Teen Japanese Smash prodigy wins major tournament with just 3 months of practice

With a rising new generation of Smash Ultimate talent on the scene, a 15-year-old Steve main from Japan, acola, has the world talking after he managed to win premier tournament Kagaribi #7 in just his fifth offline event.

Acola has become a force in the Japanese Smash scene. The formidable online star began his offline career in February with a second-place finish at Maesuma, losing only to established pro Shuton.

Since then, acola has won four consecutive tournaments, defeating many of Japan’s biggest names along the way including Tea, Kome, and avenging his loss to Shuton.

On May 5, acola won Kagaribi #7, a platinum-tier Smash World Tour event, meaning there is a good chance we see him compete against North America and Europe’s finest in the future.

Hungrybox sings Smash pro acola’s praises

One of acola’s most prominent supporters has been Team Liquid’s Hungrybox, who called him the “next God of Ultimate.”

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“Kid isn’t even old enough to get his license and has already won four events (in a row) in one of the most stacked regions in the world,” the Melee star applauded. “Unreal.”

Of course, acola isn’t the first youngster to make an impact in recent memory. Notably, FaZe Clan’s 16-year-old star Edgar ‘Sparg0’ Valdez won Smash Ultimate Summit 4, Collision, and Low Tide City this year alone.

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While it’s unlikely we see the two face off soon, if both players can continue their impressive runs, they could secure enough Smash World Tour points to meet at the Smash World Tour Championships.

It remains to be seen how he will match up against the rest of the world, but if his results in Japan are any indication, acola could very well be the next big thing in Smash and a major threat to anyone in the competitive scene.