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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.
| Isai | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Name | Joel Isai Alvarado |
| Nickname(s) | Isaiah malva00 |
| Career information | |
| Games | Super Smash Bros. Super Smash Bros. Melee |
| Playing career | 2003–present |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
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]
Isai is predominantly a Super Smash Bros. player. He became acquainted with the community surrounding its sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee, entering his first tournament, Tournament Go 4 (TG4), on January 19, 2003. He teamed up with the top-ranked player, Ken Hoang, in Tournament Go's fifth incarnation, TG5, for doubles events and continued to team with Ken in later tournaments beginning an undefeated streak that lasted from 2003 to 2006.
Isai is known for not taking Melee singles events seriously. He retired from playing the game competitively in 2007, and later shifted his focus back to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 64.
He is the Super Smash Bros, champion of Apex 2014, defeating Moyashi in the grand finals using Jigglypuff, a character considered to be worse than some of the higher-tiered characters such as Pikachu and Kirby.[9][10]
Isai is a graduate of San José State University and was the president of the school's chapter of Beta Alpha Psi.[11]
Only Majors and Supermajors are listed.
Super Smash Bros.
| Tournament[12] | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MELEE-FC Diamond | July 12–14, 2007 | 1st | — | — |
| GENESIS 2 | July 15–17, 2011 | 2nd | — | — |
| Apex 2012 | January 6–8, 2012 | 2nd | 1st | Nintendude |
| Apex 2013 | January 11–13, 2013 | 2nd | — | — |
| Apex 2014 | January 17–19, 2014 | 1st | — | — |
| GENESIS 3 | January 15–17, 2016 | 4th | 3rd | Rith |
| Snosa II | June 18–19, 2016 | 3rd | 3rd | KeroKeroppi |
| Super Smash Con 2016 | August 11–14, 2016 | 3rd | 1st | Alvin |
| GENESIS 4 | January 20–22, 2017 | 13th | — | — |
| B.E.A.S.T 7 | February 17–19, 2017 | 1st | — | — |
| Snosa III | June 17–18, 2017 | 5th | 1st | Gyaki |
| Get On My Level 2017 | July 28–30, 2017 | 2nd | 1st | The Z |
| Super Smash Con 2017 | August 10–13, 2017 | 13th | 1st | Alvin |
| Kansai 2018 | February 11, 2018 | 17th | — | — |
| Called Out 3 | June 23, 2018 | 2nd | 2nd | Kort |
| Super Smash Con 2018 | August 9–12, 2018 | 3rd | 3rd | Sleepy Fox |
| Inka Fest 2019 | July 13–14, 2019 | 4th | 4th | Wizzrobe |
| Snosa 5 | January 4, 2020 | 5th | 1st | Sleepy Fox |
| Keystoned V | March 20th, 2022 | 1st | 1st | Josh Brody |
| Super Smash Con 2022 | August 13, 2022 | 3rd | 1st | tacos |
| Super Smash Con 2023 | August 10-13, 2023 | 1st | 1st | SuPeRbOoMfAn |
Super Smash Bros. Melee
| Tournament[13] | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament Go 4 | January 19, 2003 | 7th | — | — |
| Tournament Go 5 | August 2–3, 2003 | 3rd | 1st | Ken |
| Game Over | January 10, 2004 | 3rd | 1st | Ken |
| MLG Chicago 2004 | June 19, 2004 | 2nd | 1st | Ken |
| Tournament Go 6 | August 21–22, 2004 | 5th | 1st | Ken |
| MLG San Francisco 2004 | September 11–12, 2004 | 2nd | — | — |
| MLG Los Angeles 2004 | September 25–26, 2004 | 2nd | 1st | Ken |
| MLG New York 2004 | October 24, 2004 | 2nd | 1st | Ken |
| MOAST 3 | January 15–16, 2005 | 1st | 1st | Ken |
| MLG DC 2005 | January 29–30, 2005 | 2nd | 1st | Ken |
| MLG San Francisco 2005 | February 26–27, 2005 | 5th | 1st | Ken |
| Gettin' Schooled 2 | June 25–26, 2005 | 7th | 1st | Ken |
| MLG Los Angeles 2005 | October 14–16, 2005 | 1st | 1st | Ken |
| MLG New York Opener 2006 | April 21–23, 2006 | 6th | 1st | Ken |
| MLG Dallas 2006 | May 19–20, 2006 | 13th | 1st | Ken |
| MLG Anaheim 2006 | June 23–24, 2006 | 4th | 1st | Ken |
| MLG Chicago 2006 | July 21–22, 2006 | 8th | 2nd | Ken |
| Zero Challenge 2 | August 15–17, 2006 | — | 1st | Captain Jack |
| MLG Orlando 2006 | August 26–27, 2006 | 4th | 1st | Ken |
| MLG New York Playoffs 2006 | October 13–14, 2006 | 6th | 3rd | Ken |
| NorCal Tournament 2 | October 28, 2006 | 9th | 1st | Ken |
| MLG Las Vegas 2006 | November 18–19, 2006 | 6th | 1st | Ken |
| Cataclysm 3 | March 3–4, 2007 | 13th | 1st | Mew2King |
| MELEE-FC Diamond | July 12–14, 2007 | 41st | 5th | Mew2King |
| Zero Challenge 3 | July 20–22, 2007 | 25th | 1st | The King |
| Super Champ Combo | September 29–30, 2007 | 33rd | 7th | Ken |
| GENESIS 2 | July 15–17, 2011 | — | 13th | S2J |
| Apex 2012 | January 6–8, 2012 | — | 97th | Vans |
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