Zain (Marth) vs Aklo (Link) - Riptide 2024 - Melee Singles - Winners Final

[@mattgehringer8554]

Genuinely one of the craziest most hype sets I’ve ever seen lmao

[@JO3Lzzz7948]

This is like... the sickest set I've ever seen honestly

[@slenderMax28]

Most suprising thing to me was that neither commentator knew the name of Link's shield.

[@Ivanhoenn]

Everyone knows that's the destiny shield duh

[@RAPPERScantSPELL]

If I recall, the shield’s name is Trevor St. McGoodbody

[@Meechell]

Hey slendermax

[@Rpodnee]

It's the biggoron shield.

[@vStrafe]

They came to witness melee being played and you wanna cry over some lore. Theres literally a shield button and yall worried about a shield that doesn't get used.

[@dr_meth]

Aklo's Link is so nutty wtf 🧐

[@Gr8saiyaman88]

My crappy 2006 college Link walked so Aklo's could go Super Saiyan. Aklo rocks.

[@TobynJacobs]

what a time to be alive honestly, bro its not just a dk renaissance, its a mid tier renaissance at this point with all these characters often being neck and neck with melee's best players

[@AndreA-cu7oq]

what if aklo cutout 🤔🤔🤔

[@YauDerAllerEchte]

G&W is next Just needs a Top Player pick him up

[@klayme3176]

@@YauDerAllerEchte

[@jamescrock2213]

@@YauDerAllerEchte bro I would legit support a G&W player, i lost track of melee like in 2019. when i heard of junebug ive been looking back at it. I do not play melee at all at any high level but best damn advantage you got is that when the hell did you play against a high level GW? and who do you have to practice with? wonder if samus got picked up other than plup. Ganon, Dr Mario, Luigi, I wonder how true just plain ol mario would be.

[@YauDerAllerEchte]

@@jamescrock2213 I did not see a new Samus unfortunately and for Dr Mario Mang0 is seen as the best Doc, but he never plays him, meaning there is no high level Doc or Luigi or Ganon either unfortunately

[@jeremygarrell2417]

22:19 Zain Dair, edge cancel, counters because the last time Aklo teched the downair and jumped with a backair... the awareness to mix counter in is just insane. This set was crazy on so many levels

[@samgould8567]

I think the reason why Zain doesn’t like playing Aklo’s Link is that he’s unpredictable and hard to train for. Link has very few good options in any given scenario, but a ton of OK options. Less flowchart and more intuition. That same characteristic makes the skill ceiling for Link very high. All of that in addition to the unexplored tech makes me very excited for what’s to come with Link and players like Aklo.

[@fdsaa]

I have a hunch it's also playstyle-related - could very well be wrong, but it looks like Marth has some strong mixups in advantage that require big swingy commits (like raw fsmash as a callout on high%/cornered/shielding Link's sh aerial/sh projectile mixup, capitalizing on his egregious jumpsquat and slow projectiles), and in general Zain seems more averse to big swingy commits than the other top Marths.

[@MacTruckBrickHouse]

The sticky walk to wait out the up b oos!?!?! Melee will never die

[@SMALLSandJOE]

Awesome set. Was such a treat to see some high level Link gameplay! Aklo is wild. I always am excited to see him use Link in every chance he gets!

[@nahor88]

I agree, it still makes me sad that whatever Link tech people discover or perfect, it will never be enough to overcome the top tiers. There's no amount of projectile shenanigans to overcome Marth simply being faster with better aerials. It's enough to take down mid to above average Marths, but the best Marths will adapt. They'll hate it, but they'll adapt. That being said, I think this level of Aklo would be enough to take another set off Kodorin.

[@LeVraiTB]

@@nahor88 Link got an amazing recovery with the chain / mix-up with bomb to get back on stage which Marth doesn't have. Yes a good Marth will adapt the Link matchup, but not every Link play the same. Aklo can switch style anytime, it's a mind game at this point. It's just a matter of time before some Gen-Z pick up the Gamecube controller and start maining Link on Melee the same way aMSa did with Yoshi!

[@SMALLSandJOE]

@@nahor88 we'll just have to see if aklo tries the Link again vs Zain! I agree, it feels like Zain isn't gonna let this happen again, but you never know! Aklo is really good LOL and his Link dropped a lot too here. But that just means he can do even better! ... melee is rad lol! Looking forward to their next set

[@brettisaac46]

11:07 bruh what 🔥🔥🔥

[@squidee]

Moonwalk

[@yolobuttrill]

Awesome set. Aklo was so nervous but he still brought it to game 5 last stock. I hope he closes it out next time with DA LINK

[@vernon1748]

This 20 yr old game just keeps evolving DAMN

[@summarojo]

Melee is its second golden age with matches like this.

[@sageosaka]

this matchup always reminds me of the really old school set between ken and aniki when ken went to japan.

[@LWDIII]

Always happy to find another old person around besides me

[@jon630]

I remember downloading all the japan sets on DC++. So much knowledge in there. Captain Jack going in with his random DK.

[@sepi1994]

Lore accurate Link

[@catandfishfc]

Dreamland is actually fantastic for Link here. Zain was kinda cooking him but he just never died.

[@quentebarchiveeoutrascoisa8036]

Dreamland might be good vs marth but it aint good against Zain

[@poleon2003]

Yeah although DL is still my go to ban against link in a bo3 and the rest of the low and mid tiers because FUCK marthritis

[@vernon1748]

Link playing at high level is so hype

[@DiegoAchcar33]

what in the hell is that Link, insane moves

[@slideguitarclem]

that was so fukjing sick, aklo's link is so goood

[@joeysummers8830]

Aklos Link is looking so good! Was rooting for him hard. Best set of the tournament for me!

[@ZeroLoveTennis]

Melee lives on! I love it. Ages better than wine. Amazing to see a Link have such good survivability and play safe from a distance and work their way in for combos and kills.

[@belesir8847]

Nice set. Melee has been exciting to watch lately with these mid/low tiers placing highly.

[@ercaciottaro805]

He's getting there

[@_ben_miller]

probably my fav set of the year so far

[@EPproductions456]

17:39 is some of the most insane bomb pressure I've seen in tournament

[@Oceanandskylinevidss]

Sets like this reignite my love for Melee

[@enriconolasco8124]

This set is CRAZY

[@Sparky582]

Hope this means we can see more mid tiers instead of just high tiers. Aklo made this super interesting to watch.

[@FortuneKOF]

melee keeps evolving. goated smash game, no contest

[@verdeon493]

What a time to be alive

[@wilwn]

Aklo has made a fan out of me

[@noyd4172]

Burt Bacharach reference in the middle of a set is crazy; great comms

[@kdbfi1989]

We need more link

[@thenecessitarian]

It's So satisfying and refreshing to watch Zain struggle from the uncertainty.

[@diegomo1413]

Aklo’s Link is a thing of beauty

[@CasualScrub]

I absolutely love how mid tiers are zain's biggest weakness

[@My_dad_owns_Club_Penguin]

I think in Yoshi's case (at least amsa's Yoshi) the matchup is just generally really hard for marth

[@Eval999]

It's Marths weakness. He has honest matchups against more of the cast than other top tiers.

[@TheBeggies95]

@@Eval999Yep Marth is honest but spacies players will get triggered if we say it

[@Michael-hc2hp]

@@TheBeggies95 Spacies is like Marth's least "honest" matchups

[@electromagneticlemon]

@@Michael-hc2hpunless that spacie is Cody Schwab lol. Even against mango, when zain beats him it's cuz mango will get killed by some BS (that might just be falco though)

[@T____W____7777]

Link and Young Link are so much fun to watch.

[@marquistf1996]

It’s amazing that a low tier could take the number one player to last stock game five this deep into a major tournament. Insane.

[@TheBeggies95]

Not that bad of a MU for Link and Aklo is cracked

[@poleon2003]

@@TheBeggies95 yeah like it's arguable that marth is link's best top tier MU like I'm sure most link's would feel more comfortable fighting a marth than fighting a sheik or fox or something

[@lucasblomgren1975]

@@poleon2003 you are correct but its funny "I'm sure". Marth link is 50:50. Sheik link is 90:10

[@justice8718]

@@lucasblomgren1975 Link is a simp.

[@nahor88]

@@lucasblomgren1975 Marth Link will never be 50:50, at best 60:40. If this was SD Remix where Link has buffed frame data, sure. At the end of the day, Zain took advantage of Link being slower.

[@aasic3952]

THAT GAME 2 WAS SO HYPE ON SUCH A TINY STAGE!!!

[@sgtblu3]

Top top top tier set! holy shit that was so hype!!

[@MarMaxGaming]

Melee is such a beautiful, beautiful, circle of life… Yoshi, DK, Link… they’re coming so alive!!

[@robertluis1934]

aklo is making me wanna play link again

[@juanluisaguirre2960]

Aklos link is the melee highlight of the year IMO before I get hella mfrs telling otherwise it’s an opinion but holy shit a LINK!?!?!

[@awooga-gunga-israel]

Aklo's link is a good pick but for me it's definitely junebug's DK tearing through tournaments.

[@juanluisaguirre2960]

@@awooga-gunga-israel cant disagree that was also very hype this year his big punches are on point lol

[@thehostwiththemost8752]

One of the best sets I’ve ever seen. Can’t wait to see what happens with Link in the coming years

[@vernon1748]

4:20 the crouch to deflect the deflected bomb 🫨

[@ghmasterjj]

if we should this game footage to melee players in 2008 they would say it's TAS. this set is a cinematic experience

[@AerixI]

such a sick set between the two dopest swordsmen in the game

[@714SNF]

so awesome to see a link

[@BeazerProductions]

Ah, the Marth/Link classic. Reminds me of when Mango/Axe sets would turn into Mario/YL on Axe's FD counterpick.

[@xtimestop]

YEAH STUDE LET HIM KNOW ABOUT 214!!!

[@supermario_49]

I saw the words “Link” and “Winners Final” and I clicked in a heartbeat!

[@BlueCatBuilds]

I play link at a very low level, but he’s the only character where I’m happy to get matched up against marth. Down throw up B baby!

[@matty4376]

Link renaissance coming up

[@LinktheCommunistWaifu]

Love to see some Link gameplay!

[@jrodd13]

"Melee is a solved game" Meanwhile the best player in the world almost lost to a "low tier" in winners final. Crazy shit.

[@kilging5524]

bro aklo is so insane

[@enriconolasco8124]

18:59 even Zain, who normally has the murder face when playing, had to laugh at the insanity of that melee right there

[@Sever_Eushon]

Last time I saw a link at work was probably Sixx back in 2016ish

[@vgrepairs]

Sixx link mentioned! Yes!

[@SuperAaron360]

Why did Zain react like that in the player cam at 3:15?

[@FinnishCraig3]

I want to see Aklo go 100% Link for a tournament.

[@matty4376]

Same

[@nahor88]

Bruh he might not even make it out of pools... spacies destroy Link so hard it's not even funny. Like seriously, Fox doesn't even have to try.

[@TK-ev]

@@nahor88 yeah Link's is way too slow and has far too little power on his best most reliable options to deal with Star Fox and Shiek. It would take an exhausting amount of outplays to make it through an entire stacked tournament.

[@RyumaXtheXKing]

Crazy Comeback in game two. Can’t believe the commentators didn’t notice.

[@jamescameron9224]

"You just gotta clip a man in his movement and call it a day" rofl

[@jeffforty5663]

That was bugged the fuck out

[@RickyG93]

Wow, just wow

[@Frank7489]

11:07 perfect use of Marth sticky walk

[@8dreadLock8]

that ending though brutal dair

[@ichirosuzuki2252]

Weirdly, this is one of my favourite neutrals to watch. It feels like chess.

[@letsmakeit110]

ultimate fecked me up i forgot what a healthy meta looks like

[@eatingyoshi4403]

*looks over to bowser literally having 1 good move in the game*

[@TopOfAllWorlds]

Ah yes. Health meta means that less than half the roster is viable to play in tournament. Lmao. Melee's meta isn't very healthy, but it's fun. They had to ban wobbling, ledge stalling, and a lot of other things to get it there though. Ultimates meta is more healthy, but I can see why you wouldn't think it's as fun.

[@letsmakeit110]

@@TopOfAllWorlds better than ult where only 10% of the roster is viable and theyre all cancer timeout chars.

[@shalamar2671]

@@letsmakeit110 thats not even remotely true LOL. The most popular players play cancer characters, but plenty of characters are viable. Melee is just now getting its meta tested hard by mid tiers, Ultimate has been since its inception. Little Mac just won a tournament like a week ago LOL.

[@eatingyoshi4403]

@@letsmakeit110 If you just look at the top 100 for Ult, you will see that each one of the top 20 players all have different mains. That doesn't happen in a poorly balanced game or in a game where only 10% of the roster is viable lol.

[@2shy2guy52]

I found this set by searching for Zain’s Marth because it’s beautiful, but I did find myself rooting for Aklo especially after the bomb usage in the first game

[@MangoTHC]

Aklo shaking his head after first stock got me gigglin bro

[@StudioSkiesAndWater]

beautiful

[@StudioSkiesAndWater]

Something isn't beautiful because it lasts

[@0rnami]

Often times, Link's bombs and boomerang are more of a trap for Aklo than they are for his opponents; he sometimes becomes so preoccupied with trying to create plays with bombs/boomerang that his neutral game suffers, and even in this set alone you can almost draw a direct comparison between Aklo focusing on neutral and winning, and focusing on fancy projectile usage and losing. You can see the same behavior with Snake players in Brawl/Ultimate with grenades/mortar/C4/Nikita/etc. These projectiles are incredibly flexible tools, but the problem then becomes knowing exactly which setup will actually be viable in any ((extremely particular)) situation, and more often than not, even the most skilled players are wrong when making that judgment call.

[@nabs6415]

LAST GAME LAST STOCK... *Ends in 3 hits from Zain in 2 seconds*

[@alottaguala9766]

half of links stocks where deleted from marth's fair bair lol

[@darvida719]

What is this timeline ?!? I love it !

[@bfors8498]

Alright, Aklo is insane

[@bigtoblerone8446]

WOW LINK 😳😲🤯

[@SlyScyther]

19:58 I've never seen a recovery like that

[@peterevans2854]

So… melees bottom 12 are about to explode and it all started with Amsas Yoshi. Junebug DK followed. I need a Ness main to clean house next! Or better yet, a Mewtwo main.

[@Dreekuz]

phantom was a heartbreaker

[@bigdrefromthebay6475]

Aklo link is so campy. It’s almost as bad as falco’s sitting in the corner and doing lasers .

[@Shino12567]

Aklo my boyyyyyyyyyyy T.T

[@cjkmelee]

What the black magic fuck does Aklo do at 17:54 to make the bomb instantly blow up while Link is mid boomerang pull animation? EDIT: nevermind Zain threw it at his own feet lmao

[@Rivals2Cincinnati]

Yeah, he tried for immediate downthrow thinking he grabbed link.

[@BL-qi3sj]

as someone who is just starting to get into melee im curious, is links wavedash bad or something? Aklo seems like he's playing him more as a standard character but maybe thats just what is expected from zoners like link and samus.

[@Kitth3n]

It doesn’t go very far, plus he’s got a slow jump with a 6 frame jumpsquat animation, so his wavedash comes out slow

[@BL-qi3sj]

@@Kitth3n appreciate the input 👍

[@bigtoblerone8446]

Yeah its bad Samus and young Link have good wave dashes tho

[@Sickmmaner]

SPOILERS "Last game, last stock! Zain: "Yo, FUCK THAT!"

[@AntechamberAE]

That's a Link win in real ones' books. 2/3 against Zain Marth may as well be.

[@junkjams596]

I honestly feel that mid teirs seem so good right bow cause 1. Everyone has a very polished punish game/plan. 2.top players keep jumping into dumb shit

[@Fayn7]

Just here to see how the set ends after that CIAimen detour

[@joeltrotter9069]

We got jjkd with that ending

[@Dodger77]

I swear I've never seen that weak fair hit box at 11:25 before XD

[@mouth9001]

what a set bro zain is so nasty haha

[@quentebarchiveeoutrascoisa8036]

Set was hype as fuck, but why do people still counterpick zain to Dreamland ? There are like 3 people who beat him here, and one of them is amsa

[@BryanTyrone-l5c]

Stokes Park

[@JoeyGotDaForty]

Sick set! But my god that ending was anticlimactic af😂

[@BradingtonShowingtononYouTube]

I am so happy a link didn’t beat Zain. Not trying to play a hundred annoying proj spamming links on slippi a day 😂

[@Doomxeen]

Let's just crowdfund Armada to play melee again and main Link.

[@DUDEBLARGG]

God it's so refreshing to see all these mid tier characters in top 8's

[@Michaelrandom27]

6:13 How did Zain not get grabbed there?

[@user-be3qc7re9o]

If you slow it down, Zain spot dodged at the last minute.

[@TheBeggies95]

@@user-be3qc7re9oNo he did not. Zain was still in the air

[@user-be3qc7re9o]

​@@TheBeggies95 Oh, I see. My bad. I mistook it for a Spotdodge.

[@lankyjuggler]

Link's hookshot can't grab people in the air. Pretty sure Samus's tether can grab people in the air. Not sure about y link

[@Michaelrandom27]

@@lankyjuggler Ah, that explains it. Thanks.

[@CocoMura]

Heard there was DQ's someone wanna spill the tea and lemme in onnit?

[@dh3913]

Moky and Mango DQ’d, idk why Moky but Mango had a fever/flu