2021 was an important year for IlluZion: our players made huge strides in their competitive careers, we stepped back into Brawlhalla by acquiring two of the game's best prospects, and we also increased our staff lineup with incredibly talented people. Check out down below to catch all the important things that happened to IlluZion in 2021!
Player Signings:
IlluZion made its presence known in the Brawlhalla scene last year after signing on STING RAY and Experience.
STING RAY notably placed top 8 at nearly every major he attended last year. He also made his first appearance ever in the winners side of grand finals at a major, doing so at North America - Mammoth Invitational. Along the way to grand finals, STING RAY defeated the consensus best player in Brawlhalla, Sandstorm.
Experience reached an important milestone in his Brawlhalla career in 2021: he placed top 8 at North America - Autumn Championship 2021, the first time he has ever placed top 8 at a major. However, the real accomplishment for Experience of that tournament, in addition to his top 8 placing, was how he had to embark on a 10 set win streak just to make top 8 after falling to Sandstorm early in winners.
Staff Signings:
IlluZion added several key people to our staff line up in 2021, including our Social Media Manager, PlusUltra, our writer, Hank, and our Community Manager, kahlowave .
PlusUltra joined IlluZion as our new Social Media Manager. PlusUltra has a multitude of experience with managing social media for esports teams, having served as Social Media Manager for teams such as Rogue, Trident Esports, Revenge, and Mentality Esports. He is also the CEO of his own clothing organization, daijoubu.
Hank joined IlluZion as our writer and blogger. On top of writing for IlluZion, Hank also writes for PGstats where he primarily creates Melee-centered articles. He is also pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
kahlowave joined IlluZion as our Community Manager. kahlowave has an extensive history with managing and marketing for esports teams that dates back to 2019 where she helped organize Overwatch events for some of the Southern U.S.'s best professional teams and their respective communities, like the Houston Outlaws, and Atlanta Reign. She also has managed monumental crossover collaborations, such as when she organized a gaming campaign between the Overwatch team, Florida Mayhem, and the University of South Florida, becoming one of the most reputable community managers in Florida in the process.
Important Player Placements
Nicko, IlluZion's number one Shulk player, made a huge impact upon his return to offline Smash Ultimate last year: he placed 13th at the Smash World Tour, his first major in two years.
Aside from the Smash World Tour, Nicko incredibly didn't drop below 9th place at any other offline event he attended in 2021, placing first at 27 of the 58 tournaments he entered.
BONK! may have almost been responsible for one of 2021's greatest upsets in Smash Ultimate when he nearly took down the second best player in the world, Tweek, at The Comeback. Tweek took the first game, but BONK! immediately followed up by taking the second, forcing a game a game 3, which Tweek would ultimately win in the end. BONK! ended up placing 9th at the tournament out of 241 players, not bad for making the best Pokémon Trainer in the world break out in a cold sweat.
The South's best Sonic main, Sonido, had many highs this year, such as placing first at Ecolution, 49th at Low Tide City, and fifth at Just Roll With It! 13, a tournament that saw him go up against some of the best that both Carolinas had to offer. He also defeated the fifth best player in MD/VA, Frostbyte, in what was, honestly, one of the most back and forth sets of 2021. Seriously, look it up, one of the best sets of last year.
Written by Hank Strandberg
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