Roasted: Set Analysis of S2J vs. Zain at The Roast of Hugo Gonzalez

In a previous article, I discussed Zain’s historic victory at Shine 2018, where he double eliminated Hungrybox and all but established himself as the newest member of Melee’s elite. Indeed, Zain had comfortably earned his position as the first seed at The Roast of Hugo Gonzalez, and with no gods in attendance, he seemed like a safe pick for first place. Despite this, Melee’s newest hero was met with a wall he seemed unable to surmount; long-time Melee veteran S2J.

To be fair, the fact that Zain struggles in the Falcon match-up has been established; he dropped two sets to Captain Smuckers earlier in the year and recently lost to Gahtzu at The Big House 8. Even so, S2J managed to overcome Zain in a particularly dominating fashion, dropping only a single game across the two sets they played. In this article, I will analyze S2J’s classic Norwalk style and how it allowed him to upset Zain twice and secure first place at The Roast of Hugo Gonzalez.

Uncontested Approaches:

Though not the most original approach option by any means, S2J’s use of neutral-air to get in against Zain was incredibly prevalent throughout their two sets at The Roast. S2J’s connection rate on neutral-air approaches was quite high, and he certainly managed to approach in such a way as to avoid getting caught and punished by Zain. Because he rarely threw out a missed hitbox, he was frequently able to convert off of his approaches, securing combos which dealt big damage more often than not. If nothing else, by connecting with Zain, S2J ensured he could reset the neutral if a clear follow-up opportunity did not present itself.

In the above gif, we see an example of S2J’s use of neutral-air to approach from the ledge. After landing the attack’s reverse hitbox, S2J is able to turn the situation on its head, giving him an opportunity to try to edgeguard Zain. And whenever S2J was not going on the offensive (which wasn’t too frequently) he was also able to use Falcon’s neutral-air to block Zain’s approaches.

Consistent Kill Conversions:

Though his opponent’s character is known to suffer from “Marthritis”, S2J had little trouble when it came time to cement a kill. S2J displayed an uncanny ability to find grabs at kill percents, so he could combo into a knee off of a throw. Interestingly, he would mix up between his throw options, securing kills off of both down throw and up throw. His ability to combo also contributed quite nicely to his ability to take Zain’s stocks. As seen in the above gif, S2J was able to find little hits which could then be converted into massive deathblow combos.

Of course, S2J could combo into kills with moves other than Falcon’s throws. Notably, he was able to stomp from above the lower platforms on Fountain of Dreams, hitting Zain from above and allowing him to follow-up with a sweetspotted forward-air (showcasing one of the reasons Falcon mains aren’t doing so poorly on Fountain of Dreams anymore). In general, as soon as he was able to get an opening, whether that be from a tech chase scenario or simply a raw hit, S2J managed to carry the sequence through to completion, killing Zain with an edgeguard eventually if he couldn’t take his stock with a strong hit outright.

Impressive Technical Execution:

Hailing from Norwalk, one of Melee’s flashiest regions, it is hardly shocking that S2J employed a great deal of tech skill in his play against Zain. One example can be seen in the top left gif above. After Zain shields one of his down-air attempts on Fountain of Dreams, S2J is able to reacting by landing on the platform, shielding, and quickly shield dropping so he can land a hit on Zain before Zain is able to punish him. In the top right gif, S2J connects a string of up-airs which involves working with tight L-cancelling windows and landing the quickest of shield drops in order to keep the combo going.

The bottom left gif above shows a series of events wherein S2J is able to consistently SDI Zain’s attempts to jab reset him, thus preventing Zain from landing a meaningful follow-up. The bottom right gif portrays a flawless sequence, effectively functioning as a zero-to-death. In it, S2J follows Zain perfectly in order to send Zain offstage and put him in an unfavorable position coming back to the stage. Upon landing, Zain is launched into the air by S2J’s stomp. Then, S2J runs forward, turns around, shields to cancel his momentum and position himself correctly, and then jumps out of shield after only two frames in order to land the fatal forward-air. Even more impressively, S2J made use of shield in order to cancel momentum and better position himself for follow-ups on multiple occasions throughout his sets with Zain.

Big Brain Plays:

In a fitting manner for a tournament honoring our very own Hugo Gonzalez, S2J proved to be quite “big-brained”, employing unorthodox or otherwise uncommon options in order to beat Zain. One example is his recoveries, as he was able to frequently keep his own stock safe by fading to the ledge and making his recovery generally ambiguous, making use of wall jumps and techs against the stage when necessary in order to make himself quite a hassle to edgeguard.

In the above left gif, we can see a sequence where S2J retaliates against Zain with two quick neutral-airs. Knowing Zain is likely to think he will throw out another aerial, S2J predicts that Zain will shield, running past him and landing a turnaround grab. In instances such as these, S2J proved he was one step ahead of Zain in regard to the mental game. In the above right gif, S2J displays his remarkable timing, hitting Zain with a down-air at the ledge right as he Up-B’s to the ledge, thereby managing to take Zain’s stock and win the game by falling into Zain’s recovery with a stomp at just the right time.

In the left gif below, S2J is able to land a surprising follow-up option. After connecting his first stomp, rather than going for a more predictable option like back-air or turnaround knee, S2J goes for another stomp, landing the nipple spike hitbox, and sending Zain offstage and off the bottom of the screen. Finally, the bottom right gif shows a bit of S2J’s smart defensive play, as he haxdashes in order to perfectly avoid Zain’s down tilt and make it back to the stage. On the whole, S2J made extremely smart decisions both in his aggressive offense and his more uncommon defense.

S2J has been one of Melee’s longest-running top players, and his performance at The Roast of Hugo Gonzalez shows that he only continues to improve. The beloved Falcon main has grown beyond the era of “Johnny edgeguards”, instead showing complete control both onstage and at the ledge various times throughout his sets against Zain. And of course, the fact that he always has a few Johnny stocks in him certainly helps him get the upper hand on any opponent. As more and more Falcon mains continue to rise up the rankings, performances like these allows S2J to keep his name in the running for best Captain Falcon player in the world.

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