While we didn’t expect it to take long, the turnaround was still very quick; Dabuz is no longer a free agent, after signing a high-profile contract with Team Liquid!
Dabuz, a consistent threat in many Smash Bros. games, is a no-brainer pickup for Team Liquid, who recently dropped Salem from their roster (which we can assume was to make room for this new pickup.) The team is evidently looking to expand their Smash trophy cabinet, as Dabuz will be joining the top-ranked Super Smash Bros. Melee player, Hungrybox, to try and make his mark on the scene. You can check out the official announcement and introduction video below:
Dabuz’s first big swing under the Team Liquid banner was the Smash Ultimate Summit, an invitational tournament featuring some of the top players and streamers of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It’s quite common for top Smash players to have a “curse” when they first sign to a big team (meaning they perform quite poorly at the first tournament under their new sponsor) so Dabuz definitely had his work cut out for him at this high-profile event.
Things didn’t start out well for Dabuz during the main bracket, immediately losing to zackray 1-3 to get sent to losers. However, Dabuz was not about to become another number for the “cursed” statistic, as he proceeded to win his next three sets in dominating fashion, winning 3-0 over Mew2King, Cosmos, and Nairo. A close set with Samsora saw Dabuz bringing out his Rosalina to clutch the last game 3-2, and after beating Glutonny 3-0, Dabuz found himself in grand finals against MKLeo.
Unfortunately, the Echo Fox warrior was too much for Dabuz, and he won the final set 3-0, but Dabuz made a hell of a run, and it’s safe to say that the curse was avoided with his incredible performance.
A major question on our mind’s will be: what is going to happen to Salem? After getting dropped by Team Liquid, his outspoken and incredibly controversial personality make him a very risky pick for any teams that are looking to acquire a likeable personality. However, he is still a tournament threat, with strong placings and wins in these early months of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. As we begin to approach the spring and larger tournaments become more frequent, it will be exciting to see how this villain of the scene will evolve.
