We are excited to partner with Red Bull to present the 2017 end of year SSBMRank!

As a quick reminder, the SSBMRank panelists are comprised of a large group of players and community volunteers that rate the players. Voters rated players based on the following criterion:

Given the quality and quantity of work in late 2016 to 2017 (From Eden to Twitch Invitational: Holiday Bash), if everyone entered 100 tournaments, who on average would place the best?

Panelists voted on a 1-10 scale with the best player receiving a “10” and the worst player on the list receiving a "1." Ballots that were not scaled properly were rescaled using an algorithm to place the best player at a “10” and the worst player at a “1.” This was then rescaled to a 1-100 scale. To reduce the variance, the highest and lowest three scores were removed from the average.

SSBMRank No. 50: Laudandus © @LadyMartel

Rating: 57.7 | SSBMRank2016: 33

It’s been a quiet year for the self-proclaimed most combo-oriented and aggressive Sheik in the world following his breakout 2016. Sam “Laudandus” Rohrer has been a rare sight on Melee streams this year, and his pair of 65th place finishes at Genesis 4 and EVO 2017 have left something to be desired.

But while his supermajor appearances have been cut short by surprise upsets to players like Kage and Zorc, Laudandus has been a picture of consistency throughout much of the remainder of the year. Aside from an odd dropped set to his NorCal competitors, he’s fended off any would-be challengers to his status as a Top 50 player, with only three losing records outside of the Top 30. Sure, his only huge victories have been in historically Sheik-favored matchups such as against HugS and n0ne, but those victories secured him a Top 8 berth at DreamHack Austin, and his other regionals have been equally respectable.

Pinning down Laudandus’s identity as a player has been difficult. Perhaps his most defining aspect has always been his work ethic, which has allowed him to succeed in such traditionally difficult Sheik matchups as against Ice Climbers through dedicated practice and study. While this year may not have continued his meteoric rise following a stellar 2016, there's no question that Laudandus still has the chops to compete at the top level. The question of whether he'll exercise that skill now lies in his hands.

Written by: Zane “Epengu” Bhansali | Edited by: Nicole "Ibuprofen" Bennett

SSBMRank No. 49: Ginger © @msealjr

Rating: 58.5 | SSBMRank2016: n/a

Avery “Ginger” Wilson is one of the Midwest’s many rising stars. In the past, he was a somewhat quiet player, making a few big splashes like defeating Druggedfox in round one pools at The Big House 5, but this year he made waves. Ginger’s breakout tournament in 2017 was Dreamhack Atlanta, where he scored his biggest win to that point over Gahtzu, as well as taking a game off of Chudat and taking Syrox to game 5. Ginger went on to have amazing runs at many majors and super majors, placing 17th at GOML 2017, 17th at Super Smash Con 2017, 49th at Shine 2017 and 25th The Big House 7. Ginger also has many solid wins on his resume including Kels, Colbol, Amsah, Gahtzu, Chillindude, MikeHaze, Kage and most impressively upsetting Westballz at The Big House 7, sending him out at 65th. After his run at The Big House 7, he had two amazing performances at Tipped Off 12 and Super Famicon 2017, placing ninth and seventh, respectively.

The key to Ginger’s success seems to be his technical prowess and inventive combo game. In addition to this, his immaculate DI allows him to extend Falco’s fragile stocks in order to lengthen his lead even over some of the game’s best players. As 2017 falls behind us, Ginger’s unique style of Falco combining an impressive laser game and devastating combos lands him a comfortable spot in the Top 100 with promise to make a crater in any top player’s bracket in 2018.

Written by: Trent Schaeffer | Edited by: Darren Lynch

SSBMRank No. 48: MacD © @msealjr

Rating: 59.8 | SSBMRank2016: 26

This year has been a tough one for McCain “MacD” LaVelle, once hailed as the second best Peach in the world. It’s tough to pinpoint exactly why he’s seeing less success. In peak form, he used to be a shoe-in for 9th place or better at majors. It’s safe to say that the competition has stepped up as players have become better in the neutral game and more patient in general. The resulting shifts have made it difficult for MacD to capitalize on his usual dash attacks and down smashes that he’s cashed on in against even high level players in the past.

The next year is going to be a pivotal one for MacD as he decides where his priorities lie. Though he’s been on a downturn, he still holds solid head to head records against players outside of the top 50 aside from a few upsets and only needs to refine a few things to jump back up into the Top 30. The climb comes with motivation, and the potential is there. Does he want it?

Written by: Daniel Lee

SSBMRank No. 47: Captain Smuckers © @EmilyWaves

Rating: 61.1 | SSBMRank2016: 64

Tri-State’s current premier Captain Falcon main Alex “Captain Smuckers” Cottrell has steadily risen up the rankings over the past few years: squeaking onto SSBMRank 2015 at No. 99, making No. 64 on SSBMRank 2016, and landing at a sterling No. 39 on the Summer 2017 SSBMRank. His creative combos, solid edgeguarding, and a punish game that ruthlessly capitalizes off of every hit guarantee his standing not only as a competitor worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the greatest Falcon champions of today, but also as one who has a fair chance at eventually surpassing them.

Though he appeared to start off the year on the wrong foot, losing to SilentSpectre for a 65th place finish at Genesis 4, Captain Smuckers bounced back with a string of respectable regional placings, finishing 5th at Apollo II, 13th at Smash Valley V, and—in one of his most notable performances this year—2nd at CT Gamercon, where his worst loss was to Hungrybox, taking sets off of Prince Abu, DJ Nintendo, Crush, and KirbyKaze on his way to silver.

The rest of his 2017 was a rollercoaster. At some events, such as Sea Crest Smash, where he beat Nintendude and double-eliminated MacD in order to seize first place, he soared above and beyond expectations, but at others, such as Royal Flush, where he finished 33rd after an unexpected loss to MD/VA Ice Climbers main Cool Lime, he noticeably struggled to live up to them. On occasion, these highs and lows would even happen within a single tournament: at Super Smash Con 2017, he beat Colbol, but was double-eliminated by Jerry to finish at 25th.

Finally, after losing to KPAN and Spark and ending up with a 65th place finish at The Big House 7, Captain Smuckers ended the year by taking a break from majors, sticking to Tri-State locals for the remainder of the year. Although he wrestled with consistency for a good portion of 2017, he still managed to add quite a few impressive wins to his resumé and further proved himself to be a rising star. We can only wait and see what his future has in store for him!

Written by: Jack "Kezzup" McDonald | Edited by: Nicole "Ibuprofen" Bennett

SSBMRank No. 46: Kage © @msealjr

Rating: 61.1 | SSBMRank2016: 70

Nearly a decade after his breakout performance at Revival of Melee 2 back in 2009, Roustane “Kage The Warrior” Benzeguir remains a nightmare of a competitor, capable of keeping up with if not outright upsetting some of Melee’s best. Although in years past, he has been a staple of SSBMRank’s Top 50, ranking consistently in the mid-30’s and 40’s since 2013, his 2016 was rather lackluster in comparison—hence, at the end of a year when the competition for the Top 100 slots was arguably tougher than ever, he fell to a career low: No. 70.

Despite his fall from grace and sparse tournament attendance throughout the first half of his 2017, it didn’t take long after for Kage to put himself back on everyone’s radar. At Dreamhack Montreal, he double-eliminated ChuDat and exacted his revenge on HugS for sending him to losers’ bracket at GOML 2017 on his road to securing an impressive 2nd place finish, and at The Big House 7, he landed not only 17th place—in part due to a Top 64 bracket laden with innumerable upsets—but an explosive game victory over Armada as well that drove spectators bonkers. After being sent to losers’ by KJH at Canada Cup 2017, he blazed through losers’ side of Top 32, defeating KirbyKaze and Android before finally losing to Mew2King and earning a respectable 5th place. His consistently solid placings and notable wins this year just go to show that the Montreal powerhouse and his warrior of a character are far from finished making a name for themselves.

Written by: Darren Lynch | Edited by: Nicole "Ibuprofen" Bennett

SSBMRank No. 45: Hax © @boxrZhu

Rating: 62.1 | SSBMRank2016: n/a

After his legendary 3rd place performance at Pound 2016, Aziz" Hax" Al-Yami disappeared. For a year, he sunk from his spot as a player with seemingly limitless potential to being one of Super Smash Bros. Melee's Shakespearean tragedies. Dealing with a plethora of personal problems, such as wrist issues and insomnia, Hax looked like he could never achieve his dreams of winning a national or becoming the best Melee player in the world. Hope seemed lost for New York City's most iconic smasher, but he returned in the spring of 2017, sporting a new controller built specifically to breathe new life into his playing career. The prophet of 20xx was back, though not quite at full strength yet.

Hax's local and regional performances made it difficult to evaluate just how good he was of a player, as he initially dropped sets to unranked players and placed just outside Top 8 at many regionals. However, by summer, Hax seemed to return to form, placing a respectable 33rd at Evo 2017 and 17th at GOML 2017. By the end of the year, he had victories over players like Westballz, Crush, Ryan Ford, and Syrox. Though he still struggles against characters like Samus and Jigglypuff, this could be because Hax is still adjusting to being an active player again, along with having to mold his playstyle into a new era of play.

Of course, it's impossible to talk about Hax's return without addressing its broader implications. While most of the public supports his ability to play with another controller, due to Hax physically being unable to play with a GameCube controller, many prominent community figures worry about the potential advantages he gains from playing on an alternative controller. Hax has attempted to address these concerns through nerfing his controller numerous times and publicly detailing the changes he has made. He even suggested modding the game itself to address several inherent flaws within the GameCube controller, such as the disparity in controllers that can reliably shield drop and dash back out of standing. However, the fate of his playing future remains unknown, along with other concerns that come implicitly with legalizing his controller, such as allowing other controller modifications. These are just a few controversies that illustrate the challenges that Hax will have to overcome in 2018, not just in terms of proving his ability as a player, but also with influencing how the community resolves some of its most pressing issues.

Written by: Anokh Palakurthi | Edited by: Darren Lynch

SSBMRank No. 44: Android © @msealjr

Rating: 62.2 | SSBMRank2016: 63

As one half of Team UGS, Andreas “Android” Lindgren has continued solidifying his position as one of the best doubles teams with his brother Adam “Armada” Lindgren. Together, they have taken stacked tournaments like GameTyrant Expo 2017 and The Big House 7 in the second half of the year. Despite this, Android has not yet earned his spot as a top singles player worldwide.

As time went on, Android has gradually improved and has been gaining consistency as one of the best players in his region, nearing the level of his brother Armada and fellow Swede William “Leffen” Hjelte. This is thanks to solid placings at European tournaments like 9th at Syndicate 2017 along with 5th and 7th at DreamHack Summer 2017 and Winter 2017 respectively. However, his North American placings are not quite there yet, with a Top 8 finish at Canada Cup 2017 and Top 16 finish at GameTyrant Expo 2017 being the only notable placings to his name. A satisfactory Top 32 placing at Evo 2017 along with Top 64 and Top 96 finishes at The Big House 7 and Genesis 4 highlight Android’s lack of a true run at one of Melee’s nationals.

With breakout victories against the likes of Duck and Silent Wolf, Android has shown his potential as he continues to improve going into 2018. With Genesis 5 right around the corner and the decision to dual-main Falco and Sheik, Android will look to cement a singles legacy for himself at the first national tournament of 2018.

Written by: Rui Yang Xu | Edited by: Shirish Nene

SSBMRank No. 43: Gahtzu © @msealjr

Rating: 63.4 | SSBMRank2016: 35

Melee took a backstep for Jason “Gahtzu” Diehl this year as he juggled a full time job and school. Understandably, the upward trajectory we’re used to seeing with the 20GX crew didn’t continue with Gahtzu as much as it did for his partner, Wizzrobe. Despite this, he still managed to pump out some very respectable wins. At the local SWEET XXVI, he secured a 2nd place finish taking sets over Duck and Ginger, while at DreamHack Austin, after being sent to losers early by Westballz, he made quite the loser’s run, defeating Duck again and Crush before finally falling in a game 5 set to Wizzrobe, placing 9th along with SFAT, n0ne, and MikeHaze. At CEO Dreamland he nearly upset Axe in a game 5 heartbreaker, but fell to the Pikachu main in a last stock game on Yoshi’s Story, a feat few other players can attest to. Despite his impressive Top 20 wins, Gahtzu still has some of his own local demons to chase down, as at the Florida Local CFL Smackdown Colbol boasts a monstrous 38-2 record against him. However, all is not without hope, as at several of those locals he has taken Plup to game 5 multiple times and taken games off of Hungrybox.

In terms of playstyle, it’s odd to call Gahtzu strictly a 20GX player that carries the reputation of playing “by the book” and purely by reaction, as his 20GX counterpart Wizzrobe has shown. Gahtzu not only has the meticulous tech chasing and flowchart edgeguards down to a science, but has shown he’s no stranger to making a hard read and deleting his opponent’s stock in the blink of an eye. Hopefully as 2018 begins, the promise that Gahtzu shows can finally exhibit itself on the big stage, but as of now he still lands a highly respectable spot in MIOM’s Top 100.

Written by: Daniel Lee | Edited by: Darren Lynch

SSBMRank No. 42: Slox © @msealjr

Rating: 65.5 | SSBMRank2016: 51

Anthony "Slox" Detres lived up to the hype. Being the king of Connecticut for what feels like the 99th consecutive year, Slox also continued to succeed within New York City, having great head to heads on nearly everyone in region. In particular, Slox continues to succeed against his former teammate Swedish Delight, an especially impressive feat given Swedish Delight's status as a Top 20 player. Moreover, if the last year has shown anyone anything, it's that Slox is quietly gaining a reputation as a Fox ditto specialist. With a positive record on Hax and DJ Nintendo in-region, as well as additional wins on SFAT, Mike Haze, Ryan Ford, Colbol and Syrox at majors, Slox has shown himself more than capable of beating Fox players across a variety of styles, though he has yet to defeat Crush since the latter's ascent to stardom.

Though Slox is an easy pick for Top 50, what will propel him higher is if he can clean up some of his other matchup deficiencies. Slox mostly looks comfortable versus Fox, Sheik and has made great improvements in his understanding of the Peach matchup, but his play against Falco and Captain Falcon still has its peaks and valleys. He also frequently struggles against Ice Climbers, does not have as much familiarity against mid-tier characters and has yet to find a consistent solution for Marth, who may currently be his biggest demon of a character in bracket. Nonetheless, with a few adjustments, Slox can easily position himself for a top eight performance at a national. Already one of the best within NYC and second only to Crush within New England, 2018 will show if Slox can be Northeast Melee's song of ice and fire. Who knows -- perhaps smashers can expect to see a Slox appearance at a future Smash Summit.

Written by: Anokh Palakurthi

SSBMRank No. 41: Professor Pro © @msealjr

Rating: 65.5 | SSBMRank2016: 24

Aaron “Professor Pro” Thomas is not only one of the United Kingdom’s premier Melee players, but some would say one of the best Fox mains in the entire world. He began the year with Genesis 4, where he took sets off of Chillindude and Bladewise, ending at a respectable 25th place. Professor Pro’s year only improved from then on out, with wins over Bobby Frizz, KirbyKaze, KJH, Crush, and Druggedfox in the spring preparing him for a summer rife with victories.

Although Professor Pro mostly stuck to European tournaments for the first half of the summer, he showed no hesitation about showing off on his home turf, placing in Top 8 at Dreamhack Summer, Dash Dancer’s Dawn, Heir 4, and Syndicate 2017. At these events, Professor Pro flexed his #3 slot on the European power ranking, taking sets off of top European players Overtriforce, Trifasia, Avalancer, Zorc, and Mahie. He returned to North America hungry for more notches to his belt—beginning with GT-X 2017, where he took sets over Vro, Bladewise again, and MacD, exhibiting extremely competent play versus Peach in the last two sets, before being eliminated by Westballz and landing a commendable 17th place finish. At the final tournament that Professor Pro attended this year, Dreamhack Winter, he lost an incredibly tight set against Leffen, but that didn’t stop him from eliminating another top European: Amsah. Though other Europeans like Trifasia and Overtriforce are certainly increasing in international notoriety, Professor Pro has remained competitive; his flashy and technical Fox play has kept fans from Europe and abroad alike eager to watch him claw his way through every bracket he enters.

Written by: Jonah Fritz | Edited by: Nicole "Ibuprofen" Bennett

Credits

Graphics: Nick “DarkDragoon” Konstantino

Statistician: Andrew “PracticalTAS” Nestico