Japan dominates Battle of BC 4 Smash Ultimate tournament. “The heart of these players is undeniable,” says HungryBox

Battle of BC 4 was one of the most exciting Smash Ultimate competitions of the year. The Smash World Tour Gold-tier event held in Vancouver, Canada saw many international players travel overseas to attend. As a result, the Top 8 featured many players from Japan and Europe rarely seen at North American tournaments. In fact, no player from the US was able to make it farther than 9th place.

Japan's style of Smash ended up stealing the show in the Great North. Half of the player in Top 8 were from Japan and two of them met in the Grand Final.

A pair of players from Europe also made Top 8, while the final two were Canadians defending their home soil. In the end, it was Japan's Kengo "KEN" Suzuki who came out victorious over his fellow countryman, Takuma "Tea" Hirooka.

Top 8 finishers at Battle of BC 4 Smash Ultimate tournament:

Out of the four well-known players from Japan, every one of them made Top 8 at Battle of BC. Three of them even made it on the Winners side. KEN , Tea, and Shuto "Shuton" Moriya all went undefeated on their way to Top 8, while Seisuke "Kome" Komeda was the fourth to make in on the Losers side.

The eventual champion KEN had to take out several of his fellow Japanese players to lift the first-place trophy. He first send Shuton down to the Losers bracket.

The thrilling 3-2 set resulted in a elated popoff for KEN and a smouldering sulk of defeat for Shuton. KEN then defeated Tea 3-1 in the Winners Final to make it to the the Grand Final on the Winners side.

Tea eventually made it back to the Grand Final on the Losers side. He put up a much better fight in their second set, but KEN still managed to fend off the world's best Pac-Man 3-2. The victory was KEN's first major tournament win outside of Japan. Normally known for playing Sonic, KEN used Sephiroth for the entirety of the tournament to great effect, never dropping a set.

These players' performances at Battle of BC 4 has opened the North American Smash scene's eyes to the strength of Japan. Battling jet lag and fatigue along with their opponents make their placements much more impressive than winning on home turf.

One of the biggest stories from Battle of BC was the absence of any players from the United States or Mexico in the Top 8. Between Japan and Europe, six of the final eight players live an ocean away from Vancouver. This wasn't to say that no top Americans came out, as four of them barely missed out on making Top 8 to finish 9th.

Fortunately, players from the hosting nation Canada kept North America's hopes alive. Recent Team Liquid addition Michael "Riddles" Kim and tournament Cinderella story Jayjay "Ouch!?" Basilan both incredible runs in Top 8 from the Losers side.

Hailing from Toronto, Riddles eliminated both European players from Top 8, defeating Pau "sisqui" Caire and William "Glutonny" Belaid in back-to-back sets.

Meanwhile, Ouch!? served as the last representative of British Columbia, the Canadian province where the tournament was held.

The home crowd favorite played absolutely out of his mind over the weekend in an incredible run few saw coming. He went on to defeat two of Japan's best players in Kome and Shuton to make Top 4.

Ironically, the two Canadian's fates would become intertwined for the Losers Semi-Final. In a riveting reverse sweep, Ouch!? pulled out an epic come-from-behind win cross-country peer 3-2 to continue his legendary day.

However, after besting Riddles' Kazuya, Ouch!? had no answer for Tea even though he was playing the same character. His third-place finish is still one of the top headlines from Battle of BC 4. Look for Ouch!? to build off this performance and possibly travel to more tournaments in North America.

Below are the full standings for Top 24 at Battle of BC 4. While no players from the US made it to Top 8, many of them came very close.

Top 8

9th Place

13th Place

17th Place

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