Top 10 Most Unexpected Character Picks by Top Players - Super Smash Bros Melee

Bowser, Ness, DK and Captain Falcon, what do all of these characters have in common? These are all low tier characters that were picked out of the blue by top players in high level tournament matches in an attempt to catch their opponent off guard. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it backfires horribly. But it always makes for entertaining matches!
I decided to do Melee only this time due to the fact that top players in Melee generally tend to have a set group of their best 1 or 2 characters that they play and they rarely go for the super strange and unexpected counterpicks like low or mid tiers out of the blue, this makes moments like these much more scarce and just makes it so much more unexpected when a crazy counterpick happens from a top player imo. (It's just much more common in other games such as PM and Smash 4 due to the fact that the meta isn't quite as developed as Melee and there are a lot of low/mid tier characters that haven't been fully explored yet and have a lot of untapped potential, and occasionally a top player that is fond of that character will whip them out in a tournament set to try to catch their opponent off guard)
But don't worry! I definitely plan on making a video in the future featuring the most unexpected picks from the other Smash games (And any new ones that may have happened in Melee since this video) There's just so many great unexpected counterpicks in those games that I'll have to do much more research and find everything I can so I don't miss any awesome moments.
64 is interesting too because unexpected picks aren't really that common besides Isai, who basically picks unexpected (Or expected, because it's Isai) and low tier characters 99% of the time lol
PS: If you're wondering why I included clips like DJ Nintendo's Bowser or Mango's Marth, I'll explain:
So for the DJ Nintendo one, this was Zenith 2013, a tournament with M2K, PPMD, Mango, Hungrybox, Hax and many more. It was an INSANELY stacked tournament, and DJ Nintendo found himself in losers top 17, down 0-1 after losing with Samus to Unknown (A player who was top 15 in the world back then and had beaten Mew2king earlier in the year) and he decided that with his tournament life on the line vs a top 15 player, the best thing to do would not be pick his Fox, or his Samus, or Sheik or Marth or Falco etc, but to pick BOWSER. I honestly don't think anyone saw it coming, especially Unknown. DJ Nintendo proceeded to completely wipe the floor with Unknown who was clearly lost against this character pick, and win the set with a 3 stock in game 3. Such a crazy hype set. That is why I felt it was deserving of this list. Such an unexpected and risky Bowser pick, but it paid off.
And for the Mango one: Mango has played Marth before in the past in tournaments (Almost all trolling/sandbagging) but in this instance he came out of nowhere and counterpicked Leffen with Marth to FD in Grand Finals of GOML, which completely caught Leffen and everyone watching off guard. Nobody expected Mango to pull out the Marth on FD when he's playing vs Leffen and playing in a MAJOR grand finals, and then he goes and pulls off that crazy 0-death on the first stock, definitely worthy of the video, super unexpected and so hype.
Sorry for the super long description, haha.
Thanks for watching!
Special thanks to:
VGBC: / @vgbootcamp
EventHorizon: / eventhorizon
GeekyGoonSquad: / @geekygoonsquad
EMG: / evenmatchupvod
8WAYRUN: / @8wayrunvods

[@AzzBlasta]

Nothing was better than "a new foe has appeared" back in the old days when you first started playing melee

[@XxpunnisherxX]

Azz Blasta dude when i was playing and saw the screen say a new foe has appeared only 2 see it was mewtwo i got hyped af

[@uly_blaziken3479]

Lmao I got fucking scared of it when I was little. I accidentally unlocked Luigi and the moment I saw the alert thingy, I was scared.

[@icebear6757]

SSJ Blaziken fucking same

[@XxpunnisherxX]

Lmao same. I believe Melee' version of a new foe has arrived was the most intense. With the warning sfx and the fact that you thought there you had all the characters only 2 find out there was a lil bit more

[@AzzBlasta]

XxpunnisherxX Fuck yea man

[@Serena_Maeve]

Fun fact! The reason Armada lived Ness's back throw was because he hit a shy guy in the corner, saving both his life and the game.

[@frankyalvarez6637]

Random shy guy in the corner: *OOF*

[@magentamappinganimation9532]

Rng

[@roy_mezz-awake2470]

BAN YOSHI’S-

[@mrm64]

@@frankyalvarez6637 LOL A damn shame too...because no lie, I legit wanted to see HBox's Ness AT LEAST take one game...that pop off woulda been lit lol.

[@alcohashbo3637]

classic hbox luck

[@MaxKuschmierz]

Westballz counterpicking Dk and then getting 4 stocked, that´s the most Westballz thing i can imagine xD

[@BaufenBeast]

Mew2King taking all of one second to switch to Sheik. I suppose Westballz didn't want to get the FD Marth, but I don't think this was better.

[@MaxKuschmierz]

i think at the moment of picking Dk he already knew he was about to get fucked ;) picking Dk was just the lube to make it go down quicker ;)

[@irocklalot]

*hears circus song

[@Boppin.]

Max Kuschmierz gah too true

[@crthejediknightninja]

Actually, West counters Sheik with DK, most people say that DK beats Sheik pretty well

[@Scandal262]

That bowser was GODLIKE

[@sadiemaefae]

GTAB

[@rileykopinski6026]

Mf Tripz it’s how you play.

[@Gameboi834]

Well yeah, that's DJNintendo

[@Pankaw]

@@mftripz8445 that's really the only viable way to win a game with these type of characters with so laggy moves apart from relying on reads

[@mftripz8445]

PanchoMTP lmao im a brawlhalla player, i dont like smashes slow ass gameplay

[@kakamaru5]

10:27 YO DID HE JUST

[@Mdude123456789]

WALK UP

[@Devolatteh]

SLOWLY

[@Charlesp1997]

AND DOWN SMASHED?

[@magmivire]

Yo did they just walk up slowly and comment without reading your username?

[@blackcyclops101]

AND

[@mucks1237]

"Bowser, ness, dk and Captain Falcon" "These are all low tier characters" lol

[@guilhermepossari5778]

We now know Hax $ runs this channel

[@babylonreef]

Yuckiy Captain Falcon is high tier Vruh

[@pitu9065]

Suplement read the description

[@b.p.5324]

It's from the description and it is also a meme

[@ed_styles4218]

Yuckiy falcon ain't low tier sir.

[@DrewPicklesTheDark]

Nice, I'm sick of professional matches being Fox, Fox, Fox, Fox, Falco, Sheik, Fox, Sheik, Fox, Fox, Falco, Fox, Fox, Marth, Fox

[@nf7998]

I like how you threw 2 shieks in there ;)

[@cujo7172]

Git Gud then :)

[@pain_peko]

puff

[@Aresous]

Nate F sheik only

[@deku-eku5127]

CuJo Um, what? Lmao? He’s not even the one playing though?

[@maelstr0m864]

>Goes Donkey Kong against Sheik *MISSION PASSED* *RESPECT EARNED*

[@hylianknight4576]

「Maelstrom」 I read this donkey against shrek

[@Sypaka]

Shit, I got this GTA:SA jingle in my ear right now.

[@despvegito255]

@@hylianknight4576 lmao

[@sparkarez]

@@hylianknight4576 Same lol

[@TheDunsparceGames]

>gets 4 stocked *TASK FAILED SUCCESSFULLY*

[@Autotomize]

There will never be a real #1 on this list until a top player picks Pichu.

[@mateozanone7216]

Check mew2king out

[@PichuVSKirby]

Mew2king had an entire tournament playing Pichu

[@the_honkler778]

*i wont be impressed until a kirby wins a tournament*

[@nicholasparra9320]

@@the_honkler778 a match*

[@the_honkler778]

@@nicholasparra9320 fuck you too

[@alexwoodward390]

I love that in melee picking a character other than the top 6, or hell even just picking a different part of the top 6, is mind blowing

[@SleepingChimes]

a lot of it’s because it’s really hard to pick up additional characters even as a top player

[@Helm-0]

I have no idea what the fuck is going on.

[@coolguy02536]

Manchildren

[@scrubscrub4492]

Good Melee.

[@XSilvenX]

Because you don't know the top players and why these picks are significant.

[@Helm-0]

Probably

[@Helm-0]

Cheers to that brother.

[@lilsusrobert9356]

Make bowser top tier

[@RoronoraZoro666]

Fly Fly Hes way better in smash 4

[@skx444]

ew

[@gatorssbm]

Just play PM, not top tier but at least not useless.

[@BlazingFireOMEGA]

I like how PM made everyone useful in some way. Wished the project didn't have to end :(

[@gamerplayer8882]

Fly Fly I don't think he should be top tier but he certainly doesn't deserve to be one of the worst.

[@4tw_EpicYoshi]

*Top 10 Most Original Character Picks by Top Players - Super Smash Bros Melee*

[@tyler4068]

The anime

[@MintyMinster]

Episode 1

[@Cleanestkam]

4tw EpicYoshi plot twist: they were unoriginal

[@IvoryiGoLDeN]

What

[@raghavsundar8253]

Armada picking peach every fucking time

[@UmbreonMessiah]

Kind of a shame neither one of the commentators noticed that HBox's backthrow on Ness was intercepted by a Shyguy. If it weren't for that, HBox would have won.

[@Hacktendo64]

DJ Nintendo's Bowser is so awesome

[@BitchChill]

N64Hacking1.2 I seen you twice

[@sodasofaman]

2:10 This cut was perfect wtf

[@chrisnenshati7400]

Nani?

[@Mistabojangles]

Called Samus an Astronaut. I'm done

[@astoocities]

Dean how about space robot

[@zassovirtual]

Melee taught me she's a bounty hunter

[@krullachief669]

Samus O'Ran

[@bearandthebull2372]

Dean she kinda is.She's not exactly know for bounty hunting.....since she hasnt exactly hunted anything really.

[@Astrosimi]

Exterminating every living Metroid except one doesn't count as hunting?

[@Bargomorphic]

4:44 The icon on the top for Westballz is Falco, then it suddenly changes to Samus. Even the guys behind the scenes weren't expecting it!

[@jeffreycanfield1939]

That description tho, calling Falcon low tier. I see you.

[@babylonreef]

MistaTwoJeffreyTwenty Yaay Ikr

[@JackClockerinos]

He was talking about before Isai made him the god he is today.

[@IvoryiGoLDeN]

Screw Capitian Falcon, everyone loves him, it's annoying. Considering F-Zero is dead people still treat him like the holy grail from Indiana Jones. Smh.

[@kaboobap1243]

Giancarlo Villanueva the holy grails not from Indiana Jones my man

[@IvoryiGoLDeN]

Yes, that is true but the holy grail is in the movie Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade and so I decided to reference it. However yes the holy grail is not from Indiana Jones lol.

[@Baboso1]

Man there’s nothin better than getting into smash late and having all this content to enjoy

[@daemondrako]

I'm a sucker for GRsmash, through and through

[@GR.]

[@NicholasSaliva]

I'm a sucker for Medieval Castles.

[@treehann]

I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!!!

[@moisesdanielalvarado5578]

I really like watching GRsmash

[@mcprol2467]

Nicholas Silva I'm sad nobody got this joke. This shows how much the multiplayer community over shadows the zombie community.

[@latinochad13]

As a kid playing melee, when it said “a new challenger approaches” for Luigi. I always thought the little shadow of Luigi was in a Michael Jackson pose

[@Thisispow]

I like that you not only show them actually picking the character but also some gameplay clips!

[@Nightcaat]

I mean, the video IS almost 11 minutes long...

[@SpookyPuky]

I find the lack of "Toss that nigga" in the first clip to be a sin.

[@mcnalga]

Dickballs Mcgee i blame esports

[@kkokay4]

Agreed. But I think grsmash likes to keep his vids clean. oh well.

[@bigsachuge]

hbox on that first clip looked like a disappointed christian father

[@Raven-gx4kj]

Riemann Verdeflor most underrated comment of all time

[@Magibatproductions]

1:25 "hax why did you leave this character?" 3:15 exhibit A

[@Hallainmazeeee]

I just had the shittiest day at work, seeing the notification for this video made the day so much better. Thanks man

[@JudgmentSigma]

YO! DID HE JUST WALK UP SLOWLY AND DOWN-SMASH?

[@ALC0LITE]

he rilly did doe

[@SpilledShelf5]

100th liker

[@crowcade]

hax got memed on so hard it became a global emote RIP $

[@fiammaorsmth9840]

wait what

[@GonkDr01d]

So basically hbox going anyone but jiggs?

[@sup3rsmash8]

And Ness

[@hifuu1383]

Mr. Greym and Watch HFOX was thing.

[@danielvutran]

H"FOX" was so fucking bad he never put him, again. LMFAO!xodfpop

[@aidenleinauer9056]

Shabbir's private channel hfox was the worst

[@LampGoron64]

lol i just realized that at 6:33 when hax said he'd go FD next, m2k gave him the same surprised look that he gave sfat at shine

[@bigbuffalo4]

What about Chudat's puff against mew2king's peach. That was so hype.

[@akerguido9399]

ChudatPose

[@xjesh868]

Noticeably absent.

[@moodlampActual]

Link for a homie?

[@kaleb9599]

i know you

[@Kurono_Alien]

bigbuffalo4 nothing involving Chudat is hype

[@BullCraftMaxx]

I remember watching Beast on the live stream, and when West went Samus I literally laughed for like 10 minutes straight. He was such a legend for doing that lol

[@Xyos212]

6:50 god damn that was clean.

[@soportetecnicohigoversomas3451]

Man, I haven't watched your videos in weeks, great to see you keep going with the channel

[@hachikoshana1]

That bowser match and the matches where Armada played young link were amazing!!

[@psychosalad7812]

I love how surprised literally everyone looks when the guy switches to any other character than Fox or Shiek.

[@Memetastic]

WESTBALLZ DK IN EVO 2017? :O

[@skewah]

Robloox Death Sound Isnt Funny By Any means

[@PuffDaGoat]

I see ur still live lol

[@skewah]

that guy who replied I just checked his channel the first time and the newest video is among us moment. hes still just as unfunny

[@lennyface2586]

:O

[@paris2777]

Yooo

[@chelasonyu8109]

The scream at 8:56 has been the mood for Smash bros for generations. It will forever stand the test of time

[@JealousBishop]

I don't even play Smash much anymore, but I just love your videos and the community.

[@TheFoolishSamurai]

The year is 20XW. Everyone is yet to play Fox at TAS levels of perfection. Because of this, the melee competitive stage is actually interesting, and people can play whoever they want to. The RPS metagame sounds ridiculous due to it being a rare factor to decide matches. *However, this can all end in a year...*

[@Landmasters]

To think, we could have had Ness/Young Link counters for at least a year. But that Fly Guy was in that corner at the perfect time and allowed Armada to live and comeback, demoralizing that option for Hbox for good

[@asellape9270]

I was like "m2k's falcon vs pp at MLG Anaheim 2014 has to be here" and it was. Thanks for the video

[@MrHitchslap]

great video, it's always so hype when this happens. Anyone remember when mango went puff vs m2k at Apex 2014 for FD?

[@Callibretto]

I love the guy in the background just screaming "OH MY GOD THATBOWSER..... OH MY GAWWWD . . . . "

[@DrCoomer_1]

This reminds me of the time Dunkey beat Sky in smash

[@luccaj2207]

This is actually a very good video. Keep up the good work. I love the clips and the reactions of the commentary provided. Keep up the good work- NintendoBits 85

[@Cunt143]

NintendoBits 85 who are you and why did you sign your comment

[@luccaj2207]

Hreesto A KZbinr who loves smash bros. I wrote my comment to show my appreciation to this channel.

[@digitalchamploo9129]

I enjoy reading the descriptions

[@SkyNinja759]

10:26 Did GRSmash just upload slowly and smash my sub box?

[@user-ri3up7ru4g]

He did . . . he really did tho

[@jacobmock6682]

I love to play as Captain Falcon so when I kill my opponent I spam the "show your moves" taunt as fast as I can.

[@dropthefreakinMOON]

this top 10 was a fantastic idea

[@snakerman2612]

0:45 HBox looking like a dad who just came home from work

[@DrSiegma]

1:25 "Hax why did you leave this character?" 2:42 Hax picks Captain Falcon and the crowd is staring in utter shock 6:45 Hax picks the Cap again against m2k who also picked Falcon Coincidence? And then at 10:03 Mango picks Captain Falcon and the commentators are saying Hax complains about Falcon. I don't even know what's happening anymore... Great vid tho

[@lekseimgaming2780]

You might've figured it out already, so I might be too late. But these clips were set at different times. Hax dropped Capt. Falcon after The Big House 3 in 2013, while the majority of those matches were from 2014-2015. He had already dropped Capt. Falcon in favor of Fox cause he was too tired of losing due to Falcon's Terrible recovery. People really enjoyed his Falcon so it kind of became a meme about him dropping Falcon. EDIT: A great example of this is Sfat vs Hax at, well, The Big House 3. I forgot how it went completely, but Sfat kept getting the same kills in Hax cause Hax was using Capt. Falcon.

[@SisypheanSeas13]

GR stands for Games Rranco.

[@SomeFreakingCactus]

0:46 Hungrybox lookin at DJ like, "You seriously just did that. Huh."

[@HyldenM]

Seems like a mix of greatness and a "secondary to death combo"

[@Markyboy13]

Wheres Pichu? Oh yeah right, they all died. :(

[@alistair2654]

Iam a Pichu Main and i will die! Nah man, They evolved to Pikachu

[@TonyExists]

Derpy Derpy McDerpFace *devolved*

[@sane5575]

Iam a Pichu Main and i will die! How was there even a pichu in melee???

[@thewarriorrlsh]

TonyTheHamMan nah he hasnt evolved yet hes in ultimate

[@good_death_for_the_lonely]

hello from the future :)

[@CreamFraiche]

"Did he just walk up, slowly, and down smash?" One of the greatest Smash moments ever lol

[@goodiesohhi]

poor hax. He's gonna be memed for the rest of his life.

[@Gengar-2]

That bowser at the start was insane

[@uncharted3958]

I just love watching these and half the time I'm like "What is even going on right now?"

[@bruhster_5890]

wheres roy?

[@mechaapple7552]

A pro kirby can always beat a decent fox

[@GlitchanBlack]

See Triple R, Captain Pretzel, Hack, etc.

[@weakestlink20]

I love the Bowser clip.

[@ShinobiShinigamiSust]

I remember a video where M2K was upset because the Ice climbers grab was a none scape death, and now I see him in this video doing the same thing to that DK, so...

[@moisesdanielalvarado5578]

Luigi is still my favorite character

[@MyHatDefinesMe]

1:45 Westballz = Kappa Mew2King = ResidentSleeper

[@password1password180]

Nice description ;)

[@sammydelorenzi]

Things just feel right when GR uploads at 11:00pm

[@adamice2526]

Unknown is Ryan Ford I think for those who don't know

[@thatdankguy5140]

Adam Ice you are correct

[@SilverShadow02]

#freeunknown

[@HxCMuffinTop]

Doesn't this video compilation exist already?

[@yannisconstantinides7767]

That Swedish Luigi set was one of the funniest clips I've seen

[@ThisIsWEB]

Came here fully expecting the second one. Was not disappointed.

[@Vitor20XX]

Cap falcon is the real SS

[@WolfHunner]

What is "double blind" pick?

[@GR.]

Double blind pick normally works by both players telling a neutral party which character they intend to pick without telling the other player. It's only really used in situations where players want to make unusual counterpicks but not get counterpicked themselves (For example if Hbox had not done it vs Armada he would have had to play Ness vs Peach) Although, it looks like in the Hbox vs Armada one Hungrybox just counted down from 3 and they both said their pick at the same time. Hbox then popped off lol

[@WolfHunner]

GRsmash oh thank you thanks for the upload 😊

[@shivdmanwii]

Not sure why D1 said double blind there because as far as I know double blind only applies to the first match and that looked like the set was already underway unless there were previous rules in the past. Anyhow both players tell a third(neutral) party what character they are going to pick, or write it down and then select that character. This is to avoid someone counterpicking you on the first game otherwise there is no true way to avoid it because someone can just say they didn't actually select that character yet before the match start and change characters to beat whoever you played. Essentially it forces both people to be confident enough with their "counterpick characters" against any other characters because you don't know ahead of time what you are facing.

[@abdirahmanahmed3592]

I don't know what is going on but I'm hyped

[@natetwist12]

... YO. DID HE JUST WALK UP SLOWLY... AND DOWN-SMASH?! (Great video :D)

[@Fr3ak_MM8BDM]

Did you just call Captain Falcon a low tier in Melee?

[@HxCMuffinTop]

Someone didn't check out eventhubs!!!!!!!

[@monkdonk4095]

The First clip is the prove that every character is viable If you play for most of your life with him

[@michaelyoung3054]

That's so funny.. "Westballz's combo game with Donkey Kong is good!" as he proceeds to get 4 stocked

[@drakedoesgamez4927]

now i feel better that i lost to my 3 year old cousins kirby

[@Cunt143]

DrakeDoesGamez you shouldn't

[@drakedoesgamez4927]

why not kirby is like middle tier (Im joking i didnt even lose)

[@mmurd]

DrakeDoesGamez more like F tier

[@SenorSwirls]

Wait Kirby is a bad tier I main him and wreck everyone

[@drakedoesgamez4927]

nice reking those lv 1 cpus

[@l337marth4]

"The Spirit of M2K?!?!" Stand Master: Mang0 Stand Name: [M E W 2 K I N G - M A R T H]

[@guillaumegalienne6351]

the bonus is classical :D 10:47 best aerial fistbumb ever.

[@PrestigeWorldwid3]

I know nothing about video games and still find this shit to be so god damn entertaining 😂

[@mischiefwaluigi0446]

captain falcn is low tier? then how is he #8 on the tier list, is that considered low tier?

[@keatonramey2274]

not fox

[@mischiefwaluigi0446]

i asked about falcon, not fox, fox is #1

[@keatonramey2274]

MischiefWaluigi04 falcon is not fox

[@mischiefwaluigi0446]

and fox isn't falcon

[@mingfeid.4627]

but is he falco?

[@SenorSwirls]

Wow you didn’t show Mew2King’s pichu

[@astral.realm_]

This is the video that got me into smash

[@kevstiburodracon1024]

Incredible Bowser at the beginning! AJAJAJAJ

[@MeechO0]

It Probably Smells Really Bad in The Crowd.

[@jacobasnodgrass5853]

You Are Probably (ACTUALLY, NO DOUBT) Really Unintelligent Since You Purposely Type Like This.

[@MeechO0]

@@jacobasnodgrass5853 If you're triggered from this comment, you probably smell like shit too 😂

[@kevinfeng6700]

New tier list: 1) Corey in the House 2) Spongebill 3) Phineas and Ferb Japenese Opening 4) Boku no Pico 5) Sword Art Online 6) ???

[@babylonreef]

Kevin Feng Hot Dog 🌭

[@kevinfeng6700]

SuperBonk64 pls ^_^

[@sapphocomputers]

Random =/= funny

[@succ6031]

#6 scar

[@pokemasterthepotato2552]

#6 Dancing hot dog

[@noobsandwich4598]

Confusious says: never have I ever seen so many people in one room who should never breed as that of a melee tournament.

[@pokemondimensions1297]

‘An *astronaut^ names Samus Aran’ Why did that make me laugh so much

[@dudeisodumb]

Notification Squad! Where you at?!

[@NathanLouie]

dudeisodumb here lol

[@KingIce3518]

dudeisodumb here

[@ltkalexispham21]

dudeisod

[@Trey.Franks]

[@Jeff.S.]

[@Custarddolphin]

Trey

[@DragonKirby]

i may not play melee,or be a big fan of watching it,but some of these combos are hype

[@marinadavies1917]

I'm glad to see that Bowser is finally getting played(ish)

[@Terminator26882]

last time i was this early chester was still alive

[@jheal62]

I throw up a little every time I see Nintendousche play Ice Climbers

[@Kajichuu]

looking back at these old videos is bitter sweet, so many faces destroyed cause they ended up being kid touchers.. it'll take a long while before the smash community recovers from this or even feel the same. Lets hope none of them "Try" to return.

[@pho7925]

As soon as I saw the big house 4 clip is was like "its gonna happen"