Smash Melee is fairly well-worn territory, with evolution coming slowly. After so many years, you’d think we’d be free of major upsets and movements in the meta. However, the Big House 10 delivered one huge one. Yoshi’s first major win.
For a long time, many though that Yoshi just lacked the kit to really compete at the very highest level. Yoshi’s first major win definitely disproves that.
Why did it take so long for Yoshi’s First Major Win?
Ultimate has a roster bursting with charettes, but Melee only has 25, or 26 if you’re counting Sheik and Zelda separately. Out of this roster, not all of these characters are considered viable. Between hitboxes, their completely unique move sets, and some quirks of Melee being a debatably broken game, there’s some characters that stand out a lot more.
Fox and 4-5 other characters are generally thought of as the highest tier of the game. You’ll see these characters get great representation at tournaments. Yoshi isn’t among these. He has some clear problems compared to high tier characters.
Yoshi has no Up B recovery. That limits him beyond his double jump. He also can’t jump out of shield. His grab is notably poor, and his neutral options are lower. There is a bit of a higher risk of parries along with his other downsides limiting his recovery moves. Yoshi has clear disadvantages. Although, that’s not the full story, Yoshi’s first major win comes despite these flaws.
Yoshi is Harder, but not Unusable
For a long time, Yoshi was relegated to players picking a low-tier character to mix things up, and a few dedicated mains who didn’t really get too far. It isn’t so much that the character is bad. He just lacks the parts of his kit that have made other characters, and Melee, a game with surprising depth.
There’s another line of thought in Melee though. That’s that there aren’t only 3 high tier characters, just characters that are easier to play. Smash players have broken new ground in proving that there’s viability to many more characters. From players picking up Pikachu through to Yoshi’s recent run.
These characters aren’t as easy to play at the highest level as high-tier picks. They’re viable still. However, to get to the highest level with these characters you’ll have to grind and perfect them to an impressive level.
The idea that only Fox, and a handful of others are viable has probably been disproven at the Big House 10, with Yoshi’s first major win.
Yoshi’s First Major Win
The Big House 10 saw the top talent in Melee compete. It was aMSa who won the Melee singles taking home Yoshi’s first major win. aMSa has long been one of the most consistent Yoshi players, and this win proves that the character can’t be written off just because he’s not the easiest.
There wasn’t any secret mechanic that aMSa discovered. It was grinding. Sheer time, practise, and skill. Yoshi’s first major win being such an impressive feat is a clear demonstration of aMSa’s skill and dedication.
Much like past players who took low-tier characters to new heights, aMSa has put in the work. He’s had a consistent record of showing up and improving. He’s taken what are Yoshi’s weaknesses, and built a playstyle that can beat even highest tier characters and players. You can see that this in the final matches at the Big House, which saw him pull off some of those riskier players with the charecters.
I WON THE BIG HOUSE 10!!!!!🏆 pic.twitter.com/NnPpG7Gk8W
— VGBC | aMSa@ 🇨🇦🎮TBH10 10/07-09 (@aMSaRedyoshi) October 9, 2022
Both Pikachu and Yoshi have won a major solo before Sheik, despite one of the highest ranked charecters. Proving that sheer skill with a character trumps their supposed place in the tier list. This latest win is impressive. It seems that aMSa has pushed a game over 2 decades old into brand new territory.
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