Isai (gamer)

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)

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 [further explanation needed] 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.

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]

  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. ^ a b Travis Beauchamp (2013-10-11). The Smash Brothers. East Point Pictures. Archived from the original on 2017-06-26. 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. Archived from the original on 2015-01-28. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  8. ^ Sedda (June 4, 2015). "Smash of Ages: A Smash 64 Regional". Melee It On Me. Retrieved September 16, 2015.