APEX 2015 is primarily a Super Smash Bros. tournament but it features other fighting games and Pokemon as well. It's essentially the EVO for Super Smash Bros. as it features every single official Smash Bros. game usually with high turnouts. This year's APEX has broken record numbers with close to 1040 entrants for Super Smash Bros. Melee and about 830 entrants for the new Smash Bros, Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U.
Watch it here
Newcomer stream: www.twitch.tv/screwattack (Sunday only)
Schedule (EST)
Due to the issues on Friday they had to do an entirely new schedule. What's below is the tournament schedule which should be a general guide for when events will go live on the streams, but no indication of which streams. Generally speaking, Melee is on VGBC while Smash 4, Brawl, and 64 will be on Team Sp00ky and Bifuteki has all the rest of the fighting games.
Saturday:
Sunday:
Brackets/Pools (singles and doubles are in the same link)
Pools can be found here
Smash Bros. 64 Brackets
Super Smash Bros. Melee Brackets
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Brackets
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Brackets
Fighting Game Brackets (USFIV, GGXrd, KI, and UMvC3)
Pokemon ORAS Brackets
Salty Suite
The Salty Suite this year is going to be on the main stream on the main stage. Last year's event was so huge that GimR wanted to do it again this year but have higher production value and even better matches. Here are the matches that are going to go down:
LiquidChillin vs Leffen (Trailer will be linked when it's up)
This is a match that everyone has been waiting for, there's been lots of back and forth between these two for the last few months. There's $100 on the line and whoever loses cannot use the original Fox color in tournament for a certain amount of time (some have said it's period and others have said it's for only a year, not 100% sure which it is). Fox vs Fox, Leffen is super confident and Chillin believes he has a good chance of beating Leffen. This should be either a Bo5 or Bo7, forget which it is.
Axe vs Silent Wolf (Hype trailer here)
This set doesn't have anything on the line like the above but the reason it's happening is because Silent Wolf got 4 stocked so bad at EVO 2014 last year that many people think his Fox isn't actually all that good and well... that's all they can remember about SW (him getting 4 stocked). SW wants to prove otherwise and thus he wants to redeem himself by showing that he can beat Axe.
Colbol vs Westballz (Hype trailer here)
This was originally going to be Hax vs Westballz but due to hand pain Hax had to drop playing this set -- he is still going to be at APEX, though. Not much can be said here, Florida vs SoCal is really about the only aspect of it that could be hype. The trailer speaks for itself.
LiquidKen vs PC Chris (Hype trailer here)
Now THIS set will be something else. PC Chris has just now officially come out of "retirement" and Ken has been playing Melee since 2013. Does PC Chris still have what it takes? Or, will Ken take this just because of how he's been playing Melee on a regular basis for more than a year or two? This old rivalry is brought back into 2015.
Eikelmann vs Bizarro Flame (Hype trailer here)
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this set will be happening. Kage just tweeted this morning that he's not feeling well enough to travel so this set won't be happening.
It is now Eikelmann vs Bizarro Flame instead. Florida vs NorCal. Which Ganondorf is better? Bizarro's style or Eikelmann's fundamentals? Find out in this stellar Ganondorf ditto set!
Florida vs NorCal Crew Battle (Hype trailer here)
The trailer speaks for itself. 5 v 5, 4 stocks each, get hyped.
UMass vs Columbia schools aka The Melee Games Finals (Hype trailer here)
MattDotZeb set up a special event called "The Melee Games" where a bunch of schools (universities/colleges) signed up to compete in a large bracket where they'd face other schools. These are the last two schools remaining and it was decided to be put into the Salty Suite this year. It's going to be pretty exciting as the trailer showed what the last Melee Games finals was like -- tons of school pride and hype mixed in will make it exciting to watch. Especially because the players themselves aren't going to be super high level but still good enough to be on the edge of your seat.
Salty Suite Schedule
Estimated times [EST]:
9:30pm - Eikelmann Vs. Bizzaroflame
9:55PM - Westballz Vs. Colbol
10:20PM - Axe Vs. Silent Wolf
10:45PM - Ken Vs. PC
11:10PM - Leffen Vs. Chillin
11:45M - Melee Games Finals
12:30AM - Norcal Vs. Florida
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!! Schedule is subject to slight changes
The Smash 4 Salty Suite
Friday at 9:30 PM EST
Stream: www.twitch.tv/maxketchum
Notable Players
PL MVG | Mew2King
[A]rmada
Android
MikeHaggar
C9 Mang0
LiquidHungrybox
EG | PPMD
Leffen
MOR | Axe
MOR | ChuDat
SS | Colbol
Plup
LuCKy
Westballz
S2J
VGBC | Hax (he said he may still play in tournament)
MIOM | PewPewU
LiquidChillin
LiquidKen
LiquidKoreanDJ
Shroomed
VGBC | aMSa
Abadango
Kounotori
So-ten
Sobameshi
FX_DFW Wobbles
IPG | Kels
Aisengobay
ZeRo
Mr. E
LoF Nakat
Nairo
FOW
J.Miller
XFire Vinnie
Larry Lurr
NME UGC Tyrant
DtN | Nietono
...And many more!
If you want to feel some investment or you haven't been keeping up with Super Smash Bros. Melee's tournaments, you can read this which highlights what the stories are going into APEX 2015. I highly recommend it. And of course the main story going into APEX 2015 for Smash 4 is whether Top 8 will be dominated by Diddy Kongs or someone will wreck every Diddy Kong ever. Should be an awesome tournament.
