Introduction

Hello! I am Barnard’s Loop. As with last year, there is an early-year, Mid-Spring Top 25 to provide as an update to see how the metagame is going. Today, we’re finishing off the Top 25 with 15-1!

This covers January 1st-May 1st of 2018, for 4 total months of events used.

Methodology

Full methodology is provided in this google document:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TEgOvHAidVpIbo1lt6Z-kXAZ4MRazbNu13czheuBp4o/edit?usp=sharing

Qualified Players

A full list as of May 1st is provided here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nd3v-TJGLG04c2Xmeum2xqpMeu3qZqHAIc0YZzvz6vA/edit?usp=sharing

This will not be updated and I will make a second one that will be perpetually updated as new people qualify. As Umebura 32’s top 24 qualify by my rules and the Top 64 of GOML 2018 will qualify as well as BAM 10’s top 4 as a bonus qualifier for Australia, May will be busy.

The new Sheet will be made either by the end of the month or after E3, as the future of how OrionRank is managed largely depends on when in 2018 Smash 5 will release. I do not intend to do a Late Summer ranking if the release date is prior to November and will likely opt for a Top 100 after whatever last major event occurs if Smash 5 releases in the September/October/early November range.

Various Disclaimers

As this covers the first four months of the year and prior to the explosion typically seen in the Summer, variance is extremely high. Certain players may score very high short-term but may fall off as the year goes on, while disparity between regional and national performances may have a heavy effect on where a player places.

This also means that who a player fought is particularly important. High placements may be at least partially assisted by brackets that may be “easy” in comparison to their peers at an event, and when you mix this with the low number of events thus far, small things can have a major impact.

I will be able to answer most questions pressed if you feel a particular player is oddly placed, but keep in mind that less data can produce weirder results.

Format

As Freezie is currently unavailable for graphic work, I will be using player pictures and providing information dotted below the pictures. I’m not sure how this will translate for mobile users (please provide feedback!)

If any player images I have provided are copyrighted and the original photographers do not approve of me using them, contact me on Twitter of via my email (provided in contacts) and I will replace them. I attempted to avoid explicitly copyrighted images and primarily pulled from SSBwiki, youtube thumbnails, and twitter pictures.

Without further ado…

#15 – bc | Mr. R

Score: 449

Prior Rank: 9th (-6)

Best Win(s): Samsora, Cosmos, Elegant

Peak Placements: 9th, GENESIS 5 | 5th, Frostbite 2018

Main(s): Sheik

Sponsor: beastcoast (bc)

Region: Netherlands (Europe)

Mr. R retains his title as the best Sheik, remaining a consistent threat in 2018. He hasn’t taken sets off of the top 5 – yet – but the significant elevation of players like Samsora and Cosmos make his win record look impressive.

With less-than-frequent attendance, it’s difficult to know where Mr. R will end up by the end of the year – however, he remains a consistent threat capable of taking the game’s new guard head-on.

#14 – Marss

Score: 461

Prior Rank: 12th (-2)

Best Win(s): Dabuz, Samsora, Salem, Light

Peak Placements: 17th, Frostbite 2018 | 3rd, Collision XV | 1st, Immortal Tech

Main(s): Zero Suit Samus

Secondary: Captain Falcon

Sponsor: N/A

Region: New England

New England’s long time king got serious competition within the last year, and he hasn’t exactly traveled much. Despite that, his ranking dip was minimal, as large amounts of competition has flooded into the Northeast this year with devastating results for many of the people who ran into Marss.

Most notably, Marss went on an extended loser’s run at Collision XV that saw him continue his near-perfect streak over Salem, alongside a long awaited win on Dabuz.

#13 – MVG | Light

Score: 466

Prior Rank: 36th (+23)

Best Win(s): Nairo, Dabuz, Samsora, Salem

Peak Placements: 17th, Frostbite 2018 | 2nd, Collision XV | 13th, Switchfest

Main(s): Fox

Sponsor: Most Valuable Gaming (MVG)

Region: New England

A point difference of 5 separates Light and Marss, making the question of who’s the best between the two a difficult one. In terms of strict numbers, Light edges out Marss this season through his stunning performance at Collision XV, where he unexpectedly defeated both East Coast titans Nairo and Dabuz.

#12 – falln

Score: 479

Prior Rank: 43rd (+31)

Best Win(s): Raito, WaDi, Lima

Peak Placements: 7th, GENESIS 5 |9th, Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas | 3rd, Noods Noods Noods: Oakland Edition

Main(s): Rosalina & Luma

Sponsor: N/A

Region: Southern California

While always a national threat, GENESIS 5 confirmed that SoCal’s hotbed of talent was slowly encompassing the top level. As well as one of the better major regions among players in his league, falln also has been fairly dominant at regional level events, taking 3/4 of the ones he’s attended.

A large number of SoCal events – such as weekly events- were not used in the ranking. However, as a testament to falln’s skill, he eclipsed his peers on the SoCal Power Ranking, going on a dominant winning streak that resulted in him being PR’d #1. This has clearly been reflected in his national results.

#11 – Cosmos

Score: 537.5

Prior Rank: 29th (+18)

Best Win(s): Tweek, Larry Lurr, WaDi

Peak Placements: 7th, Frostbite 2018 | 5th, Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas | 3rd, Glitch 4

Main(s): Corrin

Sponsor: N/A

Region: Midwest (Ohio)

After moving from Texas to the Midwest – at the time the best region in the world – Cosmos quickly became a mechanism of the Midwest’s dangerous, complex hand that reigned over Smash 4 as the best region of 2017.

Now, he’s the region’s second best player, all with Corrin, proving the potential of a character that long seemed to be underutilized despite the tools at her disposal.

#10 – MSF | Larry Lurr

Score: 591.5

Prior Rank: 7th (-3)

Best Win(s): Fatality. Abadango, Raito, falln

Peak Placements: 3rd, Switchfest | 5th, NicoNico Tokaigi 2018 | 7th, Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas

Main(s): Fox

Secondaries: Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong

Sponsor: Misfits Gaming (MSF)

Region: Southern California

Despite a slip from underwhelming performances, Larry reminded everybody why he’s the best Fox at Switchfest, with a clean run over many common fixtures at top level brackets.

With a few in-between wins on big-name players even at his weaker events (such as his win over Fatality at EGLX), Larry has held on to his top 10 status with a promising future ahead of him.

Switchfest may be turnaround for SoCal’s old titans between both Larry and VoiD performing exceptionally at the event.

#9 – Liquid MVG | Salem

Score: 617

Prior Rank: 3rd (-6)

Best Win(s): Fatality, Captain Zack, komorikiri

Peak Placements: 3rd, GENESIS 5 | 4th, Frostbite 2018 | 7th, Collision XV

Main(s): Bayonetta

Sponsors: Team Liquid, Most Valuable Gaming (MVG)

Region: Florida

While Salem has maintained himself as a top 10 player due to a series of consistent performances at events, his best wins reveal his current trouble – getting big wins. GENESIS 5 could be written off at the time since his placement was still excellent, but by the time Battle for Vegas rolled around it became evident that his season was not panning out how many expected it too.

Still, Salem is the most recent EVO Champ, and it’s well understood that he has the potential for #1 with his vast number of accomplishments in Smash 4. We’ll have to see where he goes from here – other players have turned around worse records pretty quickly.

#8 – Samsora

Score: 618

Prior Rank: 24th (+16)

Best Win(s): Tweek, Larry Lurr, Light, Marss

Peak Placements: 9th, Frostbite 2018 | 7th, EGLX 2018 | 7th, Switchfest

Main(s): Peach

Secondary: Rosalina & Luma

Sponsor: N/A

Region: Inland/Gulf Southeast (Louisiana)

After around a year and a half of consistently being ranked in the 20s, Samsora broke down the barrier. As of 2018, he is a top ten player – and a fixture of top 12s at major events with Peach, a character long believed to have had significant potential.

While his ranking was built on a number of different performances, his run at Switchfest was probably his most memorable, defeating Tweek after having lost in a nailbiter set at EGLX.

#7 – WaDi

Score: 630

Prior Rank: 17th (+10)

Best Win(s): Dabuz, Mistake, ESAM, Lima

Peak Placements: 2nd, EGLX 2018 | 9th, Frostbite 2018

Main(s): Mewtwo

Secondary: R.O.B.

Sponsor: N/A

Region: MD/VA

After MD/VA’s long time struggles and shuffling of top players, WaDi appears to have emerged as the region’s absolute peak. He has taken the title of best Mewtwo from Abadango in the last year, and built up an impressive repertoire of wins that culminated into an extremely good run at EGLX 2018 that secured him a top 10 spot.

He’s accompanied this with good wins at regionals as well, taking big wins over Dabuz and Mistake at Mason Versus: Mr. E and Glitch 4.

#6 – YP | Fatality

Score: 654

Prior Rank: 19th (+13)

Best Win(s): Dabuz, Salem, Cosmos, Samsora, WaDi,

Peak Placements: 5th, Frostbite 2018 | 4th, Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas

Main(s): Captain Falcon

Secondaries: Corrin, Jigglypuff

Sponsor: Team YP (YP)

Region: Atlantic Southeast (Georgia)

Fatality’s early year neckbreaker from 2017 didn’t get him a top 10 spot, but this year, he’s established himself to be as deadly as ever with a myriad of quick sets featuring his utter domination over high level opponents.

His major performances are split between 2 17ths and two top 6 placements, but his best runs are unforgettable and elevate him higher than he’s ever been, with just a bit of assistance from his stellar run at King of the Springs 3. At this event, we saw him defeat WaDi, Samsora, Cosmos, and Dabuz in one fell swoop to place 2nd.

#5: EMG | Mistake

Score: 1217.5

Prior Rank: 23rd (+18)

Best Win(s): Nairo, Dabuz, Salem, Fatality, WaDi

Peak Placements: 2nd, GENESIS 5 | 3rd, Frostbite 2018 | 3rd, Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas

Main(s): Bayonetta

Secondary: Zero Suit Samus

Sponsor: Even Matchup Gaming (EMG)

Region: Ontario (Canada)

With our first member of the top 5, you may notice the enormous gap in scores between #5 and #6. While a top 5 is often a concept that can be easily broken by one or two events, the points amassed at this level of play is truly elite, and would take a huge push from any player to break.

Mistake became one of these elites through his extremely consistent track record at 2018 events, starting with a band at GENESIS 5 that saw the best loser’s bracket run of the year, amassing wins over WaDi, Salem, Nairo, Dabuz, and many more.

#4 – P1 | Tweek

Score: 1320

Prior Rank: 6th (+2)

Best Win(s): Dabuz, Mistake, Fatality, WaDi, Mr. R

Peak Placements: 1st, EGLX 2018 | 2nd, Frostbite 2018 | 1st, King of the Springs 3

Main(s): Bayonetta

Secondaries: Cloud, Donkey Kong

Sponsor: Phoenix 1 (P1)

Region: Midwest (Ohio)

Acting as the best Midwestern player upon ZeRo’s retirement and determined to be #1, Tweek opened with a massive salvo at Frostbite 2018 by fully running Bayonetta at the event. This reveal surprised many, but proved to be largely successful for Tweek in the following months.

Possibly the best Bayonetta player at the moment, GOML pending, Tweek’s only blemish is an underperformance at Switchfest where he lost to Raito and Samsora for 9th.

#3 – Dabuz

Score: 1448.5

Prior Rank: 5th (+2)

Best Win(s): Tweek, Mistake, MKLeo, Cosmos, Light

Peak Placements: 1st, Frostbite 2018 | 1st, Midwest Mayhem 11 | 5th, GENESIS 5

Main(s): Rosalina & luma

Secondary: Olimar

Sponsor: N/A

Region: Tristate (New York)

2017 foreshadowed a potential #1 candidate in Dabuz.

Despite some brief stumbling versus Bayonetta, he got a foothold by the time Frostbite came around and managed to conquer a Bayonetta-heavy top 8 to win the event. This is his first major event win of the year, and his first since his successful win at The Big House 7.

Notably, he narrowly triumphed over his greatest demon – MKLeo – at Midwest Mayhem 11, later going on to win the event after defeating Zinoto.

#2 – NRG | Nairo

Score: 1475

Prior Rank: 2nd (No movement)

Best Win(s): MKLeo, Mistake, Salem, Larry Lurr

Peak Placements: 1st, NicoNico Tokaigi 2018 | 1st, Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas | 1st, Collision XV

Main(s): Zero Suit Samus

Secondary: Bowser

Sponsor: NRG eSports (NRG)

Region: Tristate (New Jersey)

With a race for the gold in effect after ZeRo’s retirement, long-time resident of the absolute top level Nairo was seen as a primary candidate. Splitting the seasons, you could’ve possibly made an argument that Nairo was #1 after Battle for Vegas, but his clean record over MKLeo turned into an all out war at Switchfest where MKLeo’s Cloud came back into play.

Despite that, Nairo has an impressive record, both against Bayonetta players (including long time demon Salem) and MKLeo, whom he currently leads in sets 4-3.

#1 – FOX MVG | MKLeo

Score: 1526.5

Prior Rank: 4th (+3)

Best Win(s): Nairo, Dabuz, Tweek, Mistake

Peak Placements: 1st, GENESIS 5 | 1st, EVO Japan 2018 | 1st, Switchfest

Main(s): Marth, Cloud

Secondaries: Bayonetta, Meta Knight, possibly more

Sponsors: Echo Fox (FOX), Most Valuable Gaming (MVG)

Region: Mexico City (Mexico)

In the exhaustive race for the throne, MKLeo appears to be quickly ascending.

His lead is slim – one set win for Nairo over a top 10 player at a major would push him into the lead – but the return of Leo’s Cloud at Switchfest has secured him the #1 spot in a pre-GOML metagame.

The man-of-many-mains has also picked up Bayonetta as an option, using it to success at Battle for Vegas against falln and Fatality, and also managing to employ it to success against Tweek – a player that had given Leo quite a bit of trouble.

GOML could change everything, as all of the top 5 are within striking distance of one another. However, MKLeo has come out on top in the first 4 months of 2018.

See you next time!