aMSa

From Liquipedia Smash Wiki
[e][h]Yoshi aMSa
Player Information
Name:
近本 昌也
Romanized Name:
Masaya Chikamoto
Nationality:
Location:
Vancouver, British Columbia
Born:
October 27, 1991 (age 31)
Years Active:
2013 - Present
Alternate IDs:
aMSaRedYoshi
Approx. Total Winnings:
$52,074
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Current Mains:
Yoshi
Project M
Current Mains:
Lucario
Secondaries:
Yoshi
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Current Mains:
Greninja
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Current Mains:
Roy
Links
Achievements
Melee:
The Big House 10 Apex 2022 Scuffed World Tour
History
2014-05-13 — Present
2019-02-01 — Present
2019-07-07 — 2020-07-06
For the Dutch Sheik player, see Amsah.

Masaya "aMSa" Chikamoto is a Melee Yoshi player from Japan currently residing in Canada, who is considered the undisputed best Melee Yoshi main in the world, and the best Melee player from Japan. He was ranked 2nd in SSBMRank 2022.

aMSa is largely responsible for developing the metagame of Melee Yoshi. He is the only player to have reached Top 8 of a Melee major with Yoshi, having first done so at Republic of Fighters 3 in 2014. At GENESIS 8 in April 2022, he became the first player from Asia to win a major doubles tournament by taking first place with Plup, and the first person in history to do so with Yoshi.

aMSa won The Big House 10 in October 2022 without losing a set, becoming the first player to win a Melee major with Yoshi, the first person from Asia to win a Melee supermajor, and the second person from Asia to win a Melee major after Japanese player Captain Jack's victory at MLG San Francisco 2004. In November 2022, he won his second major, Apex 2022, again without losing a set.

Biography[edit]

Hailing from Miyagi, Japan, aMSa is one of few top professional Yoshi mains. After taking a game off of Mew2King at EVO 2013 and placing 9th at Apex 2014, his Red Yoshi became a recognizable symbol in the competitive community. Since then, aMSa has garnered a large amount of support from the Melee community, receiving not only a crowd-funded sponsorship to go to Republic of Fighters 3 in Europe, but also a sponsorship from VGBootCamp, which was working in collaboration with the subreddit r/smashbros.[1] His high placings at large tournaments and incredibly technical Yoshi play has lead many to reconsider Yoshi's place in the current metagame as well the tier list.

Thanks to his third place finish at Republic of Fighters 3, where he lost to only Armada and Leffen while playing the PAL version of Melee where Yoshi is considered stronger, he qualified directly into the top 20 for 2014 MLG Anaheim. At Anaheim, however, he only managed to win one set against PewPewU, finishing last in his pool before being defeated by S2J in bracket for a worst-possible placing of 17th. In many of his sets at Anaheim he took the lead 2-0 before losing the next three games, leading some to believe that his opponents managed to adapt to the unfamiliar Yoshi matchup over the course of five games.[2]

Just a few weeks later at Kings of Cali 4, however, aMSa managed to defeat Mew2King while Mew2King played Sheik and Fox. However, he then proceeded to lose to Mango and Lucky 3-0, finishing 5th, eventually outplaced by Mew2King. He ended his summer in the US with a 17th place finish at EVO 2014 a week later.

In December, aMSa attended Battle Gateway 6, the Japanese qualifier for Apex 2015, the winner of which would be awarded a free flight to Apex. However, he finished 2nd behind the Peach player Shippu. Although it looked as if aMSa would be unable to attend Apex, he announced on January 21 that his boss let him to take time off work to go to the US, allowing him to enter the then-largest tournament of all time.[3]

At Apex 2015, he went undefeated until meeting Leffen (considered the best Yoshi player in the world before aMSa's entry into the scene), who defeated him 2-0. In the losers' bracket, he eliminated Zhu, Lucky (who had eliminated him 3-0 at Kings of Cali 4), SFAT, and KirbyKaze, before losing to Mango, but not before taking two games. aMSa's 5th place finish at Apex was the best-ever placing for him and his seemingly-improved Yoshi at a US national, and showed that he was still very capable despite his middling finishes the previous summer. At EVO 2015, he finished 25th, losing early in winners to Light, a relatively-unknown Peach player in what is known as one of Yoshi's worst matchups, and in losers to Hax.

Despite his great performances internationally, with victories over some of the best players in the world, aMSa has consistently lost to players in Japan that have not been nearly as successful as aMSa internationally, such as Gucci (25th at Apex 2013), Shippu (113th at Apex 2015), and Kounotori (33rd at EVO 2013). Some have speculated that this may be because Japanese players have more experience with either the Yoshi matchup or aMSa's specific style of play, as Japanese players have many more chances to play aMSa than non-Japanese players do, hinting that perhaps aMSa's international performances owe greatly to many players' unfamiliarity with the Yoshi matchup. However, aMSa himself says that he simply performs worse in Japan than he does abroad, saying "It's not Yoshi's fault, but my mental state."[4]

But 2018 would be the dawn of a new era for aMSa. He started the year with wins over SFAT and Wizzrobe at GENESIS 5, then at Smash Summit 6, he accomplished the unthinkable by defeating Hungrybox in pools. Since that time, he has maintained a new level of consistency, and has earned wins over players like Mango, Plup, and Axe, earning him a top 10 spot in the rankings for both 2018 and 2019. His best placing was at GENESIS 6, where he defeated SFAT and Ginger and 3-0'd Mango to finish 4th.

On October 9, 2022, aMSa won his first major, The Big House 10, beating Krudo, KoDoRiN, Hungrybox, Soonsay, and Mango twice. This marks the first time Yoshi has ever won a Melee major as well, and the first time a Japanese player has won a major since Captain Jack at MLG San Francisco 2004

aMSa became a Red Bull athlete on February 1st, 2019.[5] He joined CJ eSports on July 7th, 2019.[6] aMSa left CJ eSports on July 6, 2020.[7]

Results[edit]

Melee[edit]

  • Singles
  • Doubles
  • Recent VODs
DatePlaceEventResultPrize
2023
2023-03-19A11stDaddy's Den X SupremeYoshi3 : 1United StatesSheikSpark$2,456
2023-03-12M313 - 16thCollision 2023Yoshi1 : 3United StatesPeachlloD
2023-02-19A11stLVL UP EXPO 2023Yoshi3 : 0United StatesMarthKoDoRiN$2,000
2023-01-22I39 - 12thGENESIS 9Yoshi1 : 3United StatesFoxiBDW$187
2022
2022-12-18A11stScuffed World TourYoshi1 : 3
3 : 1		United StatesJigglypuffHungrybox
2022-12-16A11stThe Truth: Christmas ShakshoukaYoshi3 : 0CanadaCaptain FalconPolo
2022-12-04C13rdMainstage 2022Yoshi0 : 3United StatesFoxiBDW
2022-11-26A11stNovembair 2022Yoshi3 : 0CanadaFoxshmugs
2022-11-20A11stApex 2022Yoshi3 : 2United StatesMarthZain
2022-11-16A11stThe Nightclub - Season 5 Episode 7Yoshi3 : 0
3 : 0		United StatesFoxLinkAklo$614
2022-11-11A11stThe Truth: Lest We ForgetYoshi3 : 0CanadaFalcoElliot
2022-11-06C13rdSmash Summit 14Yoshi2 : 3United StatesFoxiBDW$6,372
2022-10-23G17 - 8thLudwig Smash InvitationalYoshi1 : 3United StatesCaptain FalconWizzrobe$2,100
2022-10-16A11stThe Off-SeasonYoshi2 : 3
3 : 1		United StatesSheikJmook$10,000
2022-10-09A11stThe Big House 10Yoshi3 : 2United StatesFoxMango$7,135
2022-10-02D14thLost Tech City 2022Yoshi1 : 3United StatesJigglypuffHungrybox
2022-07-31A11stFête 2Yoshi3 : 0SwedenFoxPipsqueak$2,412
2022-07-23A11stBattle GateWay 34Yoshi3 : 0JapanMarthInngenn
2022-07-10B12ndDouble Down 2022Yoshi2 : 3United StatesFoxiBDW
2022-07-03I39 - 12thGet On My Level 2022Yoshi0 : 3CanadaFoxmoky
All Results
DatePlaceEventPartnerResultPrize
2023
2023-03-12B12ndCollision 2023aMSaJapan
AxeUnited States		2 : 3United StatesJmook
United StatesCody Schwab
2023-01-22C13rdGENESIS 9aMSaYoshiJapan
Mang0FoxUnited States		1 : 3United StatesSheikJmook
United StatesFoxiBDW		$293
2022
2022-11-20B12ndApex 2022aMSaJapan
AxeUnited States		2 : 3United StatesJmook
United StatesiBDW
2022-10-16M313 - 16thThe Off-SeasonaMSaJapan
AxeUnited States		DQUnited StatesSadSack
United StatesZeldaFool
2022-10-09D14thThe Big House 10aMSaYoshiJapan
SluGIce ClimbersUnited States		2 : 3United StatesSheikJmook
United StatesFoxiBDW		$182
2022-10-02C13rdLost Tech City 2022aMSaJapan
AxeUnited States		0 : 3United StatesMango
United StatesSFAT
2022-07-03B12ndGet On My Level 2022aMSaYoshiJapan
DuckSheikUnited States		2 : 3United StatesSheikJmook
United StatesFoxiBDW		$164
2022-06-12B12ndBattle of BC 4aMSaYoshiJapan
mokyFoxCanada		2 : 3United StatesSheikJmook
United StatesPeachAura
2022-04-17A11stGENESIS 8aMSaYoshiJapan
PlupFoxUnited States		3 : 2United StatesFoxRalph
United StatesPeachDarkatma
2020
2020-02-29M313 - 16thBattle GateWay 30aMSaJapan
n3zModGodUnited States		DQJapanTSURU
Japanわーたべ
2020-01-26M313 - 16thGENESIS 7aMSaJapan
SanneJapan		0 : 3United StatesS2J
United StatesShroomed
2019
2019-09-22E15 - 6thMainstageaMSaYoshiJapan
AxePikachuUnited States		0 : 3United StatesCaptain FalconS2J
United StatesSheikShroomed
2019-08-11D14thSuper Smash Con 2019aMSaYoshiJapan
AxePikachuUnited States		0 : 3United StatesFoxPlup
United StatesSheikMew2King		$165
2019-06-16E15 - 6thSmash Summit 8aMSaYoshiJapan
AxePikachuUnited States		0 : 3SwedenFoxLeffen
SpainPeachTrif
2019-05-19B12ndGet On My Level 2019aMSaYoshiJapan
AxePikachuUnited States		0 : 3
1 : 3		United StatesCaptain FalconS2J
United StatesSheikShroomed		$111
2019-02-24A11stPhoenix Blue 2aMSaYoshiJapan
nebbiiYoshiNetherlands		3 : 1GermanyFoxNicki
NorwayFoxPricent
2019-02-09D14thBattle GateWay 24aMSaJapan
GucciJapan		1 : 2JapanSheik
JapanSanne
2019-02-03R725 - 32ndGENESIS 6aMSaJapan
SanneJapan		1 : 2United Statesvortex
United StatesIcy
2018
2018-11-18D14thSmash Summit 7aMSaPikachuJapan
AxeYoshiUnited States		0 : 3United StatesJigglypuffHungrybox
United StatesIce ClimbersBananas
2018-08-12Q717 - 24thSuper Smash Con 2018aMSaJapan
SanneJapan		LUnited StatesMacD
United StatesRedd
All Results
vs. United States Spark  /
vs. United States Spark  /
vs. United States Zamu  /
vs. United States NOOT  /
vs. United States Scarecrow  /
vs. United States lloD  /
vs. United States Junebug  /
vs. Canada Zuppy  /
vs. United States KoDoRiN  /
vs. United States Hungrybox  /
vs. United States Hax$  /
vs. United States prof  /
vs. United States iBDW  /
vs. United States Khalid  /
vs. United States Hungrybox  /
vs. United States Mang0  /
vs. Sweden Leffen  /
vs. United States Jmook  /
vs. Chile Raikin  /
vs. Canada Polo  /

Recent Notable Wins

Wins over players ranked in SSBMRank 2022:

Rank 5 - Hungrybox
Rank 10 - Axe
Rank 12 - KoDoRiN
Rank 20 - Pipsqueak
Rank 29 - Spark
Rank 32 - Zamu
Rank 65 - KJH
Rank 68 - Mot$
Rank 86 - Khalid
Rank 88 - Umarth


Wii U[edit]

  • Singles
  • Doubles
  • Recent VODs
DatePlaceEventResultPrize
2018
2018-01-28S3165 - 96thEVO Japan 20181 : 2JapanDainosuke
2017
2017-10-08S3165 - 96thThe Big House 71 : 2United StatesNinja
2017-10-01S1549 - 64thGameTyrant Expo 20170 : 2United StatesPow
2017-07-16S3165 - 96thEVO 2017LUnited KingdomIxisNaugus
2017-06-04S1533 - 48thBattle of BC 21 : 3CanadaaMac
2016
2016-08-14S63129 - 192ndSuper Smash Con 20160 : 2United StatesBryce
2016-04-03S3165 - 96thPound 20160 : 2United StatesTekNo
2015
2015-06-06Q717 - 24thUmebura 16LJapanPaseriman
2015-05-16S1533 - 48thUmebura 15LJapanまちこ
2015-05-04I39 - 12thKVO x TSB 2015Greninja1 : 2JapanSheikDiddy KongEdge
2015-03-15Q717 - 24thUmebura 13LJapanおおとも
2015-02-01I39 - 12thApex 2015Greninja1 : 2United StatesDuck HuntLittle MacMVD
DatePlaceEventPartnerResultPrize
2016
2016-08-14R725 - 32ndSuper Smash Con 2016aMSaJapan
Mr.iiJapan		0 : 2United StatesMVD
United StatesESAM
2016-04-03G17 - 8thPound 2016aMSaJapan
Mr.IIJapan		1 : 3United StatesMVD
United StatesESAM		$28
2015
2015-02-01M313 - 16thApex 2015aMSaJapan
AbadangoJapan		LCanadaAlly
United StatesBoss
vs. Japan Edge  /
vs. United States MVD  /
vs. Canada Ally  /


Project M[edit]

  • Singles
  • Doubles
  • Recent VODs
DatePlaceEventResultPrize
2014
2014-06-29I39 - 12thCEO 2014LUnited StatesTheReflexWonder
DatePlaceEventPartnerResultPrize
This player has no results.
No VODs on record


Rankings[edit]

Melee[edit]

Matches[edit]

Interviews[edit]

Trivia[edit]

  • aMSa was one of four players hired by Nintendo to help with testing for Ultimate, and appears in the game's credits.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ aMSa dates his VGBC sponsorship
  2. ↑ Scattered Thoughts: MLG Anaheim
  3. ↑ aMSa announces he will enter Apex 2015
  4. ↑ aMSa: "I absolutely would love to (go pro)."
  5. ↑ aMSa becomes a Red Bull athlete
  6. ↑ aMSa joins CJ eSports
  7. ↑ aMSa leaves CJ eSports
  8. ↑ Tweet highlighting the appearance of four players in Ultimate credits
Retrieved from "https://liquipedia.net/smash/index.php?title=AMSa&oldid=396591"