Jason Sheldon Zimmerman, born on February 5, 1989, is an American former professional Super Smash Bros. player from Cinnaminson, New Jersey. He is known by his gamertag Mew2King, often called M2K. He is part of a group called the "Five Gods" of Melee, which includes Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma, Adam "Armada" Lindgren, Kevin "PPMD" Nanney, and Joseph "Mang0" Marquez. He is considered one of the greatest Super Smash Bros. Brawl players ever. He also played at a high level in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Project M.
In Melee, Zimmerman mainly plays Marth, Sheik, and Fox. In Brawl, he plays Meta Knight. In Project M, he uses his namesake character, Mewtwo, as well as Fox and Mario. In the original Super Smash Bros. game, he specializes in Kirby. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, his primary character is Cloud. Zimmerman is known for his very careful and logical way of playing, as well as his deep understanding of frame data in Melee. This earned him the nickname "The Robot." He is also known for using a claw-like grip on his controller. Because of his skill in every Smash Bros. game, some people think he is the greatest Smash Bros. player of all time. From May 2016 to January 2020, he was part of the professional esports team Echo Fox.
Gaming career
Zimmerman started competing in tournaments in 2005 when he was 16 years old. Kashan "Chillindude" Khan said Zimmerman did not have much natural talent for the game but became skilled by practicing a lot. In 2004, he spent more than 2,000 hours with help from SuperDoodleMan to collect information about different attacks and movements in the game Melee. In 2006, Zimmerman moved from being unknown to becoming one of the top players in the game. In 2007, he placed 9th at EVO World 2007. From 2008 to 2009, he was considered the best player in Melee and Brawl. From 2010 to 2014, his tournament results worsened as he began losing to newer players who were improving. Zimmerman and Wyatt "ADHD" Beekman were banned by Major League Gaming from competing in MLG Dallas 2010 after it was claimed they tried to change the tournament brackets at an event in MLG DC 2010. The ban followed a report that ADHD had paid Zimmerman US$300 to lose a match, which broke MLG rules. MLG removed Brawl from their professional competitions at the end of 2010.
For most of 2013, Zimmerman did not win any major tournaments until he had a winning streak, winning almost every tournament he attended, including events where Mango was present, a player he had not beaten in several years. In 2014, Zimmerman lost to aMSa in the winners quarters and Armada in the losers finals at Kings of Cali 4. He finished 2nd to Mango at Big House 4 in Romulus, Michigan. After a complicated match, Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma defeated Zimmerman at Paragon Orlando 2015.
From 2009 to 2014, Zimmerman was part of Empire Arcadia (EMP), a company that also supported e-sports players like Justin Wong. He left the organization because of issues with unpaid money. Zimmerman said EMP’s president, Isaiah "Triforce" Johnson, owed him about US$5,000 and that Zimmerman had lent Johnson more than US$1,000. From 2011 to 2014, Zimmerman was sponsored by CLASH Tournaments (CT). From 2012 to 2014, he was signed with Vancouver-based Play-For-Keeps, an online e-sports betting service.
Zimmerman supported Pastime Gaming and Most Valuable Gaming since late 2014 and began working as a business manager for the latter. From late 2014 to early 2015, he focused more on Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and online streaming, planning to play fewer tournaments because of hand problems. His tournament results also worsened, placing tied for 9th at Apex 2015. In April 2015, he joined esports team COGnitive Gaming. In June 2015, he suffered a hand injury and missed CEO 2015 and EVO 2015. He attended Super Smash Con in August 2015, where he placed 2nd after losing to Leffen. On August 31, he defeated Leffen in the grand finals of PAX Prime 2015, ending the streak of Swedish players winning national tournaments. At Paragon Los Angeles 2015, he placed second, losing to Mango in the Grand Finals.
Zimmerman finished 9–12th in Melee singles at GENESIS 3 in January. In early April 2016, he left COGnitive. On April 17, 2016, he joined Echo Fox.
Zimmerman won first place in Melee singles at Smash Summit 6 in May 2018. He did not lose in the bracket stage and defeated Armada twice, including during the grand finals. He became the first player to win a Smash Summit event outside of Armada and Hungrybox.
On February 4, 2024, Zimmerman explained in a video on his YouTube channel why he had not been competing, saying there was too much negativity in the Melee community.
Personal life
Zimmerman was born on February 5, 1989. His nickname comes from the Pokémon character Mewtwo. He grew up in Cinnaminson Township, New Jersey, and graduated from Cinnaminson High School in 2007. He studied at Lorain County Community College before moving to Camden County College, where he earned a two-year college degree in game design and computer science. He explained that he had to complete an extra half-year of classes because some of his previous credits could not be used toward his degree. He has no interest in earning a bachelor's degree.
Zimmerman has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He has also experienced depression and suicidal thoughts for much of his life. He credits much of his social development to the Smash community.
Zimmerman is a full-time video game player who streams on Twitch. In 2014, he attended most tournaments each week. He is a co-owner of a company called Most Valuable Gaming, which organizes video game tournaments. He was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 "Games" List in 2019.
A 2009 photo of Zimmerman being kissed by a girl at a Super Smash Bros. tournament became very popular online. An article about the image was written by ESPN.