James "Mafia" Lauerman eagerly awaited as the voting process closed for Smash Summit 3. "I was in the car and couldn't look at the votes in the last 30 minutes," he said.
And after the results were finalized? "I was so relieved," he said.
Matthew Zaborowski, a longtime friend of Mafia, organized a massive rally to accumulate votes for the New England native. Eighty-four of Mafia's supporters accounted for 15,000 votes in the final minutes as Mafia jumped from last to first.
"The whole New England community coming together reminds me of what family members do for one another in their time of need," Mafia explained. "I'm very thankful to them."
The results were met with some hostility, as fans complained that other players were more deserving than Mafia to attend the Summit. Mafia started the year in 91st on the Melee It On Me annual ranking charts, the lowest of any qualified Summit candidate ever. Despite the criticism aimed his way, Mafia remained grounded and stated, "I know that New England has my back no matter what. I just gotta do my thing and be myself."
As the Summit players drafted their four-man crews for the Nov. 3-6 event in Los Angeles, Joseph "Mango" Marquez picked Mafia as the last selection -- and he did not disappoint. In crews, Mafia was sent in as a counter-pick against Weston "Westballz" Dennis. Many were skeptical of how he would do, but he managed to take Westballz's three remaining stocks while losing only one of his own. He lost to James "Duck" Ma on the counter-pick, but Mafia maintained the advantage for his team.
In doubles, William "Leffen" Hjelte and Mafia teamed up.
Despite never playing together before, they surprised everyone by defeating both PlupBox (Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma and Justin "Plup" McGrath) and PewFat (Zachary "SFAT" Cordoni and Kevin "PewPewU" Toy). In each of the sets, Mafia played the supportive role magnificently by protecting Leffen, covering options and extending combos. In winner's finals, they kept it close with Adam "Armada" Lindgren and Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman, widely considered the world's best duo, before losing in four games. In loser's, they lost to PewFat in the run-back set to finish in third.
The phenomenal run silenced Mafia's critics.
He did not see the same level of success in singles. He lost quickly to Mango in winner's and Westballz in loser's to finish in 13th place. Mafia felt disappointed with his singles play, but was happy with what he gained from the overall weekend.
"This event was an absolute dream come true," he said, "and I was able to get a ton of practice and have fun for an entire weekend."
With the conclusion of Smash Summit 3, many eyes will be on Mafia to see whether he sees a skill improvement similar to Swedish Delight. He leaves California in high spirits, and now he's back in the New England region on the grind again, hungrier than ever.