Alliance Smash star Adam ‘Armada’ Lindgren took the Evo 2015 Super Smash Bros Melee title in spectacular fashion this evening in Las Vegas, narrowly edging out Team Liquid's Juan ‘Hungrybox’ Debiedma by a score of 3-2. Long an obstacle for Armada, the stubborn Jigglypuff player made an incredible run to the finals with wins over both his arch-rival Joseph ‘C9 Mango’ Marquez and his good friend PG Justin ‘Plup’ McGrath, but could not take the tournament from the Swede in the final reckoning.

Evil Genius legend and Apex champion Kevin ‘PPMD’ Nanney finished in third place after an impressive comeback performance, with pre-tournament favourites Mango and William ‘TSM Leffen’ Hjelte both ending up in fifth after disappointing runs saw them both drop to loser’s bracket on day two. The story must be Armada though, who secured his first Evo title and further strengthened his claim to be the main contender, if not holder of the GOAT tag, for the greatest melee player of all time.

In terms of breakout performances, Plup shocked many and it was sad to see Panda Gaming’s new star not on stage to receive his award, but it may be too early to herald the dawn of a new age just yet. The best of 3 format contributed to the unpredictability and excitement, and Armada proved himself the king of the clutch moments by defeating PPMD and Hungrybox. Jeffrey 'Axe' Williamson of Tempo Storm and Daniel 'Chu Dat' Rodriguez finished in joint seventh, with Chu having shocked many by making top eight in the first place.

The Puff main is set to take a break from Smash to focus on a new job in the coming weeks, and will be disappointed not to have gone out on a win, but after many had written him off in the run-up there will be a lot of pride at Team Liquid for their star man too. His win over Mango characterised the competition perfectly, and was one of many matches that made Evo 2015 an awesome experience for the spectators too.

Image credit: Milktea