Team Dignitas’ Smash Melee player Hugo 'HugS' Gonzalez competed at Smash Summit 6, an invitational tournament featuring 16 of the highly talented Super Smash Brothers Melee players in the world. HugS was one of the few voted-in players thanks to the support of his sub pub and fans and was able to get some highly valuable practice in with his top-player peers.

He had some difficult players and match-ups to face in his pool, as well as an incredibly nail-biting set against CLG’s SFAT resulting in an unfortunate bracket loss. HugS ended up placing 13th at Summit 6, with goals for improving next time. We caught up with him to talk about his experience at the event.

How was your return to Smash Summit? This was your second return to the Beyond The Summit (BTS) House as a competitor, how would you compare this time to the first time you competed at Summit?

HugS: This was a much better experience for me overall. I was more familiar with the BTS staff, so it was great hanging with them again. Also, during the first time I had a personal issue going on in a relationship of mine, which was not the case this time around, so I was able to freely enjoy being there.

Do you plan on trying to get to the next Summit if the opportunity comes again?

HugS: Initially I said I would not opt in for the next one, but I had such an amazing time that this might change.

What do you think of the ‘fun’ events that are played at Summit?

HugS: I'm generally not a fan of the fun side events relating to Smash or other video games, but I love me some Mafia and Hide ‘n Seek. It's really cool how people's personalities shine through those games sometimes.

How did you feel about the skits this time around? Any thoughts on Slime’s recent work with BTS? How did you feel about your inclusion on the skits?

HugS: Haha, well, I think Slime does an amazing job and is genuinely a brilliant mind for this sort of thing. I obviously didn't like my exclusion from pretty much all skits because:

1. My fans put in the effort to see me there for the 2nd time, and would love to see me on camera.
2. I want to explore what I can do on camera with a role since I rarely get to do that.
3. I'm some sort of meme factory, so I can be topical.
4. I've worked with Slime on many occasions for other things, which all went over well.
5. I was adamant about wanting to be on a skit. I figured they could find something for me.

In the end, I decided to turn my complaining into a meme of its own. Ken and Slime then put N0ne and myself in an ending credits scene which I ended up loving. So I thank them for that.

What makes the invitational style tournament like Smash Summit different from a regular tournament for you?

HugS: I generally think I have trouble with the invite format because it's usually in a casual, confined space. Along those lines, I also tend to be "roasted" on more than most players, so that, combined with the casual atmosphere, means that I have to hear my peers making fun of me as I'm playing, which is obviously not a problem at regular events. Headphones help, but I can often still hear through them, or at least know that I'm being made fun of when I flub something. It's something I'd have to adjust to.

I don't like how the roasting affects my play/confidence at invitationals, but it's part of the vibe and I need to deal with it. Open tournaments are more grueling though, and much harder to get good practice in.

This Summit ran a different format (swiss) for pools matches, what were your thoughts on the format and pool for summit?

HugS: The format made it so more matches could be played, which I enjoyed. However, when it came to seeding the bracket, it became clear that outcomes could be rigged, which is what the format was attempting to avoid to begin with.

You had some unfortunate loses to Armada, Amsa, and 2Saint. Anything you felt like you were able to take away from these matches for next time?

HugS: These losses were confusing to me because, aside from Armada, I had never lost to these two players. They both got better at the match-up, and I look forward to playing them again. Versus Armada, I think Peach is a match-up I've struggled with, but have been improving at, and despite the beating, I think I did some things better than before, specifically in the neutral. He's just super hard to K.O.

You had to play SFAT in losers round 1 of the bracket in a tight 3-2 set, how did you feel about how the set played out?

HugS: Played well, and most matches came down to 1 or 2 crucial moments. Some unfortunate flubs in game 5 cost me, but it was a fun set overall. I always like playing Zac.

What do you normally think about your sets with SFAT, did anything in this recent set differ from your past encounters?

HugS: Without giving away too much of my gameplan, I was able to focus on avoiding positions that lead him to the big conversions he's used to getting from me.

Anything that you were able to take from Summit that wasn’t featured on stream? How did your friendlies go, was there anyone you particularly focused on playing with?

HugS: I played the most with Zain. It's a lot of fun playing versus him because he has a heavy focus on the neutral, and it's great for cleaning up my own neutral since he's so defensively smart. Tons of fun.

Overall, what did you learn from Summit that you want to improve or focus on? Do you think you had any gameplay issues you want to look into, mentality issues, or anything at all that might set you up to do better next time?

HugS: Mostly thinking I had mentality issues and some execution errors that cost me. I'm thinking I may need a coach soon to help with the strategy going into a match.

What was your favorite off-stream moment at this Summit?

HugS: Getting to finally be Mafia in Mafia! Scar had a soul read on me that I still argue made no sense, but he stuck to it and got rid of me, which was crucial for Town's win. I always respect a good soul read.

Any shoutouts you might have to anyone supporting you going to Summit?

HugS: Thanks to everyone who helped me get there, especially the sub pub. I can't do anything I do without you guys. Till next time!