Three takeaways from LMBM 2022 Smash Ultimate Singles

Even as hundreds of players dropped out due to Omicron concerns, Let’s Make Big Moves 2022 did not fail to deliver an entertaining Super Smash Bros. Ultimate event. Viewers got to see history in the making as Chris “Quidd” R. became the lowest-seeded player to ever win a North American Smash Ultimate major.

Here’s an overview of Quidd’s breakout victory and other major takeaways from LMBM 2022.

Quidd dominates the competition in his first major victory

Quidd’s first major was Let’s Make Big Moves 2020, where the young Pokémon Trainer main placed at a commendable 129th. Two years later, Quidd’s rapid improvements have become apparent. As a result, he was rewarded with the 32nd seed going into LMBM 2022; a huge step up from his prior placement. And yet, the Westchester, New York native still blew all expectations out of the water as he convincingly earned his first major victory shortly after beginning his journey in competitive Smash.

Quidd dodged No. 1 seed Kola “Kolawole” Aideyan in top 64, as he had been upset by Anthony “ChocoTaco” Riley in the prior round. Quidd managed to avoid being upset himself, defeating ChocoTaco 3-0. In his first match-up against a higher-seeded player, Quidd solidly defeated Sierra “moxi” Lund 3-0.

Even as the caliber of his opponents increased, Quidd was unshaken. He swept both Michael “Tilde” Tedesco and Spencer “Scend” Garner, putting him in winners finals without dropping any games. While Antony “MuteAce” Hoo was the first to make Quidd bleed, he still couldn’t manage more than a single game. Quidd beat MuteAce 3-1 and advanced to grand finals on winners side.

Quidd’s final opponent was Kola, who had run it all the way through the losers bracket after entering it before top 64. Kola seemed poised to end Quidd’s stellar run, as Kola won the first set of grand finals 3-1. However, Quidd masterfully adapted in the second set, eliminating Kola’s stocks with his precise Squirtle edgeguards and hard-hitting Ivysaur punishes. Quidd fittingly defeated Kola with a set count he had grown accustomed to over the course of the tournament: 3-0.

I did it. I won LMBM 2022!

Thank you to everyone who supported me – the WC guys (WC on top!!), GRNT guys, and my friends and family
Couldn’t have done it without each and every one of them

What an amazing weekend, I’m so happy right now 😄 https://t.co/0QH67s9Shp

— Quidd (@Quidd_Ivysaur) January 10, 2022

Kola proves he can bounce back from an early loss

Even as many have hailed him as a top 10 player in North America, Kola is no stranger to upset losses. He has taken multiple early trips to the losers bracket at the hands of players like Noah “naitosharp” McCulley, Caleb “Chronos” F. and Karthik “Lavish” Ganapathy. As a result, it was no groundbreaking development when ChocoTaco defeated Kola 3-2 before top 64 at LMBM 2022.

But, the early upset was different this time. Typically, Kola gets eliminated fairly early, after being sent to the losers bracket by a lower-seeded player. Instead, Kola overcame every opponent in his path to make it all the way to grand finals at LMBM.

Notably, his losers run included 3-0 victories over Lavish and moxi, both of whom had beaten Kola the last time they played. He also eliminated Kevin “AoS” Daniel Diaz 3-0, Angel “Angel” Nunez 3-2, Darrell “DDog” Boone 3-1, Michael “PsychoMyko” Hamlett 3-1 and Marcel “quiK” Romagnuolo 3-2 on his way to top eight.

Despite some close calls earlier in the bracket, Kola handily defeated most of his opponents in top eight. He secured five consecutive 3-1 victories, starting with wins over Griffin “Fatality” Miller, Scend, Samuel “Dabuz” Buzby and MuteAce. Kola even beat Quidd 3-1, becoming the only person to meaningfully challenge Quidd throughout the whole event. While he couldn’t defeat Quidd in the second set, this tournament still marked Kola’s deepest losers run at any post-quarantine major.

.@Kola_irl HAS RESET THE BRACKET!

THIS ONE DECIDES IT ALL! 🏆

YOU DON'T WANNA MISS THIS #LMBM2022

📺https://t.co/YHYLf4iisT📺 pic.twitter.com/w1DlNtIwGz

— #LMBM Jan 5-7 🗽🔜 (@YoLetsMakeMoves) January 10, 2022

Samus excels at LMBM 2022

LMBM 2022 marked an unexpected renaissance for Samus, a character that few players have piloted at the top level in Smash Ultimate. Samus and Dark Samus mains made up a quarter of all the players in top 16. Leading the charge was the highest-placing European at the event, Germany’s quiK. He made it to winners quarters by defeating Colyn “Colorondo8” Billingsley 2-1, Jonathan “Jdizzle” Douglas 3-2, Chris “WaDi” Boston 3-2 and fellow Samus main Willow “IcyMist” Barto 3-2. QuiK ultimately finished in ninth place after losing to the top two seeds, Kola and Dabuz.

IcyMist, likewise, piloted Samus to ninth place. She defeated “Onin” 3-2 before narrowly losing a mirror match against quiK. Then, IcyMist eliminated Jdizzle 3-0 and Alan “Gen” Soriano 3-0 before losing another five-game nail-biter to Alexis “Goblin” Stennett.

Wi-fi warrior and Dark Samus main PsychoMyko had an unexpected run to 13th place. He defeated Zamir “Juice” Johnson 3-2, Alex “Vermillion” Vo 3-1, Marcus “boosk” Jeffers 3-1 and Kobe “Kobe” Murray 3-2. Finally, WaDi decided to play mostly Dark Samus after both his R.O.B. and Mewtwo failed to overcome quiK in the winners bracket. In the losers bracket, WaDi beat Logan “Phuzix” T. 3-0, Onin 3-1 and Brian “omega” Campbell 3-2 en route to 13th place.

SAMUS DITTOS NEXT LOOOOOL

— quiK ➡️ UFA (@quikssb) January 9, 2022