Introduction

Day 1 of OrionRank 2019 demonstrated a large quantity of foreign talent, showing the growth for the scene that Ultimate has provided. While day 2 will mark more stories from various different countries & regions, it also sees some of the more consistent threats from 2019 come into play.

#75 – HIKARU

Once the best Donkey Kong, HIKARU quickly shifted his game plan early on. He initially ran with a Wario co-main to his DK, but later picked up Pokemon Trainer, and currently has a host of strong secondaries – including a Luigi. Currently, he is the top Trainer in Japan, and made waves at EVO 2019 by placing 17th.

#74 – Umeki

The long-time Umebura series TO had a great start to the year, consistently nabbing solid placements with solid losses on board. At Umebura Japan Major, he stunned everyone with an abrupt win that ended MKLeo’s losers bracket life. While Umeki had a shaky mid-year, he started to close things back at the end, with solid performances at Umebura SP6 and 2GG: Kongo Saga.

#73 – Zinoto

The Midwestern legend returns to Ultimate – this time, primarily as a Peach player. While best known for his Diddy Kong in Brawl and Smash 4, his Diddy has been turned into a strong secondary option. Though he lacks top 20 wins, his loss profile is impressive, and he made an impressive run at The Big House 9 to place 13th.

#72 – kept

After Ranai’s departure from the scene, the Villager metagame had a hole left in it. Kept – a little-known Villager from Japan – slowly built a reputation as a strong player late into Smash 4. By the time Ultimate rolled around, kept quickly because one of the most dangerous contenders in the world, easily snatching the #1 Villager title after his phenomenal run at Super Smash Con 2019.

#71 – Etsuji

After being a top player in Brawl and Smash 4, it comes as no surprise that Etsuji has made a successful transition into Ultimate. He was very consistent across the year, piloting both Lucina & Palutena to great success. However, his best event – by far – was his incredible run at EGS Cup 2, where he defeated six top Japanese players – including Zackray & Shuton.

#70 – Captain L

Captain L cracks the top 100 this year as one of the few Pikachu mains on the list. While the perceived top tier is rare, Captain L has proven since Smash 4 to be second only to ESAM in his skill with the character. In addition to Pikachu, he used Pichu frequently, and has strong low-tier secondaries in Kirby & JIgglypuff. Across the year, he netted various wins on the top 100, peaking with his win on WaDi at Frostbite 2019.

#69 – Puppeh

One of a few MD/VA breakouts this year, Puppeh went from an upper level Sheik in Smash 4 to one of the best Pokemon Trainer players in the world after a decisive run at CEO 2019. There, he racked up wins on Nairo, Abadango, ESAM, and Samsora, losing out only to MKLeo and Marss. This ended up being the strongest Trainer run this year excluding Tweek’s mid-year performances.

#68 – Wrath

Sonic initially saw a drop off in the metagame. While he hasn’t recovered to his Smash 4 heights, Wrath is one of several Sonic players this year to do well. His event pool was limited, but he won the superregional Off The Rails and notably defeated Tweek at DreamHack Atlanta.

#67 – Flow

France’s #2 and Europe’s best active Roy, Flow is currently one of Europe’s biggest threats. The high quantity of French regionals has given him the opportunity to collect a lengthy list of wins, including two on Glutonny and seventeen on various top European players.

#66 – Sonido

Georgia’s strength continues to be represented by Sonido, another Sonic main. A dedicated Sonic player since Brawl, Sonido kicked off his first year in Ultimate with an impressive Come to Papa 3, where he defeated Samsora.

#65 – RFang

The Carolinas have slowly developed into a strong region over the last 2-3 years, and RFang is one of the leading competitors from the region, still maining Pichu. Despite a lot of skepticism after he was voted into Summit 2, RFAng quickly went onto place Top 8 at The Big House 7, taking a reverse 3-0 over Light and a close 3-2 win over WaDi.

#64 – Larry Lurr

Long-time SoCal legend Larry Lurr has had a mixed year. While some lows battered his potential to be top 50 for the year, he still clawed to a fairly high position by taking a lengthy list of wins from regional & national talent, culminating in an unexpected but critical set win on Marss at Thunder Smash 3.

#63 – Lui$

NorCal has greatly improved in Ultimate, and Lui$ – once an on-the-rise Mario main in Smash 4 – is one of their best assets. Now a Fox main, Lui$ has made a number of excellent runs in 2019, sporting a 4-5 record versus the top 20. His peak run was at Super Smash Con 2019, where he utilized his Olimar experience against players like Klaatu to be able to defeat Shuton.

#62 – Tsu

While Tsu is mostly known for being the best Lucario, he has built up an impressive collection of secondaries in 2019. He’s said the character is lackluster, and recent local events in Japan may indicate a shift to the recently released Terry. Nonetheless, Tsu has taken a healthy collection of wins in 2019, including a handful of top 100 American players and numerous top Japanese players.

#61 – Blacktwins13

Ontario’s highest ranked player this year, Blacktwins is a carry-over top player from Smash 4. This time, he’s maining a new character – Pichu. The glass cannon character has proven beneficial, as his win profile in strong, both against the Ontario field and against the United States, where he’s taken peak wins such as Goblin, Elegant, and Stroder. He still retains Mario as a strong pocket character.

#60 – S1

This Europe-bound Ness player has managed to take wins off of nearly every top European player. Not only is he the continent’s strongest Ness player, but he’s the only Ness in Ultimate to place top 8 at a Supermajor (Albion 4.)

#59 – NAKAT

NAKAT’s characters have varied greatly over the years between games, but he’s stayed a fairly consistent top 50-level threat. This year is no different, with him defeating a large quantity of depth players in the U.S., peaking with a surprise win over Nairo at Smash N’ Splash 5.

#58 – 8BitMan

Florida’s signature R.O.B. player starts off Ultimate on a strong foot. South Florida’s proximity to strong regions has given him plenty of opportunities for in or near-region set wins, but he’s also once of the most well-traveled players on today’s post, attending 8/9 of the year’s biggest supermajor events.

#57 – ScAtt

Another in Georgia’s seemingly endless talent pool, ScAtt is here to remind people that Mega Man has more than one signature main in the Smash scene. Additionally, he has used Snake to great success this year, making him a particularly tricky player known for his zoning & trapping skills. This has netted him a respectable 3-8 record versus the top 20, but also an even stronger profile of 19-24 against the top 100.

#56 – Choco

Kanto’s signature ZSS – active since Brawl – ranks lower than one might expect due to very limited attendance. Nonetheless, his 17th this year is the first time he’s placed outside of the top 16 of an event in several years, and this still came with a Shuton win. Choco’s consistency in reaching the edges of major events ensures a strong win profile, and demonstrates why his panel ranking of 19 is so high.

#55 – Gackt

Gackt, like many Japanese players in years’ past, was often close to the top 100. When Ultimate was released and Umebura events began to rapidly grow in scale & size, however, he no longer needed to rely exclusively on American performances to build up a collection of good wins. His scattered wins & consistent placements over 2019 have placed him solidly within the top 100.

#54 – Kome

Shulk’s ascension in Smash 4 proved immensely beneficial for any of the character’s dedicated specialists in Smash 4. Kome, one of Kansai’s absolute strongest, made definitive waves at 2GG: Switchfest as the first Shulk to place both top 8 and top 4 at a major, taking Marss, WaDi, and Shuton wins on his way.

#53 – Nietono

This man of many characters was an early adopter of Pichu, and became the only player to ever win an Umebura without dropping a game. Later in the year, Nietono would blast through EVO 2019, employing Wario with the thought process that tools like waft would provide the volatility needed to go far in the event. This ended up being the case when he narrowly beat Marss in Winners Top 32.

#52 – Fatality

Georgia’s legendary Falcon main has gone the distance in 2019. While the Falcon nerfs proved to make things a struggle, Fatality has held on with a large quantity of good wins that pushed him across the finish line and kept Falcon represented in the metagame.

#51 – Suarez

It hasn’t been discussed much, but Yoshi’s metagame in the transition from 4 to Ultimate has been one of the biggest shifts in top level play. Once a character relegated to almost no success, we now have a collection of strong Yoshi mains that are in or near the Top 100.

Suarez leads the pack, placing consistently well across the year, taking good losses, and racking up a good set of wins over much of the East Coast’s strongest threats.