This Saturday, fans of competitive Super Smash Bros. will tune in, both in person and on Twitch, to view the comedic roast of longtime top player Hugo “HugS” Gonzalez. Orchestrated by Beyond The Summit and emceed by popular commentator and former Bad Melee podcaster Anthony “Slime” Bruno, the event is sure to be full of laughs—but that’s only half of the draw of the shindig. It’s also Beyond The Summit’s first-ever open Melee tournament, with no venue fee, $5 entry for singles and doubles, and a hefty pot bonus. The tournament’s Long Beach, California, venue, Thunder Gaming, is sure to be packed.
The amount of talent in attendance is considerable. Alongside HugS, a number of Southern California Melee luminaries will be in attendance, including Zachary “SFAT” Cordoni, Johnny “S2J” Kim, Weston “Westballz” Dennis, and Joey “Lucky” Aldama. There will be notable out-of-region talent in the building as well, including Shine 2018 champion Zain “Zain” Naghmi—likely the event’s first seed—and Northern California Marth legend Kevin “PewPewU” Toy. All in all, 233 entrants have signed up to compete as of the time of this article’s writing, and that number is sure to grow as more players from SoCal and beyond register at the last minute.
Though Zain is the presumptive favorite to win the event, his victory at The Roast is far from guaranteed. While he boasts a 5-0 record in 2018 over SFAT, the presumptive second seed, he has experienced losses within the last year to other attendees, such as HugS, Lucky, and PewPewU. The Marth main also has to contend with Southern California’s recently minted No. 2, Armando “ARMY” Del Duca, who defeated Zain in their only meeting at Super Smash Con 2018.
The event’s doubles bracket is also looking heated, with a $1,000 pot bonus that is wildly disproportionate to the 41 teams currently registered. The only top-tier team currently registered to compete is CLG’s SFAT and PewPewU, but other experienced team players in attendance, including Lucky, will look to give “PewFat” a run for their money.
If you’re looking for top-notch Melee action to hold you over for the few weeks between now and The Big House 8, The Roast of Hugs is sure to help scratch that itch. Top 8 is scheduled for 8pm, directly preceded by the roast. Catch the action on Twitch this weekend at BTSSmash—or if you’re in California, consider registering to attend the tournament in person!
