The GENESIS X3 Super Smash Bros. major officially ended in San Jose the other day. Ultimate — and it was beautiful. Carlos “Sonix” Perez, ranked 6th in the world, beat Salvatore “Zomba” DeSena in the grand final. The tournament brought together the elite from North America and Japan, but it was Maine Sonic who eventually lifted the cup over his head.
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The results of the loser’s grid and the defeat of Tweak in the Top 8
Sunday’s Top 8 began with a real drama in the lower bracket, where the two main contenders for the title appeared at once. Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey, who triumphantly returned to service in October 2025, immediately stumbled upon his “evil genius.” The confrontation with Machita “Acola” Hayato was fatal for him — Steve again proved to be an insurmountable barrier in the hands of the Japanese top.
Tweek lost 3-1. The fans, of course, were waiting for the comeback, but Akola didn’t care about the expectations of the crowd. By the way, it was because of Steve’s meta that Tweek had already taken a break in his career – history seems to have repeated itself.
Zomba’s path to the finals is through defeating Doramigi
While Tweek was packing his bags, Zomba was making history in losers. He had to fight his way through “Miya” — in fact, the best Mr. Game & Watch player on the planet. It was a battle for survival.
In the final of the lower bracket, Zomba faced Doramigi, and this match became the decoration of GENESIS X3. The tension was off the charts — between sets, the players performed such performances that the audience simply did not have time to follow what was happening. As a result, Zomba put the squeeze on his opponent with a score of 3-2. Sonix was waiting for him.
Grand Finale: Why is Sonic ruling meta again on GENESIS X3?
Everyone remembers Genesis X 2024, where Zomba beat Sonix in a similar situation. And at first it seemed that history would repeat itself. Zomba, inspired by yesterday’s Valentine’s Day and a great mood, took the first two cards almost into the salad. The set was on the verge of being reset, but then Sonix turned on.
In the third round, Sonic literally burst into flames. He imposed such a pace that the Zombie simply stopped breaking out of the combo chains. Peres’ aggression was overwhelming.
Genesis X3 results and player positions in UltRank 2026 ranking
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Champion: Carlos “Sonix” Perez (6th in the world)
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Finalist: Salvatore “Zomba” DeSena
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Key moment: The comeback of the Sonics from the score of 0-2 in the grand final
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Prospects: Sonix is expected to rise into the top 5 of the UltRank rating with the next update
The tournament, in short, has confirmed that Sonix is now in its peak form. Despite the frenzied support from the stands that Zomba received, Sonic’s cold calculation and speed proved to be stronger.
Analysis of the strategy of Sonic vs Steve on Genesis X3
Winning the Genesis X3 was not just another trophy in the Sony piggy bank — it was the first truly major of 2026, bringing together the entire quartet of leaders from UltRank 2025. Carlos Perez on Sonic is now, in fact, the living embodiment of the perfect Smash Ultimate mechanic. His style is an explosive mix of sprints through homing attack for a tough edge guard and exhausting opponent games with timeouts. It is this strategy that allows the blue hedgehog to literally bypass Steve’s minecart and ignore any block protection, turning Sonix into an ideal counterpick against top-end Steves.
In the current Tier List 2025-2026, Sonic confidently stays in the S-tier, side by side with Steve and Snake. His evasive playlist allows you to “score” damage without the slightest risk to yourself, effectively taking the lives of the off-stage. Interestingly, it was on the Genesis X3 that it finally became clear: while others are trying to outplay Steve head-on, Sonix simply turns off his mobility due to superior speed.
Steve’s position in the meta and discussions about the character’s bath
Despite the endless controversies and glitchy debates surrounding Phantom MLG – that fastest recovery through kickback — Steve is still not banned. In fact, it remains in the S+-tier due to the total control of the card through TNT, blocks and trolley. On Genesis X3, the Smax player on Steve was able to break into the top 16, demonstrating great counterpicks against Diddy Kong and Min Min, but eventually fell victim to the same speed. This is a classic of matchup — Steve is physically suffering from spam safe attacks and extremely low mobility.
According to statistics, 41 out of 71 panelists put Steve at the top of the world ranking, but Genesis X3 proved the opposite: Sonic is head and shoulders above in terms of edgeguarding and run-under-blocks tactics.
Matchup Analysis: Sonic vs Steve — 2025/26
After analyzing in more detail, the tactics of Sonix are based on the so—called stray hits – single strikes that eventually develop into crushing combos. While Steve focuses on finding the moment for diamond grab, Sonic simply imposes his pace, bringing the game to even stocks and forcing the opponent to make mistakes in timing. The tournament confirmed that Sonix passed through Miya, Monte and Acola without a single chance for competitors. The debate about Steve’s ban will remain a debate — at major events like Genesis X3, he only adds depth to analytics, without completely breaking the balance if a master of the level of Sonix comes out against him.
