LMM Miami 2024 GRAND FINALS - Aklo (Link) Vs. Zain (Marth) Smash Melee - SSBM

[@Whitsoxrule1]

We all know Zain is a machine but Aklo is absolutely cracked for playing such close games with a mid tier vs the most dominant player of the 2020s. And this MU is so fun to watch, long tense games but without camping, both characters want to play offense. Melee in 2024 is sick as ever

[@Matty2Fatty3]

Yes 🙌

[@dominater5]

Bro link is not playing offence lmao marth is forced to approach non stop. If link was a top tier everyone would hate him like they do puff.

[@coyrex1250]

Love watching these 2!

[@pbtim237]

@@dominater5 facts

[@lucasblomgren1975]

Link is not a mid tier vs Marth. Link vs Marth is literally an evenish matchup

[@andrewbank4696]

Zain being #1 is one of the best case scenarios for mid tier lovers. He doesn't camp and no mid tier matchup feels like a guaranteed win.

[@actuallymario7676]

Did we watch the same game. 😂😂😂😂😂😂reek

[@maazzzable]

Way to spoil the game you big genius

[@jtrtx]

​@@maazzzablebro looking at comments before the video and blaming commenters for commenting 😂

[@loganreidy7055]

100% Junebug beats Zain first time they meet DK-Marth in bracket

[@symphoniez]

Lol idiot actually bought into the narratives the commentators were pushing. This was not close - Zain destroyed him.

[@chunkychunkymonkey]

15:44 THE BOMB IS GONNA EXPLODE 🗣️🗣️🗣️💥💥💥

[@RICEKRISPY8]

Literally my favorite part of the whole top 8.

[@carlosrios3215]

😂

[@jorgereyes4866]

Is the audio bad for everyone or is it just me??

[@ivannunez8738]

yeah is out of sync

[@p4sma421]

needs fixing asap

[@jorgereyes4866]

@@p4sma421 agree, really unprofessional tbh

[@freshmintmelee4392]

@@jorgereyes4866 Don't be like that ... Audio desync happens, nothing too dramatic, I'm sure they'll reupload

[@millerwrightt]

​@@freshmintmelee4392I hope so

[@Ninten-m7f]

スマブラDXのトーナメントを視聴してリンクのことをこんなに真剣に応援したのは長い人生の中で今日が初めてです笑 2024年にリンクが大きな大会の決勝を戦っているなんて信じられない。Aklo is god !

[@elibonham4388]

Agreed.

[@buegmaster]

the day aklo wins a major my pop off will be so powerful i will obliterate my entire apartment building

[@ssl64will]

i popped off harder at aklo taking winners semis than any of my own sets LMAO

[@DarkWhatever91]

Good thing that will never happen.

[@buegmaster]

@@DarkWhatever91 whatever helps you sleep at night bro. it won't be long before you start suffering from insomnia though #AKLOSWEEP

[@nahor88]

@@buegmaster It won't happen if Zain, Cody and Mango are in the way; they're simply better than him.

[@jrodd13]

@@DarkWhatever91 You'll shit your pants when June eventually wins a major with DK too 😂😂 Shit like that is inevitable, people need to start taking mid tiers more seriously, they may not be as consistent as top tiers but they are still viable

[@Rez_97]

Mango was right about aklo. If he improves his aggro just a little bit more. when he gets those insane openings and reads, its like he freezes and resets into a defensive position

[@Offcell9999]

wow exactly

[@koitsuga]

Aklo is getting closer and closer

[@nahor88]

Taking a set off him using the Link is progress; he had only taken games before. The problem is that Zain adapts; Aklo's best hope is to only have to face Zain once. Link is such a janky character to fight when you've been only fighting top and high tiers in bracket. It's an MU Marth actually has to learn to beat a good Link player, cuz ALL of us Link mains know the Marth MU.

[@psychokinesis878]

This Aklo guy is dope, finally nice to see a different character step up. For me its been a long time since I've seen tourneys

[@Numphyyy]

These Zane V Aklo sets have been so fun to watch this year

[@DarkGenexSmash]

Had a ton of fun commentating grands, hope people enjoyed the event 🙂

[@melontusk2591]

the commentating was very good

[@user-wn7ko1uu3b]

I was so happy when you came on comms

[@LilypadOW]

good times you two brought great energy

[@jensoh]

I don’t know if it was you who said it, but you contributed to the energy nonetheless the handball with bombs against Zane shield line was so funny

[@GELV294]

Great job commentating!

[@laughman7357]

Marth's tax policy would threaten Hyrule at large. The Hero of Time must vanquish this evil.

[@arJunebugSmash]

THE BOMB IS GONNA EXPLODE

[@carlschrappen9712]

Zain adabts so quickly. It's crazy.

[@mourning_sun_]

aklo seemed relatively nervous and dropped things he didn't in the set he won. He'll get it soon

[@BocajBeans]

im shocked (im not shocked)

[@MichaelWilliams-bt8hm]

contradicting ahhh

[@aldogutierrez6637]

this battle was cannonical link vs marth

[@ADavidJohnson]

Zain said we must have amnesia because we forgot that he's him. Zain's been him, and will continue to be him.

[@guaraches2]

You smoking on that whoopie golberg bubba kush

[@willrobinson6651]

Aklo got grabbed by a pair of Givenchy gloves... the last thing he saw was the price tag on em

[@isaacthewaffle1]

¨They touched tips!¨ Smash Commentator - 2024

[@disturbia1378]

Props to Aklo!! Making us Link mains tear up seeing a Link get so far in a tournament :')

[@mandalorianhunter1]

This was a intense GFs Watching Aklo constantly growing over the years from Just another Fox to a Link user as well to now constantly making top 8 and now GF was thrilling m

[@samk8005]

I have never been so invested in a match. Aklo's Link is an absolute blast to watch.

[@unkn0wn226]

This what Melee stands for, this is a great set to show Melee is alive and well

[@joeysummers8830]

Aklos Link ans Zains Marth is my new favourite MU! I wouldve went crazy if he won this tourney

[@jrodd13]

Aklo going toe to toe with Zain with Link in grands proves that the character is viable if the other non Marth matchups get perfected. Aklo is NUTS

[@Minwu325]

this matchup is marth's to lose

[@emilyminnow]

I was worried Zain might have an aneurysm with how much his face was twitching during that match

[@tymeyer5084]

Aklo will be disappointed, but damn hold your head up high man, that link play is incredible. Going last stock with the goat marth consistently. This matchup is a wild chess match, very imtense and enjoyable.

[@thesmilingvagrants]

Going last stock last hit was Zain is pretty impressive even with a top-tier character. So to do it with link is mad impressive

[@GuestShadowLink16]

What a player is Aklo

[@memegicianOfficial]

Okay it can't be THAT hard to not have the audio be out of sync

[@milesd0texe385]

Aklo been getting better in this match up in every tournament... Im buying more Aklo stock

[@Jabadamazo]

Never thought some of the sickest, tightest games I'd see in awhile would involve fucking Link lol. Melee is awesome.

[@gianlucatartaro1335]

Why is it that every major tournament streamed by VGBC has these kinds of MAJOR production errors??? You are the largest media company in Smash! Get it together!

[@Chetter21]

is there a delay on the audio or just me?

[@ytrac1234]

There's a delay

[@tomwanders6022]

It’s awfull, but the match up was crazy fun to watch. I knew despite not watching the timer that the video was 30 minutes so when I saw link falling behind that much, I sadly already knew it must be a Marth win. :( I wanted to see link win so bad, especially because I play mages and zoners in my favorite games, so seeing melee a game most known for its well, melee not ranged combat finally being played in a lot more zone oriented way, was incredibly fun to see. I like watching hbox for that reason as well, it’s a lot more slow and controlled. Not saying I don’t love regular flashy melee plays, I’m just saying I have fun watching a game that feels structured and methodical.

[@Texmatt21]

Just as a casual observer, Marth feels massively overpowered. Tons of range with almost every swing, ridiculous power, speed, and can recover from the very bottom of the map?? Why would you balance like that?

[@FunctionGermany]

pls fix audio sync and reupload

[@raghavpatel720]

Aklo will overcome Zain soon, god willing

[@What_Ive_Learned]

The laugh at 25:02 XD Great set but fix the audio please.

[@jaojonjao]

Spiral e-sport logo is 200% based on Tengen Toppa

[@vipermoon_]

Holy crap this stream was having ISSUES. Several separate issues

[@hmmmmmmmmmm_]

I wonder if junebug played this time, is he only on commentary?

[@Vixigard]

He did but got eliminated super early on

[@Vixigard]

Like pools early

[@LiveTwinReaction]

I don't remember who he lost to in winners but he lost to ben in losers unfortunately.

[@Mbama-dh5ki]

bro... if Aklo would won the tournament it would be sooo crazy. A link player who beat the best player of the world that play a top tier character.

[@knightsolaire5351]

Link Marth matchup is so interesting good lord some of these games are insane

[@SSJPENGUIN]

Audio slightly delayed?

[@MrSlowpez10]

Aklo is gonna do it one day, i believe. And he'll do it with Link

[@elibonham4388]

Aklo shouldve won here 23:53

[@inarencommander4663]

Is Zain the GOAT of Melee at this point?

[@Gr8saiyaman88]

Thanks for all the VODs but why put this at the top of the playlist? Why is the playlist suddenly in reverse chronological order? >_>

[@reedajones]

yo game 2 set 1 was forking crazy phantom dair to crazy link combos for game HOLY

[@tennis4517]

Is it just me or is the game audio messed up on all of these

[@OurEmRM]

Yeah, the stream had pretty bad audio. At some points the commentators glitched out too.

[@beardalaxy]

Touching tips and throwing balls xD I wish the audio on this was better.

[@nozebleedtv1]

Almost there Aklo💪

[@chrisgrudge6964]

Out of all the matches to have put of sync

[@emmastarr5242]

Dawg, why is the game audio so delayed 💀

[@benox50]

18:46 using the ledge i-frames to ignore upB that annoyed him in the prior matches, wow

[@TWOBytZ]

Game audio is out of sync

[@Savestate]

very cool

[@BNIssbm]

it was so cool seeing the commentators make a quick shoutout to you ^_^

[@purplegrape2143]

just watched this for the first time... very bummed about the desync and it's been 2 months.

[@straytraffic]

That was tense. These guy were seriously scrapping

[@ivannunez8738]

Zain is a contender for being the real GOAT. We all know that Mango got the title for the biased popularity that he had in that ranking.

[@Vaporwavelol]

It wasn’t biased and nobody in their right mind is putting zain above mango, armada, or hbox

[@ivannunez8738]

@@Vaporwavelol In that moment of course Zain wasnt above of those player, now is a real contender. But there is no a world in which Mango is above Armada, it was all biased popularity.

[@Vaporwavelol]

@ lol cope, Mango is above Armada. And Zain is still not a contender for goat. Crazy how all the top players agree that mango is the goat but armada Stans will be like “erm it’s biased 🤓”

[@kinanschannel6016]

Not yet. He still needs a few more good years at the top, but if retired today no doubt zain would be in the top 10.

[@ivannunez8738]

@@Vaporwavelol Lol no, you are in that group without a doubt. Not because you are a fan of a player make him the best. The consistency of Armada, he´s h2h vs Mango, years of number 1, he´s definitely the GOAT. Mango after 2014 is to inconsistent and never domineted the scene again like before.

[@Jabadamazo]

Is Aklo allergic to grabbing ledge or something? He lets Zain get back with Up B like at least 3 times where grabbing ledge would have been easy.

[@dazedheart9006]

What the hell happened for a Link to get in grands??? Everyone’s saying a Link might win a major soon???? What am I missing????

[@sebas9504]

25:00 lol

[@idkAtomicStewAgain]

was king crimson in attendance? lol the stream was glitching so much

[@savaget2058]

He's got to be able to edge guard him in some better way than he was in this set, especially if he's actually at the ledge already 😔

[@pwnskippy5]

If aklo made just 50% less obvious mistakes, he might’ve won this match. The battlefield match for instance had many missed opportunities.

[@psychokinesis878]

That Link was heavenly

[@Bludgeoned2DEATH2]

As Zain said, Aklo might win in the short term (bracket) with Link but in the long run (Grand Finals) he should develop his Fox more cause that's how he's going to beat Zain.

[@shengnyyj]

Theres only one fox in the world that can beat zain link is his best chance

[@lucasblomgren1975]

Zain only says that because he's scared of the Link. He knows Link Marth is evenish.

[@Bludgeoned2DEATH2]

@@lucasblomgren1975 and yet Zain lost to Aklo in Bracket then proceeded to annihilate his Link in Grand Finals. As Zain said Link might win in the short term because of match up knowledge but Zain can adapt and will win it in the end.

[@lucasblomgren1975]

@@Bludgeoned2DEATH2 every game being close is not annihilate at all lmfao

[@pwnskippy5]

I think the up b on stage really only worked once in his favor

[@pwnskippy5]

He did it a ton of times

[@JapaneseLanguageMentor]

Aklo putting himself on platforms/in the air WAYY too much. Gotta stay more grounded against marth. And he started to do more later, but nair oos shield couldve helped him a lot. Throwing boomerangs too close sometimes got him punished bad too. But, its link, so what can ya do.

[@Nitsua2841]

THEY TOUCHED TIPS

[@jay318]

WE ARE NOT GOING B-AKLO

[@Darksilver740]

23:52 You know Aklo just acknowledged how much Link just... sucks...

[@alejandroc7357]

Its actually a glitch marth has

[@lucasblomgren1975]

Lmao Link has a 100% invincible ledgestall and haxdash. Marth has literally no option recovering vs Link basically, it's just difficult techskill.

[@elibonham4388]

That was bullcrap Aklo shouldve won there

[@MrAnimescrazy]

Zan with the 6-1.

[@thomaslalonde2118]

Zain masterclass

[@Cool30Comics]

22:06 WAIT

[@OhioKaiCenat1]

Spoiler Block🛑🚨Enjoy the video!!!

[@subtleknife1]

Audio is a lil desync’d just fyi

[@chemicalkirby]

Zain adapting mid tournament, it's why he's #1

[@J0_n_0]

Can we stop calling ledge jump tournament winner... That is just a ledge jump what tournament are you winning

[@melomitchell8714]

How does YL fair against Marth?

[@mandalorianhunter1]

Not that well. Zain just has MU unfamiliarity which happened with Axe and now he is beating him

[@Chiplinked]

Former Young Link main (4 years) and current Marth main (14). YL suffers the same problems as Link does in the MU (Marth’s Fair, dtilt, and jab shield pressure obliterate the Links), but unfortunately YL is much lighter than Link and has a lot more trouble killing too. On the flip side, YL’s projectiles combo Marth a lot more reliably than Link’s do. Being faster always helps in a game like melee too. Overall I still think Link probably does better in the MU primarily because YL has a harder time killing. Marth has trouble killing too, so there really isn’t a great stage you can CP him to. With Link you can at the very least CP stadium, DL, or FD and make the Marth sweat.

[@lucasblomgren1975]

YL is nothing like Link, they are way less similar than Fox and Falco

[@pwnskippy5]

This is a good match

[@Matty2Fatty3]

Good set

[@josecoreas7811]

Aklo please

[@TheJimneyShow]

well fought

[@abdullahnadeem1823]

Poor Akko always coming second

[@Aycheffe]

The amount of ads this video has is so incredibly egregious I have to downvote the video. Some ads is fine but there is literally an ad every 1-2 minutes.

[@Fain255]

Aklo = Gigachad

[@KookiBirb]

bruh wut 4:35

[@pwnskippy5]

WAIT

[@fiatlux805]

Aklo: hits Zain once. Commentators: "Oh! Oooooh Oh ooo!

[@Swampson1738]

enjoyed watching till Zain won

[@BNIssbm]

SUPER ZAIN 的笑容都没你的甜八月正午的阳光都 没你耀眼热爱 PIVOT FSMASH °C的你滴清纯的蒸馏水你不 知道你有多可爱跌倒后会傻笑着再站起来你从来 都不轻言失败对梦想的执着一直 🥶🍦

[@haunter93til]

man, I wish Melee was Melee but with optimized controller mapping and major buffs for most of the cast. There's Project M I just wish it was official so it could get more pull for major tourneys and streams. I don't even want any nerfs at all, just buffs and a LOT of them. seeing these other characters is so sick but their flaws are just so glaring it's insane

[@DonFunFait]

3-0 in GFs is crazy, congrats Zain ❗️❗️❗️

[@symphoniez]

Comment section is bugging - this matchup was NOT CLOSE. Zain / Marth crushed him.

[@Budymryo]

Zain def messed him up but there were like 2 or3 last hit games that could’ve swung the set. Also Aklo proved that he could take a set :v

[@shengnyyj]

Did we watch the same set? Almost all games were super close

[@lucasblomgren1975]

Every game was super close lmfao

[@symphoniez]

6-1 - the end outcome was not close. And Aklo was not sharp - mistakes all over the place.

[@lucasblomgren1975]

@@symphoniez 6-1 doesn't matter at all if every game was close

[@KamiSanzo]

sad

[@Scott7789x]

Unbiased casting.

[@JackEriksson2]

that caster is unbareable

[@shengnyyj]

These are good wdym

[@JackEriksson2]

@alcaboz_sadino7217 i guess just prefrence, one of'em just rubs the the wrong way

[@rigo416]

Let that link shit go bro its NOT working 😭😭😭😭

[@allencummings7564]

See Zain Aklo winners semis aklo loses one game with fox wins three with link

[@jordandwiggins1026]

He literally just took a set with Link against him

[@Vixigard]

Buddy he shit on Zain with link in semis, this is aklos second grands and the nerves probably got to him

[@Matt_M_again]

Very insightful thanks

[@shengnyyj]

The link is his best chance

[@koitsuga]

Also this is my current favourite commentary pairing