After two postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the spiritual successor to Super Smash Bros. major Royal Flush will take place in Las Vegas this weekend. To match the setting, there will be a number of chance-based side events, including a random stage bracket in Melee, a random character bracket in Ultimate, a rock-paper-scissors tournament and even Mario Party mini-game challenges.
In addition, Double Down 2022 will be a platinum stop for the Smash World Tour and the final major of the MPGR summer season. Here’s everything to know about Smash’s biggest Vegas major since the removal of Smash from the Evo line-up.
Confirming that for Melee NA *ONLY*, the schedule can be moved around so the ballot return date will be after Double Down. Panelists will be expected to include results from CEO/GOML/Double Down/etc in their ballots.
Eligibility requirements are unchanged. https://t.co/mIxNoHBd3a
— Andrew Nestico (@PracticalTAS) May 4, 2022
Players to watch
Though he has been less active than other top players, Justin “Plup” McGrath has put up solid performances at every event he has attended this year. However, Double Down could mark his best opportunity yet to get his first major victory of 2022. Currently, Plup’s projected path to victory includes matches against Zain “Zain” Naghmi and Juan “Hungrybox” DeBiedma, both of whom he has winning records against this year.
Meanwhile, Hungrybox will enter the tournament with a great deal of momentum as he recently won a major for the first time since 2020. Nevertheless, Double Down could mark a greater test for him. Winning this event will likely require wins against Cody “iBDW” Schwab, Plup and/or Zain. Hungrybox has losing records against all three of them this year. He also hasn’t beaten Zain since Mang0’s Birthday Bash in December of 2019.
MY FIRST MAJOR WIN IN OVER TWO YEARS 🏆 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
GOML 2022 1ST PLACE
so happy…I can still do this 🙂 pic.twitter.com/X1IpdsxL7P
— hungrybox (@LiquidHbox) July 3, 2022
The fifth seed for Ultimate, Carlos “Sonix” Pérez, recently won a major for the first time at CEO 2022. But, top five players like Leonardo “MkLeo” López Pérez, Paris “Light” Ramirez and William “Glutonny” Belaid were absent from that event. While Sonix has proven to be consistent against lower-level players, Double Down 2022 will test how he fares against higher-level players.
In addition, Naoto “ProtoBanham” Tsuji will make his return to the United States at Double Down. His last American tournament, Smash Ultimate Summit 4, saw him place third after defeating the likes of MkLeo and Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey. However, ProtoBanham underperformed at several subsequent Japanese majors. As a result, fans will see whether a return to the States also marks a return to form for ProtoBanham.
How to watch Double Down 2022
The tournament will kick off at 3 p.m. ET Friday with side events and Melee Doubles. Ultimate Doubles will start at 6 p.m., along with the first of a number of Rivals of Aether brackets. These events will continue throughout the day along with other luck-based side brackets. Friday’s festivities will conclude with an Ultimate crew battle at 10 p.m.
Singles pools for Ultimate, Melee and Rivals will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Later, top 128 of Ultimate and top 64 of Melee will start at 7 p.m. Then, top 16 for all three games will begin at 11 p.m. Championship Sunday will kick off with Rivals top six at 1 p.m., followed by Melee top 12 at 3 p.m. Afterward, the event will conclude with Ultimate top 12 at 8 p.m.
All of the Ultimate brackets will be streamed by VGBootCamp and VGBootCamp3, while the Melee broadcast will be on VGBootCamp2 and the Rivals events will appear on the official Rivals of Aether Twitch channel. However, the entirety of Championship Sunday at Double Down 2022 will be on the primary VGBootCamp stream.
