ZeRo
Gonzalo Barrios (born April 17, 1995), known professionally as ZeRo, is a Chilean competitive player and streamer specializing in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series.[1] He rose to prominence through his dominance in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, where he secured a record 56 consecutive tournament victories and maintained the highest global ranking as recognized by Guinness World Records.[2][3] Barrios' achievements include dozens of major tournament wins and substantial earnings in professional play, establishing him as one of the most successful figures in the game's esports history.[4] In 2020, he admitted to sending sexually suggestive messages to minors, prompting his release from esports organizations like Team SoloMid and a permanent ban from Twitch, which was reversed in 2025 amid community debate.[5][6] Following these events, Barrios shifted focus to content creation and attempted to organize tournaments for similarly banned players, though his return to competitive scenes remains contentious.[7]Early life
Childhood in Chile and move to the United States
Gonzalo Raúl Barrios Castro was born on April 17, 1995, in Chillán, Chile. He grew up in a humble family following his parents' early separation, living primarily with his mother and sister amid financial hardships that persisted into his adulthood. These economic constraints shaped his drive for self-reliance, as he later assumed responsibility for supporting his relatives financially. Barrios's initial exposure to video games occurred in childhood through observing his sister play titles such as Tomb Raider and Super Mario World on family consoles like the Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo Entertainment System. This familial environment fostered an early fascination with gaming, despite limited resources. Barrios relocated from Chile to the United States, establishing residence in the tri-state area to access expanded opportunities. He maintained strong ties to his family in Chile, continuing to provide financial support amid their ongoing challenges.Introduction to Super Smash Bros. and initial gaming interests
Gonzalo Barrios, known as ZeRo, was first introduced to the Super Smash Bros. series in 1999 at age four, when his mother purchased Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64 after he damaged his sister's console while watching her play Tomb Raider.[8][9] He and his sister played the game extensively, turning their home into a casual gaming hub where friends gathered for matches, fostering his initial familiarity with the series' mechanics through repeated, unstructured play.[8] Barrios's early gaming interests extended beyond Smash Bros., rooted in Nintendo platforms available in his Chilean household. By around 2005, he acquired a Nintendo GameCube and engaged in speedrunning Super Mario Sunshine, honing timing and precision skills that paralleled the platforming demands of Smash Bros. These solo practices, conducted without formal guidance, built a foundation in self-directed improvement, as he experimented with controls and strategies during casual sessions.[9] His approach to gaming emphasized iterative practice from basic losses in family and friend matches, cultivating a mindset geared toward mastery through trial and error rather than external coaching. This phase, prior to any organized events, involved local play on Super Smash Bros. Melee after its 2001 release, where Barrios self-taught advanced techniques, such as studying printed guides for characters like Falco by translating English resources with limited proficiency.[9] Such efforts, driven by an innate competitive drive amid resource constraints, solidified his preference for Nintendo's accessible yet depth-rich titles as a gateway to skill-building.[8]Competitive career
Early tournament participation (2005–2011)
Gonzalo Barrios, competing under the tag ZeRo, entered competitive Super Smash Bros. play in 2006 at age 11 in his hometown of Chillán, Chile, participating in local Melee tournaments at a video game store.[9] His debut event was a single-elimination bracket with best-of-three sets, where he achieved 13th place out of approximately 64 entrants, marking his initial exposure to organized competition and basic event logistics such as bracket navigation and matchup preparation.[9] [10] Subsequent local events in 2006 demonstrated rapid improvement, with ZeRo securing 2nd place in his second tournament and 1st place in the next, defeating a previously dominant local player who had bullied him earlier.[9] These grassroots experiences in Chile's small scene honed his adaptability to varying Melee metas, including character-specific strategies like those for Falco, which he studied by manually translating English guides using a dictionary due to limited resources and no home internet.[9] Financial constraints were acute, as he took low-paying jobs such as fruit picking at $2 per hour to fund participation and equipment, while practicing primarily at venues rather than at home without a console.[9] By 2009, ZeRo extended his reach to national-level events in Santiago, placing 9th at a hybrid Melee/Brawl tournament where a mid-set ban on the Ice Climbers' infinite combo disrupted his performance, leading to a Grand Finals loss in Melee to player Ghost.[9] Frustrations with the unsupportive Chilean community prompted a brief hiatus, but encouragement from friend Andres prompted his return, emphasizing dedication amid disrespect and logistical hurdles.[9] Transitioning to Brawl, he dominated local and regional events, winning consistently before relocating to the United States in late 2010 or early 2011 to pursue better opportunities.[10] In the U.S., ZeRo's early participation focused on regional Washington state tournaments in 2011, adapting to a larger, more established Brawl scene with English-language communication and travel demands.[10] Events like Showdown II on July 23, 2011, saw him take 1st place, building on Chilean wins while facing challenges such as language barriers—he was a primary Spanish speaker—and financial limitations for interstate travel.[10] These experiences refined his event logistics knowledge, including setup coordination and meta shifts between Melee holdovers and Brawl's mechanics, fostering resilience through persistent entry despite initial unfamiliarity with U.S. norms.[9][10]Affiliation with vVv Gaming and ascent in Smash for Wii U (2011–2014)
In 2011, Gonzalo Barrios, competing under the alias ZeRo, joined vVv Gaming, a Los Angeles-based esports organization founded in 2007 that supported players across multiple titles including Super Smash Bros. variants.[11] This sponsorship provided financial backing for travel and entry fees, enabling more consistent participation beyond local events in the New York area, where he had previously focused on Super Smash Bros. Brawl and occasional Melee brackets. vVv Gaming's structure emphasized player development through coaching and content creation, which helped ZeRo refine his Meta Knight mains and build a professional routine amid personal challenges following his sister's death that year.[12] The affiliation elevated ZeRo's visibility, positioning him as vVv's primary Super Smash Bros. representative and facilitating appearances at regional events like Apex 2013, where he contributed to strong doubles placements in Brawl alongside teammates such as Ally.[13] By 2013, consistent top-8 finishes in mid-sized Brawl tournaments, including those organized by groups like The Game Haus, solidified his reputation as an up-and-coming talent, though he remained outside the absolute elite dominated by players like Mew2King. vVv's multi-game roster dynamics allowed cross-training insights, but ZeRo's focus stayed on Smash, with the sponsorship covering costs for interstate travel to events yielding placements like 4th at local majors.[4] With the June 2014 reveal of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U at E3, ZeRo swiftly transitioned, leveraging vVv resources to attend the invitational demo tournament on June 10, where he secured 1st place undefeated, defeating Juan "Hungrybox" DeBiedma in grand finals using adapted Zero Suit Samus strategies amid the game's faster mechanics and reduced Brawl-era tripping.[8] Post-E3, in the nascent Wii U competitive scene before the November 21 full release, he achieved top placements in eight of nine entered events, including victories at grassroots weeklies and early majors, demonstrating rapid adaptation to new hitstun values and character buffs that favored his versatile playstyle. This buildup, supported by vVv's logistical aid, marked his shift from regional contender to national prospect without yet reaching the sustained win streaks of later years.[8]Peak dominance and major victories (2014–2018)
Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios established unparalleled dominance in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U from 2014 to 2018, highlighted by a Guinness World Record for the longest winning streak of 56 consecutive tournaments between November 2014 and October 2015.[14] This streak encompassed numerous regional and national events across North America, solidifying his position as the world's top player and prompting adaptations in the competitive meta to counter his strategies.[15] ZeRo's success elevated the visibility of the game, drawing larger audiences and prize pools to majors during this era. Key victories included the 2015 Evolution Championship Series (EVO), where ZeRo defeated Mr. R in the grand finals without dropping a single game, marking the largest Smash for Wii U tournament at the time with over 1,200 entrants.[16] He also claimed first place at Super Smash Con 2015, GENESIS 3 in 2016, The Big House 6 in 2015, and Smash 'N' Splash 2 in 2016, among others, often using Diddy Kong as his primary character.[17] Diddy Kong's banana gun mechanic, which allowed for stage control and mix-ups, proved highly effective under ZeRo's execution, contributing to meta shifts as opponents developed specific countermeasures like improved edgeguarding and banana avoidance techniques. His mastery extended to Lucina as a secondary, particularly in later events like DreamHack Austin 2017, where her consistent damage output and sword range complemented his adaptive playstyle against diverse matchups.[18] ZeRo's rivalries, notably with Nairo, intensified competition; Nairo ended the streak at MLG 2015 by defeating him in the finals, though ZeRo maintained top rankings and rebounded with wins such as the 2018 E3 Super Smash Bros. Invitational against MKLeo.[19][20] These achievements correlated with a surge in his earnings, amassing a significant portion of his career total exceeding $180,000 during this period, primarily from tournament prizes that underscored his status as the premier earner in Smash for Wii U.[4] Despite occasional losses, ZeRo's win rate in majors remained exceptionally high, influencing character tier discussions and encouraging deeper strategic analysis within the community.Post-dominance phase and exploration of other games (2018–2020)
Following the conclusion of his unbeaten streak and peak achievements in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, ZeRo announced his retirement from competitive play in that title on January 12, 2018, stating he wished to "close the chapter" and transition to full-time streaming to alleviate competitive stress and burnout.[21][22] This move aligned with the waning viability of the Wii U scene amid anticipation for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, allowing him to prioritize content creation over tournament grinding.[23] ZeRo maintained active community engagement through near-daily Twitch streams, blending Smash gameplay with variety content to diversify his audience and sustain income as Wii U events diminished.[2] In November 2018, he signed with Tempo Storm to compete in Ultimate upon its December 7 release, marking a partial return to organized play while emphasizing a less intensive schedule.[24] Early involvement included winning the Super Smash Bros. Invitational exhibition at E3 2018 using the game's demo.[4] Adaptation to Ultimate proved challenging due to its accelerated pace, revised mechanics like reduced landing lag and shield stun, and a meta favoring characters less aligned with ZeRo's prior mains such as Diddy Kong.[25] Relative to his Wii U dominance, results were modest; for example, he placed 9th at Smash Conference United in January 2019. These outcomes reflected broader difficulties for Smash 4 specialists navigating the sequel's shifts, prompting ZeRo to experiment with secondaries like Cloud, Wolf, and Mario.[26] To broaden beyond Smash-centric competition, ZeRo incorporated non-Smash titles into his streams, including casual play in various genres for entertainment and viewer retention, though without pursuing esports viability in alternatives.[2] In December 2019, he secured an exclusive streaming contract with Facebook Gaming, departing Twitch's 520,000-follower base to leverage the platform's growth in esports content amid Ultimate's rising prominence.[27][28] This phase underscored efforts to evolve his career toward sustainable media presence pre-Ultimate's full maturation.Achievements and records
Tournament wins and prize money
ZeRo secured a Guinness World Record for the longest winning streak in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournaments, achieving 56 consecutive victories from November 2014 to October 2015.[14] This streak encompassed numerous regional and national events, culminating in high-profile wins that underscored his dominance during the game's competitive peak. Among these, he claimed the EVO 2015 title on July 18, 2015, defeating Mr. R in the grand finals after navigating a bracket of top contenders.[16] His consistent success across majors like Game On 2015 and Apex 2015 further highlighted this period, where he amassed victories without a single tournament loss until the streak's end against Nairo on October 25, 2015.[8] Throughout his career, ZeRo's tournament achievements translated into substantial earnings, totaling $182,778.89 USD from 170 events as tracked by esports databases up to the latest available records.[4] This figure positioned him as one of the highest-paid players in Super Smash Bros. history, ranking 12th overall in the discipline's lifetime earnings at the time.[29] Key payouts included $6,603 from EVO 2015 and additional sums from other S-tier tournaments during his streak, where prize pools often ranged from $1,000 to $10,000 for winners despite the scene's relatively modest funding compared to larger esports titles.[13] These earnings reflected not only individual prowess but also the gradual professionalization of the Smash competitive circuit, as ZeRo's high placements drew sponsorships and elevated event visibility.[8]| Major Tournament Win | Date | Prize Money (USD) | Grand Finals Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| EVO 2015 | July 18, 2015 | $6,603 | Mr. R |
| Game On 2015 | August 2015 | ~$1,500 | Various (streak event) |
| Apex 2015 | January 2015 | ~$2,000 | Various (streak event) |