MkLeo clutches Smash Ultimate Summit 2

Smash Ultimate Summit 2 comes to a close. Leonardo “MkLeo” Lopez Perez took first place for the second straight Ultimate Summit. Along with a repeat championship, he also takes home the lion’s share of the $44 thousand prize pool.

Congratulations to the BACK-TO-BACK #UltimateSummit Champion, @Mkleosb!!! ? pic.twitter.com/vMLed0YNBR

— Beyond the Smash (@BTSsmash) October 28, 2019

MkLeo started 2-1 in pools, making it into the upper bracket. His first match there was against Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey. MkLeo made quick work of Tweek’s Pokemon Trainer, forcing him to swap to Wario. But that pick fared no better, resulting in a 3-0 for MkLeo.

His next match was against Tyler “Marss” Martins. Surprisingly, it would be another quick affair, with MkLeo’s Joker taking down Marss’s Zero Suit Samus in a 3-0.

Now in winner’s semifinals, MkLeo faced Ezra “Samsora” Morris, Shine 2019 winner. For the first time in the entire tournament, MkLeo swapped off Joker. He picked Marth in an attempt at a better matchup for Samsora’s Peach. But it proved ineffective and MkLeo went down 1-2. MkLeo played the last game back on Joker and fell to losers’ bracket after a 3-1 loss.

Fighting for his tournament life, MkLeo found himself against Takuma “Tea” Hirooka. Tea’s Pac-Man gameplay is one of the most entertaining spectacles in Ultimate, and he showed it off. Tea won the first game and had a lead in game two until MkLeo hit a footstool on Tea off-stage, resulting in an extremely low percentage death.

MkLeo later confirmed in an interview that this was unintentional and that he was the “luckiest person.” From there, MkLeo figured out the matchup, closing out the set in a very close 3-1.

For the losers’ semifinals match, MkLeo played Enrique “Maister” Hernández Solís. Maister was the last qualifier for Ultimate Summit 2, but his oppressive Mr. Game & Watch play brought him to the top four. Once again, MkLeo went for the Marth swap for matchup purposes. This pick worked out, resulting in a 2-0 lead but slowly fell off. Maister managed to tie up the series at 2-2, forcing MkLeo to swap back to Joker. MkLeo dominated the final game, earning a trip to the losers’ bracket finals.

After losing to Samsora in a five game winners’ final, Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada was MkLeo’s next test. MkLeo took the first game but Nairo evened up the series just as quickly. With MkLeo at over 100 percent and Nairo at just zero, game two looked finished. However, MkLeo pulled off an incredible off-stage reversal to spike down Nairo, earning a two-game lead.

Not wanting to push his luck, MkLeo swapped to Marth for the third game in a mix-up attempt. But Nairo was prepared and won a game in response. Switching back on Joker, MkLeo won game four and advanced to the grand finals.

In a rematch against Samsora, who knocked him to the losers’ bracket, MkLeo decided to stick to playing Joker for the entire ride. The choice paid off. MkLeo kept up the pressure from the start of game one. Samsora came within one stock of winning each of the first three games but just couldn’t finish. After the bracket reset, Samsora looked to have run out of energy. MkLeo burned him in the next two games with two stocks remaining. The final game was close, but MkLeo showed himself to be a clutch player, taking the match and the Smash Ultimate Summit 2 title.

AFTER AN INSANE LAST STOCK, @Mkleosb WINS #UltimateSummit 2 WITH A 6-0 IN GRAND FINALS!! ? pic.twitter.com/lPJZlHvMYL

— Beyond the Smash (@BTSsmash) October 28, 2019

So ends one of the most entertaining events of the year, Smash Summit. As always, there were many entertaining side activities, high production skits, and intense professional matches that Beyond the Summit provided. At the end of the stream, the dates for next year’s Summit events were announced.

We’ll see you in 2020.

Smash Summit 9: February 13 – 16
Ultimate Summit 3: June 11 – 14
Mainstage 2: October 23 – 25 pic.twitter.com/TxjUF5NCyu

— Beyond the Smash (@BTSsmash) October 28, 2019

The next Summit event looms in the distance. Mark the calendars and be sure to tune in to see some of the best content Smash Bros. has to offer.

Written by Zakaria Almughrabi

Featured Image credit to Beyond the Summit