Nintendo has had a busy day today: they’ve not only updated the Nintendo eShop with their new titles, but there are also some big Smash Bros. announcements. The line-up for the Super Smash Bros. Invitational @ E3 2014 tournament has been announced. The competitors that were selected were chosen primarily from the Smash Bros. community. They are as follows:
- Ken “LiquidKen” Hoang
- Hugo “HugS” Gonzalez
- Lilian “milktea” Chen
- Daniel “LiquidKDJ” Jung
- Neha “Lilo” Chhetri
- Kris “Toph” Aldenderfer
- Hendrick “DJNintendo” Pilar
- Sam “PeachyHime” McNaughton
- Juan “Crs. Hungrybox” Bebiedma
- Kevin “PewPewU” Toy
- Dakota “TheRapture” Lasky
- Kevin “EGPPMD” Nanney
- Cristin “Crismas” DeSaro
- Masaya “aMSa” Chikamoto
- McCain “MacD” LaVelle
- Gonzalo “CT ZeRo” Barrios
The announcers have also been revealed. They are Wynton “Prog” Smith, Bobby “Scar” Scarnewman, and D’Ron “D1” Maingrette. Veteran journalist Geoff Keighley has been selected to host the event.
The competitors will be selecting from one of twenty previously announced characters. This will be done through a special draft. There will be four rounds of four player battles with four lives given for a five minute battle. The top two advance from each round, leading to the one-on-one, four-stock, eight minute Finale on Battlefield. Items will be on for the first three rounds — and while this might upset those that follow the pro scene, this is most likely done because Nintendo wants to show off as much as possible before Smash Fest the next day. Nintendo will also hold a Fan Favorite Bracket with competitors determined by votes from the first two rounds of the main tournament. Items will be on for all rounds of the Fan Favorite Bracket.
In addition, Nintendo had one final reveal: the Wii U GameCube controller adapter. This was made to help make competitive play as lag-free as possible. While there are third party adapters already, those usually plug into the Wii-mote. This will plug directly into the console via USB port. And while nothing has been confirmed, this could possibly be a precursor to the release of GameCube games on the Virtual Console.
For more information, check out the Invitational info page on Nintendo’s E3 website. Also, check out the reveal trailer below. And if you’re in the Los Angeles area, check out how you can attend the Invitational.
