This Smash Ultimate Summit was insane and is one for the books; in this super major, a new Summit champion was crowned. That champion is Naoto “ProtoBanham” Tsuji. A Lucina, a Min Min player from Japan.
Summit has always been a Smash event to watch, as there are usually just top players duking it out to see who really is the best. ProtoBanham has always been a top player, with recent wins in Double Down (over MKLeo) and JINGI 1 (over Eim). This time, he won it all over Light.
Light came from the loser’s side of the tournament with teammate, Kola, sending him there after a 3-2 battle. His set against ProtoBanham came to a reset, with Light winning 3-0, but ProtoBanham still had some gas in him and clutched it out 3-1 to win his very first Summit trophy.
Smash Ultimate Summit 5 also made history. This Summit marks the second time in MKLeo’s Ultimate career that he didn’t get into top 8 at an event. The first one was Umebura Japan Major 2019, where he got 33rd while he was still practicing his Joker. The Smash star finished 9th this tournament after being eliminated by Tweek, 3-2.
After that, Tweek was defeated by Acola, the rising star of Japan that uses Steve. They then cruised up until the Losers Semi-Final where he met his match—Light. It was a very close set, but Light managed to clutch it out, 3-2.
This tournament really lived up to its name as the Summit; the top players showed everyone what they can do in the zone, and a lot of sets went to last-gasp game 5s. For many, this Summit was also the closest in regards to skill and chances to win.
