Last weekend saw a huge new feat achieved in a esport over two decades in the making. Yoshi won a major in Super Smash Bros Melee.
This weekend the season continues with the Off-Season invitational. This is another Smash Bros Melee tournament with some of the top talent competing. A lot of eyes are on this tournament to see how aMSa performs off the back of his huge win.
This is set to be an exciting tournament. Some major names in Smash Bros are taking part. As an invitational, it also has a bit of a fresher format than the standard Majors. These are the key narratives and players to watch for at the Off-Season invitational.
Can aMSa Repeat Yoshi win at The Off-Season?
The invites for the Off Season are looking pretty stacked so far. Out of the players we know about, you’ve got multiple top players from recent tournaments turning up.
One of the names that everyone will be watching is aMSa. After a year of consistent results, he’s finally won a major as Yoshi. This new tournament comes only a week after that win. It might be a bit soon to expect another run through to win the whole bracket. Although, the player is one to watch heading into the event. Players are likely experience an encore of his great recent performance.
Also at the tournament are other big names, including Jmook. The Shiek main hasn’t had the same new-ground breaking win as aSMa. However, he’s had a great run so far this year. He’s taken second place at Shine and Wavedash, alongside winning at some smaller tournaments.
The main players that Jmook has lost to for those 2nd places finishes, Hungrybox and Zain, aren’t at this invitational. This might mean we’ll get to see a Sheik Yoshi match up for the top spot at this invitational.
There are more major players at the invitational. Including Wizzrobe, S2J, n0ne, and more. aSMa and Jmook definitely look like the ones to watch at the Off-Season though.
Smash Bros Off-Season Format and Prize Pool
The Off-Season is an Smash Bros tournament taking place over October 15-16. This is an Invitational event. Players are attending the tournament based on invites from the organizer, Team Summertime. The tournament is going to be taking place in Arlington. There’s a pretty sizeable prize pool on offer for Melee, with $25,000 in total.
As this is an Invitational, there’s a bit of a different format compared to those in the Panda Cup and Smash World Tour. Only 8 players are being invited, so there’s no pools this time around.
There are 8 players invited to the tournament itself. Another 8 are going through an open bracket to get their slots in the final bracket. The bracket will consist of 16 players in all. It is going to be a double-elimination bracket, giving players an extra shot at staying in the game.
With so much talent in attendance this looks set to be an exciting tournament. aMSa might not be able to repeat his Yoshi win, but last week’s performance has proven there’s still room for surprises in Melee. This is going to be one to watch.
