there’s this “top 5 players who helped you improve” trend going around, but I only got 3 and they’re all groups lol.

1. is seiyu/saltnpepper, they both got into competitive roughly around the same time I did and we just nonstop grinded on 3DS lmao

they were mostly all FFAs with tournament ruleset, but it really solidified my love of the game quite a bit. having them help with the very small locals we ran just really made me fall in love with the idea of competing in smash. i owe it to them for always being down to play.

2. LoR was the first WiFi crew I was a part of, and honestly, they brought me to levels I didn’t even know i was capable of. Before them, I was just quasi-competitive, grinding smashladder with no real end goal in sight. It wasn’t until I beat MJ in a set where that changed.

I was invited by him to the discord (which forced me to make an acc) and tried out, only to get waxed by UpChuckle lol. But I stuck around, and eventually made it into the crew. Almost all of them were such fun to talk and play with, and I made friends I’ll never forget.

They gave me motivation to be more invested into competition, to look deeper into how the game is played and optimized. But they also reminded me to keep having fun.

LoR might be long gone in reality, but I’ll never stop being an LoR member in heart

3. Miami Smash— for being my first offline scene, ngl, I was HORRIFIED. I joined right at the end of S4. As a Bayo main. Keep in mind I already had my fair share of shit thrown at me already lol.

But this scene welcomed me with open arms and such a warm sense of camaraderie.

This scene also allowed me to see how far I really came. I wasn’t just doing well— I was winning stuff. At this point I only won a singular WiFi bracket, through numerous DQs at that.

Getting these weekly wins was just such a gratifying experience. It was like, finally.

Winning was just a nice side benefit, however. What Miami really did for me was show how much a scene can come together. I can say I’m good friends with the majority of the scene, and I never fail to laugh anytime I go to an event ran by them. We have little drama, great players,

And most of all, we got heart. I’m glad we’ve been leveling the fuck up so much recently, having two state PR players, players making huge upsets at large events, stuff like that. But choosing between all of that and the community? It would be the community in a heartbeat.

just wanna wrap up this thread by saying thank you to everyone mentioned. smash has done so much for my self confidence and my social life, and honestly, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. you guys really made me who I am today.

can’t wait to see all of you after quarantine <3