Competitive Smash player joins Survivor and nerds out about Project M on national TV

A skilled Super Smash Bros. player who also runs tournaments will be competing on the 49th season of Survivor, following another Smash Bros. competitor’s recent success on Jeopardy!

Jason Treul, who goes by Jason Waterfalls in the Super Smash Bros. community, is a highly-ranked Project M player, specifically number 90 all-time, and is well-known for his proficiency with the character Zero Suit Samus.

Project M is a modification for the Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It’s not very well known, but it changes the game to be more competitive and similar to the gameplay of Super Smash Bros. Melee on the GameCube.

As a fan, I’ve always been surprised by how popular Project M still is! It started as a mod, but it’s really stuck around. Even with games like Smash 4 and Ultimate being so much more advanced, Project M still has a dedicated community and people keep coming back to play it. It’s cool to see!

Right from the start of Survivor Season 49, Waterfalls was eager to learn all the details about how the game would be played.

Congratulations to Jason Waterfalls, ranked 90th among all Project M players, for being chosen to compete on Survivor 49!

— Plus Side (@PPlusSide) May 23, 2025

Smash player gushes over Brawl mod on Survivor

When Waterfalls was asked if he was a professional gamer, the ZSS main stayed humble, but truthful.

Jason started to explain that he’d competed and earned prize money, but others interrupted him, assuming he was talking about being a professional gamer.

Waterfalls was then asked about what his game of choice is, to which he delved into Project M.

He announced that he plays Super Smash Brothers, which got a lot of excitement from the group. He explained that while he’s a fan of the original Melee, he prefers playing Project M – a modified version designed to feel like Melee.

“Nerd talk, I love it!” one of the other contestants exclaimed.

During the premiere of Survivor 49, competitive gamer and tournament organizer Jason Waterfalls (known as @CoachJFalls) gave a shout-out to the Super Smash Bros. games Project M and Melee on national television. For more Smash Bros. news, follow @FoxNewsSSB.

— Fox News SSB (@FoxNewsSSB) September 25, 2025

Interestingly, Waterfalls made it onto Survivor because of Ken ‘SephirothKen’ Hoang, a highly-ranked Melee player who was once considered the best in the world. Hoang also appeared on the show, and his participation paved the way for Waterfalls.

Jason shared with Parade that he looked up to Ken greatly. ‘He was amazing at Smash, and I admired him as a kid,’ Jason said. He admitted he didn’t know much about Survivor initially, though he was aware of its popularity. What really caught his attention was seeing how someone who was a skilled gamer like Ken would perform on the show. Jason was impressed that Ken made it all the way to the finale!

It remains to be seen how successful Waterfalls will be, but he’s not the first Super Smash Bros. player to gain attention by competing on television.

Scott Riccardi, known as ‘Biscotto,’ recently had an incredible run on a quiz show, winning 16 games in a row and taking home $455,000.

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2025-10-08 00:49