Just got back from GameStop's round three tourney. Nine people showed up. Default rosters (so I couldn't bust out the Captain), items on their default settings, five minutes, Battlefield. I debated between Wario, Olimar, and Zero Suit Samus. I almost went with Wario, since if I were to get a smash ball as ZSS, I'd change back into Samus, and I'm just not as good with her as I was in Melee. After a bit of pondering, I decided to go with Zero Suit.
Round one, I'm up against a Donkey Kong user. Yes, a Donkey Kong user. He's good, too. He got a ton of good luck with items as well. Two smash balls, a hammer, and a poison mushroom falling right on top of me. I managed to grab a smash ball and KO'd him with it, changing me into Samus. He has a poison mushroom fall on him, and I managed to spike the hell out of him while he was jumping away to avoid me. I wind up winning by one KO.
Next round is the semifinals, and I'm up against a Pit user. After a slow start by me, I manage to gain some ground. The game eventually goes even. I get a smash ball, and blow it at a bad time... and it would have KO'd him. I should have baited him into a roll and used it. With about ten seconds left, I'm still Samus and have Pit running for his life. He's at a high percentage and just waiting to be KO'd. He's playing keep away for the last ten seconds. I manage to hit a forward smash on him and it's going to KO him. However, time expires. One more second, and he would've been gone. We go into sudden death. I drop down and fire a super missile. Pit takes a step forward with the super missile about to hit. I dash forward, expecting him to block it, so I get ready to throw him. At the LAST possible second, he pulls out Pit's down B shield and reflects the missile back at me. Blows me away, game over. I should have expected it, since my brother plays Pit, but I didn't realize how fast he pulls the shield out.
The guy that went on to win was a damn good Lucas user. He won by +3, so he's got a shot to fly out to San Jose. We played each other after the tournament was over in a 3-stock, no item match on Final Destination. I wind up beating him 3-2 in a damn good match. Just makes me wonder how things would have been different had I won my semifinals match.
I'm disappointed that I fell for the reflector, but then again, I'm not disappointed in my showing. I played well all tournament, and I think had I won that semifinals match, I could've won the whole thing. I didn't expect to get this far, so I'm pretty pleased with my showing.