Ginger wins first Super Smash Bros. Melee Major, beats Axe 3-2 at Low Tide City

Another big first win for a Melee veteran.
Screengrab via Beyond the Summit

Another LAN Major is in the books, with Ginger winning Super Smash Bros. Melee at Low Tide City 3-2 in a grand finals run-back against Axe. 

Recommended Videos

This is the Falco player’s first Major victory, taking wins over Magi, Duncan “SDJ” Meara, and two straight sets against Axe to win it all in just the second in-person Melee Major of the year. He also won doubles with his partner Gahtzu.

In their first meeting, Ginger beat Axe 3-2 with a dominant performance in game five, where he three-stocked the Pikachu player. However, Axe would get another chance at Ginger after sweeping KoDoRiN 3-0, taking his second set over the Marth-main with relative ease.

The rematch saw Axe take a strong 2-1 lead after both players’ decisions in the opening games led to some odd and very flashy interactions. 

Even after going down, Ginger remained composed. He took game four with some extremely well-placed backairs and movement techniques that helped him avoid the mistakes from the previous rounds, which let Axe take some easy stocks off of him.

In a last game, last stock situation, Ginger took a huge percentage lead, survived one of Axe’s full-stage chasedowns, and landed a favorable trade to take the event. 

After the win, Ginger said that he spent a lot of time preparing mentally for this event with his coach, Melee legend Druggedfox, and reviewing his approach to the game from that angle. 

“We had a long talk about how much I care and what mental state I should be in going into a tournament,” Ginger said. “Riptide obviously just happened and I had a set against KoDoRiN, he ended up wiping me out. We analyzed that VOD together and one of the most important things I think was actually the player cam. Because Sami [Druggedfox] ended up looking at me and says ‘do you even want to win?’” 

Following that conversation, Ginger changed his mentality slightly and started putting himself out there more, saying he felt being more exposed and showing more emotion helped him through his run. 

“My mental was sharp, I stayed composed in difficult moments, and I just wanted every game,” Ginger said

You can expect to see Ginger, along with a majority of the other top players who competed at LTC competing in upcoming Major events like Mainstage, Super Smash Con: Fall Fest, and more.


Dot Esports is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article Guilty Gear Strive’s most requested character is finally on the way as ArcSys teases next season
Sol Badugy from Guilty Gear Strive.
Read Article ARC World Tour 2023 Finals: Full Guilty Gear Strive and Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising top results
Arc World Tour Finals 2023 banner.
Read Article Guilty Gear Strive’s next DLC fighter brings Jealous Rage, new content after 12-year absence
ABA Guilty Gear Strive
Related Content
Read Article Guilty Gear Strive’s most requested character is finally on the way as ArcSys teases next season
Sol Badugy from Guilty Gear Strive.
Read Article ARC World Tour 2023 Finals: Full Guilty Gear Strive and Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising top results
Arc World Tour Finals 2023 banner.
Read Article Guilty Gear Strive’s next DLC fighter brings Jealous Rage, new content after 12-year absence
ABA Guilty Gear Strive
Author
Cale Michael
Lead Staff Writer for Dota 2, the FGC, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more who has been writing for Dot Esports since 2018. Graduated with a degree in Journalism from Oklahoma Christian University and also previously covered the NBA. You can usually find him writing, reading, or watching an FGC tournament.