Former Smash competitor elected to Montana State Legislature

Former competitive Super Smash Bros. and Project M player Zooey Zephyr was elected to the Montana House of Representatives on Tuesday. The newly-elected Montana representative used to enter tournaments for Brawl mod Project M.

“I was prepared for post-election surprises. I was not prepared for the smash community to find an old tweet about PM and hype me up,” Zephyr tweeted on Wednesday. “I love y’all. And don’t think I’ve fallen off just [because] I’m not competing anymore. If y’all ever come through Montana, you can catch these hands.”

I was prepared for post-election surprises. I was not prepared for the smash community to find an old tweet about PM and hype me up. 😅

I love y'all. And don't think I've fallen off just bc I'm not competing anymore. If y'all ever come through Montana, you can catch these hands. https://t.co/6swJKCmJYX

— Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@ZoAndBehold) November 9, 2022

Zephyr won her seat in District 100 of the Montana state House of Representatives. She will replace the incumbent Andrea Olsen, a fellow Democrat whose term will end at the beginning of next year. Zephyr is also the first openly transgender person to be elected to the Montana State Legislature.

More about Montana’s newly-elected Project M player

Zephyr was most active at major Project M tournaments throughout 2014 and 2015. She found moderate success as a Ness main despite her limited usage of L-canceling, an advanced technique used to cancel endlag after landing with an aerial attack.

“[Not} me getting roasted about my L-cancels on the day of my election victory. And I’m at like 75% l-cancel rate these days, so I’m getting better,” Zephyr tweeted on Wednesday. “Still took sets & games off of big names without them though.”

not me getting roasted about my L-cancels on the day of my election victory. And I'm at like 75% l-cancel rate these days, so I'm getting better.

Still took sets & games off of big names without them though 😤

— Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@ZoAndBehold) November 9, 2022

One of Zephyr’s most notable tournament performances came at Northwest Majors IV, a regional event hosted in Des Moines, Washington, in May of 2014. At that tournament, she went on a six-set losers run and eliminated Melee pro Zac “SFAT” Cordoni en route to a top-eight finish.

Numerous Project M community members took to Twitter to congratulate Zephyr and make jokes after she was elected to the Montana State Legislature. Commentator Samuel “Wisely” Mihelich described Zephyr’s victory as “the most we have ever lived in your walls,” referencing a recurring joke among Project M players about the game’s frequent presence at shadow majors near official Smash tournaments.

I love everything about this so much, huge congrats @ZoAndBehold <3

— Wisely (@atWisely) November 9, 2022

In addition, the former Project M player expressed interest in going on an episode of Fourside Fights after she was elected to the Montana State Legislature. The Fourside Fights Twitter account invited to Zephyr to discuss intellectual property law and “also fun things that are not depressing.” Fourside Fights is a Melee-themed roundtable talk show inspired by ESPN’s “Around the Horn.”