Super Smash Bros Wii U EVO 2018 Grand Finals Was The Ultimate Finger To The Fans

EVO 2018 went off without a hitch for the most part, but it was not completely without controversy. In what will likely be the game’s final showing at EVO, the Super Smash Bros for Wii U Grand Finals unfortunately left a lot of viewers both at home and in attendance with a sour taste in their mouths. For a game that sometimes gets the short end of the FGC stick, this was not the best showing...and there are a few places to point the finger.

Setting The Scene

Speaking of fingers, let’s start with the beginning of “what happened”: Zack “CaptainZack” Lauth, considered one of the best Bayonetta players in the world at just 16 years old, set the stage for the uproar a little bit before Grand Finals, when he flipped off the crowd after defeating Ishiguro ‘Raito’ Tetsuya simply because they booed him. Bayonetta is a controversial character in Smash 4 and that's who CaptainZack plays, so the crowd let him know of their displeasure. He responded with the one-finger salute after defeating Raito, and that on its own is unacceptable. If there's one rule young competitive gamers should follow, it's act like you've been there before. This was bad form by the eventual runner-up of the tournament.

After that little debacle, the Grand Finals saw CaptainZack take on Bharat “Lima” Chintapall in a Bayonetta vs Bayonetta final. CaptainZack is able to reset the bracket in a thrilling 3-2 set, but just before the reset was earned is where everything went downhill. At minute 13 of the video above, CaptainZack and Lima are 2-2 with Lima one win away from winning the whole tournament. CaptainZack, through some of mental error caused by Lima’s Witch Time, fumbles a recovery and falls into the pit. Lima is now on championship stock and has the stock advantage, but at only 42% damage he decides to jump into the pit and even the playing field.

While this sounds like an act of friendship between two players who are friends outside of Smash, in the competitive fighting scene this is a big time violation of the so-called “unwritten rules.” You don’t give your opponent anything, and by doing this Lima turned the crowd against both players. The crowd was already upset with two Bayonetta players making the finals, a walkout ensuing before the match even happened, and this little maneuver didn’t help matters.

Merely two minutes later, at the 15:00 mark of the video, you’ll see both Bayonettas start charging their guns but not doing much else. This is a stall tactic, and the reason was to apparently force a sudden death in the Grand Finals. Whether the players were trying to chastise the crowd for booing the “chivalrous” act earlier or they were simply trolling is unknown, but there they stood doing nothing but charging their guns.

This lasts for a full minute and a half before a tournament organizer has to tell the two players -- the two players that reached GRAND FINALS, let’s remember -- that stalling an entire match is against the rules and would result in a double disqualification. It’s only after this that they stop the madness and start the match up again. The match eventually ends with Lima taking the title, but unfortunately the earlier events sullied the win.

A Winner Is (Not) You

I’ve been trying to determine the root cause of this whole debacle, and there are a few culprits to consider. First there’s the crowd, which wasn’t exactly accommodating to the two finalists. Because of the Bayonetta mirror -- a character considered overpowered by the Smash Bros community -- those in attendance were already in a foul mood...well, the ones that didn’t walk out, at least. Their turning on the match probably did not sit well with the players, which in turn caused them to react the way they did.

However, that’s not an excuse for the players to lash out at the hostile crowd, which is exactly what happened. Lima and CaptainZack, two good friends outside of the Smash scene as I understand it, took it upon themselves to try and stick it to the folks in the room with them. That is never a good idea, because a performer will never come out on top when turning against the crowd like that. I’d chalk this up to the ages of the performers -- Lima is 17 while CaptainZack is 16 -- and I don’t think it’s going to happen again.

When taking a step back and examining this, no one comes out looking like the good guy here. The live crowd let a less than desirable matchup affect them, ultimately causing them to look less like a supportive group for a game that likely saw its last EVO main stage and more like a group of complainers. The players, by intentionally causing this ruckus, look like a pair of immature teenagers, sullying both Smash Bros and EVO in the process.

Taking the Loss

Unfortunately, the biggest loser is the Smash Bros community itself, which will likely take a hit in the eyes of the overall fighting game community. The game already has its fair share of derision, being dismissed as “not a real fighting game” and likened to a game for children from some of the more outspoken detractors. This episode does nothing to prove the maturity of the Smash community -- which absolutely exists -- nor supports any future Smash Bros turn out at EVO. Granted, I have a strong feeling Super Smash Bros Ultimate will be making an appearance at EVO 2019, I just worry that it won’t be on the main stage after this.

As this is most likely the final appearance of Super Smash Bros for Wii U at EVO I hope this will be forgotten by the majority of the fighting game faithful, and I hope it proves to be a learning experience for the two young players at the center of it. Considering they made Grand Finals I suspect they’ll be back playing high level Smash Bros Ultimate, and I’d hate for a crowd to use this misstep against them.

Just because I don’t want to leave on a negative note, let’s take a look at one of the most surprisingly good  parts of the Super Smash Bros for Wii U EVO 2018 tournament: Ishiguro ‘Raito’ Tetsuya’s impressive showing with Duck Hunt. This is a character considered to be subpar in tournament play, but Raito definitely brought some clout to the Duck Hunt Dog and his crew in this tournament. The match below shows exactly what we mean:

For more on Super Smash Bros, check out our coverage on the full results of the EVO 2018 Super Smash Bros for Wii U and Smash Bros Melee finals.