Super Smash Bros. tournaments always pop up, but few have the staying power of a Major event like Shine. Unfortunately, the incredible final showdown where Cody Schwab overcame Zain for his second Major win of 2023 marks the end of Shine as an event series—ending what was a stable tournament for Melee and newer Smash titles.
Smash Melee has been consistently growing in popularity as a competitive esport since The Smash Brothers documentary dropped in 2013 and introduced an entirely new audience to the 2001 game. Shine is one of several Melee-focused events that popped up in the aftermath, exploding onto the scene in August 2016 and instantly becoming one of the bigger Major tournaments.
Shine was around for the boom of new players rising to match the old guard of the Melee Gods. Still, it won’t be continuing its Boston-born and community-supported legacy any further due to continued financial issues that the tournament organizers brought up back in April.
With the knowledge that this would be the final Shine, Melee players turned out in force, making this the largest event in the series since Shine 2018. And, while there were many notable players like Hungrybox and Mang0 missing from the bracket, it still ended up with Zain looking for his third Shine title.
The Shine 2018 and 2022 champion was far from uncontested, however, as Cody Schwab managed to sweep Zain 3-0 in the winner’s finals. Heading into Shine 2023, Zain held a 69 percent lifetime win rate over Cody dating back to Smash Valley V in February 2017.
Just in the last three events, Zain ended Cody’s run at the Ludwig Ahgren Championship Series 5 and knocked him out of the upper bracket at Super Smash Con 2023, though Cody did best the Marth main in their second meeting at Battle of BC5—before winning the entire tournament.
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Cody took a rare 3-0 win over Zain in those winner’s finals, but Zain returned the favor in the grand finals by taking his own sweep to reset the bracket and leave the world’s current top fox player with no momentum.
Both players traded stocks in the reset until it all came down to a last game, last stock with Cody holding a percentage lead. And, while Zain managed to make it back to the stage after a nice hit, Cody ended it with a classic Fox Shine into Up Throw Up Air.
Even if it is bittersweet to see Shine go, it is a nice bookend to see a Fox player win not just Melee but also Ultimate, with Light’s own Spacie getting the job done 3-2 over Zomba.
Published: Aug 28, 2023 03:12 am