Gonzalo Barrios (video game player)

ZeRo
Gonzalo Barrios
Status Currently Retired
Born (1995-04-17) April 17, 1995
Hometown Chillán, Chile
Nationality Chilean
Current team Team SoloMid
Games Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (retired)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (retired)
Super Smash Bros. Melee (retired)
Project M (retired)
Career prize money $181,291.91
Championships Wii U:
Apex 2015
EVO 2015
CEO 2015
Super Smash Con 2015
GENESIS 3
Nickname(s) ZeRo
Professional career
2011 vVv Gaming
2014 Clash Tournaments
2015 - present Team SoloMid

Gonzalo Barrios (born April 17, 1995), known by his gamertag ZeRo, is a Chilean professional Super Smash Bros. player. He is considered the best Super Smash Bros. for Wii U player in the world throughout his Smash career. ZeRo had a record-breaking 56-tournament winning streak in 2015, in which he also won several high-profile tournaments like EVO 2015 and The Big House 5. In the past he has been a top ranked Super Smash Bros. Brawl player. He mainly plays as Diddy Kong in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Pit in Project M, Meta Knight in Brawl, and Fox in Melee. He is the only person to earn more than US$100,000 playing Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Career

Barrios has occupied the gamertag of ZeRo since 2005, and has been playing the games of Nintendo franchise Smash since Super Smash Bros. since 1999, the same year as the original Super Smash Bros. game on the Nintendo 64 was released.[1] He started to travel and play in Melee tournaments in a local Akiba Game Store in early 2007.[2] ZeRo quit Smash completely until December 2010 and then focused only on Brawl. After being invited to the Smash Bros. Invitational ZeRo went on to win the event, going through winners bracket and beating Hungrybox in the first Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament.

ZeRo placed second in Brawl at Apex 2014, losing to Nairo and was the champion of the Smash Wii U at Apex 2015.[3][4] He defeated Dabuz, who was playing Captain Olimar, in the finals. ZeRo qualified for the MLG Anaheim 2014 championship bracket and finished 17th. ZeRo was ranked in 2014 by Melee it on Me as the 35th best Melee player in the world.[5]

On November 25, 2014, he criticized Diddy Kong's repetitive playstyle in Smash Wii U, claiming that Diddy was "killing the game".[6] However, ZeRo later retracted the statement, and later said Diddy Kong was his favorite character to play with, leading to his role in "maining" the character in tournaments.[7] Barrios streams on twitch.tv Mondays through Saturdays at varying times, usually for around 8 hours a day.[8] ZeRo attributes much of his success in tournaments to training with fellow competitive Super Smash Bros. professional Mew2King.[4] He was sponsored by Clash Tournaments for part of 2014 until resigning in November. e-Sports Earnings estimates that ZeRo has earned a career total of US$ 31,484.22 from tournaments. ZeRo was considered the third best Brawl player in the world by Clash Tournaments in the 2014 SSBBRank, published at the end of the year.[4]

In early 2014, he picked up playing Melee once again, as well as the Brawl mod Project M. Since November 2014 when he placed third at Sky's Smash 4 Invitational, ZeRo has reigned triumphant by placing first in every singles Wii U tournament he has participated in.[9] As of early 2014 ZeRo was making approximately US$40,000 a year from prize money, sponsorships, and twitch.tv streaming money etc.[10] by ZeRo has had a "bounty" placed on his head that will be paid to anybody who can take a set from him at any future tournament.

ZeRo won EVO 2015, the largest Smash for Wii U. tournament at the time beating Mr. R in the finals. On the August 1, 2015, Team SoloMid announced ZeRo as the second player in their Super Smash Bros. division.[11]

At The Big House 5, ZeRo was knocked into Loser's bracket very early, fastly putting his first place tournament run in jeopardy, though qualified for Top 32. He led off by defeating Sonic "main" StaticManny, Sheik "main" and top Melee player Wizzrobe, Mario "main" Ally, and Pikachu "main" ESAM to make top 8. In top 8, he beat Mario "main" Zenyou, Rosalina and Luma "main" Raquayza07, and beat Mario "main" ANTi in a very close set. In Loser's finals, he handily beat Dabuz, who plays Rosalina and Luma, to make it to Grand Finals against Team Liquid's Nairo. After easily beating Nairo in the first set of Grand Finals, ZeRo ended the tournament with a win in the second set, 3-2, to win TBH5, despite suffering an early upset.[12]

In MLG World Finals 2015, ZeRo defeated Ness "main" Nakat, StaticManny, Ally, and ESAM to fight Zero Suit Samus "main" Nairo in Grand Finals, coming from the Winner's side. There, Nairo took two sets off of ZeRo, ending ZeRo's reign at 56 tournaments.

ZeRo suffered from a hand injury in early 2016 which prevented him from competing from March until May 2016. After his return he still remained dominant, but he was significantly less dominant than before his injury, as many more players were able to defeat him. While he was losing more than he did in 2015, ZeRo remained one of the best players in the world in 2016 - 2017.

After his persistent success in the Super Smash Bros. scene, ZeRo is widely accepted as the #1 Super Smash Bros. for Wii U player in the world.

Hiatus

On January 12, 2018, hours after ZeRo once again was ranked 1st on the Panda Global Rankings v4, ZeRo announced his hiatus from the Smash competitive scene, saying that it was because of a lack of motivation. [13] However, he still continues to be involved with the scene, and frequently streams the game on his Twitch account. During his hiatus, he was invited to the Smash Bros. Ultimate Invitational and won, beating MKLeo in the grand finals.

Kotaku named "ZeRo, The Smash Bros. Champ" as one of the gamers of 2015, honoring his 56 tournament streak.[14][15]

Personal life

Barrios is from Chillán, Chile, and currently lives in Chicago, Illinois.[16] He had an older sister.[17] Zero temporarily resided in Phoenix, Arizona in Early 2015. In November 2015, ZeRo became engaged to his girlfriend Vanessa.

Harassment and death threats

ZeRo was notably harassed by a fan at 2GGT: Abadango Saga which forced event administration to intervene as the fan became highly disruptive.[18] ZeRo has notably received plenty of detractors who have spoken about his playstyle negatively. This has escalated to him receiving a total of ten death threats, which has prompted him to hire a bodyguard to be with him at all times.[19]

Tournament placings

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

TournamentDate1v1 Placement2v2 PlacementPartner
Apex 2012January 6–8, 201217th9thKadaj
Apex 2013January 11–13, 20139th13thquiKsilver
SKTAR 2August 3–4, 20135th4thAlly
KTAR 8December 28, 20132nd3rdSalem
Forest TempleJanuary 11, 20141st1stFOW
Apex 2014January 17–19, 20142nd5thChib0
Shuffle VFebruary 22–23, 20141st7thChibo
Collision 9March 15, 20141st2ndVex Kasrani
KTAR 9March 22, 20141st3rdSeagull Joe
WHOBO MLGMay 3–4, 20141st2ndDenti
Hitbox Arena Warm-Up WelcomeMay 10, 20141st——
SKTAR 3May 31-June 1, 20144th4thVex Kasrani
GUTS 3September 19–21, 20141st——

Super Smash Bros. Melee

TournamentDate1v1 Placement2v2 PlacementPartner
Shuffle VFebruary 22–23, 201413th3rdNintendude
Revival of Melee 7March 8–9, 201417th9thVex Kasrani
KTAR 9March 22, 20147th1stMew2King
WHOBO MLGMay 3–4, 20144th——
Pat's House 2May 24–25, 201417th7thWestballz
SKTAR 3May 31-June 1, 20149th5ths0ft
SSS Lock-InJune 14–15, 20149th3rdS2J
MLG Anaheim 2014June 20–22, 201417th13thDEHF
CEO 2014June 27–29, 201417th4thESAM
Kings of Cali 4July 5–6, 201413th5thWestballz
EVO 2014July 11–13, 201417th5thKoreanDJ
Zenith 2014August 2–3, 20147th2ndAxe
Mass Madness CEAugust 23, 20145th1stHax

Project M

TournamentDate1v1 Placement2v2 PlacementPartner
KTAR 8December 28, 201317th——
Shuffle VFebruary 22–23, 201413th1stDenti
KTAR 9March 22, 20149th2ndSeagull Joe
WHOBO MLGMay 3–4, 20141st1stDenti
Project M Showdown 3.02May 17, 20141st1stChuDat
SKTAR 3May 31-June 1, 20149th1stRolex
CEO 2014June 27–29, 20141st2ndMew2King
EVO 2014 Day 2 Side TournamentJuly 12, 20141st——
Zenith 2014August 2–3, 20141st1stMew2King
GUTS 3September 19–21, 20141st1stEmukiller
The Big House 4October 4–5, 20141st1stMew2King

Super Smash Bros. Wii U

TournamentDate1v1 Placement2v2 PlacementPartner
Super Smash Bros. InvitationalJune 10, 20141st——
Sky's Smash 4 InvitationalNovember 20–22, 20143rd5thMr. R
UGC Biweekly #17November 29, 20141st1stTyrant
Triumph or Die 2014November 30, 20141st——
Super Smash Weekend 12-6-2014December 6, 20141st1stTyrant
Super Smash Saturdays 12-20-2014December 20, 20141st1stTearbear
UGC Biweekly #18December 21, 20141st1stXzax
Double Vegas Down Attack 5December 22, 20141st1stTyrant
SkillConDecember 26-January 2, 20151st——
UGC Smash v2.2 Road to Final Battle!January 3, 20151st1stTyrant
Warriors Path 1/4January 4, 20151st1stXzax
Clash Online Invitational FinalsJanuary 11, 20151st——
Double Vegas Down Attack 6January 12, 20151st1stXzax
Final BattleJanuary 17, 20151st2ndTyrant
Smash 4 WorldwideJanuary 18, 20151st——
Apex 2015January 30-February 1, 20151st1stMew2King
COTU VIFebruary 7, 20151st1stLarry Lurr
Showdown VIMarch 1, 20151st——
Cyberzone 3/14March 14, 20151st1stSS
The Gaming Zone 3/21March 21, 20151st1stSS
Shockwave 22March 27, 20151st1stDabuz
AftershockMarch 28–29, 20151st1stDabuz
Double Vegas Down Attack 8March 30, 20151st——
Come on and Ban #13April 2, 20151st——
NorCal Regionals 2015April 3–5, 20151st1stZex
MVG SandstormApril 18–19, 20151st1stMew2King
Chokaigi 2015April 25–26, 20151st1stMew2King
Fire & Dice Thur #9April 30, 20151st2ndK9
Smash 4 Oomba 5/1May 1, 20151st1stMr. ConCon
Fire & Dice Sundays #16May 3, 20151st1stXzax
Oblivion Tournaments Biweekly 5/5May 5, 20151st1stK9
Fire & Dice Thur #10May 7, 20151st——
Fire & Dice Thur #11May 14, 20151st——
Smash 4 Oomba 5/15May 15, 20151st——
BESST 2015May 17, 20151st1stK9
Double Vegas Down Attack 9May 18, 20151st——
Combo Breaker 2015May 22–24, 20151st——
Double Vegas Down Attack 10May 30–31, 20151st1stFOW
LA PARADISOJune 13–14, 20151st1stStingers
CEO 2015June 26–28, 20151st3rdHungrybox
FC Smash 15XR: ReturnJuly 4–5, 20151st2ndHungrybox
EVO 2015July 17–19, 20151stTop 16Anti
MSS 1July 25, 20151st——
Top Cut Comics 7/28July 28, 20151st——
Poplar 7/30July 30, 20151st——
Low Tier City 3August 1–2, 20151st2ndMew2King
Super Smash ConAugust 6–9, 20151st1stNairo
PAX Prime 2015August 28–30, 20151st1stMVD
Top Cut Comics 9/12September 12, 20151st5thHoRi
Sunday Smash 34September 13, 20151st——
Top Cut Comics 9/15September 15, 20151st——
Poplar 9/17September 17, 20151st1stShevy
Rebirth VSeptember 19, 20151st1stV115
Smash 4-Ever #26September 30, 20151st——
The Big House 5October 2–4, 20151st1stNairo
MLG World Finals 2015October 16–18, 20152nd1stNairo
E2C 19October 24, 20151st1stZinoto
Tipped Off 11November 7–8, 20151st1st6WX
iBUYPOWER CupNovember 14, 20151st——
GENESIS 3January 15–17, 20161st2ndNairo
Get On My Level 2016May 20–22, 20162nd——
2GGT: Mexico SagaJune 4, 20162nd5thVoiD
Smash'N'Splash 2June 11–12, 20162nd2ndAbadango
Low Tier City 4June 18–19, 20161st1stNairo
CEO 2016June 24–26, 20169th3rdNairo
WTFox 2July 1–3, 20163rd1stMr. R
EVO 2016July 15–16, 20163rd——
Super Smash Con 2016August 11–14, 201613th2ndNairo
EndgameAugust 20–21, 20161st1stAlly
Shine 2016August 26–28, 20161st2ndESAM
Collision XIVSeptember 3, 20164th1stNairo
2GGT: Abadango SagaSeptember 24, 20161st1stKomorikiri
The Big House 6October 7–9, 20161st1stNairo

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS

TournamentDate1v1 Placement2v2 PlacementPartner
Xanadu Smash 4 InvitationalNovember 6, 20147th—

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

TournamentDatePlacement
Super Smash Bros. InvitationalJune 12, 20181st

References

  1. ↑ Zárate, Daniela (June 11, 2014). "Chileno es campeón del primer torneo oficial del "Super Smash Bros."". Emol. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  2. ↑ Torres, Juan Angel (June 18, 2014). "Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios: "Comencé a estudiar Smash en un ciber"". El Nortero. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  3. ↑ Walker, Ian "iantothemax" (February 6, 2015). "ZeRo Demonstrates the Strength of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U's Diddy Kong at Apex 2015". Shoryuken. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Chibo. "#SSBBRank 1 – 3: The Grand Finale". Clash Tournaments. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  5. ↑ Lee, Daniel. "SSBM Rank 2014 (40-31)". Melee it on Me. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  6. ↑ LeJacq, Yannick (December 30, 2014). "Why Hardcore Smash Bros. Players Can't Stand Diddy Kong Right Now". Kotaku. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
  8. ↑ "ZeRo". twitch.tv. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  9. ↑ Hernandez, Patricia (May 20, 2015). "Smash Bros. Player Is So Damn Good, There's Now A Bounty On His Head". Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  10. ↑ Lopez, Alan (May 16, 2015). "Feature: The Poor Career Choice of Super Smash Bros. Professionals". Nintendo Life. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  11. ↑ Wolf, Jacob. "ZeRo joins Team SoloMid". dailydot.com. Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  12. ↑ https://smash.gg/tournament/the-big-house-5/bracketfvs/10302/2722/8091
  13. ↑ https://twitter.com/TSMZeRo/status/951914839709974529
  14. ↑ http://kotaku.com/the-gamers-of-the-year-2015-1749440335
  15. ↑ http://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/17506693/zero-featured-guiness-book-world-records-gamers-edition
  16. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEDFbv0JWJg
  17. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIbvRN59Wzk
  18. ↑ Kent, Mike. "Pro Smash Player Harassed By Fan At Major Event". Dexerto. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  19. ↑ D'Anastasio, Cecilia. "World's Best Smash 4 Player Is Worn Down By Haters And Harassment". Compete. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
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