Golden Guardians announced an upcoming online Super Smash Bros. Melee event called The Octagon on June 5. The event will begin at 8 p.m. ET on June 20, and the Golden Guardians Twitch channel will livestream it.
Welcome to Zain's Domain, The Octagon – a one-night showcase of Melee's heavyweights!🥊🏆
The main event is @ZainNaghmi vs @C9Mang0 for $1000. You don't want to miss this.
🗓️ Saturday, June 20, 2020
⏰ 5PM PT/ 8PM ET
📺 https:/www.twitch.tv/goldenguardians pic.twitter.com/AnM1csJkAb— Golden Guardians (@GoldenGuardians) June 5, 2020
The recent announcement advertised The Octagon as a “one-night showcase of Melee’s heavyweights” and “the premiere netplay event.” A $1,000 money match between Zain Naghmi and Joseph “Mang0” Marquez will serve as the main event of the stream. It is implied that the event will include other matches as well. However, Golden Guardians did not confirm any other matches in the initial announcement.
Golden Guardians’ upcoming event will also serve as a charity fundraiser. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund will receive all of the donations made during the livestream. In addition, Golden Guardians will match any donations made up to $5,000. As a result, it continues a pattern of Smash events raising money for charity following the death of George Floyd.
What to expect from The Octagon
The Octagon appears to follow the pattern of a Salty Suite. Smash tournaments have featured Salty Suites as a way for top players to face one another in grudge matches. Salty Suites typically feature multiple money matches culminating in a main event, as Golden Guardians’ event will likely do. Such main events have included the infamous money match between William “Leffen” Hjelte and Kashan “Chillindude” Khan at Apex 2015.
Since his rise to the top 10 in 2018, Zain has been one of Mang0’s greatest rivals. They have a nearly even 7-6 lifetime record in Zain’s favor. In fact, Zain is one of only three players who has played Mang0 more than once and holds a winning record against him. The other two are Adam “Armada” Lindgren and Armand “ARMY” Del Duca. However, considering Zain and Mang0’s close set history, it is hard to predict who will come out on top at The Octagon.
