Super Smash Bros. fans had a smorgasbord of high level and entertaining tournaments to choose from in 2016, but Combo Breaker in St. Charles, Illinois seems to be a light snack before next month's Community Effort Orlando.
On the heels of last week's exciting Get On My Level, which saw each of the top five players in Melee, commonly referred to as the "gods" of the game, Combo Breaker is a far more subdued affair. With only 118 entrants for Melee and 185 for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, referred to as Smash 4 by fans, it's a smaller tournament compared to other majors this year.
But that hasn't deterred tournament organizer, Richard "The Hadou" Thiher. Unlike other fighting game tournaments that may host a handful of games, Combo Breaker has 20 games on display. Pretty much every fighting game with a fan base will be on show, from Street Fighter V to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and even Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. This is all because Thiher wants Combo Breaker "to be a melting pot of competitive fighting game fans by representing a diverse lineup of modern and retro games."
As for the lower turnouts for Smash, Thiher feels it's all relative.
"Smash is a particularly saturated tournament market," said Thiher. "Combo Breaker is a tournament with a developing reputation in the Smash community. Annual registration for both of the Smash Bros. titles we're hosting is up from last year and that lets us know attendees are returning."
To keep momentum going, Thiher feels he has a strong national and regional staff, hiring Smash Bros. streaming giant VG Boot Camp to put on a high quality show.
"The goal at Combo Breaker is to be a melting pot of competitive fighting game fans by representing a diverse lineup of modern and retro games." Richard "The Hadou" Thiher
Going in, the highest ranked player is James "Duck" Ma, who is ranked 22 in the world based on Melee it on Me's 2015 player ranking.
"The practice I put in for GOML is still there," said Ma, adding that he was feeling fairly comfortable going into Combo Breaker. But Ma isn't going for prestige or winnings; he's going to support the Midwest scene.
Ma admits that Ryan "The Moon" Coker-Welch would be his biggest challenge. Luckily, Coker-Welch confirmed he and Hendrick "DJ Nintendo" Pilar would not be attending, thinning out the turnout.
For Smash 4, the top players attending are Panda Global's Jestise "MVD" Negron, Julian "Zinoto" Carrington, and Eric "ESAM" Lew, Ksev, and more.
But Lew isn't just competing in Smash 4, he's also competing in Melee. He isn't too worried about his competition. "I don't have many struggles between the two games," he said.
The most surprising aspect of Combo Breaker's lower turnout is the fact that it's an Avyd qualifier. Avyd is a new esports platform that will go into beta later this year but little is known as to what it will offer. Regardless, Avyd will be hosting a $100,000 fighting game championship for six major fighting games, including Melee and Smash 4. Combo Breaker is the first Avyd qualifying tournament, and whoever takes first will secure a qualification spot in its top eight bracket.