Masaya Chikamoto (Japanese: 近本 昌也, Hepburn: Chikamoto Masaya, born October 27, 1991), better known by his alias aMSa (あむさ, Amusa), is a Japanese professional Super Smash Bros. Melee player. He is known for being the only top player to play Yoshi. In 2022, he was ranked the second best player in the world after winning major tournaments Apex and The Big House. Most recently, he was ranked the fourth best player in the world in the SSBMRank 2024.[1]
| aMSa | |
|---|---|
 aMSa in 2023 | |
| Current team | |
| Team | None (Free Agent) |
| Game | Super Smash Bros. Melee |
| Personal information | |
| Name | Masaya Chikamoto |
| Born | October 27, 1991 Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Twitch information | |
| Channel | |
| Followers | 53,800 |
Last updated: April 12, 2024 | |
Career
editaMSa was born in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, on October 27, 1991.[2] He stated that he has been a fan of Yoshi since his childhood and that, since the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Yoshi was his favorite character. Yoshi is considered a bad character for competitive play due to aspects such as his large hurtbox, poor defensive options, and lack of recovery when knocked off stage. For a time, he was considered the fourth worst character in the game.[3] aMSa started his professional career in 2013, having decent results, including a win against Mew2King, ranked third in the world at the time. In 2014, he finished ninth place at Apex and, next year, finished fifth.[3] In 2019, due to aMSa's performances, Yoshi went on to be considered the twelfth best character in the game.[3]
In February 2019, aMSa signed with Red Bull.[4] He moved to Vancouver, Canada, in 2022, to compete in more North American tournaments.[5][6] On October 10, 2022, he won his first major tournament, The Big House 10, after beating Mang0; this was considered one of the most "stacked" tournaments of Melee's history. This was the first time a Yoshi won a major in the history of Melee.[7][8] By the end of the year, he also won majors Apex and Scuffed World Tour,[9] and was considered the second best Melee player as ranked by SSBMRank.[10] In March 2023, aMSa joined esports organization Golden Guardians.[11]
Notable tournament placings
editOnly Majors and Supermajors are listed.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
edit| Tournament[12] | Date | 1v1 Placement | 2v2 Placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EVO 2013 | July 12–14, 2013 | 25th | — | — |
| Apex 2014 | January 17–19, 2014 | 9th | 65th | V3ctorman |
| MLG Anaheim 2014 | June 20–22, 2014 | 17th | 25th | PL |
| CEO 2014 | June 27–29, 2014 | 33rd | 9th | PL |
| Kings of Cali 4 | July 5–6, 2014 | 5th | 7th | PL |
| EVO 2014 | July 11–13, 2014 | 17th | 33rd | PL |
| Apex 2015 | January 30 – February 1, 2015 | 5th | — | — |
| EVO 2015 | July 17–19, 2015 | 25th | — | — |
| Pound 2016 | April 2–3, 2016 | 13th | 33rd | Toph |
| Super Smash Con 2016 | August 11–14, 2016 | 9th | 17th | Mr.II |
| EVO 2017 | July 14–16, 2017 | 17th | — | — |
| The Big House 7 | October 6–8, 2017 | 13th | 25th | Sanne |
| Smash Summit 5 | November 2–5, 2017 | 13th | 3rd | Axe |
| GENESIS 5 | January 19–21, 2018 | 9th | 17th | Sanne |
| Full Bloom 4 | March 24–25, 2018 | 7th | — | — |
| Smash Summit 6 | May 3–6, 2018 | 7th | 5th | Axe |
| Get On My Level 2018 | May 18–20, 2018 | 5th | 4th | Axe |
| EVO 2018 | August 3–5, 2018 | 33rd | 4th | Sanne |
| Super Smash Con 2018 | August 9–12, 2018 | 5th | 17th | Sanne |
| Smash Summit 7 | November 15, 2018 | 5th | 4th | Axe |
| GENESIS 6 | February 1–3, 2019 | 2nd | — | — |
| Get On My Level 2019 | May 17–19, 2019 | 9th | 2nd | Axe |
| Smash 'N' Splash 5 | May 31 – June 2, 2019 | 5th | — | — |
| Smash Summit 8 | June 13–16, 2019 | 7th | 5th | Axe |
| GENESIS 7 | January 24–26, 2020 | 9th | 13th | Sanne |
| Smash Summit 9 | February 13–16, 2020 | 9th | — | — |
| Smash Summit 11 | July 15–18, 2021 | 9th | — | — |
| Smash Summit 12 | December 9–12, 2021 | 5th | — | — |
| GENESIS 8 | April 15–17, 2022 | 5th | 1st | Plup |
| Pound 2022 | April 22–24, 2022 | 3rd | — | — |
| Battle of BC 4 | June 10–12, 2022 | 4th | 2nd | moky |
| Get On My Level 2022 | July 1–3, 2022 | 9th | 2nd | Duck |
| Double Down 2022 | July 8–10, 2022 | 2nd | — | — |
| Lost Tech City 2022 | September 30–October 2, 2022 | 4th | 3rd | Axe |
| The Big House 10 | October 7–9, 2022 | 1st | 4th | SluG |
| Ludwig Smash Invitational | October 21–23, 2022 | 7th | — | — |
| Smash Summit 14 | November 3–6, 2022 | 3rd | — | — |
| Apex 2022 | November 18–20, 2022 | 1st | 2nd | Axe |
| Mainstage 2022 | December 2–4, 2022 | 3rd | — | — |
| Scuffed World Tour | December 18, 2022 | 1st | — | — |
| GENESIS 9 | January 20–22, 2023 | 9th | 3rd | Mango |
| Collision 2023 | March 10–12, 2023 | 13th | 2nd | Axe |
| MAJOR UPSET | April 1–2, 2023 | 3rd | 2nd | Axe |
| Battle of BC 5 | May 19–21, 2023 | 2nd | 2nd | Axe |
| Tipped Off 14 | June 3–4 2023 | 4th | 2nd | Axe |
| Get On My Level 2023 | July 21–23, 2023 | 4th | 1st | Axe |
| The Big House 11 | October 20–22, 2023 | 5th | — | — |
| GENESIS X | February 16–18, 2024 | 2nd | 3rd | Axe |
References
edit- ^ GimmeDatWheat (August 8, 2024). "SSBMRank 2024: The Top Ten". Medium. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ^ "Masaya "aMSa" Chikamoto". Red Bull. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c Popko, John (February 21, 2021). "A boy and his dino: the love story of aMSa and Yoshi". InvenGlobal. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ D'Orazio, Nick (February 5, 2019). "The Infamous Red Yoshi, aMSa, joins Red Bull esports as a Super Smash Bros. Melee competitor". InvenGlobal. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ Richman, Olivia. ""I want to say the best player in the world is a Yoshi main": aMSa After DreamHack Melee Victory". Esports Illustrated. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ Lee-Ash, Jonah; Akshon Esports. "How aMSa became a Smash Melee player you absolutely need to watch out for". Red Bull. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ Tate, Dylan. "aMSa makes Melee history with The Big House 10 win". Upcomer. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ Michael, Cale (October 9, 2022). "AMSa makes Super Smash Bros. Melee history with Yoshi at The Big House 10". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ Michael, Cale (December 19, 2022). "Scuffed or not: aMSa closes out 2022 with another Melee Major victory amid Smash community drama". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ Tate, Dylan. "Best 100 Super Smash Bros. Melee players in the world, ranked (2023)". Upcomer. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ Michael, Cale (March 30, 2023). "Golden Guardians expands Smash Melee roster, signs aMSa one day after losing Zain". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ "Melee - aMSa". SmashBoards. Retrieved October 22, 2023.