Isai (gamer)

Joel Isai Alvarado, professionally known as Isai (pronounced "Isaiah"), is an American Super Smash Bros. 64 player widely regarded as the game's greatest player of all time.[1] He is credited with developing the modern Smash 64 metagame and is renowned for his ability to play the game's entire character roster at a top professional level. His major tournament victories include Apex 2014 and Super Smash Con 2023.

Isai
Personal information
NameJoel Isai Alvarado
Nickname(s)Isaiah
malva00
Career information
GamesSuper Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Playing career2003–present
Career highlights and awards
Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
  • MOAST 3 (2005)
  • MLG Los Angeles (2005)

Alvarado also formerly competed in Super Smash Bros. Melee, where he was regarded as one of the best players in the world and the world's best Captain Falcon player during the early years of the game's competitive scene in the early to mid-2000s. He was regarded as one of the best Melee team players in the world, often teaming with his partner Ken Hoang under the name "El Chocolate Diablo".[2] The team was renowned for its dominance and won the Major League Gaming Las Vegas 2006 Melee doubles championship.[3][4][5] Alvarado retired from professional Melee competition in 2007, citing declining interest in the game, however he later teamed with Johnny "S2J" Kim at GENESIS 2 in 2011 and played an exhibition match against Ryota "Captain Jack" Yoshida at Apex 2012, which he infamously lost after sandbagging.[4] A 2021 list compiled by PGstats ranked Isai as the fifteenth-greatest Melee player of all time.[6]

Alvarado was formerly sponsored by CLASH Tournaments,[7] and occasionally streamed on the CLASH Tournaments channel.[8]

Career

Isai is predominantly a Super Smash Bros. player. He became acquainted with the community surrounding its sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee, entering his first tournament, Tournament Go 4 (TG4), on January 19, 2003. He teamed up with the top-ranked player, Ken Hoang, in Tournament Go's fifth incarnation, TG5, for doubles events and continued to team with Ken in later tournaments beginning an undefeated streak that lasted from 2003 to 2006.

Isai is known for not taking Melee singles events seriously. He retired from playing the game competitively in 2007, and later shifted his focus back to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 64.

He is the Super Smash Bros, champion of Apex 2014, defeating Moyashi in the grand finals using Jigglypuff, a character considered to be worse than some of the higher-tiered characters such as Pikachu and Kirby.[9][10]

Personal life

Isai is a graduate of San José State University and was the president of the school's chapter of Beta Alpha Psi.[11]

Notable tournament placements

Only Majors and Supermajors are listed.

Super Smash Bros.
Tournament[12]Date1v1 placement2v2 placementPartner
MELEE-FC DiamondJuly 12–14, 20071st——
GENESIS 2July 15–17, 20112nd——
Apex 2012January 6–8, 20122nd1stNintendude
Apex 2013January 11–13, 20132nd——
Apex 2014January 17–19, 20141st——
GENESIS 3January 15–17, 20164th3rdRith
Snosa IIJune 18–19, 20163rd3rdKeroKeroppi
Super Smash Con 2016August 11–14, 20163rd1stAlvin
GENESIS 4January 20–22, 201713th——
B.E.A.S.T 7February 17–19, 20171st——
Snosa IIIJune 17–18, 20175th1stGyaki
Get On My Level 2017July 28–30, 20172nd1stThe Z
Super Smash Con 2017August 10–13, 201713th1stAlvin
Kansai 2018February 11, 201817th——
Called Out 3June 23, 20182nd2ndKort
Super Smash Con 2018August 9–12, 20183rd3rdSleepy Fox
Inka Fest 2019July 13–14, 20194th4thWizzrobe
Snosa 5January 4, 20205th1stSleepy Fox
Keystoned V March 20th, 2022 1st 1st Josh Brody
Super Smash Con 2022 August 13, 2022 3rd 1st tacos
Super Smash Con 2023 August 10-13, 2023 1st 1st SuPeRbOoMfAn

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Tournament[13]Date1v1 placement2v2 placementPartner
Tournament Go 4January 19, 20037th——
Tournament Go 5August 2–3, 20033rd1stKen
Game OverJanuary 10, 20043rd1stKen
MLG Chicago 2004June 19, 20042nd1stKen
Tournament Go 6August 21–22, 20045th1stKen
MLG San Francisco 2004September 11–12, 20042nd——
MLG Los Angeles 2004September 25–26, 20042nd1stKen
MLG New York 2004October 24, 20042nd1stKen
MOAST 3January 15–16, 20051st1stKen
MLG DC 2005January 29–30, 20052nd1stKen
MLG San Francisco 2005February 26–27, 20055th1stKen
Gettin' Schooled 2June 25–26, 20057th1stKen
MLG Los Angeles 2005October 14–16, 20051st1stKen
MLG New York Opener 2006April 21–23, 20066th1stKen
MLG Dallas 2006May 19–20, 200613th1stKen
MLG Anaheim 2006June 23–24, 20064th1stKen
MLG Chicago 2006July 21–22, 20068th2ndKen
Zero Challenge 2August 15–17, 2006—1stCaptain Jack
MLG Orlando 2006August 26–27, 20064th1stKen
MLG New York Playoffs 2006October 13–14, 20066th3rdKen
NorCal Tournament 2October 28, 20069th1stKen
MLG Las Vegas 2006November 18–19, 20066th1stKen
Cataclysm 3March 3–4, 200713th1stMew2King
MELEE-FC DiamondJuly 12–14, 200741st5thMew2King
Zero Challenge 3July 20–22, 200725th1stThe King
Super Champ ComboSeptember 29–30, 200733rd7thKen
GENESIS 2July 15–17, 2011—13thS2J
Apex 2012January 6–8, 2012—97thVans

References
  1. Lindbergh, Ben (2015-02-18). "Fight Club: Catching a Beating at the Super Bowl of 'Super Smash Bros.'". Grantland. Retrieved 2015-04-07.
  2. Holmes, Jonathan (2014-08-24). "Experts think competitive doubles could make it big in Smash Bros". Destructoid. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
  3. "Carbon Wins the 2006 Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit National Championship, Taking Home $100,000". PRNewswire. Major League Gaming. 20 November 2006. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  4. Travis Beauchamp (2013-10-11). The Smash Brothers. East Point Pictures. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
  5. Kyle Magee (2006-08-09). "Isai". Major League Gaming. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
  6. "The Melee Stats Top 100: 20-11". PGstats. November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  7. Walker, Ian (2014-05-22). "Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman and Adam "Armada" Lindgren Released from CLASH Tournaments Roster". Shoryuken. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  8. Sedda (June 4, 2015). "Smash of Ages: A Smash 64 Regional". Melee It On Me. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  9. CT Chibo (January 23, 2014). "CT Earns Top Placements at Apex 2014". CLASH Tournaments. Archived from the original on 2015-11-23. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  10. "List of SSB tier lists (NTSC)". SmashWiki, the Super Smash Bros. wiki. May 12, 2015. Archived from the original on November 29, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  11. "STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS – MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL (ELC) COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, Spring 2014" (PDF). San Jose State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  12. "Smash 64 - malva00". SmashBoards. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  13. "Melee - malva00". SmashBoards. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
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