The second of ten articles detailing the Top 100! All credit for the player graphics goes to Freeziebeats.

For those interested in the methodology, here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p2mqzaOqlbnjou4_bGI8SMZFc0S9Szscn2qLJYDXJOQ/edit?usp=sharing

90 – Kie

Despite shaky placements in the latter half of the year in Japan, Kie made a name for himself The Big House 6 Crew Battle where he was easily the most instrumental player in Japan’s victory at the side event. Solidly outmaneuvering Ally, Marss, and Tweek in crews, Kie ultimately took 11 stocks across both crew battles. While crews weren’t used for the ranking, his performance in them are a definite testament to his ability to fight against high-level players.

He followed his crews run up with a decent rebuttal to skeptics on his ability to perform in singles, getting 17th overall, taking revenge against Rich Brown 3-2 and being eliminated by VoiD in Losers Bracket. With a select few quality performances at Umebura 23, Sumabato 9, and Sumabato 10, Kie’s score ultimately put him on the map for 2016.

89 – Xaltis

Florida’s best Rosalina, Xaltis’ crowning achievement was a run at EVO that included a major upset on ANTi – a key factor in Xaltis’ ranking, alongside her respectable (if somewhat varied) in-region results. Alongside her run at Trail Gaming League 6, she’s also taken sets off of top FL players such as Day and Dath, as well as all previously ranked Florida players on this list- DJ Jack, Prince Ramen, Riot, and 8BitMan.

88 – FOW

Originally listed as a Hidden Boss, I eventually decided that his early year performances at 2GGTs in combination with his impressive outing at ZeRo Saga warranted adding him to the list- though the trade-off was that he’d inevitably have a very low score in comparison to his true potential. This is due to low attendance outside of Vegas weeklies and two underwhelming showings at CEO and EVO.

Despite those, his swift victories over K9 and Captain Zack alongside his valiant efforts against ZeRo and Fatality show he has nowhere to go but up.

87 – NAKAT

Despite an impressive attendance record spanning as far as Japanese major Umebura S.A.T. and a peak of 9th at CEO, NAKAT has a slew of placements outside of Top 16s or even Top 32s at most majors he attends, a common result of not taking many big sets during the year. As a result, he carries a score that will likely be seen as quite low when compared to how well-known he is.

Despite this, he’s still had good performances, including a brief stint at EVO 2016 where he very nearly sent eventual tournament winners Ally into Losers just before Top 32. Having stated that Ness will be taking a backseat, here’s to seeing NAKAT’s Fox on the come up in 2017!

86 – Frozen

A noted PM Mewtwo, Frozen has made great strides in Smash 4 at both The Big House 6 and Super Smash Con, sending ESAM to the losers bracket in the former and placing 17th in the latter, taking down Gomamugitya, Falln, and Tyroy with him. While not a commonly known player, the Tristate Corrin retains good local results in Tristate and as made blips on the radar elsewhere, such as defeating K9 and LingLing at Olympus and False at KTAR XVIII.

85 – San

Upstate New York’s premier Ike and one of the state’s best players, San is a region perfect for taking sets from multiple regions, including Montreal, New England, and New York itself. With his most notable wins against K9, LingLing, and Pugwest – all big threats in their respective regions- San has established himself as a dangerous competitor the few times he’s ended up attending regionals this year.

84 – Myran

With a late-term victory at Reflect and 2 stellar performances at the Come to Papa series, the rarely seen Floridian Olimar managed to edge his way into the upper portion of the Top 100, taking sets off of numerous Florida notables and even a significant win against Fatality to his name.

83 – Cyve

Germany’s #1 PR, Cyve is no stranger to international participation. One of the more travel-ready Europeans, Cyve has participated in numerous Western U.S.A. tournies, with his 25th at 2GGT: KTAR Saga ultimately netting him a win over JK.

The bulk of his score, however, is built on his strong performances in Europe, commonly winning German regionals and placing a highly respectable 5th at Europe major “Smashdown World”, where he defeated fellow German Sodrek an French titan Elexiao.

82 – Locus

A last-minute addition to the contenders list, Locus’ out of nowhere run at 2GGT: ZeRo Saga swiftly push him into the Top 100, rivaling Trela for greatest Ryu performance of the year. While Trela’s results are far more extensive in nature (more on that later 😉 ) Locus similarly had an impressive breakout performance that may have just put the Pacific Northwest on the map.

81 – Ksev

Despite an apparent 13th place curse, Ksev has spread out several wins across the many tournaments he’s attended this year, often sniping players during losers bracket. Taking sets off of 6WX, Marss, Dyr, False, and more, Ksev has a good track record against the East Coast when 2016 as a whole is taken into account. Despite his 11th rank in the Midwestern PR, he’s taken sets off of numerous top-level Midwestern players this year, including Rayquaza, Ryuga, and Ned, proving himself to a formidable opponent even if he struggles to get into the deepest portions of brackets.

One exception to this was his highlight performance of the year at Midwest Mayhem 3, where he sent eventual winner False into losers, sent Ned into losers, and placed a highly respectable 5th, losing narrowly to NiTe and putting up a fight against ESAM.