Three takeaways from the SWT Europe Ultimate Regional Finals

After a series of dropouts and replacements, 16 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players eventually met in Vienna, Austria, for the SWT Europe Ultimate Regional Finals from Sept. 18-19. But, even with all the roster shake-ups, one thing remained consistent: William “Glutonny” Belaid convincingly defeating the rest of his European peers.

Here’s a closer look at Glutonny’s win and other major takeaways from the latest Smash World Tour event.

Glutonny dominates as expected at the SWT Europe Ultimate Regional Finals

After placing a measly third at the SWT Europe Ultimate Online Qualifier, Wario-main Glutonny returned to offline competition in May determined to reclaim his status as the best in Europe. Since then, he has won every tournament he has entered besides two: Helios Session 3, where he exclusively played Marth; and Temple: Hermès Edition, where he finished second to Japan’s Takuma “Tea” Hirooka.

As predicted, the SWT Europe Ultimate Regional Finals saw Glutonny at top form. In his round robin pool, he swept Mertcan “Snormanda” Irdem and Johannes “Sintro” Teufl. Glutonny while also beating Steve main Felix “iRefuse” Hansson 3-1. That marked his only game loss of the tournament while using his signature Wario.

In winners quarters, Glutonny defeated Tarik “Tarik” Fayazi’s Kazuya 3-0 to secure a spot in the global final. From there, he largely opted to “have fun” by playing his secondary Wolf. Still, the Wolf was no slouch, as it three-stocked Valentin “Tomberry” Bosch-Cano’s Pokémon Trainer in Game 1 of the winners semifinal. While Tomberry’s Terry won Game 2, Glutonny switched to Wario to beat his Terry and Zero Suit Samus and win the set 3-1.

Glutonny faced Pau “sisqui” Caire in both winners finals and grand finals. Despite sisqui’s impressive performance throughout the rest of the tournament, he was no match for Glutonny’s aggressive Wolf. Glutonny won both sets 3-0, conquering his final opponent without even using his main character.

I won SWT Europe Édition !!

My Wolf was on fire 😂

— SLY | Glutonny (@GlutonnySSB) September 19, 2021

Sisqui is an offline threat

Over quarantine, sisqui emerged as one of Europe’s best online players. The Dark Samus main debuted at No. 14 on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7 after incurring only four losses across the entire season. However, his online success did not immediately translate when he resumed competing in person. His 17th-place finishes at both Ultimate WANTED 3 and Temple: Hermès Edition, while solid, were long shots from his frequent first-place finishes at online tournaments.

But, the SWT Europe Regional Finals marked sisqui’s best offline performance to date. He came out on top of a competitive pool, defeating Tarik 3-2, Clement “SuperStriker” Madison 3-1 and Khang “Tru4” Tran 3-0. All the while, he showed off his ability to pin his opponents at the ledge, rack up damage quickly and find crucial openings to land his powerful Charge Shots.

In the main bracket, sisqui cruised into winners finals by beating Snormanda 3-0 and James “Peli” Hunt 3-1. In addition, he eliminated Tarik in losers finals. Unlike their five-game nailbiter from pools, the losers finals set was a 3-0, with sisqui two-stocking Tarik in the last two games. While sisqui still seems far behind Glutonny’s secondary, let alone his main, he has at least cemented his status as a rising offline threat.

Me he clasificado para el SWT CHAMPIONSHIPS por winners.
Va a tocar demostrar una vez más que España está underrated.

VAMOSSSSSSSS pic.twitter.com/kJYq0rGamJ

— GIA | Sisqui (@TheSisqui) September 19, 2021

Sintro qualifies for the global finals after going winless in pools

Sintro did not initially qualify for the SWT Europe Ultimate Regional Finals. He only received an invitation after six other players dropped out, including Adrian “Ady” Gallegos Torre, who was himself a replacement for one of the qualified players. On account of his status as a last-minute invitee, Sintro was seeded at the bottom of his round robin pool.

Initially, the low seed seemed to suit him well. The R.O.B. main lost to Glutonny and Snormanda without taking a game. Sintro also lost to iRefuse 3-2, finishing last in his pool. Despite his poor pools performance, Sintro managed to make a run through losers and qualify for the global finals.

Sintro started his losers run with a 3-1 win over SuperStriker. He then eliminated Hoang “Longo” Gia Long 3-0, winning two games in the R.O.B. ditto while also defeating Longo’s Pyra and Mythra. Finally, Sintro played his qualifier match against Snormanda, one of the players who swept him in pools.

While Sintro won the first two games, Snormanda managed to claw back and win the next two, with Sintro effectively self-destructing on his last stock of Game 4. Though he was staring down a potential reverse 3-0, Sintro remained composed and took an early lead in Game 5. He held on to his lead for the whole game, eventually finding a down-throw bury into up smash to win the game, beat Snormanda 3-2 and qualify for the global finals. After receiving a bye when Tomberry dropped out, Sintro ultimately lost to Tarik 3-0.

I actually did it, holy f*cking shit

— 2TA | Sintro (@Sintro_Smash) September 19, 2021

Looking ahead

The following players have qualified for the Smash World Tour Ultimate Finals at the end of the year:

• Glutonny
• sisqui
• Tarik
• Sintro
• Peli
• Tomberry

The circuit will resume with the SWT North America West Ultimate Regional Finals from Oct. 9-10.