Australia’s most significant Super Smash Bros. major of the year is happening this weekend in Sydney. Phantom 2022 will be a platinum stop for the Smash World Tour and currently has nearly 500 players registered to compete in Melee, Ultimate, Project+ and Rivals of Aether.
While Battle Arena Melbourne 12 only featured high-level Australian talent, top players from around the world will compete at Phantom this weekend. Here’s how Smash fans can watch the tournament, and which players they should keep their eyes on.
Players to watch
Although positive COVID-19 tests will keep Edgard “n0ne” Sheleby, Jake “Jmook” DiRado and potentially Zain “Zain” Naghmi from attending Phantom 2022, the event will still feature a lineup of several other top Melee players from North America.
Cody “iBDW” Schwab will vie for his third major win of the year. He will enter the tournament with a good deal of momentum following his first-place finish at Double Down 2022. However, iBDW has been more upset-prone than several other top players, which could inhibit his ability to win back-to-back tournaments for the first time this year.
In addition, Sydney native Josh “Joshman” Lyras has a strong chance of defending his region from the invading American competitors. He recently had his best Melee major performance to date at Get On My Level 2022, defeating Masaya “aMSa” Chikamoto, Kurtis “moky” Pratt and iBDW en route to fourth place. With the Australian crowd on his side, Joshman could be poised to make even more upsets at Phantom.
🤼 Joshy is coming home 🤼 pic.twitter.com/9fSxSUNv15
— P H A N T O M (@phantomtourney) June 24, 2022
Japan’s Yuta “Nietono” Uejima will be the lone international pro in the Phantom 2022 Ultimate bracket. Last month, he placed third at Maesuma TOP 8, defeating Takuto “Kameme” Ono and Naoto “ProtoBanham” Tsuji in the process. As a result, Nietono will be the favorite to win at Phantom, his first out-of-country tournament since Frostbite in February of 2020.
How to watch Phantom 2022
Melbourne Melee is set to host the Melee broadcast at Phantom 2022 on Twitch. However, the tournament organizers have not yet announced what channel will stream the Ultimate, Project+ or Rivals of Aether events.
Singles pools for both Melee and Ultimate will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday. Then, Doubles pools for both games will start at 2 a.m. on Saturday. Melee Doubles top four will begin at 4 a.m., followed by Ultimate Doubles top four at 6 a.m.
The final day of Singles competition will kick off with Ultimate top 64 at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. At 9 p.m., the Melee bracket will resume with either top 32 or top 16. Top eight of the Melee bracket will then start at midnight, followed by Ultimate top six at 4 a.m. on Sunday.
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