Kagaribi #13: How to watch the most stacked Ultimate event of the year

Kagaribi #13 is predicted to be the most prestigious Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament of the year so far, featuring the best players from around the world.

From May 4th to the 5th, thousands of Smash players will flock to Saitama, Japan to compete for glory, including 44 of the LumiRank 2024.2 Top 50. While it may not have the most entrants of any Smash Major — it’s capped at 2,500 registered competitors — it’s set to be the largest of the year thus far due to the number of Major winners in the bracket.

Here’s how to catch the nonstop action at Kagaribi #13.

This is the most difficult part of the guide, with 44 of the top 50 players in the world attending, 83 of the top 100 and 32 past Major winners. Unlike some previous Majors of this calibre, these players are coming from all over the world as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has become more global over the past few years.

As expected, plenty of Japanese players will be showing up for Kagaribi #13, including acola, KEN, Miya, Tea, Yoshidora and zackray. However, top player Hurt is notably missing.

The US is also sending its best, with Dabuz, Kola, Light, Tweek and Zomba signing up for the intense tourney. Mexico’s Chag, Maister, MkLeo and Sparg0 will be at Kagaribi #13 as well as France’s Glutony. This will also be Riddle’s final Smash tournament before he makes the official move to Street Fighter 6.

On Day 1 of the Kagaribi #13 tournament, every player — including the pros — will compete in Pools. Pools will be a double-elimination bracket, meaning losers have one more chance to climb back to the competition if they beat their opponent in Loser’s. These matches will determine which players make it to the Top 8 on Day 2.

The Top 8 will also be double-elimination, with winning players moving forward in the Winner’s side while losers must grind through Loser’s to stay in the competition. The winner of the Loser’s bracket will make it to Winner’s Semis, fighting for a chance at the Grand Final.

The Grand Final will be a best-of-five rather than the usual best-of-three. If a player from Loser’s makes it to the Grand Final, they must win two best-of-fives to be crowned the champion.

The exact schedule hasn’t been released yet, but it’s expected to be similar to last year’s Kagaribi #12, which revolved around the Japanese time zone:

The English broadcast for the Kagaribi #13 matches will be hosted by VGBootCamp on Twitch.

Japanese tournaments are not allowed to have prize pools, so this event is specifically for pros to climb the LumiRank and prove who is truly the best in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate community.

Expect intensity and passion throughout the tournament, with the best of the best trekking to Japan for glory alone.