26 Rising continues to make waves as today the org announced the signing of ESAM as one of their new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster players. He joins stars such as MuteAce, Onin, and Cosmos, all of whom are top players in their own right.
ESAM was a player signed to Panda during the Smash World Tour fiasco. He left the organization on Jan. 15 after the dust had settled a bit, and now has a new home.
His Pikachu is a terror in bracket and he has one of the best Mii Brawlers around. He’s known for his unconventional tier lists and has been promoting Mii Brawler as one of the top tiers while other top players don’t even bat an eye on the character for quite some time.
He was also one of the first players to beat an unstoppable MKLeo when tournaments returned after the pandemic, snatching the trophy at Glitch 8.5. Recently though, he’s been having problems with consistency and had his lowest placing in years at Genesis 9, going out in 65th place.
It seems that ESAM is focusing more on content recently and hasn’t been attending tournaments with the same frequency as the past years. But with this signing, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if he started entering more tournaments.
Cosmos was also signed by 26 Rising earlier this March, making the organization one of the powerhouses of the Smash Ultimate scene along with Luminosity Gaming, who signed Tweek and MKLeo recently.
These recent signings are a huge statement that Smash’s competitive scene isn’t dead yet, despite the closing of Beyond the Summit and the collapse of Panda.
Published: Mar 31, 2023 07:32 pm