Day 2 of the DreamHack Austin Super Smash Bros 4 tournament at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, pitted eight remaining finalists against one another their slice of a $10,000 prize pool. Although many of the results of Sunday's matches were complete surprises, Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios would add yet another first place finish to his account. ZeRo's journey to the top wasn't a painless one, though, as Elliot "Ally" Carroza-Oyarce & Leonardo "MkLeo" Perez added some drama into the equation. Here's how championship Sunday at DreamHack Austin culminated.
Despite ZeRo's success Sunday, it certainly looked bleak to start as the CEO Dreamland champion fell in the winners semifinals to Ally. The series challenged the recent norm, as the brilliance of ZeRo was stymied by an expert attack from Ally's signature Mario. ZeRo's Lucina would ultimately fail to take more than one round from the Canadian in the series, and the loss sent ZeRo into the lower bracket. After expelling who many picked as the toughest player in the top eight, Ally would confront MkLeo in the winner's finals. His Marth, draped in gold armor, proved to be more of a challenge than ZeRo.
MkLeo put on a show all day Sunday. Prior to meeting Ally in winners finals, MkLeo faced James "VoiD" Makekau-Tyson in a winners semifinals bout; in an alternating series, MkLeo was able to clinch the win in Game 5. Against Ally, MkLeo's Marth showed immaculate patience, elegantly maneuvering across the stages and applying damage onto his opponent when opportunities presented themselves. MkLeo would ultimately trump Ally 3-1 in the series to make the Grand Finals.
Meanwhile, a revenge-minded ZeRo began his tear through the lower bracket. ZeRo blew through Eric "ESAM" Lew and his agile Pikachu in a 3-0 sweep before turning his ire to Larry "Larry Lurr" Holland. The Smash 4 champion quickly sent Larry Lurr's Fox to animal control in a 3-1 win, knocking him out of the competition in the lower bracket. With the win, the stage was set for rematch with the opponent that knocked him to the lower bracket initially, Ally. With a chance for redemption, ZeRo ousted Ally 3-2 in a tense, back-and-forth series to join MkLeo in the Grand Finals.
The momentum ZeRo built up after hitting the lower bracket continued into the Grand Finals. He took six consecutive wins, first resetting, then destroying the bracket against the Mexican Marth professional. In an attempt to salvage the series, MkLeo cycled between his Marth, Cloud and Lucario. Ultimately, none of these characters would be able to impede ZeRo's frenzy.
