Smash Summit 13 weekend and Slingshot Tech Upends Ultimate

Super Smash Bros is in the middle of a busy season, with a lot of major tournaments going down. We’re coming up on Smash Summit 13, where Zain has a chance to take another major win following Pound and Genesis. For smash Ultimate, there isn’t a new tournament but potentially something even more exciting.

After a bizarre unveiling, the new slingshot tech is at the top of everyone’s minds, with players trying to get it down. This is what you can expect at Smash Summit 13 and why Slingshot might make a big difference to the next major Ultimate event.

Smash Summit 13

BTS

Smash Summit 13

Smash Summit is one of the biggest events on the fighting game calendar, Thirteen is due to run over May 12-15th. The tournament is organized by Beyond the Summit. This one is just going to be a Melee tournament. There isn’t a huge prize pool on offer, only going up to $24,421 for the event. However, there are still a lot of top-level players attending.

These are the Melee competitors at Smash Summit 13:

  • Zain
  • iBDW
  • Mango
  • Pulp
  • Leffen
  • Jmook
  • Hungrybox
  • N0ne
  • lloD
  • DarkGenex
  • Sora
  • Frenzy
  • KoDoRiN
  • Blue
  • Salt
  • Mekk

There are more competitors, but these are definitely the biggest names. Pipsqueak was due to attend after qualifying through the SAME 2021 Finale. However, the player won’t be able to attend due to COVID-19 complications. The main narrative for Melee at Smash Summit 13 is centered around Zain. He’s been completely dominating this year so far, and he’s the player to beat. He’s got tough competition here but the chance of securing yet another consecutive major win is keeping all eyes on Zain through the tournament.

Zain has been keeping people entertained even in the run-up. He’s shown he’s willing to defend his current status at every opportunity.

Im dodging every tournament …

See everyone at summit

And battle of bc

And goml

And double down

And everything else

— Zain (@ZainNaghmi) May 8, 2022

Ultimate and Slingshoting

Super Smash Bros Ultimate might have one of its biggest developments to date going on in the background of Smash Summit 13. After a weird few hiccups in unveiling a ‘revolutionary new tech’, GimR’s finally delivered. He unveiled the new ‘Slingshot’ tech, and it’s lived up to the hype.

The Slingshot is here! Universal Tech for the whole Smash Roster!

New Movement, Shield Pressure, Combos, Input Shortcuts for perfect precision + More!

Lenient & consistent once learned, it may create a skill gap for those willing to put in some work! pic.twitter.com/jJYKCQ5TOv

— GimR ➡️ twitch.tv/gimr (@VGBC_GimR) May 6, 2022

The new slingshot’ tech took about 30 minutes for GimR to run through at first. It has a lot of different variations but in essence, it can add new layers and possibilities to a lot of different characters. The tech makes use of Ultimate’s buffer system, players input a dash then a down-back or back-up. Going back to neutral, there’s then a 7-frame window with a jump. This opens up possibilities for better aerials, combos, and retreating specials. There are already a few different versions of the slingshot, like the Flickshot, Holdshot, and Fullshot. Each of them is similar but shows how much this technique can be built on.

Slingshot Opens Up Ultimate

Slingshot opens up the game in a way that few expected this far into its lifespan. It’s made Ultimate look like a game with a long way to grow before it’s fully worked out by pros, which is exciting this far into its lifespan.

We’ve already seen Ultimate pros like MKLeo getting to grips with the new tech.

After learning how to slingshot i dont wanna play online ever again, it feels worse that before 😩

— T1 | MkLeo (@Mkleosb) May 11, 2022

Some are even calling it Ultimate’s Wavedashing. It’s possible that this new technique could completely upend things in competitive level Smash Bros Ultimate. It’s brought new possibilities for some characters.

Although, many have pointed out that even a new tech can’t work wonders for everyone. We’ll have to wait a bit longer before we really see it in use at high-level games. However, that might be for the best as players are still figuring out optimal uses for it.

While Ultimate is now out of development, the ever-vigilant Smash Bros community is still breaking new ground. It’s beginning to look more and more like a game that can join Melee in the eternally played category. While there aren’t in-game developments, Melee itself is in an exciting run right now. Smash Summit 13 is set to be close, and fans will have to tune in to see if Zain can continue his amazing run of 2022 wins.

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