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 #102–#77 here. View #76–#51 here.

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!

The title for best Falcon in the first year of Ultimate goes to NickC. Although he pulled decent results in-region at the end of Smash 4, Ultimate saw NickC step his game up further, especially in the second half of the year. After a 5th place finish at SMASH at The Paramount and a 17th place at Super Smash Con where he beat BlazingPasta, NickC went on a monster run at Shine, tearing through MuteAce, Riddles, Lui$, and giving ScAtt his first non-Fatality Falcon loss in years to finish at 13th. He capped his year off by placing 2nd at the Tristate invitational Player’s Ball Ultimate, defeating Gen, Frozen, and Venia twice before falling to Dabuz.

#49. NVR | Elegant @Elegant_Matt (NEW)

Elegant had a rough start to Ultimate. Although he managed to get 3rd at SoCal Chronicles, he followed it up with underwhelming major performances and abysmal results at Texan regionals. However, sticking it through with Luigi, he became a completely different monster in the second half of 2019, blowing through Raito, Tsu, and Nicko to get 2nd at The Kid, the Goat, and the Mang0, as well as double eliminating Samsora at Low Tier City 7. From there he continued to build up his resume, taking sets off of yeti, ESAM, ScAtt, Lui$, Goblin, and VoiD to finish the year at second on the SoCal PR, a return to his former glory.

T made a name for himself in Smash 4 as the best Link in the world, and he’s carried that legacy into Ultimate. Putting up solid results in the first half of 2019, he began to break out even more in the second, starting off by taking third at Sumabato SP 5 with wins over three of Japan’s best. The rest of the year continued solidly, taking another set off of Shuton at EGS Cup#2, and he bookended the second half year of Ultimate with twin standout performances at Umebura SP 7 and 2GG: Kongo Saga, between which he gained wins over Nietono, Zackray, Kameme, Choco, and Dabuz.

#47. TG | MuteAce @AcidaceZero (-12)

MuteAce started off the year strong, defeating Zackray at Frostbite and ESAM at Pound before taking his own national title at DreamHack Dallas. However, his summer of Smash saw him plagued with major inconsistency, placing out of top 64 more often than not at the six majors he attended between August and October. However, his regional performances stayed consistent, claiming wins over Stroder, Peabnut, ScAtt, Wrath, and Kola, and in the middle of his drought he managed to blow through Cosmos, Pandarian, and Dabuz to finish in the top 8 at Mainstage.

Zinoto has had possibly one of the most quietly successful years out of anyone in the top 50. Although his major performances have been solid, including wins on Ned, Prodigy, and Jw, it’s the regionals where he really shines, as he rules Michigan with an iron fist, only dropping tournaments to Ryuga and out-of-state invaders; and even then, he’s often able to take a set before finally being overcome. Although he may not be the high-profile top talent he was in Smash 4, Zinoto has shown that he is not to be underestimated.

#45. Armada | Prodigy @Prodigy_Smash (+10)

Prodigy turned heads when he made his run to 13th at Genesis, taking out ImHip, Abadango, FOW, and Dark Wizzy on his way there. Since then he’s continued to show that he’s much deserving of his tag, taking ninth at Mainstage with wins on Nicko and Larry Lurr and having three-set win streaks on both Cosmos and Myran. Despite an unfortunate Kongo Saga where he dropped to ΩRugal, he still managed to finish the year strong by taking GTX 2019 and Super Ascension undefeated, acquiring wins over Lui$, Stroder, Pandarian, Cosmos, and Goblin.

Some people pick up one or two additional characters; Stroder picked up several dozen. His repertoire expanded to include characters as diverse as Luigi, Cloud, Mario, Falco, Little Mac, Wolf, Roy, Joker, Richter, and, of course, Greninja. Even so, he still managed to maintain his results, making strong runs at Evo, Shine, Port Priority, and Mainstage. Although he ended his year with two disappointing major results, he still manages to finish off the year with two top 3 wins and a solid resume.

#43. DNG | Nietono @Ueji1123 (+19)

Nietono, a long time Smash veteran, made waves with his newly picked up Wario at Evo, where he took out Marss, Salem, and Masashi en route to 9th. Although his other performances in the States weren’t as spectacular, he also managed some strong runs in Japan, including a 9th place finish at Umebura Japan Major and a stunning victory at Umebura SP 3, where he took out Lea and Tsu and double eliminated Kameme to take the tournament.

#42. OES | RFang @RFang_SC (+17)

RFang’s resume this year is a slew of peaks and valleys. He has runs such as his 17th at Smash’N’Splash, taking out Mr.R, Elegant, and Gomakenpi; 3rd at Super Local!, defeating ScAtt, Kola, and Peabnut; 4th at Tri-state Showdown, defeating Jakal, Wishes, and LeoN; and of course his monster run at The Big House 9, where he took out Trela, WaDi, Pandarian, and Light en route to a stellar top 8 finish. At the same time, his performances at tournaments like CEO, Evo, and DreamHack Atlanta show that there’s still some room to develop for consistency, but RFang has proven that he has what it takes to step up to the next level.

#41. Demise | Nicko @2Scoops_Nicko (NEW)

At the forefront of SoCal’s new wave of defenders is Nicko. Considered a top 2 Shulk in Smash 4, he’s carried that legacy through Shulk’s new buffs into Ultimate, and it’s paid off. His first true breakout came at the Thunder Smash 2 Invitational, where he defeated Dabuz, VoiD, and Salem to get 5th place. He later cemented his status as a top player with his second place finish at Port Priority, defeating yeti, Prodigy, Stroder, and Captain L as well as double eliminating Dabuz. Months later, he won three regional/national level tournaments back to back in GENESIS: BLACK, Play With Heart, and the UCI x GameChanger Charity Tournament, claiming victories over Pandarian, VoiD, Big D, Elegant, and Rivers along the way.

#40. 3D | Gen @GenFNY (+11)

This year, Gen laid claim to being one of the best of Tristate’s many Palutenas, and his results back it up. Throughout the lifespan of Ultimate so far he’s put up strong results, both in region and out, with a laundry list of local victories and a strong resume of major results. Although he’s taken some unfortunate losses in region, it’s to be expected with his attendance, and as the year went on Gen’s consistency became one near unmatched by any other Tristate player. Notably, this year he’s up 7-1 on Sinji and an undefeated 3-0 on Light.

Even though KEN placed a paltry 65th at Umebura Japan Major, followers of the Japanese Smash scene knew that he was still a major threat in the area. In fact, as time went on, it became clear that his UJM result was just a fluke, as he pumped out top 8 result after top 8 result and gathered wins over ProtoBanham, Zackray, Lea, Kome, Tea, Tsu, Shuton, T, Kuro, and even foreign invaders Cosmos and MkLeo, the latter of whom he astoundingly double eliminated at EGS Cup. Unfortunately, his trip to the United States for Kongo Saga didn’t go as well as people had hoped, but it’s no stretch to say that KEN is still the force that he was in Smash 4.

#38. TSM | Leffen @TSM_Leffen (+18)

Leffen, carrier of the ultimate gamer genes, has proven himself as a top contended in yet another fighting game. Of particular note is his incredible consistency, having very few losses outside the top 100, and of course his long list of impressive victories, includng WaDi, Maister, Puppeh, TSM teammate Tweek, and of course, Salem. Leffen ended the year emphatically by taking DreamHack Winter over players such as Space and Mr.R. Despite all of his derision on Twitter, Leffen is clearly an incredibly strong contender, and Melee fans around the world are crossing their fingers for him to continue his momentum through the years to come.

#37. TG | Raito @raito_ssb (+2)

Although Raito started his year rough with a 13th place at Midwest Mayhem Ultimate followed by placing 65th at Sumabato SP 1, he persevered, and it paid off. His next visit stateside earned him a second place finish at Come To Papa 3, where he took out MuteAce, Goblin, and ScAtt before falling to MVD. From there his results kept on building up as he placed 3rd at Umebura Japan Major and Albion, followed by a stunning 5th place finish at Evo where he took out Shuton, Maister, and Dabuz in one fell swoop. Raito has continued to prove himself as the best Duck Hunt, period, and with his new sponsorship deal allowing him to travel even more, expect greater and greater things from him in the coming years.

#36. DA | Sinji @Sinji93 (-3)

There’s no two ways about it: Tristate is stacked. At the forefront of his region’s metagame is Sinji, who made a name for himself at the tail end of Smash 4 and has continued through to Ultimate. Sinji has made deep runs at majors up and down the East Coast, taking sets over players such as Myran, CaptainZack, Cosmos, Sonido, and VoiD, as well achieving as a handful of top 8 placements, and when he’s not traveling you’ll find him at one of Tristate’s many regional events, where he’s taken tournaments over some of the region’s best.

Riddles quickly established himself as one of the best Belmonts in the world with his strong performances in region and wins over players such as Secret and Mr. E. This all came to a head at Super Smash Con, where he not only defeated Laid, Pandarian, BestNess, and Dabuz en route to 13th, but also used his hyper-aggressive Ken to take MkLeo to a nailbiter of a last stock set. With the release of Terry, he switched over completely and has quickly taken the title of best of that character as well, with wins on Blacktwins13, Lui$, and quiK.

Wishes has staked his claim as one of the strongest players in his region and one of the best Pokémon Trainers in the entire world. Between his strong results in region, where he’s taken sets off of Rivers, LeoN, Gen, The Great Gonzales, and even Tweek, to his stellar performances at majors, holding no less than four 9th places under his belt, Wishes is a player to be feared. Even his small character crisis didn’t have a big impact on his results and granted him with several other tournament-ready characters that he can pull out at any time.

#33. TG | MVD @MVD731 (-12)

MVD has traveled more this year than any player can reasonably be expected to, and he has the results to show for it. Starting off with a win at Don’t Park on the Grass, MVD has continued to consistently put out strong results, claiming top 8s at Frostbite, Pound, Albion, Low Tier City, and Port Priority as well as excellent victories at smaller tournamens such as Come To Papa 3, End of The Line 7, and the Thunder Smash 2 Invitational. Although it’s often pointed out that many players below MVD have a win on him, it’s telling that he can be the recipient of so many upsets and still maintain his position as a strong contender and a win that any player would be happy to have on their resume.

The competition was fierce, but Lea emerges as the best Greninja of 2019. One of the four great Japanese Greninjas in Smash 4 alongside Some, Shiki, and Oisiitofu, Lea was the only one that was truly able to transfer his momentum into Ultimate, and it has paid off. After a respectable 7th place at Umebura SP 2, where he defeated ietono and kept and was double eliminated by ZAKI, Lea wowed at Frostbite, taking sets off of VoiD, WaDi, and Blank on his path to 9th place. He continued with his strong performances throughout the entire year, capping it off with an astounding run at Kongo Saga, where he defeated Goblin, Sonix, Wrath, and the three top Olimars, Dabuz, Shuton, and Myran, en route to 7th.

#31. The Great Gonzales @GreatGonzales (-1)

Tristate is stacked, plain and simple. Sitting quietly near the top is The Great Gonzales, who maybe doesn’t have the same volume of results as his Tristate brethren, but still digs out a spot high on the rankings. Alongside a strong local resume, holding a 2-0 record against Gen and a 3-3 record against Wishes, he boasts an amazing 13th place finish at Smash’N’Splash 5. Hot off a victory at the pre-major tournament over Blacktwins13, 8BitMan, and Gomakenpi, The Great Gonzales ran through ScAtt, Gackt, Seth, Skilly, Blacktwins13 again, and even Tweek on the way to a top 16 finish.

#30. dB | yeti @yetiyana (+2)

yeti quickly emerged as one of the Midwest’s strongest players right off the bat by holding on to a tournament win streak, eking out victories over invaders such as Larry Lurr and Maister. Following it up with a 9th place finish at Genesis dispelled any uncertainties as to yeti’s skill level. Since then, he’s continued to put up strong results both in region and out, including taking a strong 3rd place at Port Priority 5, claiming wins over Nicko, Pandarian, and Maister (who he’s now an even 4-4 with) on his way to Winners Finals.

#29. MVG | Dark Wizzy @Dark_Wizzy_ (+16)

Despite all the time he spends on Twitter, Dark Wizzy is a force to be reckoned with and has established himself as easily the best Mario in the world. He’s carried his upward momentum from the tail end of Smash 4 into Ultimate, and his stock has only been rising. Of particular note is his Thunder Smash 2 Invitational performance, where he defeated ESAM, VoiD, MVD, and Larry Lurr as well as double eliminated Dabuz, and his 4th place finish at DreamHack Atlanta, defeating Cosmos, LeoN, Suarez, and Goblin on his way there. He also boasts strong records on some of the best players in his area, being 2-3 with Dabuz, 2-2 with Light, and 2-1 on Raffi-X.

#28. Armada | Myran @MyranSSB (-9)

Myran started the year incredibly strong, taking 9th at Genesis, 3rd at Frostbite, and 2nd at Pound, and building up a laundry list of wins such as Marss, Light, Samsora, Shuton, Gen, Wishes, Dark Wizzy, WaDi, and MVD. However, the coming months saw him falter, as he missed top 32 three majors in a row and then took 25th at each of the August events, suffering bad losses and unlucky brackets all the way through. Although Myran hasn’t been able to reclaim the position he held in the first half of 2019, he’s still very much a threat, and as an Olimar loyalist since Brawl there’s no one better equipped to make that comeback.

In Smash 4, Wrath was a player that rarely made an appearance, but when he did, he made waves. Ultimate is no exception, as Wrath continued to assert his dominance as one of the best Sonics in the world, pairing it off with an incredibly strong Joker as well. In addition to a first place finish at Off The Rails and placing 7th at DreamHack Atlanta, what’s notable about Wrath is that he doesn’t really have bad losses; in fact, he’s only lost to two players outside the top 100 all year, and only five outside the top 50. Although he hasn’t been the paragon of activity, Wrath’s strong results at the tournaments he does attend cement his status as one of the best players in the world.

#26. MVG | Salem @9lives_Salem (+1)

Salem’s opinions may be questionable, but his skill certainly isn’t. Although he has a bit of a reputation for bustering out at the largest tournaments, Salem still has a laundry list of strong results that tend to go under the radar. His 5th place performance at Pound, for example, saw him attain wins over Zinoto, Pelca, Mr. E, Muteace, ANTi, Larry Lurr, and even MkLeo, and his MomoCon run took out Ryuga, Light, and Dabuz before falling in top 8. He is also one of only a few people to win majors this year, taking away the first place trophy at Port Priority 5 with wins over Nicko, yeti, Stroder, and BestNess. In terms of set records, he’s 1-2 with Light and Dabuz, 1-1 with MkLeo, and a dominant 6-0 up on MVG teammate Dark Wizzy.

The final 25 releases tomorrow, on the third. See you then!