Smasher:Armada
The Five Gods is a term referring to the five very best players of Super Smash Bros. Melee, who consistently dominated tournaments from 2013 to the present, while rarely losing tournament sets to players that aren't among the gods themselves. The players considered the five gods, in alphabetical order, are:
The first tournament to feature all five gods was Pound 4 in January 2010, although PPMD (or Dr. Peepee as he was known) was not considered in contention at that event.
Leffen is now considered to be on par with the "gods," placing better than a few in recent tournaments. Since the beginning of 2014, Leffen has shown rapid improvement in the game, consistently taking tournament sets off of the other gods and having managed to regularly place in winners' finals, and by 2015, he began making it to grand finals and winning American national tournaments. After beating Mew2King at Apex 2015 he became the first player to take a set off of each of the five gods. During this time Leffen can possibly have been thought to have "replaced" Mew2King among the gods. However, it has often been argued that the title of "God" cannot truly be revoked, and that it is more or less a reflection of an era where they dominated national tournaments (in a similar vein to "King of Smash" still being associated with Ken, despite his lack of high placings at even semi-majors). Groupings that include Leffen may sometimes use the term "The Big Six", "The Sinister Six" or simply "top 6" to reference his inclusion without conflicting with the "Five Gods" title.
The gods have won every major tournament with at least one of the players in attendance from 2009 until 2014, when Leffen began to win majors in Europe, as well as CEO 2015, his first North American victory, with three of gods present; consequently, the big six have won every major tournament with at least one of the players in attendance since 2009.
Tournament history
Rise to fame
After a handful of promising performances in locals around his area, Armada surprised the entire European community in July 2007 by claiming 4th place at The Renaissance of Smash 4, his first national, eliminating Faab 3-0 in losers' quarters, and even coming close to knocking Amsah out in losers' semis (who was then considered the best player in Europe by a sizable margin).
Seven months later, at Epita Smash Arena 2 (the largest European tournament at the time), Armada placed 3rd in singles. He lost to Captain Jack in winners' semis, and then eliminated Adam 3-0 in losers' quarters and Masashi 3-1 in losers' semis (including a 4-stock against his Marth in game 4), before losing to Captain Jack 2-4 in losers' finals.
Taking the European crown and debuting in the United States
In 2009, Armada won his first national, SMASH ATTACK; although he lost to Zgetto 2-4 in winners' finals, he managed to take both sets of grand finals against Zgetto, winning 8-0. He won Epita Smash Arena 3 shortly after without dropping a set, defeating Amsah 4-0 in grand finals. Armada was soon considered the best smasher in Europe. He also attended his first tournament in the United States, GENESIS, in which he won sets against DaShizWiz, Mew2King, and Mango in the winners' bracket, playing undefeated before losing to Mango in both sets of grand finals, placing 2nd in the Melee singles tournament.
In 2010, Armada attended Pound 4, which was his second tournament in the US. He was upset by SilentSpectre in winners' bracket, losing 0-2, though he managed to eliminate Hax, Plank, Lucky, and Mew2King in losers' bracket before being eliminated by Amsah 1-3 in losers' semis, placing 4th in the Melee singles tournament. Later that year, he placed 2nd in Melee singles at Apex 2010, defeating Axe and Zhu in winners' bracket before losing to Hungrybox in winners' semis, and then eliminating PPMD and Mew2King in losers' bracket before losing to Hungrybox 0-3 in grand finals. That year, he also won Epita Smash Arena 4 and Smash Needs You.
Period of dominance
In 2011, Armada won B.E.A.S.T without dropping a set, once again defeating Amsah 4-0 in grand finals. At Pound V, he started using Young Link as a counter to Hungrybox's Jigglypuff, and the result was defeating Hungrybox 2-0 in winners' bracket. He also defeated PPMD in winners' finals, but lost to PPMD in both sets of grand finals to take 2nd place in Melee singles. Later that year, Armada won his first major tournament in the US, GENESIS 2, where he defeated Mango 3-2 in grand finals. This was the start of a nearly two year long period in which Armada consistently won all of the major nationals in the US that he entered. He also won B.E.A.S.T II, once again not dropping a single set, and defeating Ice 4-0 in grand finals.
In 2012, Armada won Melee singles at Apex 2012, and also won Melee doubles with Mew2King. He defeated top professionals such as Shroomed, PPMD, Mango, and Hungrybox. At Smashers' Reunion: Melee Grande, he defeated PPMD in winners' finals, lost the first set of grand finals against him, and then won an extremely close second set 4-3. Armada then defended his titles in 2013, winning Melee singles at Apex 2013 by defeating Silent Wolf, Wobbles, KirbyKaze, Hungrybox, and PPMD once again in grand finals. He also won Melee doubles with Mew2King by defeating Aza and Javi, Shroomed and PewPewU, and Hungrybox and Plup in grand finals.
Retirement
After Apex 2013, Armada announced his retirement from competitive Melee singles events, although he did return to compete in EVO 2013, where he placed 4th, losing to PPMD 0-2 in winners' bracket and being eliminated by Mango 0-2 in losers' semis.
Return to the scene
After one year, Armada announced his return to the competitive Melee scene, and entered the B.E.A.S.T 4 Melee singles tournament, placing 2nd behind Leffen. At this point, Armada started using a lot of Fox in singles, alongside his Peach. Armada had previously used Fox sparingly in tournaments, including against Zgetto in winners' finals at SMASH ATTACK, Mango in the second set of grand finals at GENESIS, and in doubles against Hax and Hungrybox at GENESIS. In an interview with Armada at Avalon III, Armada stated that he would be using Fox primarily against Jigglypuff and in the Fox ditto in the future, the matchups he claimed to have the most trouble with using Peach. In the same interview, he also stated that he would be attending major tournaments in the US once again to try and regain his throne, confirming that he was fully active in the scene once again.
After winning various tournaments around Europe using a combination of Fox and Peach, Armada attended Republic of Fighters 3, a 5000 point MLG Anaheim 2014 qualifier, in May. He teamed with Ice and won Melee doubles over Leffen and Fuzzyness. In Melee singles, he defeated Professor Pro 2-0 and aMSa 3-0 to make it to winners' finals against Leffen, where he won 3-0 in Fox dittos (including a low percent 3-stock in game 3). However, in grand finals, Leffen came back and won 6-0 against Armada's Fox, taking the tournament over Armada. Due to this loss, Armada stated that his Fox was not ready for events in the summer, and that he would likely not use him in singles until next year. He reverted to using Peach against Fox again, subsequently managing to defeat top Fox players in tournament, such as Mango. Despite having claimed to be using Fox against Jigglypuff, Armada also proceeded to use Young Link against Hungrybox, and initially continued to do very well with him, winning their set in pool play at MLG Anaheim 2014 3-0, and also taking two sets off of Hungrybox's Fox primarily using Young Link at CEO 2014.
Reappearing in the United States for the Summer of 2014
Armada's first tournament in the United States since EVO 2013 was SKTAR 3, where he placed 4th in Melee singles, losing to PPMD 1-2 in winners' semis and then beating Westballz 2-0 in losers' quarters before being eliminated by Mew2King 1-2 in losers' semis. However, at Super SWEET the next week, Armada managed to beat Mew2King 3-1 in winners' semis, Mango 3-2 in winners' finals, and Mew2King 3-1 in grand finals, winning the tournament. He proceeded to take 1st place at SSS Lock-In, defeating Mew2King 3-1 once again in grand finals. At all three of these tournaments, Armada won Melee doubles with Mew2King in a dominant fashion, only dropping one set.
Having qualified for the championship bracket at MLG Anaheim 2014 due to his strong placements at Republic of Fighters 3 and SKTAR 3, Armada managed to defeat every player in his pool without dropping a set. He beat Mew2King 3-0 in winners' semis, but lost to Mango 2-3 in winners' finals. After eliminating Mew2King 3-2 in losers' finals, he once again lost to Mango 2-3 in grand finals, taking 2nd place at the tournament. Armada later attended CEO 2014, where he beat Hungrybox 2-1 in winners' semis, and lost to Mango 1-3 in winners' finals. After eliminating Hungrybox 3-0 in losers' finals, he managed to win both sets of grand finals against Mango (3-0 and 3-1) to take 1st place at the tournament.
Armada's next tournament was Kings of Cali 4, where he defeated Lucky and Fly Amanita 3-0 before reaching winners' finals against Mango, where he lost 1-3. He eliminated Mew2King 3-0 in losers' finals, and took the first set of grand finals against Mango 3-0, though still lost the second set 1-3, placing 2nd overall in singles at the tournament. CEO 2014 and Kings of Cali 4 also extended Armada and Mew2King's dominance in Melee doubles events.
At EVO 2014, Armada defeated Plup and Fly Amanita 2-0 in the winners' quarters pool to make it into the top 8 from winners' bracket. However, in winners' semis, he lost to Hungrybox 1-2. He eliminated Axe 2-1 in losers' quarters and PPMD 2-0 in losers' semis, but lost to Hungrybox again in losers' finals, this time 2-3, placing 3rd overall at the tournament.
Post-Summer 2014
Armada's first tournament in Europe since Republic of Fighters 3 was COMEBACK I. At this tournament, he defeated Dev 3-0 in winners' semis to make it to a highly anticipated match against Leffen in winners' finals. He ended up winning this set 3-1. In grand finals, he defeated Leffen again, this time 3-2, winning Melee singles at the tournament. In Melee doubles, he placed 2nd with C, losing to Android & Zoler 2-3 in winners' semis, then defeating them 3-2 in a rematch in losers' finals, and losing to Leffen & Beat 1-3 in grand finals.
Later that month, enough funds were raised for Armada and Lucky to attend Shadowloo Showdown V, an Australian national tournament. At this tournament, Armada convincingly won both Melee singles and Melee doubles, defeating Dekar 3-0, Lucky 3-1, and Lucky 3-0 to win singles, and teaming with Syke to take doubles over Lucky and Skeletom.
One week later, Armada attended Hit & Stun Tournament 2 in Spain, and won Melee singles without dropping a game, defeating Overtriforce, Leffen, and Ice. He teamed with Trif in Melee doubles and defeated Strawhat Dahean & Overtriforce 3-0 and Leffen & Ice 3-2 to make it to grand finals, where they lost the first set to Leffen and Ice 2-3, but still took the second set 3-1.
In late September, Armada travelled to the United States once again, primarily to attend The Big House 4, a very large national tournament in Michigan featuring competition from all other North America and Europe. During the first week of his stay, Armada won both singles and doubles at The Shape of Melee to Come 5, convincingly defeating Mango 3-1 in winners' finals and 3-0 in grand finals to win singles.
At The Big House 4, Armada defeated Darkrain 2-0 to make it into the top 32 bracket, where he defeated SFAT 2-0 and Westballz 3-1 to make it to winners' semis against Leffen, in which he lost a very close set 2-3. After defeating Hax 3-1 in losers' quarters, he was eliminated by Mango 1-3 in losers' semis, placing 4th in Melee singles. He continued his and Mew2King's winning streaks in Melee doubles by defeating DoH & Colbol 3-0 and Hungrybox & Plup 3-1 and 3-0 to take 1st place in Melee doubles.
He left Play-For-Keeps and Empire Arcadia simultaneously on November 2nd, 2014, the same day that ZeRo resigned from CLASH Tournaments. On November 6th, Swedish team Alliance announced that they were signing him and entering the Smash arena.
EVO 2015
EVO 2015 had a total of 1,869 entrants for Melee, surpassing the record set by EVO 2014 and becoming the largest Melee tournament of all time. In winners quarters pool, Armada defeated Silent Wolf 2-1 and PewPewU 2-0, to make it into the top 8 via winners' bracket. In the top 8 winners bracket, Armada defeated Hungrybox 2-1 in winners semis and PPMD 3-0 in winners finals. He then once again defeated Hungrybox 3-2 on grand finals, to take 1st place.
Other Smash games
During 2008 and 2009, Armada occasionally entered Brawl tournaments, primarily using Sheik. He won Brawl singles at SMASH ATTACK and placed 17th in Brawl singles at GENESIS, though he never made any large impacts in the Brawl scene and has not played Brawl competitively since.
Armada also plays the Brawl mod, Project M. He used to main Pit in version 3.0.2 of Project M, and currently mains Fox in version 3.5 of the mod. He was considered the premier Pit main in the world during his debut, making full use of his character's aerial combos, followups, and edgeguarding, and infamously disrupting recoveries with Palutena's Arrow, and is still considered one of the two best Pit mains along with ZeRo. Armada won Project M singles at Apex 2014 and proceeded to win Project M tournaments without dropping a single set for four months, until Professor Pro took a set off of him in winners finals at Smash or DI (though Armada still won two sets of grand finals). He defeated a large number of Melee and Brawl professionals in tournament with his Project M Pit, taking sets off of Mew2King, DEHF, Mango, and others. SKTAR 3 was the first Project M tournament that Armada failed to win, placing 5th after losing to Emukiller and ESAM.
Notable tournament placings
Melee
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smashers' Reunion 2 | March 31st-April 3rd, 2007 | 4th | 4th | Aniolas |
| The Renaissance of Smash 4 | July 3rd-6th, 2007 | 4th | 4th | Aniolas |
| Smashers' Reunion 3 | August 7th-10th, 2007 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| XsMASh | December 14th-16th, 2007 | 2nd | 3rd | Aniolas |
| Epita Smash Arena 2 | February 23rd-24th, 2008 | 3rd | 5th | Aniolas |
| SMASH ATTACK | April 3rd-5th, 2009 | 1st | 3rd | Aniolas |
| Epita Smash Arena 3 | April 11th-12th, 2009 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| GENESIS | July 10th-12th, 2009 | 2nd | 7th | Aniolas |
| ZEST4 | August 29th, 2009 | 1st | 3rd | Aniolas |
| Pound 4 | January 16th-18th, 2010 | 4th | 5th | Aniolas |
| Berlin Calling | April 2nd-4th, 2010 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| ZEST5 | April 30th-May 1st, 2010 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| Epita Smash Arena 4 | June 26th-27th, 2010 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| STIIG | July 13th-20th, 2010 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| The Tunes Monthlies # 8 | July 31st, 2010 | 1st | 2nd | Aniolas |
| Apex 2010 | August 6th-8th, 2010 | 2nd | 3rd | Aniolas |
| Smash Needs You | August 10th-12th, 2010 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| SKN2 | October 8th-10th, 2010 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| B.E.A.S.T | January 7th-9th, 2011 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| SKN3 | February 11th-13th, 2011 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| Pound V | February 19th-21st, 2011 | 2nd | 1st | Mew2King |
| Tampora 2 | April 29th-May 1st, 2011 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| GENESIS 2 | July 15th-17th, 2011 | 1st | 4th | Aniolas |
| B.E.A.S.T II | August 11th-14th, 2011 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| Tampora 3 | November 25th-27th, 2011 | 1st | 1st | Android |
| Beauty 3 | December 2nd-4th, 2011 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| Apex 2012 | January 6th-8th, 2012 | 1st | 1st | Mew2King |
| Gamers Meetup STHLM | February 18th-19th, 2012 | 1st | 2nd | Aniolas |
| Epita Smash Arena 5 | April 20th-23rd, 2012 | 1st | 1st | Ice |
| Haags Kwartiertje 6 | June 16th, 2012 | 1st | 1st | Faab |
| Smashers' Reunion: Melee Grande | July 13th-15th, 2012 | 1st | 1st | Ice |
| King Funk's Castle II: Måske | October 4th-7th, 2012 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| hf.lan 4 | December 1st-2nd, 2012 | 1st | 1st | Overtriforce |
| Apex 2013 | January 11th-13th, 2013 | 1st | 1st | Mew2King |
| EVO 2013 | July 12th-14th, 2013 | 4th | 4th | Android |
| Apex 2014 | January 17th-19th, 2014 | — | 4th | Ice |
| B.E.A.S.T 4 | February 12th-16th, 2014 | 2nd | 1st | Aniolas |
| Avalon III | March 8th, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Aniolas |
| Smash Ain't Dead 3 | March 15th, 2014 | 1st | — | — |
| Smash or DI | May 3rd, 2014 | 1st | 1st | VA |
| Republic of Fighters 3 | May 17th-18th, 2014 | 2nd | 1st | Ice |
| SKTAR 3 | May 31st-June 1st, 2014 | 4th | 1st | Mew2King |
| Super SWEET | June 7th-8th, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Mew2King |
| SSS Lock-In | June 14th-15th, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Mew2King |
| MLG Anaheim 2014 | June 20th-22th, 2014 | 2nd | 1st | Mew2King |
| CEO 2014 | June 27th-29th, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Mew2King |
| Kings of Cali 4 | July 5th-6th, 2014 | 2nd | 1st | Mew2King |
| EVO 2014 | July 11th-13th, 2014 | 3rd | 9th | Aniolas |
| Gameguys Intergalactic Kegger | July 26th-27th, 2014 | — | 1st | Mew2King |
| COMEBACK I | August 1st-3rd, 2014 | 1st | 2nd | C |
| MUST 1 | August 15th-17th, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Lolex |
| Shadowloo Showdown V | August 29th-31st, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Syke |
| Hit & Stun Tournament 2 | September 6th-7th, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Trif |
| Beauty 8 | September 12th-14th, 2014 | 1st | 2nd | Aniolas |
| The Shape of Melee to Come 5 | September 27th, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Duck |
| The Big House 4 | October 4th-5th, 2014 | 4th | 1st | Mew2King |
| Justice 4 | October 11th, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Hax |
| Arenan I | October 17th-19th, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Dev |
| DrømmeLAN 4.0 | November 7th-9th, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Android |
| Avalon VI | November 29th, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Marc |
| Beauty 9 | December 5th-7th, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Android |
| B.E.A.S.T 5 | January 9th-11th, 2015 | 2nd | 1st | Android |
| Paragon Orlando 2015 | January 17th-18th, 2015 | 5th | 4th | Mew2King |
| SWEET XVII | January 24th, 2015 | 1st | 1st | Beach |
| Apex 2015 | January 30th-February 1st, 2015 | 2nd | 2nd | Android |
| McSmashter 4 | February 21st-22nd, 2015 | 1st | 1st | I.B |
| Beauty 10 | April 2nd-6th, 2015 | 1st | 1st | Android |
| I'm Not Yelling! | April 11th-12th, 2015 | 1st | 2nd | Shroomed |
| MVG Sandstorm | April 18th-19th, 2015 | 1st | 2nd | Mew2King |
| DrømmeLAN 4.5 | April 24th-25th, 2015 | 1st | 1st | Android |
| HFLAN Melee Edition | May 9th-10th, 2015 | 1st | 1st | Zhu |
| CEO 2015 | June 26th-28th, 2015 | 2nd | 1st | Shroomed |
| FC Smash 15XR: Return | July 4-5th, 2015 | 3rd | 1st | Hungrybox |
| WTFox | July 10th-11th, 2015 | 3rd | 1st | Mew2King |
| EVO 2015 | July 17th-19th, 2015 | 1st | 2nd | Ice |
| Heir II the Throne | August 14th-16th, 2015 | 1st | 1st | Android |
Project M
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King Funk's Castle II: Måske | October 4th-7th, 2012 | 1st | 2nd | Aniolas |
| B.E.A.S.T 3 | April 3rd-7th, 2013 | 1st | — | — |
| Apex 2014 | January 17th-19th, 2014 | 1st | — | — |
| B.E.A.S.T 4 | February 12th-16th, 2014 | 1st | — | — |
| Avalon III | March 8th, 2014 | 1st | — | — |
| Smash Ain't Dead 3 | March 15th, 2014 | 1st | — | — |
| Smash or DI | May 3rd, 2014 | 1st | — | — |
| SKTAR 3 | May 31st-June 1st, 2014 | 5th | 2nd | Mew2King |
| Super SWEET | June 7th-8th, 2014 | 1st | — | — |
| CEO 2014 | June 27th-29th, 2014 | 5th | 4th | Hungrybox |
| COMEBACK I | August 1st-3rd, 2014 | 1st | — | — |
| MUST 1 | August 15th-17th, 2014 | 1st | — | — |
| Shadowloo Showdown V | August 29th-31st, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Dreadtech |
| Hit & Stun Tournament 2 | September 6th-7th, 2014 | 1st | — | — |
| Beauty 8 | September 12th-14th, 2014 | 1st | 1st | Professor Pro |
| The Big House 4 | October 4th-5th, 2014 | 7th | 5th | Professor Pro |
| DrømmeLAN 4.0 | November 7th-9th, 2014 | 1st | — | — |
| B.E.A.S.T 5 | January 9th-11th, 2015 | 3rd | — | — |
| McSmashter 4 | February 21st-22nd, 2015 | 1st | 5th | n0ne |
| MVG Sandstorm | April 18th-19th, 2015 | — | 1st | Mew2King |
| HFLAN Melee Edition | May 9th-10th, 2015 | 1st | — | — |
| WTFox | July 10th-11th, 2015 | — | 1st | Mew2King |
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DrommeLAN 4.0 | November 7th-9th, 2014 | 2nd | — | — |
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beauty 9 | December 5th-7th, 2014 | 2nd | — | — |
| B.E.A.S.T 5 | January 9th-11th, 2015 | 4th | — | — |
| DrømmeLAN 4.5 | April 24th-26th, 2015 | — | 3rd | Smasher89 |
Trivia
- Armada's precision with Pit's light arrows in Project M has earned him the nickname "Swedish Sniper". His accuracy with Peach's turnips also occasionally elicits this title.
- Armada holds positive records against every smasher he has played with the exception of Captain Jack (0-2) and SilentSpectre (0-1).
- Armada is the only smasher to have a positive record against Mango (16-11).
- Armada is Aniolas's younger brother and Android's older brother. He also has nine other siblings.
- Armada received the largest prize check in a Melee tournament with a total of $11,214.00 at EVO 2015. This record was formerly held by PC Chris with $10K from MLG Las Vegas 2006.
Gameplay videos
- Apex 2012 - Melee Singles: Mango (Fox) vs. Armada (Peach) WF
- B.e.a.s.t 3 - Armada (Peach) vs. Mang0 (Fox) - Match or Combo Video? (4 Stock)
- APEX 2013 SSBM GF Dr PP VS Armada
- CEO 2014 Grand Finals: Armada (Peach) vs Mango (Fox)
