Editing Smasher:Azen

{{Infobox Smasher
| name=Azen Zagenite
| image         = AzenZagenite.jpg
| mainssbb      = Lucario
| doublesmainssbb = Marth
| otherssbb     = Diddy Kong
| 2ndotherssbb  = Meta Knight
| moreotherssbb = {{SSBB|Peach}}, {{SSBB|Luigi}}, {{SSBB|King Dedede}}
| mainssbm      = Marth
| otherssbm     = Falco
| 2ndotherssbm  = Sheik
| moreotherssbm = {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, {{SSBM|Fox}}, {{SSBM|Peach}}, {{SSBM|Mr. Game & Watch}}, {{SSBM|Luigi}}
| mainpm        = Marth
| 2ndmainpm     = Roy
| otherpm       = Falco
| mainssb4      = Lucario
| crews         =
| former crews  = [[H2YL]], The Godfathers
| skillssbm     = Top professional {{retired}}
| skillssbb     = Top professional {{retired}}
| skillssb4     = Professional {{retired}}
| winningsssbm  = ~$20,751.55
| alias         = Azen
| realname      = Christopher McMullen
| birthday      = 20
| birthmonth    = 12
| birthyear     = 1986
| location      = Alexandria, Virginia
| country       = United States
}}
'''Azen Zagenite''' ("AH"-Zen- ZAYG-night) or just '''Azen''', is an American professional [[smasher]] who mains {{SSBM|Marth}} (and formerly {{SSBM|Sheik}}) in ''[[Melee]]'' and {{SSB4|Lucario}} in both ''[[Brawl]]'' and ''[[SSB4]]''.  Azen was considered one of the best players in the world, as well as the best player on the East Coast in the early years of competitive Melee from around 2002 to his initial retirement in 2007. Although he primarily used Marth and Sheik in ''Melee'' tournaments, Azen was known for his ability to use multiple characters at the competitive level, leading some to call him '''The Master of Diversity''' and similar nicknames. He was formerly ranked 18th on the [[MD/VA/DE Power Rankings|MD/VA/DE Melee Power Rankings]].

==Tournament history==
===2002-2006: Rise to fame===
Before Azen attended TG5, he won events like DCSS and Smashfests hosted by {{Sm|JTanic}}. Azen and {{Sm|Anden}} were the best players around MD/VA in 2002, as Chillin, {{Sm|Mild}}, and ChuDat reached Azen and Anden's level in 2003.

Azen legitimized himself to the community at large by placing fourth at [[Tournament Go#Tournament Go 5|Tournament Go 5]] in August 2003. Shortly after, Azen placed 2nd at {{b|Game Over|tournament}}, defeating {{Sm|Chillin}} and {{Sm|Isai}} to make it to grand finals before losing to {{Sm|Ken}} in both sets of grand finals, and 2nd at [[MELEE-FC1]], where he once again lost to Ken in grand finals. Azen's first national victory occurred in August 2004 at [[Tournament Go 6]], where he defeated {{Sm|Captain Jack}} twice to claim victory. Throughout 2005, he placed 3rd at [[Gettin' Schooled 2]], 9th at [[MELEE-FC3]], 2nd at [[BOMB 4]], and 2nd at [[MLG Atlanta 2005]].

Azen placed 4th in singles at [[MLG Chicago 2006]], and managed to win doubles with Chillin, defeating {{Sm|Mew2King}} and {{Sm|KoreanDJ}} in winners' finals and then shocking the community by taking out the largely dominant team of Ken and Isai in grand finals. Later, Azen was then victorious at [[MLG Orlando 2006]], where he defeated {{Sm|PC Chris}}, {{Sm|Drephen}}, {{Sm|ChuDat}}, KoreanDJ, and ChuDat again in grand finals to take the tournament without dropping a set. Azen then proceeded to win [[MLG New York Playoffs 2006]], defeating Ken, KoreanDJ, and PC Chris twice, successfully qualifying for the MLG 2006 Championships. He eventually placed 5th at [[MLG Las Vegas 2006]], where he defeated ChuDat in a rematch from MLG Orlando in losers' top 8, but lost to PC Chris in winners' bracket and then to Ken in losers' quarters.

===2007-2011: ''Brawl'' career and retirement===
Throughout 2007-early 2008, Azen continued to place highly at ''Melee'' nationals, placing 9th at [[Super Champ Combo]], 1st at [[Viva La Smashtaclysm]], where he defeated KoreanDJ, PC Chris, and ChuDat twice, and 7th at [[Pound 3]]. In March 2009, he attended [[Revival of Melee]], and placed 7th.

Azen picked up ''[[Brawl]]'' on its release and attended several early nationals. He played numerous characters at a high level, but was most well-known for his {{SSBB|Lucario}}. He was considered the top Lucario player in ''Brawl''{{'}}s early metagame, and it is largely a result of Azen's dominance that Lucario was considered a high tier character in ''Brawl''{{'}}s early metagame. During his time in ''Brawl'', Azen placed 2nd at [[Critical Hit 3]], defeating {{Sm|DieSuperFly}} 2-0 before losing to {{Sm|Mew2King}} in grand finals, 2nd at [[Cataclysm 4]], where he became the first player to knock {{Sm|Ally}} out of losers' bracket, and 17th at [[Clash of the Titans IV]]. He is also the first player to have won a large tournament with Lucario (C3 tournament), where he defeated {{Sm|Korn}} 3-1 in grand finals.

Azen temporarily retired from competitive ''Smash'' in August 2009, claiming that he lost interest due to most of his friends no longer playing the game. He then made his first ''Smash'' tournament appearance in over a year at [[Pound V]] in February 2011, where he reached 49th place in ''Melee'' singles and 9th place in ''Melee'' doubles with longtime doubles partner Chillin. Around this time, both Azen and Chillin stated that they had become active in the ''Melee'' scene again, though neither was as prolific as prior to their retirements.

===2014-2015: Return to the ''Smash'' scene and ''SSB4'' career===
In April 2014, the trailer for the ''Melee'' and ''[[Project M]]'' event Bar Wars: The Region Strikes Back featured clips of Azen towards the end, with Chillin claiming that Azen would return to the ''Melee'' scene at the event. However, Azen did not actually show up at the event. Two months later, Chillin once again stated that Azen would be returning to the ''Melee'' scene at the 6/3 weekly edition of the event [[Smash @ Xanadu]]. Azen indeed showed up at this event, and won ''Melee'' singles in a dominant fashion, defeating Chillin, {{Sm|ChuDat}}, and {{Sm|DP}}. He also placed 9th in ''Project M'' singles. Azen has since attended a handful of local tournaments in his area, and also placed 5th in ''Melee'' singles at the 8/19 weekly edition of Smash @ Xanadu.

On May 28, 2015 Azen announced on Chillindude's Twitch stream that he would make another return to the ''Melee'' scene. On the stream, it was confirmed that Azen would go to [[EVO 2015]] if a donation goal was met. The following day Azen confirmed with his first post on his Twitter account that the goal had been met. Another donation goal was set for Azen to attend [[CEO 2015]], and that donation goal was met as well.

Azen has also entered some ''SSB4'' tournaments as well, where he mains {{SSB4|Lucario}} like in ''Brawl''. His most notable result is [[Super Smash Con]], where he placed 17th out of 744 entrants.

Ever since then, Azen often travels to major tournaments, still making a good impression.

==Playing style==
In ''Melee'', Azen mains Marth, and formerly mained Sheik as well; despite this, he can play nearly every character in the game at a high level. In some tournaments, Azen has used {{SSBM|Samus}}, {{SSBM|Link}}, and {{SSBM|Pikachu}} in order to place high, while other characters have been used in lower-stakes matches. In doubles, Azen still often uses Marth and Sheik, though he had been known to use {{SSBM|Peach}} and {{SSBM|Falco}} in some doubles matches.

In ''Brawl'' and ''SSB4'', Azen mains Lucario.

===The "Azendash"===
{{main|Wavedash#Disadvantages of wavedashing}}
[[File:Azendash.gif|right|thumb|The Azendash.]]
The act of airdodging off an edge in an attempt to ledgedash is sometimes referred to as an "Azendash," after Azen infamously committed a critical technical error in a tournament match against {{Sm|Captain Jack}}. Azen (as Marth) held a slight advantage over Captain Jack (as Sheik); both had three stocks, but Azen had a percent lead of over 60%. After Azen was thrown off the stage, he recovered with [[Dolphin Slash]], then immediately tried to [[ledgedash]] backwards to grab the ledge again, presumably with the intention of playing defensively and keeping his lead; however, he ended up airdodging down and away from the ledge instead, causing him to self-destruct. After this error, Azen lost to Jack by two stocks; this was especially significant because it was the last game of their set, so this mistake was seen as Azen essentially throwing away his chances at advancing further in the tournament.

This maneuver has also been associated with {{Sm|Mew2King}} in recent times, due to his tendency to also commit this error while attempting to ledge stall in high-pressure situations.

==Tournament placings==
===''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner
|-
|{{Trn|American Legion Tournament}}||August 17th, 2002||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[DCSS #1]]||July 12th, 2003||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Tournament Go 5]]||August 2nd-3rd, 2003||4th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[http://www.angelfire.com/dc2/chillin0/ Live or Die]||August 23rd, 2003||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[DCSS #2]]||September 20th, 2003||1st||1st||{{Sm|Anden}}
|-
|{{b|Game Over|tournament}}||January 10th, 2004||2nd||2nd||Anden
|-
|[[MELEE-FC1]]||July 10th-11th, 2004||2nd||2nd||{{Sm|Dave}}
|-
|[[MLG Atlanta 2004]]||July 24th-25th, 2004||1st||1st||{{Sm|Chillin}}
|-
|[[Tournament Go 6]]||August 21st-22nd, 2004||1st||2nd||{{Sm|Wes}}
|-
|[[DCSS #3]]||September 25th, 2004||1st||1st||Mild
|-
|[[MLG Boston 2004]]||October 9th-10th, 2004||1st||1st||Wes
|-
|[[Gettin' Schooled]]||October 14th, 2004||1st (tie)||1st||Wes
|-
|[[MLG New York 2004]]||October 24th, 2004||4th||2nd||Wes
|-
|[[Gettin' Schooled 2]]||June 25th-26th, 2005||3rd||5th||Wes
|-
|[[MELEE-FC3]]||July 10th-12th, 2005||9th||7th||{{Sm|Caveman}}
|-
|[[MLG Philadelphia 2005]]||July 28th-30th, 2005||4th||2nd||{{Sm|Husband}}
|-
|[[MLG Nashville 2005]]||August 27th-28th, 2005||4th||1st||Husband
|-
|[[MLG Seattle 2005]]||September 10th-11th, 2005||1st||2nd||Husband
|-
|[http://archive.is/4lVzX SMYM 4]||September 24th, 2005||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[MLG Los Angeles 2005]]||October 14th-16th, 2005||5th||2nd||{{Sm|ChuDat}}
|-
|[[BOMB 4]]||November 12th, 2005||2nd||9th||Anden
|-
|[[MLG Atlanta 2005]]||November 26th-27th, 2005||2nd||3rd||{{Sm|Oro}}
|-
|[[MLG New York 2005]]||February 25th-26th, 2006||9th||2nd||Chillin
|-
|[[MELEE-FC6]]||July 13th-15th, 2006||13th||2nd||Chillin
|-
|[[MLG Chicago 2006]]||July 21st-23rd, 2006||4th||1st||Chillin
|-
|[[MLG Orlando 2006]]||August 25th-27th, 2006||1st||2nd||Chillin
|-
|[[MLG New York Playoffs 2006]]||October 13th-15th, 2006||1st||1st||Chillin
|-
|[[MLG Las Vegas 2006]]||November 17th-19th, 2006||5th||5th||Chillin
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=94992 EGL DC]||January 20th, 2007||1st||4th||{{Sm|Kaiser GL}}
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=96044 C3 Smash Battle]||February 3rd, 2007||2nd||1st||ChuDat
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=114451 C3 August Adios]||August 18th, 2007||2nd||4th||Anden
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=117856 C3 Smash Attack]||September 22nd, 2007||2nd||1st||ChuDat
|-
|[[Super Champ Combo]]||September 29th-30th, 2007||9th||1st||Chillin
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=122322 C3 A Tournament In October]||October 20th, 2007||5th||1st||ChuDat
|-
|[[Viva La Smashtaclysm]]||November 10th-11th, 2007||1st||1st||Chillin
|-
|[[Pound 3]]||February 2nd-3rd, 2008||7th||1st||{{Sm|Mew2King}}
|-
|[[ChuDatz Final Biweekly]]||August 3rd, 2008||2nd||1st||{{Sm|Cactuar}}
|-
|[[Revival of Melee]]||March 7th-8th, 2009||7th||7th||ChuDat
|-
|[[Shell Shocked IV]]||October 10th, 2009||7th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=304401 Zenith 2011]||May 28th-29th, 2011||9th||5th||Chillin
|-
|[[Pound V]]||February 19th-21st, 2011||49th||9th||Chillin
|-
|[[Revival of Melee 4]]||November 19th-20th, 2011||7th||7th||Chillin
|-
|[[Apex 2012]]||January 6th-8th, 2012||49th||13th||{{Sm|Tope}}
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=357202 Smash @ Xanadu Tuesday 6/3]||June 3rd, 2014||1st||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=357587 Thanks For Playing 7]||June 7th, 2014||9th||3rd||Chillin
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=364910 Smash @ Xanadu Tuesday 8/19]||August 19th, 2014||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=365885 Smash @ Clarendon 8/29/14]||August 29th, 2014||5th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=366278 Smash @ Xanadu Tuesday 9/2]||September 2nd, 2014||7th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/threads/jun-13-2015-defend-this-house-melee-xanadu-baltimore-md.403435 Defend This House]||June 13th, 2015||9th||1st||Chillin
|-
|[[CEO 2015]]||June 26th-28th, 2015||65th||9th|| Chillin
|-
|[[EVO 2015]]||July 17th-19th, 2015||33rd||5th||Chillin
|-
|[[Super Smash Con 2015]]||August 6th-9th, 2015||49th||9th||Chillin
|-
|[[Paragon Los Angeles 2015]]||September 5th-6th, 2015||49th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[GENESIS 3]]||January 15th-17th, 2016||97th||17th||Chillin
|-
|[[EVO 2016]]||July 15th-17th, 2016||129th||13th||{{Sm|Nintendude}}
|}

===''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner
|-
|[[ChuDat's Birthday Biweekly]]||January 19th, 2008||2nd||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Critical Hit 3]]||July 5th, 2008||2nd||1st||{{Sm|Chillin}}
|-
|[[ChuDatz Final Biweekly]]||August 3rd, 2008||2nd||1st||{{Sm|Mew2King}}
|-
|[https://smashboards.com/threads/ecrc-event-2-xii-e-s-t-i-c-l-e-results-thread.187907/ XII.E.S.T.I.C.L.E]||August 10th, 2008||1st||5th||{{Sm|Cort}}
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=193184 Critical Hit 4]||September 6th, 2008||1st||1st||Mew2King
|-
|[https://smashboards.com/threads/hobo-11-houston-tx-112-players.197642/ HOBO 11]||October 4th, 2008||2nd||1st||Mew2King
|-
|[https://smashboards.com/threads/c3-ecrc-11-22-results.206705/ C3 ECRC]||November 22nd, 2008||4th||3rd||Chillin
|-
|[https://smashboards.com/threads/h2yl-presents-critical-hit-4-5-results-md-va-12-13.210559/ Critical Hit 4.5]||December 13th, 2008 ||1st||4th||Chillin
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=215698 Cataclysm 4]||January 9th-11th, 2009||2nd||1st||Mew2King
|-
|[[Clash of the Titans IV]]||February 7th-8th, 2009||17th||4th||{{Sm|ChuDat}}
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=245338 C3 August Assault]||August 15th, 2009||1st||1st||ChuDat
|}

===''[[Project M]]''===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner
|-
|[http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=357587 Thanks For Playing 7]||June 7th, 2014||17th||3rd||{{Sm|Sethlon}}  
|-
|[[Paragon Los Angeles 2015]]||September 5th-6th, 2015||65th||(DQ)||{{Sm|Chillin}}
|}

==={{for3ds}}===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner
|-
|[[Xanadu Smash 4 Invitational]]||November 6th, 2014||13th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|}

==={{forwiiu}}===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Tournament!!Date!!1v1 placement!!2v2 placement!!Partner
|-
|{{Trn|EVO 2015}}||July 17th-19th, 2015||129th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[Super Smash Con 2015]]||August 8th, 2015||17th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[GENESIS 3]]||January 15th-17th, 2016||513th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|-
|[[EVO 2016]]||July 15th-17th, 2016||385th||&mdash;||&mdash;
|}

==Trivia==
*Azen is one of the four Marth players who has been able to take a set off of {{Sm|Fly Amanita}}'s Ice Climbers, the others being {{Sm|PewPewU}}, {{Sm|Ken}}, and {{Sm|The Moon}}.

==External links==
*[http://www.smashboards.com/member.php?u=472 '''Azen Zagenite''' SmashBoards public profile]
*[https://twitter.com/AzenZagenite Twitter account]
*[https://zagenite.com/ Personal Website]

[[Category:Virginia smashers]]
[[Category:Marth professionals (SSBM)]]
[[Category:Falco professionals (SSBM)]]
[[Category:Sheik professionals (SSBM)]]
[[Category:Captain Falcon professionals (SSBM)]]
[[Category:Lucario professionals (SSBB)]]
[[Category:Lucario professionals (SSB4)]]
[[Category:2001-2003 RetroSSBMRank ranked players]]
[[Category:2004 RetroSSBMRank ranked players]]
[[Category:2005 RetroSSBMRank ranked players]]
[[Category:2006 RetroSSBMRank ranked players]]
[[Category:2007 RetroSSBMRank ranked players]]
[[Category:2008 RetroSSBMRank ranked players]]
[[Category:VIP players]]
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