Ravstats Recap: BAM 14, Day 1: BAM Lives Up to the Hype Once Again
With a bunch of close calls, big upsets, crazy runs and some seeding tomfoolery, BAM’s opening day had everything.
Terminology Guide:
SPR (Seed Performance Rating): The difference between a player’s projected placement vs their actual placement. E.g. if a player seeded for 13th placed 5th, that’s a +3 SPR (5th place is 3 rounds past 13th place).
Upset Factor: When a player seeded lower defeats a higher seeded player, it’s the difference in the round they were seeded to be eliminated in. E.g. if 17th seed defeats 10th seed that’s an upset factor of 2 (17th seed is seeded to be out at 17th, 10th seed is seeded to be out at 9th and that’s a two round difference).
The Right Amount of Chaos on Day 1 (BAM 14 Day 1 Recap)
Battle Arena Melbourne 14 got underway on Saturday with 168 competitors (159 after DQs) and the competition was the fiercest it had been at an Australian major all year.
With a total upset factor of 53 being the biggest at an Australian major in 2024, it was clear that everyone came here to play. No funny business at Bam.
Wave A Highlights
The bracket took no time at all to begin showing how what the day was gonna deliver. Sonic/Gunner player Aiden hit the ground early with their upset factor 1 win over WA PT main Alex. They didn’t stop there with an additional upset factor 1 win over Guts_LP where Aiden finished the set with a passionate response to the noise from the NSW faithful. They made their way to the top 64 through losers.
A big standout in the same pool was I Shop At Uniqlo (also known as Onigiri). The Min Min got back to back upsets with an upset factor 1 win over Guts_LP and an upset factor 5 win over Luma.
Willdan was another name to cause a bit of chaos as the Kazuya managed an upset factor 2 win over Dugongs to send the NSW Roy home at 65th.
The big story in this pool however was Rick. The Victorian Lucario caused big problems with his early upset factor 1 win over Faylor. He then pushed Kinaji to 3 games in a potential upset factor 14 win. He wasn’t done yet as he sent Alex packed at 97th in an upset factor 3 win. Rick finished with a +2 SPR run.
The next pool was less eventful as Victorians Noprocking and Skinny_Pat both nabbed early upset factor 1 wins over At Lowes and Litty respectively. They both however ended up drowning.
Mexi got the big win of this pool with a big upset factor 3 win over Duon for his first day 2 appearance at an Aus major. He also got an early upset factor 1 win over Leak. He’s currently working on a +2 SPR run.
Moonlight also pinched one of the earliest upsets as she got an upset factor 2 win over Rebs to book a spot in the winners side tomorrow.
Other minor upsets around this time saw Coughabean beat HotHeadJabs and DanInRealLife beat Fiducia (also known as MilkMeme). Both wins were upset factor 1 wins.
Dragonknight got the final sizable upset of the first wave with an upset factor 2 win over Slimboy17 to get out of the pools. Along with this saw Necro’s upset factor 1 win over Mamp.
I may get in legal trouble for discussing this one but FGC recruiter Jokermain got an upset factor 1 win over cult Victorian figure Dr. Hellno & The Praying (Also known as Jack Gorman). His legal team is yet to contact me.
Among these, some other upsets include Evil Aleks Le (also known as Soop) got an upset factor 2 win over Sunglasses and Bald Man (also known as Dionysus). Zekora also got an upset factor 1 win over Joe.
Wave B Highlights
The second wave also wasn’t gonna let up on the upsets and runs. While it was less big upsets, there were certainly more upsets in this wave.
The first big early one was Dogivet ruining an interstater’s run for the second consecutive Bam. After tarnishing Dags’ Bam 13 run, the Meta Knight took advantage of Neutral Legend’s (also known as Keutz) controller issues to grab an upset factor 2 win.
Iceman also grabbed an upset factor 2 win when she beat Stacked to get out of pools on the winner’s side.
While looking at a few of the early minor upsets, Ravsav got an upset factor 1 win over Hi-D for his first ever set win at a major after 8 attempts.
Two players seeded for 0–2 also got upset factor 1 wins as KevGL and KJSM-Radio got upsets over Phyco and AJ early on. These players met each other in the top 64 qualifiers which resulted in KJSM-Radio getting through and currently working on a +3 SPR. The Krool also got an upset factor 1 win over Hi-D.
Azrael was another surprise packet. The WA Incineroar built off his pre-local form with a +2 SPR run. He got an upset factor 1 win over Derris-Kharlan and an upset factor 2 win over Aetos.
More pools had some minor upsets as Olag bested Bidoof (also known as Rambo) for an upset factor 1 win.
Down in losers, Kyougiri got an upset factor 1 win over Sice and Moralcstar (well really VTPooks due to some TO issues) defied expectations with back to back wins over Min Min mains Naru and Olag which tallied an upset factor total of 2 and a current working SPR of +2.
Meanwhile, Bendigo Wolf main Roober took his chances with an upset factor 1 win over Pikmin 2 Louie Amv (also known as Jasmine).
Kezin was a big surprise as the 152nd seed got a +2 SPR run off the back of a combined upset factor 3 win over Hazzacka and Nostromo Cult.
Speaking of Hazzacka, the Sheik drew a big crowd during his top 64 qualifier against Fierce. His win would be his first day 2 appearance and an upset factor 2 victory over the NSW Dark Samus.
Character Data for Top 64
State by State Breakdown
As expected for a Victorian major, the front runners for the top 64 are in fact the home state. Victoria has 42 of the top 64 competitors in Sunday’s bracket. Queensland is up next with 9 players in the top 64 while South Australia has 5. New South Wales has 4 and Western Australia has 2. Australian Capital Territory and USA share the remaining honours with one each.
Sets to Watch Tomorrow
With a few players reaching top 64 for the first time, there’s plenty of new matchups to get excited about. Here’s some early sets to watch out for.
Scobo (VIC, 8th Seed) Vs Jamie (SA, 25th Seed), Potential Upset Factor — 4: This set is a huge test for Scobo. Given the young Rob’s big struggles with Bayonetta in the past, this could be a tipping point for if Scobo or Jamie gets to be the one to have a big run on Sunday.
Beet (VIC, 9th Seed) Vs Smasio (QLD, 24th Seed), Potential Upset Factor — 2: After Smasio barely moved past Piggins, he now has a big chance to have a huge run. Beet can be upset prone at times so this will be a set to watch.
Mateship (VIC, 10th Seed) Vs Iceman (VIC, 42nd Seed), Potential Upset Factor — 4: The matchup between the Roy and Ness could be quite the spectacle. With Iceman’s win over Stacked providing some momentum, Mast will have to watch out for this dangerous Ness who could grab another upset on Sunday.
Dags (QLD, 14th Seed) Vs Moonlight (SA, 46th Seed), Potential Upset Factor — 3: Whether the matchup ends up being Diddy Vs Simon or Wii Fit Vs Simon, it’s a rare matchup regardless. It’s a big chance for both players to stamp their authority on the Bam bracket.
Paris (NSW, 60th Seed) Vs Necro (VIC, 75th Seed), Potential Upset Factor — 1: A battle between young talents of New South Wales and Victoria. Given Necro’s prior struggles against Wolf mains, it might be a chance for Paris to set up a breakout run on Sunday. Keep an eye on whether it’s the Wolf or Gnw main who comes out on top.
Neutral Legend (WA, 44th Seed) Vs Dragonknight (VIC, 91st Seed), Potential Upset Factor — 2: A Donkey Kong ditto awaits on Sunday. Keutz Vs Dragonknight will be two contrasting styles of Donkey Kongs. Keutz’s more “swordie” style Donkey Kong against Dragonknight’s love of ding dong. Let’s see who will leave as the leader of the bunch.
PikPocket (USA, 59th Seed) Vs Wifike (VIC, 53rd Seed): Whether PikPocket uses Olimar or Isabelle won’t matter. What matters is if Wifike gets to end the international’s run at 49th or if the Floridian can really sink his teeth into this bracket.
Final Thoughts
BAM 14’s day 1 was defined by many players getting their time in the spotlight. A contrast to many Aus majors where it’s mostly a small batch of players getting big upsets.
The evolution of Aus Smash’s identity continues as even more players reach new peaks and will look to push past that peak when Sunday’s action kicks off.
Be sure to tune in at 11:00am AEST tomorrow! See you then!
Stats for the Day
Attendees: 168
Total Upset Factor: 53
Standouts: I Shop At Uniqlo, Aiden, Willdan, Mexi, Coolade, KJSM-Radio, Honkywonky, Dogivet, Dragonknight, Necro, VTPooks, Hazzacka, Rick, Zekora, Coughabean, KevGL, Slurps, Azrael, Roober, Kezin, Evil Aleks Le, Ravsav, Jokermain, Kyougiri, Iceman, Moonlight, Noprocking, Skinny_Pat, DanInRealLife, Olag
Highest SPR: KJSM-Radio (148th Seed, 49th Place*, +3 SPR)
Biggest Upset: I Shop At Uniqlo (80th Seed) 2–1 Luma (16th Seed) — Upset Factor 5
*Denotes a player who’s still in bracket
