Queensland Arcadian Top Threats
Queensland Arcadian: Mid-Level Madness is less than a week away and between the 125+ entrants and a wave of top 12 bets happening on Twitter, hype is at an all time high. The concept of an Arcadian is simple - a singles tournament where no players that have made the Power Rankings in the past year are able to compete. This creates the unique opportunity for a player to push themselves in bracket without the fear of copping a losers round 2 PR match. It gives a player an opportunity to make huge waves for the QLD40 and future PR. It gives a player the opportunity to step it up and have a huge breakthrough performance. And with Queensland having such a fabled "insane mid level" this is gonna be a hell of a competitive one.
Even with the latest PR wiping out the enormous threats of Verse, SiqNiq, Churropon and Kwaksy, narrowing the field down to 12 was actually quite difficult so I'm gonna give a bloated list of shout outs before getting into the real deal. You can't overlook Fly who's consistency and recent win over the king of Smash 4 Jaice shows that he's a huge threat. Dags has cemented himself as the strongest non PR player in the Gold Coast region with guys like Swate and Delve vying for the same honour for the Sunny Coast. We've got a few internationals such as Juicegoose and Jed whose foreign styles could could crush anyone that's slow to adapt. There's a whole wave of interstaters such as NSW's Ryan who are a huge X Factor due to a lack of player history. Repping the Bust a Move crew you've got the terrifying trio of LUSH, Python and Mabi ready to join their three freshly minted stablemates on the PR. Curtain was a legend in Smash 4 and has reportedly been practising quite a bit in the lead up to Arcadian so we could see a return to form here. Guys like Sifo, Jyoshi and Umbrella are being completely looked past on the Twitter predictions but are all but guaranteed to make waves. DFS, UMKO and Recon unfortunately are not able to make the event but are three excellent players that are worth highlighting here. And personally I'm hoping Mittens does alright. OK onto 12 of the biggest threats for QLD Arcadian.
Joz
The man that is frequently at the top of everyone's picks to win this entire thing. He's known as the gatekeeper to many and for the longest time would be the clear divide between PR and the rest. He sits at number 12 on the current QLD40 with only PR in front of him and the next Arcadian entrant being a hefty 5 spots behind. At the last FNS he again proved that he has earned his reputation by only dropping to PR and defeating 1 current and 1 former PR in the process. While Joz is very passionate about growing the Sunshine Coast scene his attention is still very much set on his own competitive run in the form of hosting a weekly training session alongside some of the best players in the state. After reaching 2nd place so many times, is this the big one?
Pillowtalk
He may be extremely polarising but it's hard to argue his chances when he was only one of three people chosen to represent Australia at last year's E3's Smash Invitational. Absolutely dominating his home region of Lismore with a slew of characters, the allegations of being carried by Bayonetta are far behind him. The handful of times he's dipped his toes in QLD events he's found success against the big players but the complete lack of experience against the fabled mid level is the only question mark next to this top pick.
Crimson
I don't know how you make the last 3 PR for Smash 4, be the second highest placing Arcadian entrant on the current QLD40 and still be so overlooked. Crimson always has been and currently continues to be an excellent player. Consistency is the only issue but when you've collected wins over Kwaksy, Cajeck and Joz in the past couple of months you absolutely can not gloss past the potential here. If proper King Crimson rocks up at Arcadian he's gonna make heads roll.
Huehue
Huge dark horse pick here. Huehue is a Wario main from Toowoomba who many have pegged as the next potential break out player. He's collected a few decent victories over his first few events such as wins on Spammage, Cap and Milis which is nothing to sneeze at. He'll have gone a month between his last event and Arcadian and if he's got as much potential as the whispers suggest then the table may be set for his big breakthrough event.
Princess
The horseman of the interstate invasion apocalypse. There are so many unknown factors around the glut of players travelling out of state for the Arcadian but one thing is agreed upon - Princess is the one to be afraid of. In the past two months he's achieved two wins over Extra and a win over Ignis which sums it all up right there. His "campy ass Palutena" (as its been affectionately called around these lands) is carrying the weight of Victoria. Will that drive push him through to the top or will he crumble under the pressure of doing his homeland proud?
Squidfist
The people's champ. For all of the outsiders looking at Squidfist near the top of people's predictions and then trying to line them up with his results, things must seem off. Yes he has the ability to pop off (FNS 224 with wins over Joz, Loki, Verse and Negima says hello) but should you be afraid of him? Considering that Jesus Christ himself would get booed if he had to go up against Squidfist, I would say yes. While he faces a similar trial as Princess with potential to crumble under expectations, smart money says that the cheers and the hype of QLD are gonna push him further than he's ever been.
Linoone
Seems surreal to me that there's a wave of players that have never heard of Linoone. He was a country wide threat in Smash 4 with his two crowning achievements being finishing ranked 3rd on the QLD all time 40 and peaking at 7th on the AUS PR. Yes we're in a whole new ball game with Ultimate but when you've been the 7th best in the country you'd be a fool to sleep on Linoone. His results have been sparse and honestly fairly tepid thus far, but with no competitive data for the last 5 months and a ceiling as high as his, this Byron Bay local is a wild card and a half.
Trunkle
Trunkle may not have hit the absurd heights that his younger brother Linoone has hit but he actually has a more notable, although still quite brief, record in Ultimate with wins over SadHour and Verse. At his second ever tournament he rocketed to second place and after a 6 month gap of data with Ultimate, I can easily see him again slipping in and snatching a huge placing.
BattleDolphin
Mayyyyyybe the only person you would root for over Squidfist. BattleDolphin is THE Tournament Organiser of QLD and is one of the absolute hardest workers in the scene. He constantly refers to himself as "only mid level" but as third highest ranking entrant in the current QLD40 this isn't a bad horse to bet on whatsoever. I spend my spare time writing up fictional bracket runs where BattleDolphin wins Arcadian as Jigglypuff. Please let this fairytale ending come true.
Pinkie
Ok hear me out - outside of another Arcadian the closest way to gauge how someone would fare in this format is a lower bracket of a major. And who won the Amateurs Bracket of Big Cheese last month? Pinkie. Yep the young Metaknight hailing from the Gold Coast kind of shocked us all with that win but his mounting collection of W's including SiqNiq, DFS and Squidfist since then have proven that it was no fluke. When he cracks top 8 at Arcadian and everyone is again scratching their heads how it happened, just remember the data was always there.
Loki
My personal pick to win the entire event and make single digits in the next PR. Loki started off modestly as a Snake with a bit of potential and has never stopped progressing and now sits in the realm of "oh shit I'm facing Loki next." He has the goal to become the best player in QLD and considering his run at the past FNS had 3 current/ex PR wins I would say he's closing in on that. No more hype - Loki gonna win this whole thing.
Someone you've never heard of
At every event there's always a chance that an unknown could rock up and rip through a bracket, as Trunkle has proven as previously mentioned. But with an Arcadian where it's presented as a beginner friendly event the chances of someone getting over their tournament hesitations and kicking down the door are probably the highest they're going to get. Whether it be running with an unconventional character, having an abstract play style or just being hella good at the game, every no name player on the day has potential to be the banana peel that will turn this entire event on its head. Can you imagine.
Despite the top 12 predictions and shout outs there's still so many players that haven't been mentioned that could cause an upset at the drop of a hat. QLD Arcadian Mid Level Madness is less than a week away. We're going to have Couchwarriors and Tournameta streaming it. All event info and registration can be found at smash.gg/qldarcadian
Please be excited
Even with the latest PR wiping out the enormous threats of Verse, SiqNiq, Churropon and Kwaksy, narrowing the field down to 12 was actually quite difficult so I'm gonna give a bloated list of shout outs before getting into the real deal. You can't overlook Fly who's consistency and recent win over the king of Smash 4 Jaice shows that he's a huge threat. Dags has cemented himself as the strongest non PR player in the Gold Coast region with guys like Swate and Delve vying for the same honour for the Sunny Coast. We've got a few internationals such as Juicegoose and Jed whose foreign styles could could crush anyone that's slow to adapt. There's a whole wave of interstaters such as NSW's Ryan who are a huge X Factor due to a lack of player history. Repping the Bust a Move crew you've got the terrifying trio of LUSH, Python and Mabi ready to join their three freshly minted stablemates on the PR. Curtain was a legend in Smash 4 and has reportedly been practising quite a bit in the lead up to Arcadian so we could see a return to form here. Guys like Sifo, Jyoshi and Umbrella are being completely looked past on the Twitter predictions but are all but guaranteed to make waves. DFS, UMKO and Recon unfortunately are not able to make the event but are three excellent players that are worth highlighting here. And personally I'm hoping Mittens does alright. OK onto 12 of the biggest threats for QLD Arcadian.
Joz
The man that is frequently at the top of everyone's picks to win this entire thing. He's known as the gatekeeper to many and for the longest time would be the clear divide between PR and the rest. He sits at number 12 on the current QLD40 with only PR in front of him and the next Arcadian entrant being a hefty 5 spots behind. At the last FNS he again proved that he has earned his reputation by only dropping to PR and defeating 1 current and 1 former PR in the process. While Joz is very passionate about growing the Sunshine Coast scene his attention is still very much set on his own competitive run in the form of hosting a weekly training session alongside some of the best players in the state. After reaching 2nd place so many times, is this the big one?
Pillowtalk
He may be extremely polarising but it's hard to argue his chances when he was only one of three people chosen to represent Australia at last year's E3's Smash Invitational. Absolutely dominating his home region of Lismore with a slew of characters, the allegations of being carried by Bayonetta are far behind him. The handful of times he's dipped his toes in QLD events he's found success against the big players but the complete lack of experience against the fabled mid level is the only question mark next to this top pick.
Crimson
I don't know how you make the last 3 PR for Smash 4, be the second highest placing Arcadian entrant on the current QLD40 and still be so overlooked. Crimson always has been and currently continues to be an excellent player. Consistency is the only issue but when you've collected wins over Kwaksy, Cajeck and Joz in the past couple of months you absolutely can not gloss past the potential here. If proper King Crimson rocks up at Arcadian he's gonna make heads roll.
Huehue
Huge dark horse pick here. Huehue is a Wario main from Toowoomba who many have pegged as the next potential break out player. He's collected a few decent victories over his first few events such as wins on Spammage, Cap and Milis which is nothing to sneeze at. He'll have gone a month between his last event and Arcadian and if he's got as much potential as the whispers suggest then the table may be set for his big breakthrough event.
Princess
The horseman of the interstate invasion apocalypse. There are so many unknown factors around the glut of players travelling out of state for the Arcadian but one thing is agreed upon - Princess is the one to be afraid of. In the past two months he's achieved two wins over Extra and a win over Ignis which sums it all up right there. His "campy ass Palutena" (as its been affectionately called around these lands) is carrying the weight of Victoria. Will that drive push him through to the top or will he crumble under the pressure of doing his homeland proud?
Squidfist
The people's champ. For all of the outsiders looking at Squidfist near the top of people's predictions and then trying to line them up with his results, things must seem off. Yes he has the ability to pop off (FNS 224 with wins over Joz, Loki, Verse and Negima says hello) but should you be afraid of him? Considering that Jesus Christ himself would get booed if he had to go up against Squidfist, I would say yes. While he faces a similar trial as Princess with potential to crumble under expectations, smart money says that the cheers and the hype of QLD are gonna push him further than he's ever been.
Linoone
Seems surreal to me that there's a wave of players that have never heard of Linoone. He was a country wide threat in Smash 4 with his two crowning achievements being finishing ranked 3rd on the QLD all time 40 and peaking at 7th on the AUS PR. Yes we're in a whole new ball game with Ultimate but when you've been the 7th best in the country you'd be a fool to sleep on Linoone. His results have been sparse and honestly fairly tepid thus far, but with no competitive data for the last 5 months and a ceiling as high as his, this Byron Bay local is a wild card and a half.
Trunkle
Trunkle may not have hit the absurd heights that his younger brother Linoone has hit but he actually has a more notable, although still quite brief, record in Ultimate with wins over SadHour and Verse. At his second ever tournament he rocketed to second place and after a 6 month gap of data with Ultimate, I can easily see him again slipping in and snatching a huge placing.
BattleDolphin
Mayyyyyybe the only person you would root for over Squidfist. BattleDolphin is THE Tournament Organiser of QLD and is one of the absolute hardest workers in the scene. He constantly refers to himself as "only mid level" but as third highest ranking entrant in the current QLD40 this isn't a bad horse to bet on whatsoever. I spend my spare time writing up fictional bracket runs where BattleDolphin wins Arcadian as Jigglypuff. Please let this fairytale ending come true.
Pinkie
Ok hear me out - outside of another Arcadian the closest way to gauge how someone would fare in this format is a lower bracket of a major. And who won the Amateurs Bracket of Big Cheese last month? Pinkie. Yep the young Metaknight hailing from the Gold Coast kind of shocked us all with that win but his mounting collection of W's including SiqNiq, DFS and Squidfist since then have proven that it was no fluke. When he cracks top 8 at Arcadian and everyone is again scratching their heads how it happened, just remember the data was always there.
Loki
My personal pick to win the entire event and make single digits in the next PR. Loki started off modestly as a Snake with a bit of potential and has never stopped progressing and now sits in the realm of "oh shit I'm facing Loki next." He has the goal to become the best player in QLD and considering his run at the past FNS had 3 current/ex PR wins I would say he's closing in on that. No more hype - Loki gonna win this whole thing.
Someone you've never heard of
At every event there's always a chance that an unknown could rock up and rip through a bracket, as Trunkle has proven as previously mentioned. But with an Arcadian where it's presented as a beginner friendly event the chances of someone getting over their tournament hesitations and kicking down the door are probably the highest they're going to get. Whether it be running with an unconventional character, having an abstract play style or just being hella good at the game, every no name player on the day has potential to be the banana peel that will turn this entire event on its head. Can you imagine.
Despite the top 12 predictions and shout outs there's still so many players that haven't been mentioned that could cause an upset at the drop of a hat. QLD Arcadian Mid Level Madness is less than a week away. We're going to have Couchwarriors and Tournameta streaming it. All event info and registration can be found at smash.gg/qldarcadian
Please be excited
by Mittens 01/13/2020 00:00:00
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