Zain (gamer)

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Zain
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Naghmi in 2021
Current team
TeamGolden Guardians
GameSuper Smash Bros. Melee
Personal information
NameZain Naghmi
Nickname(s)
  • DontTestMe
Born (1996-06-11) June 11, 1996 (age 25)[1]
NationalityU.S. American
Career information
Playing career2014–present
Team history
2018–2019Panda Global
2020Mogul Moves
2020–presentGolden Guardians
Career highlights and awards
  • GENESIS champion (2020)
  • Smash Summit 10 champion (2020)
  • Pound Underground champion (2018)
  • Full Bloom 5 champion (2019)
  • Shine champion (2018)

Zain Naghmi (born June 11, 1996), more commonly known by his tag Zain, is an American Super Smash Bros. Melee player from Reston, Virginia. Beginning his career in 2014, he rapidly climbed the ranks, becoming a ranked top 100 player in the world within only two years and a top 10 player since 2018. He is currently considered the best Marth player in the world.[2] [3] His most notable tournament placings include first at GENESIS 7, second at The Big House 9, second at Smash Summit 11 and third at Super Smash Con 2019. A 2021 list compiled by PGstats ranked Naghmi as the ninth-greatest Melee player of all time.[4] He has been sponsored by Golden Guardians since 2020.[5]

Career[]

2014–2017: Non-ranked beginnings[]

Zain first began competing in Melee tournaments in May 2014, with his first tournament being at "Smash @ Clarendon", a popular weekly event in Arlington, Virginia.[6] He largely competed in local tournaments while in his first year at Virginia Tech, and had soon established himself as a formidable opponent among the Maryland/Virginia scene.[6] Zain's breakout performance at a major tournament came in 2015, when he placed 33rd at Super Smash Con 2015, which was followed by a 1st-place finish at the MD/VA Fall Arcadian,[7] the highest non-ranked tournament in the region.

2017–2018: Beginning of professional career[]

Zain's 2017 season began with an appearance on the SSBMRank, a biannual power ranking presented by Red Bull, where he was ranked as the 66th best Melee player for his performance in 2016.[8] A heavy influence on the ranking was his performance at The Big House 6, where he placed 17th overall including a 2–0 victory over Justin "Plup" McGrath,[9] who was ranked 6th in the world at the time.[10] Zain's placing earned him some interest from Plup's team, Panda Global, who offered him a sponsorship; however, the deal never went through.[6] 2017 saw high placements at several major tournaments which included 5th place at Super Smash Con 2017, bumping Zain up to 22nd on the SSBMRank 2017.[11] He was again approached by Panda Global who offered him a full sponsorship - this time, Zain accepted, with the team officially announcing the signing on April 12, 2018.[12]

2018–2019: Panda Global and the rise to the top[]

Under Panda Global, Zain enjoyed success at major tournaments including first-place finishes at *Pound* Underground,[13] OMEGA II,[14] and Shine 2018.[15] However, despite his success, Zain parted ways with the team on November 8, 2019 along with teammates Cosmos and Kelazhur[16] - no explanation for Zain's departure was given by either the organisation or Zain himself.

Zain also played for the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Collegiate Starleague (CSL), an intercollegiate esports league. The CSL hosted its grand final for the 2018 competitive season at Shine 2018, where the Hokies ultimately placed in second after losing to the University of Central Florida.[6]

2020–present: Mogul Moves, Golden Guardians and Slippi[]

Following his departure from Panda Global, Zain only competed in one tournament as a free agent. Two days prior to GENESIS 7, Twitch streamer Ludwig Ahgren announced his sponsorship of Zain for the tournament under his "Mogul Moves" clothing brand on January 22, 2020.[5][17] Zain won Melee singles without losing a set, defeating Hungrybox - the number-one player in the world - in grand finals.[5] As Zain's Mogul Moves sponsorship only lasted for the tournament, he became a free agent following GENESIS, but was soon signed by the Golden Guardians, the official esports organisation of the Golden State Warriors, on February 6, 2020.[5] Since the signing, Zain has only competed in a few major tournaments - this was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented many live Melee events from taking place.[18] However, with the release of the Project Slippi mod for Melee, matches and tournament could take place online. During the pandemic, Zain has won Pound Online,[19] the Ludwig Ahgren Championship Series 2,[20] and Smash Summit 10,[21] all three of which took place online.

Notable tournament placings[]

Offline tournament Online tournament

Super Smash Bros. Melee[]

Tournament[22] Date 1v1 placement 2v2 placement Partner
Super Smash Con 2015 August 6–9, 2015 33rd — —
EVO 2016 July 15–17, 2016 49th — —
Super Smash Con 2016 August 11–14, 2016 33rd 17th SypherPhoenix
The Big House 6 October 7–9, 2016 17th 33rd SypherPhoenix
GENESIS 4 January 20–22, 2017 33rd 17th Redd
CEO Dreamland April 14–16, 2017 17th 9th SypherPhoenix
Smash 'N' Splash 3 June 2–4, 2017 13th 13th Junebug
Bad Moon Rising 2 July 1, 2017 9th 5th SypherPhoenix
Get On My Level 2017 July 29–30, 2017 9th 9th R2DLiu
Super Smash Con 2017 August 10–13, 2017 5th 13th SypherPhoenix
The Big House 7 October 6–8, 2017 17th 7th MilkMan
DreamHack Denver 2017 October 20–22, 2017 7th — —
GENESIS 5 January 19–21, 2018 13th 33rd R2DLiu
Smash Valley: Lucky 7 February 17, 2018 2nd 4th MilkMan
EGLX 2018 March 9–11, 2018 9th — —
Full Bloom 4 March 24–25, 2018 9th — —
Flatiron 3 April 21, 2018 7th — —
Smash Summit 6 May 3–6, 2018 3rd 7th HugS
Get On My Level 2018 May 18–20, 2018 5th — —
Smash 'N' Splash 4 June 1–3, 2018 5th — —
CEO 2018 June 29 – July 1, 2018 5th 25th MilkMan
EVO 2018 August 3–5, 2018 9th — —
Super Smash Con 2018 August 9–12, 2018 9th 7th MilkMan
Shine 2018 August 24–26, 2018 1st — —
The Big House 8 October 5–7, 2018 4th — —
GameTyrant Expo 2018 November 2–4, 2018 3rd 1st SFAT
Smash Summit 7 November 15–18, 2018 7th 7th Rishi
GENESIS 6 February 1–3, 2019 9th 65th Arris
Full Bloom 5 March 23–24, 2019 1st 3rd Swedish Delight
Pound 2019 April 19–21, 2019 4th 4th Chillindude
Get On My Level 2019 May 17–19, 2019 7th 7th Chillindude
Smash 'N' Splash 5 May 31 – June 2, 2019 4th 7th Chillindude
Smash Summit 8 June 13–17, 2019 5th 2nd Plup
Low Tier City 7 July 12–14, 2019 2nd 7th DJ Nintendo
Super Smash Con 2019 August 8–11, 2019 3rd 5th MilkMan
The Big House 9 October 4–6, 2019 2nd — —
DreamHack Rotterdam October 18–20, 2019 1st 1st S2J
Mango's Birthday Bash December 7–8, 2019 5th 2nd Hungrybox
GENESIS 7 January 24–26, 2020 1st 5th Hungrybox
Smash Summit 9 February 13–16, 2020 4th — —
Pound Online April 24–26, 2020 1st — —
LACS 2 July 25–26, 2020 1st — —
Smash Summit 10 Online November 19–22, 2020 1st — —
LACS 3 December 19-20, 2020 5th — —
Smash Summit 11 July 15–18, 2021 2nd — —
Smash Summit 12 December 9–13 2021 3rd — —

References[]

  1. ^ @zainnaghmi (June 12, 2018). "This shirt is an amazing birthday gift @MilkMan_SSBM!!! I'm the happiest 22 year old around" (Tweet). Retrieved September 7, 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "MPGR Melee Power Rankings". smash.gg. smash.gg.
  3. ^ Michael, Cale. "iBDW comments on the evolution of the Fox matchup in Super Smash Bros. Melee". DotEsports.com. Dot Esports. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  4. ^ "The Melee Stats Top 100: The Top 10". PGstats. November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Michael, Cale (February 6, 2020). "Golden Guardians signs Super Smash Bros. Melee pro Zain, Teamfight Tactics streamer DogDog". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Lee, Alexander. "New challenger approaching: The rise of Zain". ESPN.com. ESPN Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  7. ^ "The Fall Arcadian Melee Top 16". Challonge. xanaduarcadian.
  8. ^ Craytor, John; Fellner, Henry. "SSBMRank 2016: 61-70". Redbull.com. Red Bull. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  9. ^ MacPherson, Kate. "The beginning of 2020: Zain wins Genesis 7". Tempostorm.com. Tempo Storn. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  10. ^ Palakurthi, Anokh. "SSBMRank 2016: 4-6". Redbull.com. Red Bull. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  11. ^ Yang, Rui; Lynch, Darren. "SSBMRank 2017: 30-21". Redbull.com. Rd Bull. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  12. ^ Global, Panda. "Welcome to the Plup Club, @PG_Zain . We were going to wait until Summit started, but looks like we might need your Ki for a spirit bomb to push him through to Summit!". Twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  13. ^ Kassel, Josh. "*Pound* Underground - Melee Singles". smash.gg. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  14. ^ LaBombard, Michael. "OMEGA II - Melee Singles". smash.gg. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  15. ^ Zaborowski, Matthew. "Shine 2018 - Melee Singles". smash.gg. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  16. ^ Michael, Cale. "Panda Global parts ways with Smash Bros. players Zain and Cosmos". DotEsports.com. Dot Esports. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  17. ^ Ahgren, Ludwig. "HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE I AM SIGNING @ZainNaghmi TO MOGUL MOVES FOR @Genesis_Smash". Twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  18. ^ Michael, Cale (March 12, 2020). "Super Smash Bros. PGR season to be frozen due to coronavirus and travel concerns". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  19. ^ Robertson, Scott. "Pound Online - Melee Singles". Smash.gg. Smash.gg. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  20. ^ Collier, Brandon. "Ludwig Ahgren Championship Series 2 - Melee Singles". Smash.gg. smash.gg. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Smash Summit 10 Online". smash.gg. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  22. ^ "Melee - Zain". SmashBoards. Retrieved 6 December 2021.

External links[]

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