In dominant fashion, Japan's Yuta "Abadango" Kawamura tore through his Smash 4 bracket to win the inaugural Clutch City Clash in Houston, Texas.
Using a combination of his Mewtwo and Meta Knight, Abadango ran into few obstacles, taking set after set dropping only one game in top eight. His aggressive play style cornered many of his opponents, making approaches difficult.
Last month Abadango placed fifth at the Evolution Championship, being sent to losers by Elliot "Ally" Carroza-Oyarce. "I was waiting for Ally in Grand Finals, but [Jamaal "Samsora" Morris Jr] did really well," said Abadango. In a major upset, Ally, who won Evolution 2016, was eliminated from tournament by the relatively unknown Samsora.
Abadango's Meta Knight then had to fight against Samsora's Peach in grand finals. Abadango knew he had the advantage. Not only was he sitting in winners bracket, he had sent Samsora to losers earlier. "The Meta Knight/Peach matchup is so bad for Peach, so I could win more easily," said Abadango. "If it was best of three, Peach could win, but if it was best of five, it would become difficult to win over Meta Knight."
Not only that, Abadango has quite a bit of match experience. He practices regularly with Shimizu "Umeki" Masaki, who many consider to be the best Peach player in the world.
The grand finals set brought the audience back to their Super Smash Bros. Brawl days, the third game in the franchise. In that game, Meta Knight was an incredibly dominant character, being able to kill opponents with one strong combo.
In Smash Wii U, Abadango says "Meta has a zero-to-death combo... if I have 100% [damage] I can zero-to-death." What Abadango is referring to is a game mechanic called rage, which gives a small power boost to characters at high percentages. And since Peach is a floaty character, "she can [also] be back-aired to death." Abadango was consistently pulling off these infinite combos, sending Samsora to the blast zone almost every time.
Abadango has been touring heavily, placing high and multiple tournaments. He has placed first at six tournaments this year, and within the top eight at another six. Because of Japan's strict laws prohibiting prize money from being distributed at tournament, it is difficult for many Japanese esports athletes to make it full time without travelling. Luckily, Abadango has become such a fan favorite that many events have been flying him out.
But because of the constant travel between Japan and the rest of the world, practice has been difficult. For Clutch City Clash, Abadango laments he still felt underprepared.
"I couldn't practice enough to be honest because I had a report for school," said the champion. Abadango is currently a graduate student studying information technology, making his international feats all the more impressive.
Next week's Super Smash Con will be Abadango's next, and possibly last, US event for the year. He will then compete at Umebura next month, a major Smash Wii U tournament in Japan.