We’ve finally made it to the end of the year. 56 weeks, 654 tournaments, and 777 qualified players later, the EchoRank algorithm has finally settled on the top players of Ultimate’s first year. Below you can find comprehensive graphics and a short blurb about their year, as well as an indication of how much they’ve shifted from the half-year report.

View the entire 2019 EchoRank Ultimate here.

You can read all about how this ranking works in the FAQ I made for the half year report by clicking here.

Other than that, let’s jump right in!

Strike’s middling results at majors are mostly a product of difficult brackets, and his in-region results establish him as one of Canada’s finest. He boasts wins over most of the Pacific Northwest’s elite, as well as picking up victories over Puppeh and yeti on his occasional trips east.

#101. RR ET | EKING @EKING2626 (-40)

EKING, one of Puerto Rico’s finest, was able to travel stateside several times this year, where he acquired solid victories over the likes of Myran, Toast, and Epic_Gabriel. Back at home, he’s a regular in Grand Finals, only taking losses to Xeon in-region and placing first more often than not.

#100. RG | Kobe @Kobessb (NEW)

Florida’s premier Young Link, Kobe quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with by placing 33rd at Genesis 6. He continued to accrue more and more results as the year went on, establishing himself as one of the strongest players in the Southeast with wins over local players such as Goblin, Vinny G, Tachyon, Aaron, and Epic_Gabriel.

ZD kicked off his Ultimate career with a bang with consecutive top 8 finishes at Let’s Make Moves and Glitch 6 and wins over WaDi, Marss, Salem, and Ally. As the year went on, ZD began to falter, although he was still able to pick up the occasional good win and finished his year with another strong Glitch showing at Minus World, defeating Cosmos and Lui$ along the way.

#98. RNG | Ryuga @trueRyuga (-32)

Ryuga’s Frostbite performance is one of the most low-key runs to top 12 at a supermajor so far, where he defeated Salem, Captain L, Goblin, and MVD before falling to Shuton. His subsequent showings up and down the East Coast may not have been as phenomenal, but apart from a surprise 193rd at The Big House 9, Ryuga has still managed to put together a solid resume and a claim for the best Ike main in the world.

Ismon had solid results with his carry-over main from Smash 4, Wario, but they began to pick up even more with his switch to Falco halfway through the year. Of note are his performances at Standoff and Glitch 7, where he picked up wins on Stroder, Rivers, Fatality, and Juice, as well as a solid top 32 showing at The Big House 9.

Ron, one of Japan’s many hidden bosses, continued his legacy of infrequent but incredibly solid showings into Ultimate. By far one of the most consistent players in his country, his one foray out to Umebura SP 6 netted him wins over T, Tsu, shky, Atelier, takera, and Tarakotori, another top 8 placing, and the major attendance needed to qualify for ranking, due to Umebura’s recently elevated cap.

Among the colossal amount of talent in Japan, Umeki is possibly the one that has flown stateside the most, attending USA tournaments on eight separate occasions. Alongside hosting the Umebura series, Umeki’s frequent appearances on both sides of the Pacific have built him up a solid resume, including a much-coveted win on the best player in the world, MkLeo.

Sonix, top talent in the Dominican Republic, is unique among the Caribbean scene in that he was able to make it out to several events on the North American mainland. Apart from his solid list of wins, he was also able to take Zackray to a close game 5 scenario at Genesis 6, and has established himself as one of the premier Sonic mains in the world.

#93. Captain L @captainlpika (-22)

British Columbia mainstay Captain L had a very active year. Apart from attending almost every event in the Pacific Northwest, he traveled throughout North America to tournaments on both coasts, and his frequent attendance garnered him several impressive results and solid wins. Of particular note is his performance at Frostbite, where he picked up wins on Meme, WaDi, Mr. E, and Puppeh en route to 17th.

Despite Lucario’s substantial nerfs and an ongoing secondary crisis, Tsu has continued to put up solid performances throughout the first year of Ultimate, including a top 8 finish at Umebura Japan Major 2019. His win list includes many of Japan’s finest, as well as players such as RFang, Sonido, Fatality, and Prodigy due to his frequent ventures across the Pacific.

#91. NA | sinnyboo242 @sinnyboo242 (-38)

sinnyboo242’s main claim to fame is a win at Be Mine?, where he double eliminated yeti as well as defeating SKITTLES!! and Loaf. Although his subsequent showings haven’t been as impressive, he didn’t have any particularly bad performances either, and as such solidifies his spot just outside the top 90.

Monkey, formerly known as pokepen, is another of the many Pacific Northwest players that managed to place on this ranking. Although he didn’t travel out of region, his solid in-region results, including double-eliminating Big D and Captain L at SmashWorks Ultimate, capped off with an admittedly undemanding run to 17th at Port Priority 5.

#89. djb | Laid @LaidFitness (+2)

New England’s talent runs deep in Ultimate, and Laid is no exception. Occasional travels down the East Coast have given Laid several opportunities to showcase his talent, including a stunning top 8 finish at Defend The North, but his best wins still come from in-region with victories over Marss and Light and a 5-2 record with Raffi-X.

Scr7’s in-region results are admittedly not outstanding, taking frequent losses to the rest of the United Kingdom’s top talent and sporting an 0-4 record against CurryGovernor. However, you would be remiss to talk about Scr7 without mentioning his monster run at Albion 4, where he defeated Mr.R, MVD, and Jeda en route to 4th place, only taking losses to top 10 talent Dabuz and Glutonny.

Kuro started off the year rough by drowning in pools at Sumabato SP 1 and consecutively placing 65th at Sumabato SP 3 and Umebura Japan Major 2019. However, his switch to Zero Suit Samus partway through the year ultimately paid off with a stunning victory at Umebura SP 6, where he defeated Raito, Kameme, KEN, Umeki, Lea, Atelier, and kept en route to winning the largest tournament of his career.

Although Jw had a small slump during the summer of Smash with disappointing performances at CEO, Evo, and Super Smash Con, his results otherwise have been incredibly impressive. Alongside multiple appearances in major top 24’s, he’s put up great results in-region and was ultimately crowned as #1 on the Canadian PR. Along the way, he’s picked up wins over ESAM, Mr. E, Kola, Goblin, Leffen, and of course, the titan himself, MkLeo.

Supahsemmie, Europe’s best Young Link, is one of the many Dutch talents that have risen to the forefront of Europe’s metagame. Alongside top 16 finishes at both of Europe’s majors this year, he’s put up consistent and impressive results in the Netherlands, with the only blemish on his record being an unfortunate 33rd place at DreamHack Winter 2019. 2020 will see if he can continue his legacy and maybe even travel stateside to get a couple more shots at the rest of the world.

#84. GoTE | Vinny G @VinnyGIsMe (-4)

Vinny G is Florida’s premier Snake, and with good reason. Despite a rocky start, he quickly became one of the best players in his region and picked up wins over most of the rest of Florida’s elite. Although he hasn’t traveled very far out of state, the abundance of events and competition has enabled him to also get wins over players such as BestNess, UtopianRay, and Stocktaker69, as well as bringing ProtoBanham to a close last game set.

#83. AMG | 8BitMan @8BrettMan (-31)

With the buffs to R.O.B. in this game, 8BitMan has continued to cement his legacy as one of Florida’s greats. Traveling incessantly and attending events across the country, each tournament sees 8BitMan pick up a solid win or two for an astoundingly lengthy resume. His overall consistency lands him solidly within the top 100 for the first year of Ultimate.

#82. T1 | Larry Lurr @LarryLurr (-5)

Although Larry Lurr doesn’t have the same claim to fame that he did in Smash 4, it doesn’t mean he’s fallen off completely. Alongside a slew of top 10 wins, he has strong records against most of SoCal’s finest, including being up 4-2 against VoiD. In addition, he’s one of the most well-traveled players, having attended an astounding 35 EchoRank-qualifying events in the 56 weeks of Ultimate’s release, and even his worst placings tend to be a result of unfortunate brackets.

#81. CE | Joker @LowTierSamus92 (NEW)

Like his brother Meme, Joker is one of the many Mexican talents that have broken out strong this year. Although the beginning of his year was rough, he rose to prominence at Low Tier City 7, where he defeated ESAM en route to 9th. He continued to turn heads with an astounding top 8 finish at SwitchFest, where he defeated WaDi, Rivers, Nicko, and Sparg0, only losing to top 10 contenders Glutonny and Light, and solidly establishing himself as one of the best Samuses in the world.

#80. Armada | BestNess @BestNess_ (NEW)

Utah’s strongest player has made a solid argument for truly being the best Ness this year. Alongside his astounding results up and down the Southwest, his frequent appearances at majors across the country have netted him several great results, including twin 9th place finishes at Low Tier City 7 and Port Priority 5 and a slew of top 32 placings on both the East and West Coasts. Although he’s retiring in 2020, the world will get one last chance to view BestNess’s claim to his character at Genesis 7, and it’s sure to be a good one.

#79. NPT | BlazingPasta @BlazingPasta (+9)

BlazingPasta started off the year strong with wins at SMASHADELPHIA Ultimate and Reality Royale IV, netting double wins on The Great Gonzales and Mr. E. He’s continued to put up solid results in the cutthroat region of Tristate since then with wins over almost all of the area’s finest, and his efforts paid off at Super Smash Con, where he defeated Leffen, VoiD, Fatality, Gomakenpi, and ven en route to 13th place.

#78: Grip | Space @SpaceSama (+11)

Space still hasn’t placed below top 16 yet, despite living in one of the strongest countries in Europe; in fact, his only placement outside of double digits is his 13th at Albion 4. His incredible consistency places him as one of the best European players, as evidenced by his wins over most of Europe’s finest. Of particular note is his astounding run at Ultimate Fighting Arena 2019, where he defeated Glutonny and Kameme to finish at 3rd place.

Kome embodies the volatility of Japanese Smash. He has incredibly high highs, such as his third place finish at SwitchFest, where he defeated Shuton, Marss, and WaDi, or his 13th place at Kongo Saga, triumphing over ProtoBanham, Riddles, Suarez, and Ned. However, he also has a slew of questionable losses, including Vintendo, Reumina, Tiger, Hitachiwazuki, Alice, Tamiflu, TKM, and Soraneko, and his stumbles at Sumabato SP 2, EGS Cup#2, and Karisuma SP 4, among others, prevent him from landing any higher on the rankings.

Thank you for reading! #76-51 will be up soon!