Smasher:Aklo
| Aklo | |
|---|---|
| |
| Character info | |
| Melee main | Fox |
| Other Melee characters | Link, Young Link |
| Ultimate main | Fox |
| Project M mains | Link, Fox |
| Team info | |
| Sponsor(s) | Nouns Esports |
| Former sponsor(s) | Chilly Mountain |
| Crew(s) | Brotherhood |
| Rankings and results info | |
| Most recent ranking |  SSBMRank 2023: 10th |
| Best historical ranking | SSBMRank 2023: 10th |
| Personal and other info | |
| Real name | Dawud Rahman |
| Birth date | |
| Location | Long Island, New York 
|
Aklo is a smasher from Long Island, New York who mains Fox in Melee with a Link secondary. He is currently ranked 1st on the New York City Melee Power Rankings and 10th on the SSBMRank 2023. He is currently considered the best active Link player in the world with Sixx's hiatus from competition. He co-mains Link and Fox in Project M. He also plays Fox in Ultimate.
In Melee, Aklo is notable for his versatile recovery mixups, proficiency in tech-chasing, and solid defensive game. He first gained attention from the broader Melee scene by demonstrating proficiency against the old guard of top players in Northeastern US regionals, including Hax, Rishi, and Captain Smuckers. Aklo first rose to prominence after being voted into Smash Summit 11, where he defeated then-Top 5 player Axe. In the time since, he has commonly been regarded as one of the best players to emerge from the post-pandemic era.
In Project M, he notably attended both iterations of The Flex Zone, placing 7th at both. At The Flex Zone, he was sent to losers early by POOB, but made a loser's bracket run through DJ Nintendo, Shiny Zubat, The Moon, and Envy to make it to top 8, where he lost to POOB again. He also made a big impact at The Flex Zone 2, where he defeated 3 PMRanked players in the form of Gallo, Kycse, and Zhime, only losing to Flipp in winners and then Switch in a game 5 last stock scenario in top 8. He has continued to perform well in tournaments for Project+, the spiritual successor to Project M.
In Ultimate, he has wins over players such as Zenkai, Stocktaker69, Kofi, and ZeroTwoNone.
On October 29th, 2021, Aklo signed with hometown NYC-based organization Chilly Mountain.[1] He would part ways with Chilly Mountain on October 9th, 2022. Afterwards, Nouns Esports announced that they had signed Aklo on October 21st, 2022.[2]
Rankings[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]
SSBMRank/MPGR[edit]
| Ranking | Time period | Rank | Character(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPGR Summer 2022 | March 1st - July 11th, 2022 | 18th |   |
|
| SSBMRank 2022 | March 1st - December 18th, 2022 | 16th | |
|
| SSBMRank Summer 2023 | December 19th, 2022 - July 23rd, 2023 | 11th | |
|
| SSBMRank 2023 | December 19th, 2022 - December 17th, 2023 | 10th | |
Tournament placings[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Flex Zone | January 18th, 2015 | 25th | — | — |
| Super AON 2018 | October 20th, 2018 | 9th | 7th | Foxy Grandpa |
| Black Friday Blow Out III | November 23rd, 2018 | 1st | — | — |
| Scorpious 2019 | January 12th, 2019 | 2nd | 1st | Foxy Grandpa |
| AON Melee #226 | May 16th, 2019 | 2nd | — | — |
| Concrete Throwdown #2 | May 26th, 2019 | 7th | — | — |
| AON Melee #228 | May 30th, 2019 | 1st | — | — |
| Omega III | June 8th-9th, 2019 | 9th | 3rd | Foxy Grandpa |
| AON Melee #234 | July 11th, 2019 | 1st | — | — |
| Concrete Throwdown - Smash Edition 2 | July 28th, 2019 | 3rd | — | — |
| Hax's Nightclub #10 | November 20th, 2019 | 3rd | — | — |
| Hax's Nightclub S0E15 | December 18th, 2019 | 7th | — | — |
| Hax's Nightclub S1E1 | January 1st, 2020 | 3rd | — | — |
| Scorpious 2020 | January 4th, 2020 | 1st | 2nd | Foxy Grandpa |
| Hax's Nightclub S1E2 | January 8th, 2020 | 2nd | — | — |
| Hax's Nightclub S1E3 | January 15th, 2020 | 3rd | — | — |
| Hax's Nightclub S1E5 | January 29th, 2020 | 2nd | — | — |
| Hax's Nightclub S1E6 | February 5th, 2020 | 5th | — | — |
| Hax’s Nightclub S1E7 | February 12th, 2020 | 9th | — | — |
| Hax's Nightclub S1E10 | March 4th, 2020 | 1st | — | — |
Pound Online  |
April 24th-26th, 2020 | 17th | — | — |
| Get On My Line 2020 |
July 18th-19th, 2020 | 9th | — | — |
| Ludwig Ahgren Championship Series 2 |
July 25th-26th, 2020 | 33rd | — | — |
| Rollback Rumble: Summit X Qualifier |
November 14th 2020 | 4th | — | — |
| Ludwig Ahgren Championship Series 3 |
December 19th-20th, 2020 | 25th | — | — |
| Galint Melee Open |
January 9th-10th, 2021 | 4th | — | — |
| Frame Perfect Series 4: ONLINE |
January 16th, 2021 | 3rd | — | — |
| Four Loko Fight Night |
March 6th-7th, 2021 | 7th | — | — |
| Galint Melee Open: Spring Edition |
March 19th-21st, 2021 | 17th | — | — |
| The Allston Melee Bender |
April 3rd-4th, 2021 | 4th | 2nd | Foxy Grandpa |
| Get On My Line 2021 North America |
June 19th-20th, 2021 | 3rd | — | — |
| Pound 2021 Online: Melee Edition |
June 26th-27th, 2021 | 9th | — | — |
| Smash Summit 11 | July 15th-18th, 2021 | 13th | — | — |
| Galint Melee Open: Summer Edition |
July 23rd-25th, 2021 | 5th | 4th | Foxy Grandpa |
| SWT: NA East Melee Regional Finals | October 30th-31st, 2021 | 7th | — | — |
| Smash World Tour 2021 Championships | December 17th-19th, 2021 | 9th | — | — |
| The Nightclub Online S1E2 |
January 12th, 2022 | 2nd | — | — |
| The Nightclub VIP: iBDW | April 3rd, 2022 | 1st | — | — |
| Pound 2022 | April 22nd-24th, 2022 | 7th | 3rd | bobby big ballz |
| The Function 2 | May 7th, 2022 | 13th | — | — |
| The Big House 10 | October 7th-9th, 2022 | 17th | — | — |
| Ludwig Smash Invitational | October 21st-23rd, 2022 | 9th | — | — |
| The Nightclub S5E7 | November 16th, 2022 | 2nd | — | — |
| Apex 2022 | November 18th-20th, 2022 | 5th | 9th | Foxy Grandpa |
| Mainstage 2022 | December 2nd-4th, 2022 | 9th | — | — |
| Redemption Rumble | December 30th-31st, 2022 | 1st | — | — |
| The Nightclub S6E1 | January 4th, 2023 | 1st | — | — |
| GENESIS 9 | January 20th-22nd, 2023 | 25th | — | — |
| The Coinbox #48 |
February 8th, 2023 | 4th | — | — |
| Collision 2023 | March 10th-12th, 2023 | 7th | 9th | Foxy Grandpa |
| The Coinbox #54 |
March 21th, 2023 | 7th | — | — |
| The Coinbox #56 |
April 4th, 2023 | 5th | — | — |
| The Come Up 2023 | April 22nd, 2023 | 3rd | — | — |
| Battle of BC 5 | May 19th-21st, 2023 | 9th | — | — |
| Tipped Off 14: Resurgence | June 3rd-4th, 2023 | 5th / 344 | 5th / 79 | Foxy Grandpa |
| Wavedash 2023 | June 16th-18th, 2023 | 3rd / 234 | — | — |
| The Nightclub VIP 2 | June 24th, 2023 | 3rd / 161 | 2nd / 29 | Maher |
| Fête 3: By the Sea | July 14th-16th, 2023 | 7th / 409 | 5th / 128 | Foxy Grandpa |
| Get On My Level 2023 | July 21st-23rd, 2023 | 13th / 764 | 7th / 121 | Maher |
| Super Smash Con 2023 | August 10th-13th, 2023 | 7th / 860 | 17th / 161 | Maher |
| Shine 2023 | August 25th-27th, 2023 | 3rd / 683 | 7th / 158 | Foxy Grandpa |
| Riptide 2023 | September 8th-10th, 2023 | 9th / 477 | 9th / 101 | Maher |
| The Big House 11 | October 20th-22nd, 2023 | 7th / 1,011 | 13th / 221 | Maher |
| The Function 3 | November 11th, 2023 | 2nd / 259 | — | — |
| Arcamelee 4 | November 18th-19th, 2023 | 4th / 279 | 4th / 89 | Foxy Grandpa |
| Santa Paws | December 8th-10th, 2023 | 3rd / 127 | 2nd / 23 | Foxy Grandpa |
| Eggdog Scramble 2 | January 13th, 2024 | 5th / 137 | 4th / 27 | Maher |
| GENESIS X | February 16th-18th, 2024 | 13th / 1,544 | 7th / 305 | Foxy Grandpa |
| Collision 2024 | March 15th-17th, 2024 | 17th / 494 | 2nd / 85 | Foxy Grandpa |
| The Pregame - BOBC6 Pre-Event | March 28th, 2024 | 2nd / 89 | — | — |
| Scarlet Classic IX | April 20th, 2024 | 1st / 79 | — | — |
Project M[edit]
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Flex Zone | January 18th, 2015 | 7th | — | — |
| The Flex Zone 2 | February 18th, 2017 | 7th | 25th | Vidiot |
| Resting Stitch Face 2 | October 26th, 2019 | 7th | 9th | Foxy Grandpa |
| THE YERR | January 12th, 2020 | 1st | 2nd | Foxy Grandpa |
| THE YERR 2nd Edition | February 9th, 2020 | 7th | — | — |
| HELLBREAK | December 3rd, 2022 | 17th | — | — |
| Tipped Off 14: Resurgence | June 3rd-4th, 2023 | 1st / 65 | — | — |
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concrete Throwdown #2 | May 26th, 2019 | 2nd | — | — |
| AON #025 | May 31st, 2019 | 9th | — | — |
| AON #031 | July 12th, 2019 | 17th | 5th | Killacubs |
| AON #032 | July 19th, 2019 | 9th | — | — |
| AON #033 | July 26th, 2019 | 9th | — | — |
| Concrete Throwdown - Smash Edition 2 | July 28th, 2019 | 5th | — | — |
| AON #036 | August 16th, 2019 | 5th | — | — |
| AON #51 | November 29th, 2019 | 3rd | — | — |
| AON #52 | December 6th, 2019 | 13th | — | — |
| AON #54 | December 20th, 2019 | 9th | — | — |
| AON #55 | December 27th, 2019 | 13th | — | — |
| AON #56 | January 3rd, 2020 | 1st | — | — |
| AON #59 | January 24th, 2020 | 3rd | — | — |
| Mind Over Meta | February 29th, 2020 | 13th | — | — |
| AON #065 | March 6th, 2020 | 7th | — | — |
| Domics' Atomic Arena |
June 19th-21st, 2020 | 193rd | — | — |
| King 2021 |
May 2nd, 2021 | 9th | — | — |
| SWT: NA Northeast Ultimate Online Qualifier |
May 22nd-23rd, 2021 | 385th | — | — |
| Pound 2022 | April 22nd-24th, 2022 | 193rd (DQ) | — | — |
| MAGFest 2023 | January 7th, 2023 | 1st | — | — |
Trivia[edit]
- Aklo has played Melee since he was a toddler, and grew up alongside a family of brothers who all retain an active competitive interest in the game. His brothers' tags are Killacubs, Foxy Grandpa, and Vidiot.
- Collectively known as the Brotherhood, they all attended The Flex Zone and caused some significant upsets in Project M singles, in which:
- Aklo notably won the 25th and final Uncle Sam's Maple Syrup online Melee bracket using only Link.
- Smash Summit 11 was Aklo's first in-person Smash major outside of his home state of New York.
- Aklo is known to perform flashy displays of tech skill in between stocks (such as continuously edge canceling Fox's mid-shortened side special on platforms) against his opponents in tournament.
- Aklo was the first player to win a national-level Melee tournament while utilizing Link at Redemption Rumble, using him to beat KoDoRiN and Swift.
