The prestigious Super Smash Bros. tournament Smash Ultimate Summit 5 is set to kick off today in Los Angeles, California, and is packed with some of the best competitive Smash players, so exciting plays are ensured!
Smash Ultimate Summit 5 will take place from September 15 – 18 and will feature a $15,000 prize pool — by far the lowest prize pool of all previously held Ultimate Summits.
Smash Ultimate Summit 5 format
Smash Ultimate Summit 5 will follow a similar format to previous Ultimate Summits, which means that players will compete in round-robin pools to determine the seeding for Sunday’s final double-elimination bracket. Apart from the main Singles bracket, the tournament will also feature multiple side brackets.
This includes a Melee Singles bracket and a Squad Strike bracket, as well as a Doubles bracket where each member of a team controls one Joy-Con. Furthermore, there will also be a side bracket known as “The Alpharad Zone.”
Can you believe #UltimateSummit 5 Presented by @coinbase is already NEXT WEEK? 🤯
Here's everything you need to know about the main event format!
(TLDR: Gauntlet Stage is back, baby) pic.twitter.com/6Qx3eZeGcv
— Beyond the Smash (@BTSsmash) September 8, 2022
Players to watch
The Smash Ultimate Summit is one of the biggest Smash esports tournaments of the year, so it’s no surprise to see the line-up so stacked. Here are the top players to keep an eye on at the tournament.
The clear favorite of the event and a player to beat is the number one Smash player in the world, Leonardo “MkLeo” López Pérez, who’s been having an incredible season so far, having claimed Smash Factor 9, Rise N Grind, and Colossal, among other titles.
Meanwhile, one of the most unpredictable players in this event will be the Ultimate Summit 4 champion Edgar “Sparg0” Valdez. While he had a great start into 2022, he hasn’t attended a single major since The Gimvitational, where he finished seventh, so we’re yet to see whether he’s back in form.
Here is our final player lineup all together for #UltimateSummit 5 Presented by @coinbase! 🎪
Sixteen players, but only ONE champion.
Who's gonna take home the big prize? 🧸 pic.twitter.com/2Ej0kYaSgV
— Beyond the Smash (@BTSsmash) September 2, 2022
Brian “Cosmos” Kalu, who qualified via Shine 2022, is another player that might contest the highest placements. After all, he’s a runner-up from Smash World Tour 2021 won by MkLeo, so he might be going after revenge.
Other players to keep an eye on include Japanese players acola and Naoto “ProtoBanham” Tsuji, who have been recently showing incredible performances outside of Japan. For acola, this marks the second appearance outside of Japan following his victory at The Gimvitational, while for ProtoBanham, this will be the third American tournament of the year. Both players will be undoubtedly eager to show what’s in them.
Schedule
The event kicks off on Thursday, September 15 at 7pm CEST with player introductions, followed by a Squad Strike bracket. The group stage will then start on Friday 8pm CEST, and the finale is scheduled for Sunday, September 18 at 8pm CEST.
The competition will be broadcast at Beynd The Smash Twitch channel.
We've got a jammed-pack event coming up at #UltimateSummit 5 Presented by @coinbase this week 🎪
The event schedule for all four days can be found below in Pacific time! Show goes live at 10AM PDT every day.
See you on Thursday… 👀🍿 pic.twitter.com/HwYVn1NTFp
— Beyond the Smash (@BTSsmash) September 12, 2022
Header: Beyond The Summit