Super Smash Bros. Melee in competitive play: Difference between revisions

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:History of competitive ''Melee''}}

==The "Golden Age" (2003-2008)==

The '''Golden Age''' of ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' is the first era of competitive Smash brothers during the years 2003 to 2008. Major League Gaming professionally sponsored ''Smash'' resulting in large prize pools compared to the number of competitors. {{Sm|Ken Hoang}}, {{Sm|Azen}}, {{Sm|ChuDat}}, {{Sm|Isai}}, {{Sm|PC Chris}}, {{Sm|KDJ}} and {{sm|Mew2King}} were considered the best players of this age, Hoang notably being dubbed the "King of Smash".

Following the release of Nintendo's latest ''Smash Bros.'' game, ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', in March 2008, ''Melee'' players questioned the survivability of their game as much of the community moved on to the new title. These fears turned out to be true as 2008 became completely dominated by the ''Brawl'' scene; not a single ''Melee'' major was held for around a year, and the few small tournaments held registered paltry attendance numbers compared to those of just the year before. The ''Melee'' scene remained stagnant until {{sm|Alukard}} held [[Revival of Melee]] in Nanuet, New York, in March 2009. This tournament was the first American event to feature ''Melee''{{'}}s best players from the across the country (such as {{sm|Mew2King}}, {{sm|Mango}}, {{sm|PC Chris}}, and {{sm|Azen}}) since [[Pound 3]] in February 2008, and was the beginning of a gradual revival in tournament attendance back to pre-''Brawl'' levels. The renewed surge in attendance was aided by the fact that many ''Melee'' players disliked the slower, less combo-oriented gameplay of ''Brawl'' and returned to the former game shortly after its release. The ''Melee'' community's desire to remain a strong presence in the Smash scene led to the hosting of bigger and bigger tournaments, including [[GENESIS]] and [[Pound 4]], and ''Melee'' was able to maintain tournament numbers similar to those of ''Brawl'', even though the 2008 game attracted more newer ''Smash'' players than its predecessor.

The excitement and energy generated by these three tournaments led to increased attention from the eSports scene as a whole, despite the fighting game community's persistent refusal to recognize ''Smash'' as one of their own. Many of the largest names in the competitive gaming industry, such as [[Cloud 9]], [[Team Curse]], and [[Evil Geniuses]], began sponsoring ''Melee''{{'}}s top players, creating further growth and interest from other members of the gaming community. [[Nintendo]] was initially extremely hostile towards the competitive ''Melee'' community, as showcased by its attempt to block the streaming of the ''Melee'' portion of EVO 2013 (and, as later discovered, to shut down the event entirely). However, 2014 saw an completely unexpected turnaround, as [[Reggie Fils-Aimé]] of Nintendo of America made a guest appearance through video at EVO 2014 just a year later, congratulating the tournament's top eight finalists, and the company has even sponsored tournaments [[Apex 2015]]. 2014 also marked the release of ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'' for the newer Wii U console, but the game's release had no real effect on attendance for the ''Melee'' scene, as the ''Melee'' fanbase continued to play the older game instead of moving onto ''Smash 4,'' whose gameplay more closely resembles that of the heavily criticized ''Brawl''. Since ''Smash 4''{{'}}s release, ''Melee'' has continued to set new attendance milestones; Apex 2015 broke the 1,000 entrant mark in the winter of 2015, and [[EVO 2015]]'s 1,869 entrants topped even its previous years, setting a record for the largest ''Melee'' tournament of all time.   

===Tournaments in which at all five gods attended===