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2GGC Civil War Room: Nairo vs. Dabuz

ozzie mejia
Nairo and Dabuz are poised to continue their rivalry (Alain Rodriguez)
Nairo and Dabuz are poised to continue their rivalry (Alain Rodriguez)

2GGC Civil War begins this Friday, March 24 and will feature top Super Smash Bros. for Wii U players from around the world. The weekend concludes with the special 10v10 crews battle between Team ZeRo, led by Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios, versus Team Ally, led by Elliot “Ally” Carroza.

This week, Yahoo Esports looks at five potential marquee matchups likely to take place during the Civil War crews battle. Each day, we look at two opposing players and their Smash history. Be sure to check out our previous looks at ANTi vs. Zinoto, VoiD vs. Mr. R, and Mr. E vs. MKLeo.

Every good captain needs strong lieutenants, so for the penultimate edition of the Civil War Room, the spotlight shines on two other longtime Smash 4 rivals: Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada (Team ZeRo) and Samuel “Dabuz” Buzby (Team Ally).

Nairo joins Team ZeRo as a solid lieutenant (Alain Rodriguez)
Nairo joins Team ZeRo as a solid lieutenant (Alain Rodriguez)

The story

Nairo and Dabuz have a lengthy Smash Bros. rivalry, dating back to Super Smash Bros. Brawl. And while both sit atop the Panda Global Rankings behind only their team captains, their head-to-head meetings appear one-sided. Through the end of 2016, Nairo had an overwhelming edge.

Things didn’t start off so well for Nairo, with an early year loss to Dabuz at APEX 2015. That’s when he dropped Robin and switched to Zero Suit Samus. Nairo didn’t look back, displaying total domination over Dabuz’s Rosalina & Luma from there. The two met again at CEO 2015, Paragon LA 2015, Nebulous Prime Smash #1 (twice), The Big House 5, and KTAR XVI, among other tournaments. Nairo came out on top in all of those meetings and it appeared that Dabuz had no answers.

Then came Genesis 3, where Dabuz flipped the switch and turned the tables on his rival with a 3-0 victory. The 1.1.5 patch’s nerfs to Zero Suit Samus evened the playing field further, which led to Dabuz sweeping Nairo again at Do or Di just months later. Nairo eventually adjusted and returned to his winning ways — which included a grand finals win over Dabuz at Super Smash Con 2016 — but the matchup wasn’t as one-sided as it once was.

Nairo has mastered Zero Suit Samus. With a spacing game second-to-none, he has the luxury of being aggressive with his opponents. He’ll also utilizing ZSS’ agility to bounce around the stage, often baiting his opponents into moving in before punishing with back-airs or a well-placed Paralyzer.

Dabuz has often stymied opponents with Rosalina’s defensive game, using Luma to keep foes at a safe distance. If an opponent scores a hit, Rosalina’s up-special provides ample recovery distance, keeping Dabuz in the game and giving him enough of a window to resume his defensive strategy. His main struggles come against quicker characters, like Nairo’s ZSS, who are fast enough to elude Luma’s reach.

The Nairo/Dabuz rivalry is a classic case of offense vs. defense, one that will continue to unfold over the course of Smash 4’s life cycle and potentially beyond. Their results speak for themselves and show why they are their respective teams’ #2 players.

Dabuz brings one of the top Rosalinas in the world to Team Ally (Alain Rodriguez)
Dabuz brings one of the top Rosalinas in the world to Team Ally (Alain Rodriguez)

NRG | Nairo (PGR #3) vs RNG | Dabuz (PGR #4) By the Numbers, by the PG Stats team (Luis “suar” Suarez, Dominique “Dom” Moore, Adam “Mayday” Braham, and Justin “Popi” Banusing)

  • Both live in the Tri-State Area (Dabuz – NY, Nairo – NJ)

  • Nairo and Dabuz have one of the longest running rivalries in Smash 4.

  • Nairo was Dabuz’s demon throughout the beginning of Smash 4. Dabuz has had more success vs. Nairo in the last year, but the overall head-to-head set count is still heavily in Nairo’s favor.

  • Even though Dabuz has been utilizing Olimar more in tournaments, he still has had more success with his Rosalina & Luma vs. Nairo’s Zero Suit Samus.

  • Nairo is known for his incredibly aggressive high-risk, high-reward play style, which directly contrasts Dabuz’s calculated, defensive wall style of play.

  • Nairo has won a tier 1 event with his win at Super Smash Con 2016 while Dabuz is still looking for his first.

  • The most popular stage pick in a head-to-head set between Nairo and Dabuz is Smashville.

  • Nairo’s PGRv3 tournament placings: Genesis 4 (17th), Tokaigi 2017 (1st), Frostbite 2017 (3rd), Smash 4 at KI Con (1st)

  • Dabuz’s PGRv3 tournament placings: 2GGC Genesis Saga (13th), Genesis 4 (7th), Smash Valley (1st), Tokaigi 2017 (7th), Frostbite 2017 (4th), PAX Arena (2nd)

  • Vs. PGRv2 Top 10: Nairo 14-13, Dabuz 11-10

  • Nairo’s PGRv2 tier 1 major placings: CEO 2016 (17th), EVO 2016 (13th), Super Smash Con 2016 (1st), The Big House 6 (7th), UGC Smash Open St. Louis (4th), 2GG ZeRo Saga (5th)

  • Dabuz’s PGRv2 tier 1 major placings: CEO 2016 (3rd), EVO 2016 (7th), Super Smash Con 2016 (2nd), The Big House 6 (5th), 2GG ZeRo Saga (9th)

  • Head-to-Head sets: Nairo 3, Dabuz 1 in PGRv2 season; Nairo 1, Dabuz 0 in 2017 season (PGRv3).


Ozzie Mejia waits for the rivalry to continue. Follow him on Twitter @Ozz_Mejia. The PG Stats team also contributed to this article. Follow them on Twitter @PG_suar, @PG_Dom, @PG_Mayday, @PopiSSB, and the whole team @ThePGStats.