Docked and Loaded 3 - Sets to Watch Out For

Docked and Loaded 3, Auckland's flagship annual Smash tournament series, rises from the grave to deliver its third instalment after a three-year long hiatus. The large majority of the best players in the North Island are showing up to make this tourney one any NZ Smash fans can't miss. With that in mind, here are some potential upsets and hot sets that could rock the bracket this weekend.

PHINN vs. FIN.
The battle of the Finns, this Winners Round 1 set was purposefully seeded by head TO Viiv because they are evil and rig brackets for fun. With that in mind, this set will likely draw a larger crowd than most in its round, due to both the similar names of the two players involved and that the winner will be fed to #1 seed ube immediately after. The sick, twisted Auckland crowds will be sure to enjoy a set between Sonic and Zero Suit Samus.

UNLADEN vs. SQUINNSHER
Despite not being his main game, Unladen has shown remarkable proficiency at Smash Ultimate, making it onto the Wellington Power Rankings multiple times with a neutral-heavy Daisy. Squinnsher, on the other hand, has a different outlook. The Falcon main's main game is definitely Smash Ultimate, and he's recently found himself with a serious shot at becoming Hamilton's #1. With Unladen's rock-solid neutral against Squinnsher's explosive advantage, this set will be sure to turn heads.

DAWESTS vs. WIDDERSHIN
DaWests is the single most inconsistent player in New Zealand, bar none. Sometimes the Daisy main's taking sets off of Auckland's best players and making killer bracket runs, other times his controller breaks and he goes 0-2 at Second Wind 2024 or he just sandbags. Widdershin, however, is a far more solid beacon of consistency. Piloting an inherently consistent character in Link, Widdershin has seen a slow, but unwavering rise up Wellington's rungs. With plenty of Daisy practice in the form of Unladen, only time can tell if Widdershin can hold his own against a much more advantage-focused Daisy and make the upset.

SMITHEREENS vs. TIMTAM
Both of these players could be described by the same word - "goofy". Smithereens' off-meta picks in Bowser Jr. and Lucas are nevertheless familiar to the Auckland scene due to Aluf and RenSoul, while timtam's Mii Swordfighter and Steve are much less familiar to Wellington players. This set will likely be defined by timtam's sheer patience clashing with Smithereens' more cavalier attitude to neutral - which will prevail?

MOJOBONES vs. DOUBLE A
This set happened at last year's Docked and Loaded replacement; Wellington Invades SeaSideSmash. Double A defied the unfavourable matchup, with his King Dedede securing a 3-2 win over mojobones' Bayonetta. Since then, neither player has really dedicated themselves to Smash Ultimate, so we might just see a repeat of last year. Regardless, last year's set was intense and exciting, so this year's set should in theory follow.

VIIV vs. ZAI
Viiv has been focusing on Rivals of Aether II recently, but that doesn't mean the Yoshi main is out of Smash Ultimate just yet. They've still taken sets off strong Auckland players such as K-dawg in the last few tourneys they've entered. Zai, however, is perhaps the rising star in Hamilton. Piloting Kazuya and lately Ryu, Zai has shown a propensity to take sets off some of Hamilton's best and even Aluf in a shock upset - can Zai take another set off a strong Aucklander?

ALASTAIRBL vs. ALUF
AlastairBL is back in New Zealand for Docked and Loaded 3 after winning a lot in Queensland, and he is looking to make a similar run to his killer run at Southern Cross Up last year where he found wins on Twister3, K-dawg, timtam and RenSoul... but he didn't have to play against Aluf, who eliminated him at Wellington Invades SeaSideSmash last year. Time will tell if AlastairBL can noop his way to success here.

ICYK vs. K-DAWG
IcyK suffered through a character crisis after losing to ube and RenSoul at Second Wind last year, but they seem to have settled on Bowser with a secondary Aegis for now. K-dawg, however, does not have "character crisis" in his vocabulary. A staunch Jigglypuff main no matter the matchup, K-dawg has made awful matchups like Sonic and Yoshi look doable, and their patient playstyle may throw off IcyK, whose local Jigglypuff in Mackarp is much more aggressive. This is their first ever match in bracket... as long as K-dawg doesn't get upset by Twister3, that is.

Make sure to tune in to Docked and Loaded 3 on https://twitch.tv/nzsmash for some Smash Ultimate action this Saturday and Sunday!