Smash of Ages

Assuming neither Isai nor Bane attend (because neither are currently registered), I think this is going to be similar to Apex's results.

Boom's been on a roll recently, dropped games at Apex notwithstanding - just look at Grand Finals to see what I mean. His toughest competition would be Mariguas, who has been hard at work practicing his Pikachu in the past few months. I don't know if Boom would be confident enough in his Falcon to stick it through in a long set. The ditto would be a better choice for him. If anything. the set would wind up being a counterpick war of Pikachu and Falcon.

Here's the thing: in order for Mariguas to face Boom in Grand Finals, he'd have to, at some point, beat tacos (seeding permitted), which he was unable to do at Apex. tacos' Yoshi proved to be way too much for him to handle. If he comes in without that particular matchup practice again, he's going to be at a severe disadvantage.

tacos is probably my favorite to run a train on people in the bracket. He won't be facing Boom until Winner's Finals if the seeds follow the Apex results, and can send a lot of top-8 contenders to loser's early, where the fight is going to be even tougher. What tacos has going against him for this tournament, however, is his more lackadaisacal attitude towards smash since Apex and his diminished activity. With only a week left before the event, I don't know if he'll be able to get back in top form in time.

As for fourth place, I don't think anyone except for the aforementioned three (or five, obviously) will be able to beat KeroKeroppi. He did have a scare at Beast of the North East with his underestimation of Revan, but he clutched it out. He has a losing record against Boom and Mariguas and has not faced tacos; if the bracket reflects my predictions, Kero will be going against Boom in Winner's Semis and Mariguas in Loser's Semis. He won't have the chance to prove himself against tacos, a player he's been itching to face since Apex 2014.

Outside of those four, I think the rest of top-8 will be a mix and depend heavily on who gets seeded where. Kabal could take it over Han Solo, and Near could finally net a good placing at a major. There's a good pool of players and there will certainly be close matches leading up to the top.

Top 8 Prediction:
1. Superboomfan
2. tacos
3. Mariguas
4. KeroKeroppi
5. Kabal
5. Near OR Han Solo
7. Kyle Tree OR Shears
7. Hero Pie

This is a very premature prediction on my behalf because registration is ongoing, and there will be sign ups at the door the day of the event. We also will not be able to see a bracket until the day of as well. You can expect me to fill out a prediction bracket when the stream goes up next weekend and we have more solidified information.