Fuentes, Smith to invade the East Coast this weekend

The joke around Southern California is that Compton's Alex Fuentes goes to every "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" tournament, even if there's three tournaments in one day, each separated by an hour.

He won't be invading any Southern California events this weekend -- he'll be on the East Coast attempting to win one of the first big events of the region since Brawl was released.

Fuentes (pictured, center) will be one of two Californians attending Critical Hit 3, a Brawl tournament scheduled to take place Saturday in Sykesville, Md., a town of less than 5,000 residents located about 30 minutes west of Baltimore.

Joining Fuentes is A.J. Smith of Santa Monica. These two guys also went together to compete in the AZOne Two Step Tournament nearly a month ago in Mesa, Ariz. They won the team title there, while Fuentes grabbed the singles championship and Smith (pictured, forefront) took 25th.

Tournament organizers for Critical Hit 3 are hoping for 100 participants. According to All Is Brawl, 43 players have announced their plans to attend the tournament. Forty players took part in Critical Hit 2.

For the event, a combined $3,000 in cash will be awarded to the top five players in the singles and team tournaments. The singles winner receives $950, and the top team takes home a combined $600.

The tournament could feature an overload of Snake, as Smash observers have made note of the region's repeated use of the "Metal Gear Solid" protagonist. Both Fuentes and Smith are proficient in Snake.