance |
| Rankings and results info | |
| Most recent ranking |  Panda Global Rankings 100: 15th |
| Personal and other info | |
| Real name | Zack Lauth |
| Birth date | |
| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana 
|
| Miscellaneous info | |
| Skill |  Professional (retired) Top professional (retired)  Top professional Template:Banned |
CaptainZack is a former Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Bayonetta, Peach, and Daisy player from New Orleans, Louisiana, he was considered the best Bayonetta player in the world prior to his inactivity and eventual ban from the competitive scene, trying to use her in competitive play even though he is critical of her drastic nerfs from Smash 4. He was formerly ranked 32nd on the Spring 2019 PGRU and has wins on Ally, Nairo, Wishes, Salem, Dark Wizzy, Prodigy, Goblin, Umeki, and Captain L.
In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, he is considered one of the best Bayonetta players in the world (along with Tweek, Salem, tamim, Lima, and Abadango) as well as one of the best Peach players in the world (along with Samsora, Umeki, and Kie). CaptainZack was ranked 15th on the Panda Global Rankings 100 and was formerly ranked 2nd on the Louisiana Smash 4 Power Rankings. He has taken sets off of top players such as Nairo, MkLeo, Dabuz, Ally, Salem, Larry Lurr, Mr.R, VoiD, komorikiri, and Abadango.
He is known (and partly infamous) for his colourful personality, in and out of the game. He makes frequent usage of taunts, as well as dances, many of which come from the Bayonetta series itself.
On June 6th, 2017, CaptainZack was sponsored by Phoenix1[2], making him their second SSB4 player after Tweek, and third Smash player overall following Duck. On May 17, 2018, he announced he was officially a free agent, thanking Phoenix1 for changing his life. On March 13th, 2019, CaptainZack joined Polar Ace.[3] Polar Ace dropped him on August 2nd, 2019 amid bracket manipulation and blackmail controversies. [4] He has since been embroiled in controversies surrounding his relationships with several adults while underaged, including with former professionals Nairo and Ally.
Tournament history
As a Peach main
Prior to Bayonetta's release, CaptainZack was a Peach main. While he was considered a very skilled Peach player, he had yet to obtain national fame, and was typically regarded as slightly inferior to fellow Louisiana Peach main Samsora.
Bayonetta's release
Following Bayonetta's release as a DLC character, CaptainZack, being a fan of the character, decided to pick her up. His big out-of-region breakout tournament was 2GGT: Abadango Saga, where he sent Larry Lurr to the losers bracket and finished 9th place at the event. Following that, he attended The Big House 6, where he notably eliminated ESAM and double-eliminated Mew2King, finishing 17th after losing a Bayonetta mirror match to Salem.
Becoming the best Bayonetta
Before CaptainZack, Salem was widely considered to be the best Bayonetta main. However, CaptainZack was quickly emerging as competition for that title. After 4th place finishes at both GENESIS 4 and 2GGC: Civil War, along with outplacing Salem at most events both players attended, the general consensus shifted towards CaptainZack being the better Bayonetta player.
Losing the title
However, not too long afterwards, Salem would be once again a contender for the best Bayonetta player. Salem won EVO 2017, and due to Salem's victory in a prestigious tournament, CaptainZack was then considered to be either on par or now below Salem. CaptainZack himself notably considers Salem the better Bayonetta player.
On top of this, Lima, tamim, and Tweek have also become contenders for the best Bayonetta main as tamim and Tweek have not only outplaced Zack at many tournaments consistently, but they have also beaten him and have scored higher than him on the Panda Global Rankings, as well as Salem was ranked 2nd on the fourth PGR and 5th the fith PGR. And with Lima's recent win at EVO 2018 including double eliminated Zack himself, many have debated on who the best Bayonetta is as they are often considered to be at the same level of or slightly above CaptainZack.
Controversies
Blackmailing/Bracket Manipulation
On August 2nd, 2019, around the time of Ally's controversy, a since-deactivated Twitter account going by the name of "The Truth" posted that CaptainZack pressured Ally into dating him, and that he blackmailed Ally into intentionally losing games to Zackray at 2GG: Prime Saga and Nairo at MomoCon 2019. A few hours later, CaptainZack, in a Twitlonger, confirmed the rumors about manipulating Ally, and revealed more information about their relationship. He also stated that he was forcing Ally to drop games in hopes that Ally would leave him, and that he was getting more and more upset as Ally was able to have continued success.[5] He was subsequently dropped by his team, Polar Ace, as a result of the incident.
Due to the incident, Zack was also banned from competing at Super Smash Con 2019. He was, however, allowed to attend as a spectator, and confirmed the decision on Twitter.[6] 2GGaming also banned him from all 2GG tournaments on August 5th.[7] 2GG notably organized both of the tournaments in which Zack admitted to manipulating brackets. Since this controversy came to light, CaptainZack has not entered in offline brackets and is considered inactive.
On January 16th, 2020, the SSBConductPanel released a statement where they advised an indefinite ban for CaptainZack with a chance to appeal after 5 years[8]. This decision was met with significant backlash, with many players such as MVD and Fatality pointing out that Mew2Queen only had half of CaptainZack's sentencing for sexual harassment. The controversial ban was brought up again in late June 2020 amidst a number of bans on other Smashers, and the hashtag "UnbanCaptainZack" trended on Twitter. The SSBConductPanel released a statement on June 29th defending their decision, which caused more backlash as people noted that they did not go into the details of the decision. The panel later made another statement saying that they could not provide anything else because it involved private information[9]. VGBootCamp made a post the following day saying that they were going to ignore the panel's ruling and only giving CaptainZack a one-year ban[10]. This decision was also controversial, with people such as The Crimson Blur, who has seen the aforementioned private information, and Glyphmoney, who was part of the panel's investigation on Promaelia, disagreeing with the decision[11][12]. On July 5, 2020, D. Disciple revealed text messages between Ally and CaptainZack confirming that CaptainZack threatened to expose Ally if he did not lose to Zackray, contradicting CaptainZack's opening Twitlonger statement.[13]
Manipulated Claims on Nairo
- Further information: Smasher:Nairo#Sexual misconduct allegations and ban
On September 14th, 2020, several claims in CaptainZack's accusation of Nairo were brought into question when tamim released a TwitLonger. In it, he claimed that Zack manipulated his TwitLonger on Nairo by filling it with lies; notably, he claimed that CaptainZack initiated the first sexual contact with Nairo, who was allegedly still asleep at that time. tamim also pointed out how Zack twisted the wording to make it look like Nairo was paying Zack hush money when it was, in fact, Zack who requested money from Nairo. Furthermore, tamim said that CaptainZack was "a very sneaky and devious person" and had attempted to seduce and manipulate several other adults besides Ally and Nairo [14]. tamim also claimed that Zack wasn't worried about facing retribution for being in a relationship with Ally because he was a minor.
Two days later, CaptainZack would reach out to tamim where he confirmed a few things stated in tamim's TwitLonger, including asking Nairo for money and the minor excuse. tamim also stated that CaptainZack no longer planned to be part of the community[15]. Despite this claim, CaptainZack continued to attend Louisiana locals until he was banned in October.[16]
Tournament placings
Super Smash Bros. Melee
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Godlike 1 | July 19th, 2014 | 13th | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 2 | August 23rd, 2014 | 13th | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 3 | September 20th, 2014 | 9th | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 4 | October 18th, 2014 | 7th | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 5 | November 22nd, 2014 | 5th | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 6 | January 3rd, 2015 | 9th | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 7 | March 7th, 2015 | 25th | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 8 | March 28th, 2015 | 9th | 5th | JSalt |
| Monthly Godlike 9 | April 25th, 2015 | 4th | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 10 | May 30th, 2015 | 9th | 4th | JSalt |
| Monthly Godlike 11 | June 13th, 2015 | 4th | — | — |
| The People's Tournament II | July 4th-5th, 2015 | 13th | 3rd | JSalt |
| Monthly Godlike 12 | July 26th, 2015 | 7th | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 13 | August 29th, 2015 | 9th | 3rd | JSalt |
| MLG World Finals 2015 | October 16th-18th, 2015 | 17th | 5th | xylo |
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open World Monthy #6 | May 10th, 2014 | 7th | — | — |
| Golden Chariot | June 14th, 2014 | 5th | — | — |
| MGL1 | July 19th, 2014 | 3rd | — | — |
| BAG3 | November 29th, 2015 | 4th | — | — |
| CEO Dreamland | April 14th-16th, 2017 | 17th | 2nd | Nairo |
| Showdown: Battle Royale 2 | September 23rd-24th, 2017 | 2nd | — | — |
Project M
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grudge of Louisiana 2 | January 31st, 2015 | 7th | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 8 | March 28th, 2015 | 9th | 2nd | Magi_ |
| Monthly Godlike 9 | April 25th, 2015 | 3rd | 1st | Lee Martin |
| Monthly Godlike 10 | May 30th, 2015 | 4th | 2nd | Magi_ |
| Monthly Godlike 11 | June 13th, 2015 | 3rd | — | — |
| The People's Tournament II | July 4th-5th, 2015 | 9th | 5th | Magi_ |
| Monthly Godlike 12 | July 26th, 2015 | 5th | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 13 | August 29th, 2015 | 5th | — | — |
| BAG 3 | November 29th, 2015 | 5th | — | — |
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World War Wii 10 | January 24th, 2015 | 5th | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 8 | March 28th, 2015 | 2nd | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 9 | April 25th, 2015 | 2nd | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 10 | May 30th, 2015 | 2nd | — | — |
| Monthly Godlike 11 | June 13th, 2015 | 1st | — | — |
| CEO 2015 | June 26th-28th, 2015 | 33rd | ? | JJROCKETS |
| The People's Tournament II | July 4th-5th, 2015 | 5th | 2nd | Samsora |
| Monthly Godlike 12 | July 26th, 2015 | 2nd | ? | ? |
| Monthly Godlike 13 | August 29th, 2015 | 5th | — | — |
| MLG World Finals 2015 | October 16th-18th, 2015 | 25th | 7th | Samsora |
| TGC 6 | February 6th, 2016 | 13th | 13th | ShadowFoxXD |
| TGC 7 | April 9th, 2016 | 17th | 5th | Samsora |
| NOLA Smash 5/14/16 | May 15th, 2016 | 1st | — | — |
| TGC 8 | June 4th, 2016 | 4th | 5th | Samsora |
| Smash Fight Club 47 | June 5th, 2016 | 1st | — | — |
| CEO 2016 | June 24th-26th, 2016 | 97th | 25th | Samsora |
| Clutch City Clash | August 6th-7th, 2016 | 5th | 2nd | LordMix |
| BWW Smash 4 | August 13th, 2016 | 1st | — | — |
| NOLA Smash Tournament 13 @ Dibbz | September 17th, 2016 | 2nd | — | — |
| 2GGT: Abadango Saga | September 24th, 2016 | 9th | 9th | Zan |
| The Big House 6 | October 7th-9th, 2016 | 17th | 9th | Pink Fresh |
| Aftershock 2016 | November 5th-6th, 2016 | 2nd | 1st | Samsora |
| NOLA Smash Tournament 15 @ Dibbz | November 12th, 2016 | 2nd | — | — |
| KTAR XIX | November 19th, 2016 | 13th | 9th | Pink Fresh |
| UGC Smash Open | December 2nd-4th, 2016 | 7th | 13th | Pink Fresh |
| 2GGT: ZeRo Saga | December 16th-18th, 2016 | 25th | 13th | Pink Fresh |
| Ignition #64 | January 4th, 2017 | 1st | — | — |
| Poplar Creek Bowl Weekly #81 | January 5th, 2017 | 4th | 2nd | Ned |
| Midwest Mayhem 6: SoCal Invasion | January 7th, 2017 | 5th | 5th | H-Man |
| GENESIS 4 | January 20th-22nd, 2017 | 4th | 7th | Pink Fresh |
| 2GGC: Midwest Mayhem Saga | February 11th, 2017 | 13th | 7th | Ryuga |
| Frostbite 2017 | February 25th-26th, 2017 | 17th | 9th | Tweek |
| Frame Perfect Series 2 | March 18th-19th, 2017 | 5th | 5th | Kirihara |
| PG Key to 2GGC: Civil War | March 5th-8th, 2017 | 2nd | — | — |
| 2GGC: Civil War | March 24th-26th, 2017 | 4th | 25th | Pink Fresh |
| South Louisiana Major 2017 | April 1st, 2017 | 2nd | — | — |
| NOLA Smash Tournament 20 @ Dibbz | April 8th, 2017 | 1st | — | — |
| CEO Dreamland | April 14th-16th, 2017 | 9th | 3rd | Tweek |
| DreamHack Austin 2017 | April 28th-30th, 2017 | 9th | 4th | Samsora |
| Glitch 3 | May 6th, 2017 | 2nd | 3rd | Pink Fresh |
| Royal Flush | May 12th-14th, 2017 | 17th | 2nd | Pink Fresh |
| 2GGC: Greninja Saga | May 20th, 2017 | 9th | 2nd | Locus |
| MomoCon 2017 | May 26th-28th, 2017 | 17th | 13th | LordMix |
| 2GGC: Nairo Saga | June 10th-11th, 2017 | 33rd | 9th | Pink Fresh |
| Mega Smash Mondays 100 | June 12th, 2017 | 5th | — | — |
| CEO 2017 | June 16th-18th, 2017 | 5th | — | — |
| Climax 2 | June 24th, 2017 | 3rd | 1st | Cosmos |
| Ignition #88 | June 28th, 2017 | 3rd | — | — |
| Backthrow Thursdays #16 | June 29th, 2017 | 1st | 1st | Sheen |
| Midwest Mayhem 9: Old vs New | July 1st, 2017 | 4th | 7th | Sheen |
| EVO 2017 | July 14th-16th, 2017 | 17th | — | — |
| DreamHack Atlanta 2017 | July 21st-23rd, 2017 | 13th | 4th | Tweek |
| Low Tier City 5 | August 5th-6th, 2017 | 5th | 1st | Tweek |
| Super Smash Con 2017 | August 10th-13th, 2017 | 33rd | 33rd | Pink Fresh |
| 2GGC: SCR Saga | August 19th-20th, 2017 | 5th | 5th | Locus |
| Shine 2017 | August 25th-27th, 2017 | 17th | 17th | Pink Fresh |
| PAX Arena at PAX West 2017 | September 1st-4th, 2017 | 9th | — | — |
| Friday Night Smash Delight #58: A Mini Showdown | September 22nd-23rd, 2017 | 7th | — | — |
| Showdown: Battle Royale 2 | September 23rd-24th, 2017 | 17th | 2nd | Samsora |
| GameTyrant Expo 2017 | September 29th-October 1st, 2017 | 25th | 9th | Mistake |
| The Big House 7 | October 6th-8th, 2017 | 13th | 4th | Mistake |
| 2GGC: Fire Emblem Saga | October 14th-15th, 2017 | 17th | 9th | YOC |
| Too Hot to Handle | October 28th-29th, 2017 | 4th | 1st | MattyG |
| 2GGC: MkLeo Saga | November 4th, 2017 | 17th | 3rd | Tweek |
| Super FamiCon 2017 | November 17th-19th, 2017 | 3rd | 2nd | MattyG |
| 2GG Championship | December 1st-3rd, 2017 | 11th | — | — |
| Overclocked | December 16th, 2017 | 3rd | 9th | HazMatt |
| PAX Arena at PAX South 2018 | January 12th-14th, 2018 | 4th | — | — |
| Frostbite 2018 | February 9th-11th, 2018 | 17th | 3rd | Tweek |
| Midwest Mayhem 11 | March 10th, 2018 | 4th | 1st | MkLeo |
| Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas | March 24th-25th, 2018 | 7th | — | — |
| Glitch 4 | April 28th, 2018 | 2nd | 5th | Mistake |
| Denti's Bizarre Adventure 8 | May 12th, 2018 | 5th | 1st | Mistake |
| MomoCon 2018 | May 24th-27th, 2018 | — | 2nd | Samsora |
| Smash 'N' Splash 4 | June 1st-3rd, 2018 | 25th | 5th | Salem |
| 2GG: Hyrule Saga | June 23rd-24th, 2018 | 5th | 7th | Ally |
| CEO 2018 | June 29th-July 1st, 2018 | 4th | 5th | Tweek |
| Showdown: Battle Royale 3 | July 14th-15th, 2018 | 5th | 2nd | Ally |
| Low Tier City 6 | July 27th-29th, 2018 | 4th | 4th | Mistake |
| EVO 2018 | August 3rd-5th, 2018 | 2nd | — | — |
| Super Smash Con 2018 | August 9th-12th, 2018 | 13th | 9th | Pink Fresh |
| Shine 2018 | August 24th-26th, 2018 | 49th | — | — |
| DreamHack Montreal 2018 | September 7th-9th 2018 | 5th | 1st | Ally |
| The Big House 8 | October 5th-7th 2018 | 33rd | 5th | Mistake |
| DreamHack Atlanta 2018 | November 16th-18th, 2018 | 9th | 2nd | Samsora |
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Let's Make Moves | December 29th, 2018 | 17th | 7th | Pink Fresh |
| Glitch 6 | January 20th, 2019 | 49th | 5th | Pink Fresh |
| GENESIS 6 | February 1st-3rd, 2019 | 9th | 5th | Ally |
| Xanzy's Dream Land 2 | February 16th, 2019 | 3rd | — | — |
| Frostbite 2019 | February 22nd-24th, 2019 | 65th | 9th | Ally |
| Ultimate Gamer Miami | March 9th-10th, 2019 | 7th | — | — |
| Battle of BC 3 | March 30th-31st, 2019 | 3rd | 1st | Pandarian |
| Fandom Legends: Smash Ultimate | April 9th, 2019 | 10th | — | — |
| 2GG: Prime Saga | April 13th-14th, 2019 | 33rd | 9th | Mr. R |
| Pound 2019 | April 19th-21st, 2019 | 33rd | 33rd | Pink Fresh |
| Smashpoint | May 10th-12th, 2019 | 13th | 2nd | Diablo |
| MomoCon 2019 | May 23rd-26th, 2019 | 17th | 4th | Tweek |
| Smash 'N' Splash 5 | May 31st-June 2nd, 2019 | 13th | 5th | Samsora |
| CEO 2019 | June 28th-30th, 2019 | 33rd | — | — |
| Mechacon 2319 | July 27th, 2019 | 1st | — | — |
| EVO 2019 | August 2nd-4th, 2019 | 33rd | — | — |
| Soaked Series Invitational | February 29th-March 1st, 2020 | 17th | — | — |
| BESTNEXPO: MASH OFF | April 24th, 2020 | 13th | — | — |
Trivia
- While commentating at TGC 7, CaptainZack revealed that his tag isn't a reference to CaptainJack as commonly thought. Instead, it originates from his usage of Olimar in Brawl.
- CaptainZack is also a very skilled Pokkén Tournament DX player, placing first at the PAX West 2017 Pokkén Tournament DX event. He plays Chandelure.
- Along with Lima and tamim, CaptainZack has a negative reputation for being one of the "villains" in the Smash community due to maining Bayonetta as well as being considered "disrespectful" when he plays the game. This has led to some disrespecting and harassing him, such as being booed when he plays, especially at EVO 2018 due to his controversial grand finals set with Lima.
- CaptainZack is famous for acting out Bayonetta's taunts and dances during tournaments as shown at 2GGC: Civil War, CEO 2017, CEO 2018, and EVO 2018. This has since become controversial as many have stated that he does this to disrespect his competitors while others say he does it to represent his love for the Bayonetta franchise.
References
- ^ CaptainZack, photographed by Jonathon Palombo.
- ^ Phoenix1 confirms their sponsoring of CaptainZack.
- ^ CaptainZack joins Polar Ace.
- ^ CaptainZack leaves Polar Ace.
- ^ CaptainZack's Twitlonger.
- ^ CaptainZack confirms being banned from Super Smash Con 2019 as a competitor.
- ^ 2GGaming announces CaptainZack's ban.
- ^ SSBConductPanel's advised ban.
- ^ SSBConductPanel's June statement, with their second statement attached at the end of the thread.
- ^ VGBootCamp's statement.
- ^ The Crimson Blur's statement.
- ^ Glyphmoney's statement (last few paragraphs).
- ^ https://twitter.com/D_DiscipIe/status/1279956047516532736
- ^ tamim's statement.
- ^ CaptainZack's statement through tamim's TwitLonger.
- ^ CaptainZack's ban in Louisiana.