With many FGC events cancelled due to the coronavirus, it was perhaps surprising CEO Dreamland 2020 even took place at all.
The absence of many top tier players however due to travel restrictions led to some surprising results, with the likes of MkLeo, Maister and Light all unable to make the event.
In Smash Bros. Ultimate Singles, Peach player Ezra “Samsora” Morris faced Kolawole “Kola” Aideyan in the grand final - with the latter knocking out favourite and Genesis 7 champion Tyler “Marss” Martins in the losers bracket.
Samsora went up early against Kola 1-0, only for the Roy player to switch to Cloud in the second game. It proved to be a positive switch, with Kola taking out two stocks and confidently beating Samsora to level 1-1.
Won CEO Dreamland! 🥳@eUnitedpic.twitter.com/OIEGdQnflF
— eU Samsora (@Samsora_) March 15, 2020
This confidence didn’t carry over to the third round where Samsora managed to claw back the upper hand. Kola attempts to pull the same trick by switching to Snake for the fourth round, but it wasn’t enough - with Samsora comfortably winning CEO Dreamland 2020 with a 3-1 victory.
While there’s no Smash World Tour points on offer, Samsora wins $2,024 for placing first, while Kola takes $1,012.
You can check out the top eight for Ultimate Singles below.
1. Ezra “Samsora” Morris
2. Kolawole “Kola” Aideyan
3. Zack “ZD” Darby
4. Tyler “Marss” Martins
5. Aaron “Aaron” Wilhite
5. Gakuto “Gackt” Ito
7. Jonathan “Venia” Grullon
7. Gabriel “EpicGabriel” Romero
Congratulations to @Samsora_, your CEO: Dreamland Smash Ultimate Champion!
— ceogaming.org fighting game events (@CEOGaming) March 15, 2020
🌳🌟🌳
💫#CEODreamland💫 pic.twitter.com/abe02zF8gv
In the Melee Singles, Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma had a relatively easy ride to victory with his infamous Jigglypuff - beating Colin “Colbol” Green in the grand final with a clean 3-0 victory.
Across the nine matches Hungrybox played at CEO Dreamland, he only lost games in four of them, with his closest encounter being against Captain Falcon player n0ne.
I am your CEO Dreamland 2020 Champ! 🏆💫🌟
— hungrybox (@LiquidHbox) March 15, 2020
But honestly, I wanted to dedicate this victory to @Jebailey, tasked with running a tournament under some of the most difficult circumstances. Smash will always appreciate you, Alex.
Let’s all stay safe, so we can have esports back! pic.twitter.com/6olu4LwwND
Much like Ultimate, many notable players were absent from the tournament - including Genesis 7 champion Zain Naghmi, Joseph “Mang0” Marquez and Justin “Plup” McGrath.
You can check out the top eight for Smash Bros. Melee singles below.
1. Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma
2. Colin “Colbol” Green
3. Edward “n0ne” L. Sheleby
4. Jason “Gahtzu” Diehl
5. Brandon “Panda” Orooji
5. Chef Rach
7. Kyle “Krudo” Krudo
7. Leighton “Leighton” Ivy
CEO Dreamland 2020 was one of the few FGC tournaments which wasn’t cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, although it was still majorly affected.
Due to travel restrictions, this year’s event doesn’t contribute to the PGR rankings, while it also lost its status as a gold event on the Smash World Tour.
Not gonna take the prize money to support @Jebailey and @CEOGaming with what happened in regards to COVID-19
— UYU丨n0ne (@n0ned) March 15, 2020
Great event, had lotsa fun
Hope everyone enjoyed my play
This, coupled with the cancellation of the Brawlhalla tournament, forced organiser Alex Jebailey to ask for donations in order to support the event due to the volume of players pulling out.
Melee player n0ne even refused to take his $266 prize money in order to support the event, which he declared on Twitter.