Esports

Peak Heats Up! The Summer Circuit and What’s to Come!

As Summer comes to a close so does the Peak Summer Circuit, Summer’s premier Super Smash Bros. Ultimate event. Over the past three months…

Lawrence Adkins

— 8 min read
Peak Heats Up! The Summer Circuit and What’s to Come!

As Summer comes to a close so does the Peak Summer Circuit, Summer’s premier Super Smash Bros. Ultimate event. Over the past three months Peak Tournaments has hosted weekly online events showing off talent from all reaches. In this article we go over the Top 15 competitors who have earned enough points to make it into the Finale.

Player Bios

Ryan “Chunkykong” Silva

  • Florida, USA
  • 1st Seed / 494 Points
  • Main: Donkey Kong
  • @ChunkyKong9

Starting off our list we have ChunkyKong. He has shown up consistently to Peak’s events, placing within the top 8 and taking 1st on multiple occasions. Chunky and his Donkey Kong prove to be a threat in bracket with an insane punish game, a strong ability to maintain control of the match, and incredible match up knowledge when dealing with characters that can keep away with projectiles such as Snake. Chunkykong is also currently ranked #74 on the WiFi Warrior Rank.

His combos are deadly, his punches are huge, and his cargo confirms are just the icing on the cake. With sheer confidence, ChunkyKong aims to maintain that first-place spot at the Summer Circuit Finale this Friday.

Louie “Louir” Martir

  • California, USA
  • 2nd Seed / 390 Points
  • Main: Pokémon Trainer
  • @Ballzsquirtle

A frequent of Peak’s events before the circuit, Louir has Top Eight-ed again and again. Over the course of the season, a true Pokémon master has evolved. With Ivysaur as the star, Squirtle and Charizard assist with a strong combo game and incredible survivability. Managing these three Pokémon is a trainer that can keep his cool and maintain patience throughout the course of a match no matter the situation. With experience against most of the Top 15 Louir may have what it takes to adapt and conquer.

C4 Jskorp

  • Newcastle, UK
  • 3rd Seed / 278 Points
  • Main: Snake
  • @skorpJ

The highest-ranking Snake main in the circuit as well as the highest-ranking player from outside of the US, Jskorp and his Snake have blasted their way to the Top 3. Preferring a more zoning oriented playstyle, Jskorp’s use of Grenades has shown how hard of a time other players can have when fighting the Metal Gear hero. His punish game is strong, and his patience is more than enough to outlast any opponent.

Kiyaresh “AnG GamingHI9x9” Younessi

  • California, USA
  • 4th Seed / 256 Points
  • Main: Luigi
  • @hi9x9

Taking the number four spot, AnG’s GamingHI9x9 takes the gold for longest gamertag in the circuit. While Luigi is a character that holds a stigma of having no neutral, GamingHI flips the script. Combining a strong and patient neutral game alongside the classic 0-deaths for taking stocks easily, his spot in the Top 15 is deserved. With records like 8–1 Set count against Cobra, 3–2 against Psyke, and a whopping 15–10 set count versus ChunkyKong, GamingHI could quite possibly be the most dangerous player in the tournament. GamingHi is currently ranked #75 on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank.

Luis “AnG Cobra” Tavares

  • Monterrey, Mexico
  • 5th Seed / 238 Points
  • Main: Mario
  • @TalkedCobra

Another event loyalist, and the highest-ranking player from Mexico, Cobra enters the Top 15 at number 5. The Mario main has shown up repeated times playing one of the most conservative Marios in the circuit. A calm and slower paced playstyle is a staple of Cobra as well as his innate ability to go for hard reads against opponents. However, he is still plenty strong with the classic Mario combos to kill off the top of any stage. Equipped with a strong but silent presence, Cobra hides in the grass waiting to strike at his chance for the gold.

Cameron “FCG N Psyke” Duffy

  • Illinois, USA
  • 6th Seed / 230 Points
  • Main: King Dedede
  • @Psyke_SSB

Rocking with the king himself, Psyke and his Dedede have hammered their way into the Top 15! A frequent competitor of Peak’s events, Psyke showed his excitement on Twitter for his goal of making the top cut. Over the course of the season Psyke has shown exemplary character knowledge as a solo main and character loyalist. While Dedede may be considered mid-tier, Psyke may have what it takes to show that the recent buffs from Patch 8.0.0 are enough to bump this character up a few spots.

Xane “Xane” Rhoden

  • Ohio, USA
  • 7th Seed / 225 Points
  • Mains: Snake, Young Link
  • @RhodenXane

Xane was a prominent Smash 4 player from the Midwest with a strong Meta Knight before moving on to Ultimate. With close sets against some of Smash 4’s finest, Xane’s knowledge of the game and ability to adapt have helped him place into the Top 15. Compared to Jskorp, he plays a more aggressive Snake that opts to put on pressure and corner his opponents. Xane also sponsored the circuit to increase the overall prize pool.

Luis Fernando “DGS FuerzaDON” Chaves Morales

FuerzaDON’s path is clear while him and his Monado take the number 8 spot! At the beginning of the Circuit he held the number one spot by winning the first event but has slowly dropped down to number 8 due to a lack of entries and a 33rd place finish at event #50. However, he’s made waves with his Shulk making the character look like one of the best sword characters in the game. With patience and a strategic nature FuerzaDON aims to reclaim that number one spot he held at the beginning of the season.

Zain “Zen” Sadiq

  • Omaha, New England, USA
  • 9th Seed / 220
  • Main: Pikachu
  • @Zen_Smash

Ranked number 5 in Nebraska Zen takes the 9th place spot. Adopting a more defensive playstyle with his Pikachu, he has taken wins over the likes of Psyke and Hungrybox, but has struggled against Xane, holding an 0–2 set record. Perhaps this circuit might be his chance to even the score.

SoP NotOffTemPO

The last Snake on the list, NotOffTempo is the most defensive of them all. Maintaining his composure in matches is a must, however he seems to crack when under the pressure of extremely aggressive players like Lights. Despite his name, NotOffTemPo controls the pace of the match, planting explosives across the stage. With a 2–1 set record against FuerzaDON and a 1–1 record with GamingHi, he’ll have to adapt to faster characters coming at him if he plans to break through the rest of the bracket.

Nikola “NS NickSF” Tan

  • Ontario, Canada
  • 11th Seed / 188 Points
  • Main: Mii Swordfighter
  • @Nick_SSBU

Surprising everyone with his Mii Swordfighter NickSF dives into the 11th spot. With consistent finishes in the top 24 of weekly events, Nick has shown off his prowess with this character. On top of this, Nick also stands as the 4 time champion of Peak’s Clip of the Week YouTube series. Nick’s strong sense of adaptation has helped him as he has shown that Mii Swordfighter is a strong contender in the pool of characters in Ultimate.

Strong character loyalty combined with positive records against a good portion of the top 15 make for an 11th seed who may upset the higher-ranking players.

Mr. Thunder

  • New York, USA
  • 12th / 186 Points
  • Main: Zelda
  • N/A

Time and time again Mr. Thunder has taken top 8 in Peak’s events. His Zelda adopts a more aggressive playstyle, mixing rushing down the opponent and a strong sense of accuracy with Din’s Fire and using Phantom for pressure to stop his opponent’s from getting back in control. Coming out of Tristate, a breeding ground for skilled Smash players, Mr. Thunder has what it takes to be the Dark horse of this bracket.

Lights

  • Manitoba, Canada
  • 12th Seed / 186 Points
  • Main: Zero Suit Samus
  • @king_chrisz

Hailing from Manitoba, Lights (formerly known as King Chris) boost kicks into the number 12 spot. While only entering two events, his first-place spot at the Peak monthly offered him a bonus amount of points leading to his 186-point value.

While Lights is only the number 12 seed, he still proves a major threat with strong head to heads against the top 15.

Elijah “VGLS Smashpuff64” Briones

  • Texas, USA
  • 14th Seed / 178 Points
  • Main: Jigglypuff
  • N/A

Smashpuff64 proves that Jigglypuff is still a good character 2 generations later. In a player interview, Smashpuff stated his confidence against the rest of the Top 15, with his only potential problem being Zen. Aside from his ‘Puff, his King K.Rool also has proven to be a threat, an aggressive powerhouse that tears through enemies.

Smashpuff’s confidence and skill as a player are going to make him an aerial threat for the rest of his opponents.

VGLS Palpiblade

  • Utah, USA
  • 15th Seed / 157 Points
  • Main: Pac-man
  • @palpiblade

After entering nearly every event Palpiblade takes the number 15 spot. While a few of his placements were below the top 24, he has taken top 8 and top 16 on multiple accounts. This 15th spot shows the fruits of his labor with Pac-Man eating through the competition. He’s also the world’s number one fan of Palpitoad, the vibration Pokémon.

The 16th Player?

The 16th player in the circuit will be determined by a Last Chance Qualifier event being held on July 30th. This event will not allow any of the Top 15 to compete and the winner of the LCQ will take the 16th spot.

With the Circuit’s Last Chance Qualifier and the Finale arriving on July 30th and 31st, Peak Tournaments has hosted an event the community has truly thrived in throughout the course of this Summer. Moving forward Peak Tournaments will shift back to their regular weekly events for a time before beginning their Winter Circuit. They will also continue to foster their community with casual events and Community nights during the week. Furthermore, there is a possibility that more games will be added to the roster of events for Peak as well as the development of an official WiFi crew. For more information about Peak Tournaments, you can join the Discord server here and follow their Twitter here.

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