The Evolution Championship Series 2017 (Evo) in Las Vegas will mark the sixth year Super Smash Bros. Melee will be featured at the prestigious fighting game event; with it comes three gods aiming for another title, another god with something left to prove, and a handful of godslayers fighting to overthrow their rule.
Eyes will be on the three previous champions to have taken an Evo title since Melee's return in 2013. Cloud9's Joseph "Mango" Marquez, Alliance's Adam "Armada" Lindgren, and 2016 champion Team Liquid's Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma are the gods to beat.
Of the three, Mango is the only one to have won Evo twice, in 2013 and 2014. Late last year, Cloud9 signed Daniel "Tafokints" Lee, Melee statistician and analyst, as Mango's new coach. The two have worked closely on optimizing Mango's aggressive style of play to be in line with a more optimized metagame. With a more focused game plan, Mango has shown improvement, and recently took Royal Flush. Mango and his legion of fans are hoping he takes Evo 2017, achieving what many in the Smash community call the coveted "3vo."
In 2014 and 2015, Hungrybox came second place to Mango and Armada respectively. He wasn't going to allow 2016 to be a third second-place finish. After a grueling losers bracket run, Hungrybox came back to beat Armada in what was an electric and emotional set. After his Evo win, it wasn't until Smash'N'Splash 3 this past June that Hungrybox had taken a super-major. Hungrybox has found a strong gust of second wind coming into Evo 2017, and is a favorite to take the tournament once again.
After Hungrybox won Evo 2016, Armada sat in the middle of the stage, head slouched, paralyzed by his loss. An Evo official came to his side to make sure he was alright. Armada eventually did pick himself up and accepted his second place medal. One thing was clear, however: Armada never wanted to be in that position again.
Since Evo 2016, Armada has continued to prove why he's the best player in the world, taking first in multiple tournaments, including Genesis 4 and Smash Summit Spring 2017. Unlike Mango and Hungrybox, Armada refuses to get a coach. He feels he doesn't need one and wants to prove that he has what it takes to remain the best.
Given Armada's performance since Evo 2016, he is by far the favorite to win the tournament.
Of the "gods" of Melee attending the event, the one player who has yet to seal an Evo win has been Echo Fox's Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman. Since joining Echo Fox in early 2016, Mew2King has been playing far more consistent and focused than before. Many of the hiccups he would have at top level play have subsided. For Mew2King, he's one good day away from beating everyone. The one player that could have upended all of Evo 2016 was notably absent last year. Team SoloMid's William "Leffen" Hjelte was barred from entering the United States due to visa issues. Leading up to Evo 2016, he expressed great frustration about not being able to practice and compete among the best. But this year, he'll be able to attend, and is eyeing that first place trophy.
Beyond the Top 5 players in the world are a handful of dark horses who have steadily improved their game. Panda Global's Justin "Plup" McGrath was in the Top 8 at Evo last year, and was the one to actually knock Hungrybox into losers bracket. He's since picked up Fox and has been experimenting with the wider cast of characters, even entering as Luigi at CEO Dreamland. While it may seem that Plup has become ambivalent towards the greater metagame, his mastery with multiple characters proves just how talented he is at top level play.
There's also Counter Logic Gaming's Zachary "SFAT" Cordoni and G2's Weston "Westballz" Dennis. The former has been on a meteoric rise, breaking into the Top 10 and taking sets off of multiple top players. His Achilles heel continues to be Mew2King. However, Westballz has expressed trouble sleeping, which he feels has affected his game. Given the right amount of rest, he added, he could easily defeat any of the top players by a wide margin.
While some complain that Melee tournaments continue to be won by the same top players, the skill gap has narrowed considerably. Given the right set of circumstances, a major upset could occur, upsetting Melee's divine balance.