Smasher:Salem
| Salem | |
|---|---|
| Salem.png | |
| Character info | |
| Brawl main | Zero Suit Samus |
| Other Brawl characters | Snake, Marth |
| Project M main | Zelda |
| Team info | |
| Crew(s) | CLASH Tournaments |
| Personal and other info | |
| Real name | Akiel Young |
| Birth date | |
| Location | Atlantic City, New Jersey 
|
| Miscellaneous info | |
| Skill |  Top professional  |
Salem is an American smasher from New Jersey who mains what is considered to be the best Brawl Zero Suit Samus in the world. He has become infamous for his incredible usage of Zero Suit Samus's Power Suit Pieces to rack up damage at the beginning of matches. Before playing in the offline scene, he gained fame on the AiB ladder as an incredible Wi-Fi player, dominating the ladder with Zero Suit Samus. When he finally did enter an offline tournament, he made a large splash in his offline debut and got 5th in his first tournament Concentrate II, where he defeated Nicole, Jbandrew, Will, and Kingtoon. He made more news a few months later at Apex 2012, where while he didn't advance far in bracket (placing 33rd), he defeated the recognized best Zero Suit Samus at the time Nick Riddle in tournament.
Throughout 2012, Salem didn't make much news, as while he routinely placed well and defeated big name players, he never won a tournament out of all of the ones he entered. This changed at Apex 2013, where Salem shocked the world and came out of nowhere to win the entire tournament, not only winning one of the most prestigious Brawl tournaments ever with a character who isn't top tier, but winning Apex despite not even winning an NJ/NY local prior. In his march to victory, he defeated top players such as mikeHAZE, Dojo, Mr. R, Otori (the Apex 2012 champion), and Mikeneko, and defeated a resurgent Mew2King in both Winners' and Grand Finals, the latter of which has been considered of the most intense sets witnessed in tournament play. His winning of Apex 2013 additionally solidified Salem as the superior Zero Suit Samus to Nick Riddle.
Salem is currently ranked 4th on the Tristate Brawl Power Rankings.
Notable tournament placings
| Tournament | Date | Singles Placement | Doubles Placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concentrate II | October 30, 2011 | 5th | 2nd | Anti |
| Apex 2012 | January 6-8, 2012 | 33rd | 65th | Meekspeedy |
| SKTAR | July 12th, 2012 | 17th | N/A | N/A |
| C5 | September 1, 2012 | 5th | 3rd | ChiboSempai |
| Impact IV | September 6, 2012 | 5th | 2nd | ChiboSempai |
| Apex 2013 | January 13, 2013 | 1st | — | — |
| SKTAR 2 | August 3-4, 2013 | 33rd | 7th | Vex Kasrani |
