Smasher:MkLeo: Difference between revisions

Unfortunately, this tournament was MkLeo's last hurrah of the season, largely due to situations out of his control. MkLeo had been developing hearing problems, which led to him cancelling most of his travel plans, including a [[Tournament:Battle of Z: Forma de Leo Saga|tournament dedicated in his honor in Canada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1ss5cse|title=MkLeo's hearing problems}}</ref> Although he had plans on only attending the circuit finale tournaments, those plans were ruined following the {{Trn|Smash World Tour 2022 Championships}}'s cancellation and the shutdown of the {{Trn|Panda Cup}} that followed. With the two major end-of-season tournaments gone, the only other tournament MkLeo attended was the {{Trn|Scuffed World Tour}}, the Smash World Tour's replacement tournament. MkLeo's performance, however, was significantly weaker than his previous Ludwig appearance: he ultimately placed 5th, going game 5 against Kazuya players {{Sm|Ferps}} and {{Sm|Riddles}} - the latter of which he reintroduced his {{SSBU|Marth}} into top competitive play - but being 3-0'd by {{Sm|Tweek}} and {{Sm|Shuton}}, both of whom solidified themselves as MkLeo's new bracket demons. Despite this disappointing season, as well as a rather inconsistent season overall, most power rankings, including the half-year [[UltRank 2022]] and the yearly [[OrionRank 2022]], still ranked him first, albeit with very close competition from both acola and Sparg0.

After MkLeo's most fragile year yet, a few changes were necessary if he were to keep his hold on the throne. The most notable change was his character lineup, as MkLeo swapped out his {{SSBU|Byleth}} for his former main {{SSBU|Joker}} while maintaining many other characters as secondaries. He put this Joker to use at {{Trn|Let's Make Big Moves 2023}}, but the choice initially backfired, as after being defeated by {{Sm|Tweek}}, he stubbornly stuck with the character against {{Sm|Sonix}}, resulting in his first ever loss to his former online bracket demon, ending his run at 4th. This disappointment didn't stop him, however, as he planned on sticking with his strategy at {{Trn|GENESIS 9}}. Although he used Joker for most of the tournament, he pulled out {{SSBU|R.O.B.}} against {{Sm|Justice|p=Washington}} to barely clutch out a 3-2 victory, and used [[Pyra (SSBU)|the]] [[Mythra (SSBU)|Aegis]] against Sonix, where despite going down 2-0, MkLeo managed to reverse the bracket and redeem his previous loss. Although he did also pull out his Byleth, it ultimately cost MkLeo his set to {{Sm|MuteAce}}, who defeated the Byleth in the first 2 games and took a win over the Joker in the fourth, knocking MkLeo into Loser Finals. Following yet another reverse 3-0, this time against {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}}, MkLeo stuck with the Joker for all 2 sets against MuteAce, and despite MuteAce surviving to high percents for almost every game, MkLeo was able to defeat MuteAce twice, claiming his fifth ever GENESIS title.