Recap: Nairo fights through The Big House 5
October 06 2015
Last Sunday, the ever growing mid-western national, The Big House 5, came to its exciting conclusion after 3 days. Tied for the third largest Smash 4 tournament to date, 512 Smash 4 competitors gathered from around the nation to fight for over $6000.
Our star and fan favorite, Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada, drove through TBH5 strong, taking down Zenyou, 6WX, Rayquaza07, and for the umpteenth time his Tri-State rival, Dabuz. Although Nairo wasn't able to clutch it out against ZeRo, the undefeated champion of over 50 tournaments in a row, Nairo showed some of his best play in what will be remembered as one of the most exciting Grand Finals in Smash 4 history. In the end, Nairo comes home with a very respectable 2nd place and a whopping $1224 in winnings.
Although some players placed as expected, TBH5 was a crazy tournament. Located on Michigan turf, one of the best regions in the world and home to many unknown but strong players, nothing was certain. MVD lost in the first round to #7 Michigan Power Rank'ed Coco, ZeRo was upset in Winners by Seagull Joe, and Michigan resident Rayquaza07 reverse 3-0'd ANTi. Top national players like Ally and Esam failed to make Top 8, with players like MVD placing surprisingly as low as 33rd. Nairo however refused to be stopped, staying in Winners all the way to the Grand Finals. By stopping Rayquaza07's run and snuffing out Dabuz as always, Nairo proved himself more than ever as the most fit contender to take ZeRo's throne.
With everyone hungry to see ZeRo finally taken down, the atmosphere was tense. Despite this, Nairo chose to entertain. Providing fanservice, Nairo boldly taunted during stand stills and used some goofy and perhaps suggestive movement related to Zero Suit Samus’ crouch animation. He did drop Game 2 to Rayquaza07 due to being punished for a taunt, but our favorite held his own and denied the Michigan menace. One would think a top player would take a national of this calibur with a little more seriousness, but Nairo did something even his most devoted fans wouldn't expect.
When Nairo lost the first game of the first set of the Grand Finals, being 2-stocked by ZeRo, Nairo decided to make the most of his Winners advantage in his own loveable way, showing off his old characters. Although he didn't take any games with either Robin or Meta Knight, the crowd roared when Nairo selected his dearly beloved waifu and his first Smash 4 main. It was evident his Robin was not warmed up, as it was performing better towards the end of Game 2, but Nairo caught ZeRo with a beautifully placed Arc Fire near the ceiling, taking an early stock off ZeRo and stunning spectators. This wasn't the first time Nairo would try other characters in the Grand Finals when coming from Winners. Nairo's decisions naturally sparked some controversy, but in the end Nairo wasn't going to throw away opportunities to have fun, reward his fans, and enjoy himself like a king.
With the dust settled and an insane major out of the way, and the gap between ZeRo and Nairo growing ever smaller, who knows how soon it will be when Nairo will topple his greatest foe? Catch a sample of the action below in Nairo vs Rayquaza07 below!