The North American Northeast Smash Ultimate Online Qualifiers were held on May 22-23, the last qualifying tournament for Regional Finals. The Northeast bracket was arguably the most stacked qualifier. Many top Ultiatme players were in attendance, such as Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey, Samuel “Dabuz” Buzby, David “LeoN” Leon, Chris “WaDi” Boston, and the thirteen-year-old prodigy “Syrup.” The tournament went to Tweek with Dabuz winning the “Last Chance Qualifier” (LCQ). Some exciting characters made it to the end of the tournament, such as Syrup’s Ness coming in second in the Qualifiers and Myles “Myles” McKenzie’s Yoshi, who just barely missed the mark to qualify, losing to Noah “Sharp” McCulley in the last qualifying set of the LCQ. This article aims to go over both Syrup’s and Tweek’s climb to Grand Finals and go over the Grand Finals set between Syrup and Tweek.
depiction of Ness in Smash Ultimate
Syrup dominated his bracket, having a tournament record of 12-4 before Grand Finals. He first went up against a Pyra/Mythra and Duckhunt main by the name of CaKe. Syrup lost the first match but shut CaKe out after the loss going 3-1, taking the set and moving on to face “Nicholas “Ned” Dovel’s Sephiroth, in the second round, who just got off a win against Eric “Mr. E” Weber. Syrup won the first two games but not without a fight from Ned, with both games going to a last stock situation. Ned was able to bounce back, taking the next two consecutive games, but Syrup took game 5 with a commanding two-stock lead. Syrup’s next opponent, WaDi, who tried to counter pick the ness with Pitt and Mewtwo. The counter picks did not help WaDi, however, with Syruptaking the set 3-0.
To get into Grand Finals from winners side, Syrup went up against LeoN’s Bowser, one of the best Bowsers in the world who also sent Dabuz to losers, taking the set 3-0. Syrup did not let LeoN’s past achievements intimidate him, losing the first match in a last stock last hit scenario. Syrup adapted LeoN’s game plan and won the next three consecutive games, taking the set 3-1 and heading to Grand Finals on winners side.
Depiction of Diddy Kong in Smash Ultimate
Tweek had a surprisingly rough start in his singles bracket run. Tweek’s first opponent was “Quidd,” who opted to use Pac-man against Tweek’s Diddy Kong. Tweek started strong with a 2-0 lead but lost the third match. He switched characters and went with Sephiroth for game four. Quidd was able to take it, tying the set 2-2. Tweek then switched to Wolf but again, Quidd beat it, sending Tweek to losers bracket early.
For Tweek to make it into Grand Finals, he had to go through the gauntlet that was the losers bracket. His first opponent, “BlueJay,” a Sonic main, who Tweek beat 3-1 and went on to face the Robin main, “Mj.” Tweek was able to sweep the set against Mj 3-0. His next match-up was against Dabuz and his Min-Min and Rosalina. Tweek was able to take the first game, making Dabuz switch to Rosalina. The character choice seemed to be a mistake on Dabuzs part, switching back to Min-min after losing the second game with Rosalina. Dabuz took the third game but could not bring the set to a game five scenario, with Tweek beating Dabuz 3-1.
Tweek then faced Ricardo “Sinji” Mathison, who is considered one of the top 2 Pac-Man players in the world. In the first match against Sinji, Tweek opted to go with Wario but lost the game. For the rest of the set, Tweek went with Wolf, taking the next two matches. Sinji was able to take the fourth game set up for a game five set. He was able to take the final game in a “time-out” situation with two stocks left.
Tweek faced WaDi, who picked R.O.B. in the first game but lost, opting with MewTwo in the following matches. However, Tweek’s Diddy Kong was able to take the set 3-1. Tweek’s last opponent to get to Losers finals was John “Armadillo” V., a Lucario main. Armadillo was able to take the first match, but Tweek bulldozed over Armadillo in the remainder of the set, making it 3-1. Tweek’s final set to get to Grand Finals was against LeoN. Tweek again lost the first game but took the set from LeoN 3-1, sending Tweek to Grand Finals to face Syrup. Tweek’s run was long and argues, with a pre-Grand Finals record of 23-10.
Depiction of Diddy Kong and Ness in Smash Ultimate, taken from DReager1.com
Syrup and Tweek faced off in Grand Finals. Tweek’s main objective was to catch Syrups recovery with a banana near ledge to set up a ledge guard situation. Tweek was able to take the first game with a two-stock lead.
In Game two, Syrup counter picked to “Small Battlefield.” Syrup had a substantial lead having two stocks to Tweek’s one. However, Tweek was able to play patient enough to climb back from the deficit, taking game two. In-game three, Syrup chose to go back to “Small Battlefield.” The match seemed like a repeat of game two, but this time, Syrup could close out Tweek’s stocks, taking game three. Tweek counter picked to “Kalos” and seemed to turn up after the first loss in the set. He played aggressively, not letting Syrup breathe. Almost took game four with three stocks but ended up taking the game with two stocks remaining, resetting the bracket.
Last moments of the set between Tweek and Syrup
For the second set of Grand Finals, both players opted to stay with their respective characters. They started the first match on “Pokemon Stadium 2″. The first game seemed to be a continuation of the first set, with Tweek taking it with only 39% on his final stock. Syrup again chose to take Tweek to Small Battlefield for the second game. The game was in Tweek’s favor, starting strong, taking Syrups first stock and dealing 87% on his second. However, Tweek messed up his recovery and missed the ledge causing him to lose his first stock. Tweek’s misplay gave Syrup the momentum he needed to get back into the game. Taking Tweek’s second stock with an insane Ness combo and quickly taking Tweek’s last stock with the tail of Pika Thunder, causing Tweek to free fall to his death.
Tweek chose to go back to Small Battlefield for the third game in the set. The game went back and forth and ended up being a last stock last hit situation. Tweek had Syrup off stage in the final moments of the match. Setting up for another banana ledge guard, but it sent Syrup towards the stage, making Tweek miss his down air. Syrup was able to reverse the situation. With Syrup up 2-1, it seemed he was poised to take the tournament from Tweek. However, Tweek was able to take game four, setting up another game five scenario. In game five, Tweek had a commanding lead with two stocks versus Syrup, who had 149% on his final stock. Syrup took Tweek’s second stock, but it wasn’t enough, and Tweek to the set and the tournament 3-2.
Results of Northeast Qualifiers from PGstats.com Twitter
While Tweek was to be a shoo-in for the Regional Finals. Syrup had a surprisingly dominant run that landed him an exceptional seeding. With Debbuz taking the LCQ, the Reginal Finals for Smash World Tour are set. It will be exciting to see the thirteen-year-old, Syrup compete in an offline setting. The Smash World Tour Reginal Finals are sure to be eventful, with them being the first offline tournament since COVID-19. It will be interesting to see how these new players play in an offline setting.
