It was a sad day for the Smash Bros Melee Community. After 13 years of constant travel and competition, one of the greatest players to touch a Gamecube controller has announced his retirement from Melee singles tournaments. Armada has stated that he will continue to compete in Melee doubles tournaments with his brother and training partner, Andreas “Android” Lindgren, but it looks Armada is done competing on his own.
The announcement was made via a YouTube video on Armada’s personal channel on September 18, 2018. Armada’s retirement has come as a surprise to fans across the globe, however, Lindgren mentions that his decision has been on his mind for quite some time. The video can be seen its entirety below.
According to Armada, it was a number or reasons that led to his decision, the biggest of which is a loss of enthusiasm for singles competition.
“I know it’s a big decision, but it’s not a rushed one any means,” says Armada. “It’s been like a year in the making, more or less. I would look at it more like one year of a huge struggle trying to get motivated again, but at this point, I feel that no matter what I try or what I do, I can’t get there. You can’t force motivation.”
Armada goes on to mention that he has put everything he could into Smash Bros Melee over the years to reach his goals and feels as if he has succeeded in his journey.
Lindgren has been a powerhouse in the competitive scene for over a decade, achieving the rank 1 position in both 2015 and 2016 on the Melee It On Me leaderboards as well as being one of only two individuals to win consecutive 1st place victories at the Evolution Championship series. Armada continued dominating the competition throughout the years earning himself a top spot among the other “Five Gods” of Super Smash Bros Melee, Juan “Hungrybox” DeBiedma, Joseph “Mang0” Marquez, Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman, and Kevin “PPMD” Nanney.
As an avid fan and member of the Melee community, it is always upsetting to see an individual with so much talent and dominance stray away from the singles aspect of the game. While Lindgren leaves the scene, only three of the Five Gods remain. Kevin “PPMD” Nanney, one of the most intelligent and technical Falco/Marth players has been in retirement since his 1st place victory at Apex 2016.
Top level players in the Super Smash Bros Melee community have reached out to Armada expressing their support and understanding his decision.
“Armada retiring from singles is...weird” says Eric “ESAM” Lew of Panda Global. “I remember Melee before he came to the US, but ever since he did, everything changed forever. His retirement in 2013 was also weird, but this one feels different. I hope it brings you less stress and happiness, my friend.”
Armada has given an immense amount of depth and excitement to this community for over a decade, and though his journey in Smash Bros Melee singles is over, it isn’t the last time we’ll see him play. As previously mentioned, Lindgren intends to stay with team play alongside Android. Moreover in the video, Lindgren left the door open for Smash Bros Ultimate, claiming that perhaps a new challenge in a fresh game could re-ignite his desire to compete in singles.
Either way, Lindgren will forever be known as one of the greatest Super Smash Bros players of all time and we wish the best for Armada’s future.
We spoke to Armada as he was competing at EVO 2018. Check out his thoughts on the Smash Bros franchise and the future of the games.
