| Smash Summit | |
|---|---|
| Info | |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Region | California, United States |
| Format | Double elimination |
 winners
|
 Armada (1, 2, 3, Spring 2017) Hungrybox (5, 7, 9) Mew2King (6) Axe (8) Zain (10 Online) Mango (11, 14) iBDW (12, 13)
|
 winners
|
 MkLeo (1, 2) Tweek (3) Sparg0 (4) ProtoBanham (5) acola (6)
|
| Most successful player(s) | Armada (Melee 1, 2, 3, Spring 2017)
|
The Smash Summit series, starting with Smash Summit in 2015, was a series of national-level invitationals focusing on Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Summit tournaments span several days, with singles and doubles on the final days. The first days feature various side events focusing on its main Smash game as well as other games, in addition to other activities such as Mafia, all of which is streamed on Beyond the Summit's Twitch channel.
19 Summits took place (14 for Melee and 5 for Ultimate). A crossover Summit between the two games was planned for 2020, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the idea was scrapped.[1][2] Smash Summit 15 was planned for Melee in June 2023,[3] but was cancelled after Beyond the Summit decided to shut down following Smash Ultimate Summit 6.[4]
Format and scheduling
Typically, 16 different players are selected to participate in each Smash Summit. 8 to 10 players are automatically invited based on their placement in preceding major tournaments, or based on power rankings such as SSBMRank. The other competitors qualify through either a voting phase or through qualifiers. In the former, fans can buy merchandise or donate cash, which grants them the opportunity to cast votes for certain players; the money then contributes to the event's prize payout. At the end of each voting deadline, two players are eliminated, while starting from the third voting round, two players are invited; this repeats until all vote-ins have been selected. Although the invitation process remained roughly the same, there has been irregularities such as in Smash Summit 10 Online, where the majority of players qualified through qualifiers.
Smash Summit presents itself as a unique opportunity for fans to watch the players interact with each other on a personal level. The competitors are invited to commentate other sets and give interviews after each set. Each Summit has its own theme and art design, often based around a real-life event or holiday occurring at a similar time.
Smash Summit tournaments typically run over four days, from Thursday through Sunday. The first day is often referred to as a "Media Day", as it is mostly dedicated to filming comedic skits with the invited players, which are aired throughout the event, as well as lighter side events. Pool play is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, along with doubles, side brackets, and non-Smash-related events. The final singles bracket is played out on Sunday.
Smash Summit has used multiple tournament formats, but pool play generally consists of either a swiss or round-robin format. The players are then usually seeded into winners' or losers' for the final bracket based on their performance. The final bracket is a typical double-elimination bracket, with the winner being crowned on Sunday evening.
Side brackets include doubles brackets, commentator brackets, secondary/low-tier brackets, Squad Strike, and unique rulesets (such as the "swag bracket", where fans vote for the "most entertaining" player to advance to the next round). Non-Smash events include other video games, such as Mario Party; party games, such as Mafia; and athletic competitions.
Champions
Melee singles winners
| Year | Event | Player | Tag | Character(s) | Runner-up | Character(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Smash Summit | Adam Lindgren | Armada |
  |
Mango |
|
| 2016 | Smash Summit 2 | Adam Lindgren | Armada |
|
Hungrybox |
|
| 2016 | Smash Summit 3 | Adam Lindgren | Armada |
|
Hungrybox |
|
| 2017 | Smash Summit Spring 2017 | Adam Lindgren | Armada |
|
Hungrybox |
|
| 2017 | Smash Summit 5 | Juan Manuel DeBiedma | Hungrybox |
|
Armada |
|
| 2018 | Smash Summit 6 | Jason Zimmerman | Mew2King |
  |
Armada |
|
| 2018 | Smash Summit 7 | Juan Manuel DeBiedma | Hungrybox |
|
Leffen |
|
| 2019 | Smash Summit 8 | Jeffrey Williamson | Axe |
 |
Wizzrobe |
|
| 2020 | Smash Summit 9 | Juan Manuel DeBiedma | Hungrybox |
|
Plup |
|
| 2020 | Smash Summit 10 Online | Zain Naghmi | Zain |
|
Mango |
|
| 2021 | Smash Summit 11 | Joseph Manuel Marquez | Mango |
|
Zain |
|
| 2021 | Smash Summit 12 | Cody Schwab | iBDW |
|
Mango |
|
| 2022 | Smash Summit 13 | Cody Schwab | iBDW |
|
Plup |
|
| 2022 | Smash Summit 14 | Joseph Manuel Marquez | Mango |
|
iBDW |
|
Melee Doubles Winners
| Year | Event | Player | Tag | Character(s) | Player | Tag | Character(s) | Runner-up | Character(s) | Runner-up | Character(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Smash Summit | Kevin Toy | PewPewU |
|
Zachary Cordoni | SFAT |
|
Armada |
|
Mew2King |
|
| 2016 | Smash Summit 2 | Adam Lindgren | Armada |
|
Jason Zimmerman | Mew2King |
|
Hungrybox |
|
Plup |
|
| 2016 | Smash Summit 3 | Adam Lindgren | Armada |
|
Jason Zimmerman | Mew2King |
|
SFAT |
|
PewPewU |
|
| 2017 | Smash Summit Spring 2017 | Adam Lindgren | Armada |
|
Jason Zimmerman | Mew2King |
|
Leffen |
|
 Ice |
|
| 2017 | Smash Summit 5 | Adam Lindgren | Armada |
|
William Hjelte | Leffen |
|
Mew2King |
|
Plup |
|
| 2018 | Smash Summit 6 | Adam Lindgren | Armada |
|
William Hjelte | Leffen |
|
SFAT |
|
Mango |
|
| 2018 | Smash Summit 7 | Jason Zimmerman | Mew2King |
|
Justin McGrath | Plup |
|
Hungrybox |
|
Bananas |
|
| 2019 | Smash Summit 8 | Joseph Marquez | Mango |
|
Johnny Kim | S2J |
|
Plup |
|
Zain |
|
| 2022 | Smash Summit 14 | Justin McGrath | Plup |
|
James Ma | Duck |
|
Hungrybox |
|
 Joshman |
|
Ultimate singles winners
| Year | Event | Player | Tag | Character(s) | Runner-up | Character(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Smash Ultimate Summit | Leonardo Lopez Perez | MkLeo |
   |
Dabuz |
 
|
| 2019 | Smash Ultimate Summit 2 | Leonardo Lopez Perez | MkLeo |
  |
Samsora |
 
|
| 2021 | Smash Ultimate Summit 3 | Gavin Dempsey | Tweek |
 |
MkLeo |
 
|
| 2022 | Smash Ultimate Summit 4 | Edgar Valdez | Sparg0 |
 |
Light |
|
| 2022 | Smash Ultimate Summit 5 | Naoto Tsuji | ProtoBanham |
 |
Light |
|
| 2023 | Smash Ultimate Summit 6 | Mashita Hayato | acola |
 |
Tweek |
|
Players with multiple appearances
Melee
| Tag | Appearances |
|---|---|
| Mango |
14 |
| Hungrybox |
13 |
| Plup |
13 |
| Axe |
12 |
| Leffen |
10 |
| SFAT |
10 |
| Wizzrobe |
9 |
| Zain |
9 |
| aMSa |
8 |
| iBDW |
7 |
| Mew2King |
7 |
 n0ne |
7 |
| S2J |
7 |
| Armada |
6 |
| Shroomed |
6 |
| PewPewU |
5 |
| Westballz |
5 |
| Ginger |
4 |
| KoDoRiN |
4 |
| Lucky |
3 |
| Magi |
3 |
| 2saint |
2 |
| Duck |
2 |
| Hax |
2 |
| HugS |
2 |
| Ice |
2 |
| Jmook |
2 |
| Joshman |
2 |
| moky |
2 |
| Pipsqueak |
2 |
| Spark |
2 |
| Swedish Delight |
2 |
Ultimate
| Tag | Appearances |
|---|---|
| MkLeo |
6 |
| Dabuz |
5 |
| Tweek |
5 |
 Glutonny |
4 |
| Light |
4 |
| Sparg0 |
4 |
| VoiD |
4 |
| Cosmos |
3 |
| Maister |
3 |
| ProtoBanham |
3 |
| Riddles |
3 |
| Zackray |
3 |
| Aaron |
2 |
| acola |
2 |
| Armada |
2 |
| Kola |
2 |
| Leffen |
2 |
| Marss |
2 |
| MuteAce |
2 |
| Nairo |
2 |
| Samsora |
2 |
| Tea |
2 |
Trivia
- Mango and Plup played against each other at every Smash Summit for Melee, with the exception of Smash Summit 6, Smash Summit 12, Smash Summit 13, and Smash Summit 14.
- Hungrybox and aMSa played at every in-person Smash Summit for Melee where both were in attendance (starting with Smash Summit 5), with the exception of Smash Summit 14.
- Hungrybox won every time he played at odd-numbered Summits, whereas the reverse was true for aMSa at even-numbered Summits.
- Mango and Hungrybox played against each other at every odd-numbered Smash Summit for Melee starting with Smash Summit 7.
- Only seven players - Armada, Leffen, Mew2King, Mango, Plup, ESAM, and Hungrybox - have attended a Smash Summit for both Melee and Ultimate.
- The winner of each offline Smash Summit were invited to the following Summit with the exception of Smash Ultimate Summit 3, where the winner Tweek qualified for Smash Ultimate Summit 4 at Mainstage 2021 before anyone was invited, and Smash Summit 14, where the winner Mango qualified for the cancelled Smash Summit 15 at Mainstage 2022 before anyone was invited.
- Olimar was the only character with a main in every Smash Ultimate Summit until Smash Ultimate Summit 6, being played by Dabuz in the first 4 Ultimate Summits, and Myran in Smash Ultimate Summit 5.
- Dabuz has also played Rosalina & Luma in every Smash Ultimate Summit until Smash Ultimate Summit 6, though he didn't main her until after the first Smash Ultimate Summit.
- Tweek and Sparg0 are the only players to place both last and first in a given game's Smash Summit (both for Ultimate):
- Tweek is the only player to place last at a Summit that would go on to win a Summit, placing 13th at Smash Ultimate Summit 2 before winning Smash Ultimate Summit 3.
- Sparg0 is the only player to win a Summit that would go on to place last at another Summit, winning Smash Ultimate Summit 4 before placing 13th at Smash Ultimate Summit 6.
- Dabuz placed 9th from Smash Ultimate Summit 2 to Smash Ultimate Summit 5.
- Although SluG never competed in a Smash Summit, he qualified for the cancelled Smash Summit 15 at Mainstage 2022.
- Mango is the only player to compete in every Melee Smash Summit, and MkLeo is the only player to compete in every Ultimate Smash Summit.
- Light and Plup are the only players to make multiple Grand Finals appearances without winning a Smash Summit.
References