Wow, I haven’t posted here in a long time. Also, I suppose this should technically be the “seven month report” because this ranking starts in December when Ultimate came out… but I digress.

The Rankings

What you all came here for. You can view the entire ranking at bit.ly/EchoUlt2019 (although if you look at it after the weekend this is posted, it will be different)

Click here for the FAQ, including: how it works, why it’s different, and thoughts on why Georgia is too high and Japan might be low

The Rundown

Okay, so there are a lot of players here. For each player, I’ll be listing a couple things:

their tag, characters, team, and region (like in the image above)

their score, which represents their expected placing at a major-level event

a short blurb explaining their year so far

Let’s get started!

#101: Sinai | Pelca (Snake) [New England]

Score: 50.858

Pelca does well in New England and Tristate, racking up a winlist that includes the likes of Sinji, LingLing, Jakal, Gen, and Suarez, and a 9th place finish at Pound is nothing to scoff at. However, 97th places at Glitch, Genesis, and Smash’N’Splash show that he still has room for consistency.

#100: Demise | Pandarian (Pokémon Trainer) [Pacific Northwest]

Score: 49.910

Although Pandarian started Ultimate with mediocre placings in his region, he has become a veritable threat over time, solidifying his spot as an international threat with wins over players such as Stroder, Puppeh, Captain L, Big D, and BestNess.

#99: Strike (Fox, Young Link) [Manitoba]

Score: 48.022

Bad bracket luck left Strike a 33rd and a pair of 65ths at majors after being knocked out in losers by Ally, Myran, and Ned. However, his consistency in region and wins over players such as yeti, Captain L, Puppeh, and Magister allowed him to clinch a top 100 spot.

#98: dyr (Joker, Diddy Kong) [Florida]

Score: 47.489

Despite a still-ongoing character crisis, dyr has managed to pull strong results, especially when you consider his track record at pre-major tournaments: 2nd, 5th, and 1st, defeating Lui$, Sonix, Pelca, Seth, and ven along the way, in addition to wins over Goblin, ScAtt, 8BitMan, and Juice at other tournaments.

#97: Meru (Peach, Daisy) [Netherlands]

Score: 47.149

Meru still hasn’t placed in double digits yet. A pristine top 8 record at European regionals and a strong 9th place finish at Albion adorn Meru’s resume, but he has yet to score the strong wins that will push him further up the rankings.

#96: Megafox (Fox) [Texas]

Score: 45.978

Megafox started Ultimate strong; besides a small misstep at MECHA, he finished consistently top 3 at Texas regionals. However, despite a respectable 25th at Prime Saga, Megafox’s lacking attendance deprives him of the opportunity to achieve strong wins and move up the list.

#95: Klaatu (Olimar) [NorCal]

Score: 45.887

Klaatu hasn’t traveled out of his home state yet, but in the few tournaments he’s gone to, he’s amassed wins on VoiD, BestNess, MattyG, and Aikota. His relative inactivity means that he hasn’t had as many opportunities for the breakout runs that others on this list have had, but his solid performances so far land him the 95th rank.

#94: NCG | Jw (Greninja) [Ontario]

Score: 44.868

Jw turned heads when he defeated MkLeo at Pound on his run to 9th, but he’d already been doing well in his home region of Ontario beforehand, consistently making top 6 at the regionals he attended. Although his other major performances haven’t been as impressive, Canada’s premier Greninja has proven that he has what it takes to take down anyone in the world.

#93: Venom (Ken, Ridley) [Quebec]

Score: 42.340

Although Venom hasn’t been to much, when he does show up, expect good things. Wins on Dark Wizzy and Riddles at nationals, coupled with dominant performances in region, solidify Venom’s spot at 93rd.

#92: Armada | Ned (Pokémon Trainer, Chrom) [Midwest]

Score: 40.191

Ned’s consistent if quiet performances at Midwest regionals established his skill floor, but what really put him on the map was his strong run at Frostbite, defeating Marss and Kameme en route to 17th.

#91: djb | Laid (Lucina) [New England]

Score: 39.664

One of New England’s best, Laid balances decent out of state performances with strong ones at regionals closer to home. Strong runs include a solid 4th at Overclocked Ultimate and a stellar second place at Push The Limit 2, where he defeated Marss, Light, and LingLing.

#90: Lui$ (Fox, Dr. Mario) [NorCal]

Score: 39.333

Lui$’s consistency is nothing to sneeze at. 33rd placings at Genesis, Frostbite, and Prime Saga adorn his resume, and a strong run to 17th at Smash’N’Splash tops it off. Along the way, he’s accrued wins over Captain L, ESAM, Sparg0, and EKING.

#89: Grip | Space (Inkling, Joker) [Netherlands]

Score: 37.872

Space’s strong record in Europe include multiple first places and wins over Supahsemmie, Meru, iStudying, and S1, among others. A somewhat disappointing performance at Albion lands him just inside the top 90, but with further tournament appearances, Space is guaranteed to move up the rankings.

#88: BlazingPasta (Peach) [Tristate]

Score: 37.258

BlazingPasta began Ultimate by winning Smashadelphia Ultimate and Reality Royale IV back to back. Continued strong in-region performances and decent out of region ones, including wins on MVD, 8BitMan, Mr.R, and most of Tristate’s best, solidify him as one of Tristate’s elite.

#87: UtopianRay (Palutena, Joker) [Tristate]

Score: 36.426

UtopianRay is nothing if not consistent. 13th at Collision, 17th at Glitch, Frostbite, and Pound, and 33rd at Suplex City Smash, Smash’N’Splash, and CEO make for a solid list of results. However, talent-sparse brackets and intense regional competition keep him from landing further up in the rankings.

#86: LingLing (Peach) [New England]

Score: 36.196

The definition of fiend, LingLing’s activity in both New England and Tristate as well as the occasional roadtrip across the eastern United States mean that his tournament record is as diverse as it is long. His strongest performance is easily his 17th at Pound, taking wins over ESAM, ANTi, and CaptainZack before falling to Leffen in losers.

#85: AP | Goblin (Roy) [Florida]

Score: 36.167

Goblin, Florida’s premier Roy, suffered underwhelming performances at the beginning of the game’s lifespan. However, since then he’s been very solid, racking up wins on players such as Kameme, 8BitMan, ScAtt, Blacktwins13, and Pandarian.

#84: HPT | Seth (Yoshi) [Midwest]

Score: 35.391

Despite less than stellar performances at Glitch and Frostbite, Seth makes up for it with consistent top 8s at Midwest regionals, most notably a strong gold at Second City Smash over the likes of yeti, Ned, and Ravenking.

#83: Africa | Jakal (Wolf) [Tristate]

Score: 35.262

Tristate seems to have a bottomless supply of top talent, and Jakal is no exception. Jakal’s strength lies in fighting his local scene, having wins over Tristate hitters like Shoyo James, The Great Gonzales, Gen, Frozen, and Mr E, as well as neighbors Marss and Raffi-X.

#82: Umeki (Daisy) [Japan]

Score: 34.368

Umeki puts up solid performances no matter if he’s at American majors or the Umebura series that he runs. In true Japanese fashion, his stunning win over MkLeo at Umebura Japan Major was followed up by finishing… 25th. Japan is wild.

See the FAQ for more info on Japan’s presence on EchoRank

#81: Gomakenpi (Olimar) [Midwest]

Score: 34.061

Although Gomakenpi hasn’t gone very far from his home state of Michigan yet, he’s managed to get wins over players such as Cosmos, Ned, and Big D. Interestingly, after defeating yeti at Frostbite, he then went on to get a paltry 65th place. Later majors, fortunately, have drawn longer runs.

#80: GoTE | Vinny G (Snake) [Florida]

Score: 33.101

Apart from a somewhat rocky start, Vinny G has put up solid performances in region, boasting strong records against local players such as Tachyon and 8BitMan. Respectable placings at MomoCon and CEO solidify his top 80 status.

#79: BxA | Tachyon (Pichu) [Florida]

Score: 32.618

Tachyon began the year strong with a solid 25th place at Frostbite and wins over Salem, Sonido, Larry Lurr, Goblin, Morpheus, and Wrath. Recent majors, unfortunately, have not been as kind to him, failing to make top 64 at MomoCon or CEO, but it’s only a matter of time before he bounces back.

#78: Sparg0 (Cloud) [Mexico]

Score: 31.805

Sparg0’s career in Ultimate echoes MkLeo’s in Smash 4: a young Mexican prodigy using a strong but underrated sword character. Unfortunately, Sparg0’s first majors weren’t nearly as impressive as Leo’s, but solid performances at Genesis and Prime Saga as well as an amazing 17th at CEO, defeating Sinji and Myran, suggest that Sparg0 may be on his way to his own ZeRo Saga.

#77: T1 | Larry Lurr (Falco, Wolf) [SoCal]

Score: 31.604

Although Larry Lurr’s December was punctuated by strong results and wins over VoiD, Ally, Nairo, Light, and Cosmos, he’s failed to replicate them at majors since then. Even so, he’s still a formidable threat to any player, picking up additional wins over Captain L, Fatality, Prodigy, Lui$, and Blacktwins13 throughout his extensive tournament appearances.

#76: T1 | ANTi (Mario, Lucario) [Tristate]

Score: 30.340

ANTi’s career in Smash 4 was characterized by inconsistency, and Ultimate is no different. Alongside underwhelming placings at Genesis and CEO, he’s managed to pick up wins over MVD, ESAM, Sinji, and Awestin, as well as an impressive 2nd place finish at DreamHack Dallas.

#75: Demise | ZD (Fox) [MD/VA]

Score: 30.249

ZD started Ultimate incredibly strong. Consecutive top 8 finishes at Let’s Make Moves and Glitch were accompanied by wins over Marss, Salem, Ally, and CaptainZack. Even as his placings fell, ZD continued to demonstrate his strength by beating players such as Tweek, zackray, and CaptainZack.

#74: CACAW | Big D (Ice Climbers, King Dedede) [British Columbia]

Score: 30.158

Although he doesn’t have the same major results as fellow BC native Captain L, Big D has managed to keep a stronghold on his region, consistently taking out players such as Captain L, Pandarian, and Pokepen en route to strong 1st or 2nd places at Pacific Northwest regionals.

#73: Tsu (Lucario, Joker) [Japan]

Score: 29.729

Although Tsu’s Frostbite came nowhere near his 2016 debut, his other stateside appearances have been solid, and his performances in his home country have been as great as always. His best run so far is a strong 5th place finish at Umebura Japan Major, acquiring wins over the likes of zackray, Kirihara, Nietono, and Abadango.

See the FAQ for more info on Japan’s presence on EchoRank

#72: Ho3K | Frozen (Palutena) [Tristate]

Score: 28.373

Frozen is unlike his Tristate teammates in that his ranking comes not from farming wins at regionals, but at a stellar run to third place at Collision, taking out Light, Tweek, and Cosmos before falling to eventual 1st and 2nd place finishers Marss and Nairo.

#71: TGS | Captain L (Pikachu, Pichu) [British Columbia]

Score: 28.110

Although Captain L’s resume in region may not be as strong as fellow PNW players such as Big D and Pandarian, he makes up for it with strong, consistent major attendance, with wins over players such as WaDi, ScAtt, Fatality, Mr E, Meme, and Jw.

#70: BAA | Phantom (Palutena) [New England]

Score: 27.477

Phantom has quietly racked up a strong enough resume to land in the top 70. Of particular note is a strong run at Pound, taking out Mr.R, Ryuga, and Laid en route to 13th place. Regionally, his results include additional wins over players such as Mr E and Pelca and a solid 4th place finish at Overclocked II.

#69: Wrath (Sonic, Joker) [Georgia]

Score: 27.391

Wrath, alongside putting up strong results at Georgia regionals and continuing his Wi-Fi legacy, rides strong wins over Sonido, HyperKirby, and RFang and solid losses to the most coveted spot on the rankings.

See the FAQ for more info on Georgia’s presence on EchoRank

#68: SNB | Abadango (Inkling, Palutena) [Japan]

Score: 27.049

Even despite a serious character crisis, Abadango hasn’t faltered too much. His performances so far have been solid, with strong performances such as 5th at Umebura SP 3, 3rd at EGS Cup, and 1st at Just Roll With It! 11.

See the FAQ for more info on Japan’s presence on EchoRank

#67: ImHip (Olimar) [SoCal]

Score: 27.032

ImHip, like many of the Olimar loyalists from Smash 4, was rewarded with the substantial buffs that Ultimate brought. His resume includes incredibly strong performances at regionals, including a first place at LVL Up Expo over FOW, BestNess, and MastaMario, as well as solid runs at majors with wins over Glutonny, Salem, and Sparg0.

#66: NB | Ryuga (Ike) [Midwest]

Score: 26.881

Ryuga’s run to 9th place at Frostbite was phenomenal, taking out players such as MVD, Goblin, Captain L, and Salem on his way there. Although he hasn’t been able to replicate this run, respectable losses and strong regional performances solidify his position at #66.

#65: SSN | Riddles (Richter) [Ontario]

Score: 26.684

Riddles, the world’s best Belmont main, put up strong results in region before ever making his way to the main stage, including taking two sets off of SDX at Revenge of the 6ix: February. Suffering a difficult bracket at Pound, losing to Nairo and Suarez for 33rd, he bounced back with a solid 13th place finish at Get On My Level, defeating Mr E and ANTi along the way.

#64: Sonix (Sonic) [Dominican Republic]

Score: 26.135

Sonix turned heads at his singular major appearance when he took zackray to game 5. Although he ultimately lost, his Genesis trip netted him wins over ANTi, Eon, Klaatu, and Regi Shikimi; it’s only a matter of time before one of his infrequent trips to the continent results in a stunning win over one of Ultimate’s finest.

#63: BCe | Juice (Zero Suit Samus, Falco) [Tristate]

Score: 25.847

Although Juice’s first few weeks of Ultimate were a little underwhelming, continued activity in one of the strongest regions in the world helped him regain his mojo. He currently boasts wins over players such as LeoN, The Great Gonzales, Mr.R, Dark Wizzy, and Shoyo James, as well as wins at Tristate regionals such as Battle Subway and The Forge S2E1.

#62: DNG | Nietono (Pichu) [Japan]

Score: 25.675

Although Nietono’s Genesis ended at a mediocre 49th, a strong run at Umebura Japan Major and a stunning win at Umebura SP 3 brings him to 62nd, with wins over players such as Kameme, Lea, Tsu, and Umeki.

See the FAQ for more info on Japan’s presence on EchoRank

#61: ET Gaming | EKING (Pac-Man) [Puerto Rico]

Score: 25.420

EKING has had only a couple of continental appearances, but those he has had have brought him wins over Myran, Blank, and Epic_Gabriel. Back at home, he’s a Grand Finals staple, boasting a dominant record over everyone except for fellow ET Gaming member Xeon.

#60: T (Link, Young Link) [Japan]

Score: 24.690

T blew through everyone’s expectations in Smash 4 on his path to third place at Civil War. Although he hasn’t had a run of quite the same caliber in Ultimate, his win list, featuring players such as Marss, Tea, Shuton, zackray, Ned, and Fatality, suggest that it’s only a matter of time until another astounding major performance.

See the FAQ for more info on Japan’s presence on EchoRank

#59: OeS | RFang (Pichu) [Southeast]

Score: 23.680

Even though RFang had a quiet winter and spring, his appearances through late May until now include a strong 17th place finish at Smash’N’Splash and wins over Mr.R, Sonido, Gomakenpi, Fatality, and Salt One.

#58: EMG | Blacktwins13 (Pichu) [Ontario]

Score: 23.564

Blacktwins13’s record in the Ontario scene is astounding, boasting a multitude of first place finishes at a number of regional events. His major appearances show that this isn’t just a fluke, with wins over players such as Stroder, The Great Gonzales, and 8BitMan alongside his extensive list of local victories.

#57: Supahsemmie (Young Link) [Netherlands]

Score: 23.530

Supahsemmie’s first place finish at Elysium: Yggdrasil put him in the same tier of European talent as Meru and Space, both of whom he defeated at that event. Since then, he’s accrued additional wins on other top European talent, such as iStudying, Loading…, and cyve, as well as a strong run to ninth place at Albion 4.

#56: TSM | Leffen (Pokémon Trainer, Pichu) [Sweden]

Score: 23.311

Leffen’s foray into Ultimate proved his status as one of the best fighting game players in the world, defeating Seagull Joe and Kofi and pulling a dominant upset over WaDi at Genesis 6. Although his attendance has been spotty due to his focus on other games, he’s still very clearly a threat, no matter how low his seed might be.

#55: Armada | Prodigy (Mario) [NorCal]

Score: 23.047

Prodigy turned heads at Genesis 6 by placing 13th, defeating Dark Wizzy, FOW, Abadango, and ImHip along the way. Although his performances slipped a little under his newfound fame, recent tournaments have included wins over Myran, Stroder, Cosmos, BestNess, Fatality, and Goblin as well as another major 13th place finish at CEO.

#54: Demise | Mr E (Lucina, Chrom) [Tristate]

Score: 22.570

Mr E’s attendance is nothing short of ridiculous: over the 31 weekends that Ultimate has been out, he’s attended 26 of the EchoRank recorded tournaments, and that doesn’t include the smaller regionals and weeklies that he’s gone to. It’s no surprise, then, that his win list is as extensive as it is, boasting sets over Wishes, LeoN, Shoyo James, Myran, The Great Gonzales, and MVD; and that’s just the top 30.

#53: NA | sinnyboo242 (Inkling, Sheik) [Midwest]

Score: 22.398

sinnyboo242 rides a string of strong regional performances to just outside the top 50, including a win at Be Mine? where he double eliminated prime yeti. At his one major appearance at Smash’N’Splash, he got wins on Tyroy and Bankai and lost to Blacktwins13 and Marss, a decent record that didn’t bring his score down as much as singular majors for other players with sparse attendance.

#52: AMG | 8BitMan (R.O.B.) [Florida]

Score: 22.232

At his best, 8BitMan is a force to be reckoned with, and has accrued wins over Salem, Shoyo James, Cosmos, Sinji, and Captain L. Although his frequent attendance has sometimes resulted in disappointing performances, his highs come much more often than his lows, and he’s solidified himself as a strong contender at any tournament.

#51: Ho3K | Gen (Palutena) [Tristate]

Score: 21.758

Gen is another of Tristate’s immense talent pool. Frequent attendance both in and out of region has built up a strong resume with wins over Light, ZD, Sonido, Zinoto, and most of Tristate’s finest. Among his various accomplishments are a second place finish at Bum’s Birthday Bash, defeating Light, Sinji, and Mr E, and wins at Scarlet Classic V and Guardian I.

#50: PA | CaptainZack (Daisy, Bayonetta) [Southeast]

Score: 21.655

Despite the nerfs to Bayonetta, CaptainZack has continued to represent the witch alongside his old main in Peach (and Daisy, who is basically the same character). His major performances have been up and down, with 49th and 65th placings at Glitch and Frostbite matched by incredible runs into top 16 at Genesis and Smash’N’Splash, racking up wins over Nairo, Ally, Salem, Wishes, Dark Wizzy, and Goblin.

#49: BC | Mr.R (Snake, Chrom) [LoFT House]

Score: 21.260

Forces outside of Mr.R’s control prevented him from entering Ultimate tournaments until March, but he immediately proved that his skill hadn’t left him by defeating ESAM, ZD, and Larry Lurr at Ultimate Nimbus. Since then, he’s racked up wins over MkLeo, Suarez, NAKAT, and Captain L and attended a myriad of tournaments across the world.

#48: Puppeh (Pokémon Trainer, Wolf) [MD/VA]

Score: 20.865

Puppeh’s run to winners semis at CEO is one of the greatest strings of upsets so far, taking out Abadango, ESAM, Samsora, and Nairo on his way there. Before then, however, Puppeh had already put up several solid performances, such as first place finishes at Just Roll With It! 10 and Tech Chase Ultimate and wins over Suarez and NAKAT.

#47: RCS | Fatality (Captain Falcon) [Georgia]

Score: 20.074

Fatality, Ultimate’s most electrifying player, had a rocky start to Ultimate as he found his character somewhat neutered. However, he persevered, managing wins over players such as MVD, ZD, Mr E, Raffi-X, and most of Georgia pre-patch. With 3.1.0 came even stronger, more consistent performances, taking wins over Kameme, RFang, Raito, 8BitMan, Myran, and Umeki. It’s only looking up from here for the world’s premier Captain Falcon.

See the FAQ for more info on Georgia’s presence on EchoRank

#46: CE | Meme (Yoshi) [Mexico]

Score: 19.727

Meme turned heads when he finished second at TGC Returns, defeating Megafox, Ismon, Hakii, and taking a set off of Trela in grand finals. A strong 25th place at Frostbite with wins over CaptainZack and Germany’s Light showed that this performance wasn’t a fluke, and he continues to be dominant in region with multiple wins over players such as Rox and brother and frequent teammate Joker.

#45: MVG | Dark Wizzy (Mario) [Tristate]

Score: 19.220

Dark Wizzy ascended to become one of the strongest players in the world at the end of Smash 4, and he rides that momentum into Ultimate. Consistently strong placings and wins over the likes of ZD, Nietono, Light, Mr.R, and Peabnut solidify his status as the best Mario and a veritable international threat.

#44: Timor | Raffi-X (R.O.B.) [New England]

Score: 19.059

Even though Raffi-X stays mostly in New England, he’s still able to pick up quality wins and solid placements, including a monster run at Overclocked II where he defeated Laid, Mr E, Suarez, Phantom, and Light en route to second place. Alongside several wins over fellow New Englanders Pelca, DM, LingLing, and MattyG, Smash’N’Splash 5 saw him take out ZD before falling at a respectable 25th place.

#43: SDX (Mewtwo, Joker) [Tristate]

Score: 17.344

Despite numerous nerfs to Mewtwo, SDX continued to put up strong results with the legendary Pokémon, racking up wins on The Great Gonzales, Gen, NAKAT, Abadango, Awestin, Salem, and Mr E. Although he retired after Frostbite, the release of Joker convinced him to return to small Ontario regionals, and it’s hopefully only a matter of time before he returns in full force.

#42: Scr7 (Palutena) [United Kingdom]

Score: 16.725

Although Scr7 put up strong results in region, his true breakout was at Albion 4, where he surpassed all expectations by reverse 3-0’ing MVD in round 2 pools. Taking MVD’s seed and running with it, Scr7 found himself in winners semis, and after dropping a set to Glutonny, he defeated his continent’s former best player in Mr.R to finish at 4th place. Time will tell if Scr7 will emerge as the next great European player, but for now, all eyes are on him and his future tournament showings.

#41: MTS | Suarez (Yoshi) [Tristate]

Score: 16.655

Suarez is often cited as the best Yoshi in the world, and for good reason. Alongside the long list of Tristate wins characteristic of any top player from that region, he has wins over Cosmos, Riddles, LingLing, Laid, Raffi-X, and Pelca. He also hasn’t placed outside of top 32 yet, a considerable feat given his consistent major attendance and the upset potential characteristic of Ultimate.

#40: Typo | Sonido (Sonic) [Georgia]

Score: 16.469

Since the advent of Ultimate, Sonido has been putting forward result after result. Sonido’s accomplishments include 5th at Come to Papa and 17th at CEO, racking up wins over Samsora, ScAtt, EKING, Mr E, Mr.R, CaptainZack, and Wizzrobe. In region, he’s a top 8 staple, having numerous set wins on Salt One, ScAtt and taking second at +2 on Block April with wins over HyperKirby, Salt One, and Wrath.

See the FAQ for more info on Georgia’s presence on EchoRank

#39: Raito (Duck Hunt) [Japan]

Score: 16.221

Although Raito started off with disappointing showings at Midwest Mayhem Ultimate and Sumabato SP 1, he quickly rebounded to his former glory, placing second at Come to Papa and 3rd at Umebura Japan Major, racking up wins on MuteAce, ScAtt, Cosmos, Goblin, Ri-ma, dyr, and Choco, and he hasn’t stopped since. Since then, he’s defeated players such as Dabuz, Abadango, Puppeh, UtopianRay, Larry Lurr, Mr.R, and Tru4, with achievements such as 4th at Sumabato SP 4 and 3rd at The Mang0 and Albion.

See the FAQ for more info on Japan’s presence on EchoRank

#38: TUX | Stroder (Greninja, Joker) [Southwest]

Score: 16.072

Stroder rules Arizona with an iron fist. He’s five for five on Ascensions he’s entered, defending his home state against invaders such as Pandarian, BestNess, and Nicko. Out of region, he’s taken sets off of Tweek, ESAM, Salem, Puppeh, Leffen, and Prodigy, and has put up placings such as 13th at Prime Saga and 5th at Ultimate Nimbus.

#37: Zinoto (Peach, Diddy Kong) [Midwest]

Score: 15.770

Although Zinoto hasn’t been as active on the international scene, he’s been dominant in region, notably taking Ursa Minor 3 while defeating Myran, UtopianRay, and Germany’s Light. He also has wins on MVD, Ned, Venom, Pelca, Gen, and Gomakenpi and his worst loss is dropping an early set to ImHip. There’s no argument that Zinoto is clearly one of the best players in the world.

#36: Maister (Mr. Game & Watch) [Mexico]

Score: 15.241

Smash 4’s best Game and Watch main continues to defend that title in Ultimate. Alongside solid performances at Retro Arena and Full Bloom and dominance in region, he successfully defended his Combo Breaker title by defeating ESAM and yeti twice. With additional wins over MVD, Meme, Ned, Javi, Hyuga, and Rox, it’s no surprise that Maister has landed himself a top 40 spot on this ranking.

#35: MuteAce (Peach) [Florida]

Score: 14.136

MuteAce began his Ultimate career by sending ZeRo back into retirement at Smash Conference United. Since then, he’s been remarkably consistent, placing 17th at Frostbite, Pound, MomoCon, and CEO. He’s dominant in region, placing top 3 at BLITZ! 2.0, Ultimate Gamer Miami, Overlords of Orlando, and Come to Papa, but his crown jewel is his performance at DreamHack Dallas, where he defeated ANTi, ESAM, Awestin, ARMY, and NWA Danbi on his way to first place.

#34: Lea (Greninja) [Japan]

Score: 13.945

Lea hasn’t attended much, but when he shows up, he does well. Top 8 finishes at Umebura SP 2 and 3 are impressive enough, but Lea’s best performance was his run at Frostbite, where he defeated Canada’s Z, WaDi, Blank, and VoiD en route to a 9th place finish. The only blemish on his record is a 25th at Umebura Japan Major, but even then he defeated Lunamado and took respectable losses to Logix and Choco.

See the FAQ for more info on Japan’s presence on EchoRank

#33: DA | Sinji (Pac-Man) [Tristate]

Score: 12.855

Sinji came into his own as a top player at the end of Smash 4, and he continues his dominance into Ultimate. Not only has he performed extraordinarily at the overly stacked Tristate regionals, he has a top 8 finishes at MomoCon and Collision alongside a 9th place at Pound, taking out Cosmos, Myran, VoiD, Shoyo James, The Great Gonzales, Phantom, and Suarez along the way. His constant attendance has inevitably resulted in some underperformances, but overall Sinji shows that he is still building on the legacy he established late in Smash 4’s life.

#32: dB | yeti (Mega Man, Snake) [Midwest]

Score: 12.179

yeti began Ultimate with a tournament win streak, successfully defending his home region from invaders such as Larry Lurr and Maister. At Genesis, he placed 9th, defeating MVD, Leffen, Sonix, Kobe, and Zenyou. Although he isn’t winning literally everything anymore, he’s still dominant in region and has taken victories over Maister, Zinoto, The Great Gonzales, UtopianRay, Strike, and more.

#31: FS | Peabnut (Mega Man) [Southeast]

Score: 12.148

Like his fellow South Carolinian RFang, Peabnut was relatively quiet throughout winter and spring and only reappeared on the national stage starting in May. However, even with his low attendance, he’s acquired wins over ScAtt, Mr.R, Kameme, Fatality, and Sinji and solidified himself as one of the best players in the southeast USA and a premier Mega Man main.

#30: The Great Gonzales (Palutena) [Tristate]

Score: 10.839

You know the drill: Tristate’s stacked. The Great Gonzales is at the top of the list, boasting wins at Northeast Championship 19, Legacy Ch.2, and Platinum Star Smash S2E2 while having sets on most of Tristate’s finest. Not only did he win the Smash’N’Splash Pre-Event Tournament over Blacktwins13, 8BitMan, and Gomakenpi, he managed a strong run to 13th at the actual event, defeating Tweek, ScAtt, Seth, Blacktwins13, and Gackt en route to top 16.

#29: Mazer | NAKAT (Pichu, Lucina) [LoFT House]

Score: 10.167

NAKAT is quite possibly the most well-traveled top player. He’s competed in four continents, with strong performances at Ultimate WANTED #1, Expand Gong, and Umebura SP 3 outside of the Western Hemisphere. Stateside, his crowning achievement is a seventh place finish at Smash’N’Splash 5, where he fought his way from Division 2 through DarkShad, Gen, Stroder, yeti, Nairo, Mr E, and Shoyo James to make it to top 8.

#28: Wishes (Joker, Pokémon Trainer) [Tristate]

Score: 10.019

Wishes, formerly known as justy, was a Smash 4 Bayonetta player who began to turn heads right as Ultimate was coming out. Undeterred, he carried his momentum through games and broke out at Frostbite, defeating Tea, Samsora, Fatality, and DM en route to 9th place. Like any Tristate top player, he has numerous wins over the rest of his local peers, and even amidst a character crisis he managed to place 17th at Smash’N’Splash and 9th at CEO with wins over yeti, Prodigy, and Charliedaking.

#27: MVG | Salem (Snake, Shulk) [Florida]

Score: 9.751

Salem’s opinions may be questionable, but his skill certainly isn’t. Apart from bad bracket luck at Frostbite and Prime Saga, Salem has placed top 24 at every tournament he’s attended, winning Ultimate Gamer Miami and accumulating a laundry list of wins that includes Dabuz, Light, Cosmos, WaDi, Stroder, MuteAce, Ryuga, Umeki, and MVD. His most impressive performance is run at Pound, where he overcame an early loss to Shyguy and tore through Larry Lurr, Zinoto, ANTi, MuteAce, Mr E, Pelca, and MkLeo before ultimately losing to Samsora for fifth.

#26: AG | WaDi (R.O.B.) [MD/VA]

Score: 9.386

WaDi, the world’s best R.O.B. main, has continued his Smash 4 dominance with a new game and a (sort of) new character. Top 8 performances at Glitch and CEO and strong runs at MomoCon, Thunder Smash, Prime Saga Kickoff, Heart of Battle, and the Goodwill OC Invitational prove that WaDi is still very much a threat, and even when underperforming he manages to pull wins off of players such as Dark Wizzy, Frozen, Magister, and Lima.

#25: MVG | ScAtt (Mega Man, Snake) [Georgia]

Score: 9.350

As one of Georgia’s top players, ScAtt goes close with the rest of his state’s top talent, including HyperKirby, Salt One, Fatality, and Sonido. Out of state, his performances are consistent, with his best performance being his ninth place at Smash’N’Splash, where he defeated NickC, Myran, 8BitMan, Salem, and CaptainZack before falling to frequent practice partner Wizzrobe.

See the FAQ for more info on Georgia’s presence on EchoRank

#24: KEN (Sonic) [Japan]

Score: 8.166

KEN, although somewhat inactive, has maintained his position as one of Japan’s finest. Of particular note are his third place at Umebura SP 3, where he defeated ProtoBanham, Lea, Cosmos, HIKARU, and Gackt, and his win at EGS Cup, taking sets over MkLeo, Abadango, zackray, Kuro, Etsuji, and yuzu. Although he had a disappointing Umebura Japan Major, his overall performances show that KEN is still a threat to be reckoned with, despite his low attendance.

See the FAQ for more info on Japan’s presence on EchoRank

#23: Tea (Pac-Man) [Japan]

Score: 7.926

Tea has demonstrated a staggering level of consistency in a region known for its completely inconsistent results. His only double digit placing remains his 13th place at Frostbite, where he defeated Marss, Dabuz, and NAKAT. In Japan, he has yet to place outside of top 8, taking wins over Shuton, Raito, T, ZAKI, Gackt, Shogun, Kome, HIKARU, and Atelier, among others.

See the FAQ for more info on Japan’s presence on EchoRank

#22: R2G | Kameme (Mega Man, Wario) [Japan]

Score: 7.904

Kameme began his Ultimate career with respectable though somewhat underwhelming performances at Umebura SP 2 and Frostbite. However, he quickly turned that around, and hasn’t placed outside of top 4 since. Aside from a second place at Umebura SP 3 and a fourth at Just Roll With It! 11, Kameme has finished in first place at Umebura Japan Major, The Mang0, and 2GG: Grand Tour SC. Along the way, he’s racked up wins on Tea, Raito, ProtoBanham, KEN, Abadango, Sonido, Tsu, and Salt One.

See the FAQ for more info on Japan’s presence on EchoRank

#21: WBG | MVD (Snake) [Oklahoma]

Score: 7.898

With the return of his Brawl main, MVD immediately became one of the premier Snake players in the world by winning Don’t Park on the Grass. His resume is littered with strong performances: 4th at Smash Conference United, 13th at Genesis, 7th at Frostbite, 7th at Pound, and 1st at Come to Papa. Unfortunately, he seems to be prone to upsets, having taken losses to JeBB, colinies, BlazingPasta, ANTi, and Scr7 since Ultimate began. Nevertheless, his continued strong performances and extensive tournament attendance keeps him high on the list.

#20: ProtoBanham (Lucina) [Japan]

Score: 7.831

ProtoBanham is a name that emerged in Japan at the tail end of Smash 4. Coming into Ultimate, he placed 25th at Umebura SP 2, but the rest of his tournament record is the more exciting bit. After getting fourth at Umebura SP 3, where he took out Abadango, Umeki, and Gackt, ProtoBanham proceeded to make it to grand finals at Umebura Japan Major, defeating Raito, Cosmos, Tea, Tsu, Ri-ma, Choco, and more on his route there. His singular stateside appearance at CEO 2019 landed him wins on WaDi, Peabnut, and Vinny G, and he was notably the only player to take MkLeo to last game. It’s easy to see that ProtoBanham is the newest in a long line of Japanese hidden talent.

See the FAQ for more info on Japan’s presence on EchoRank

#19: Armada | Myran (Olimar) [Florida]

Score: 7.391

Myran, an Olimar loyalist since Brawl and a top Smash 4 Olimar, started Ultimate with a bang, placing 9th at Genesis 6 and then a tremendous 3rd at Frostbite, defeating Shuton, Light, Wishes, WaDi, Gen, Larry Lurr, Big D, and Prodigy along the way. He continued this momentum into a third place finish at Ultimate Gamer Miami, an unusually strong 17th place at Prime Saga, where he beat Marss and CaptainZack, and a phenomenal second place at Pound. Although he’s since suffered minor setbacks due to Olimar nerfs and a sandbagging Samsora, Myran is still undoubtedly a threat to be reckoned with.

#18: GW | zackray (Wolf, R.O.B.) [Japan]

Score: 7.277

zackray turned heads immediately by winning two Japanese nationals back to back, with Sumabato SP 1 and Umebura SP 2. He followed this up with a stunning fifth place at Genesis, taking wins over Light, Sonix, Sonido, and K9sbruce. As the year went on, he continued to place well despite trying out a myriad of characters, taking fifth at Summit, second at Prime Saga, seventh at Umebura Japan Major, and third at Sumabato SP 5. Along the way, he’s taken sets off of almost all of Japan’s best, as well as Dabuz, Nairo, Ally, Mr.R, and VoiD.

See the FAQ for more info on Japan’s presence on EchoRank

#17: SpS | LeoN (Bowser) [Tristate]

Score: 6.893

LeoN, the world’s best Bowser, attracted some attention when he defeated Nairo at Suplex City Smash, but his true breakout performance was at Smash’N’Splash 5, where he defeated Cosmos, RFang, and Blank en route to 9th. He’s done equally well in his home region of Tristate, taking wins over Wishes, Shoyo James, The Great Gonzales, UtopianRay, Juice, and Jakal, and securing first place finishes at Amalgamation and Platinum Star Smash S2E3.

#16: PG | ESAM (Pikachu) [Oklahoma]

Score: 6.866

Although ESAM’s Don’t Park on the Grass and Glitch were decent, his seventh place finish at Genesis, taking out Tweek, yeti, and Ally along the way, signaled the start of a strong Ultimate career. Apart from a Peach problem that has followed him forever, ESAM has consistently put up amazing results: 2nd at Ultimate Nimbus, 1st at Battle of BC 3, 3rd at Get On My Level, and 9th at CEO alongside wins over MkLeo, Nairo, Cosmos, Ally, Light, Salem, Stroder, Mr.R, Sonido, Riddles, and MuteAce.

#15: FS | Salt One (Cloud, Roy) [Georgia]

Score: 6.575

Out of the twenty-three tournaments I have recorded for Salt One, he’s placed first more often than not. Only consistently dropping sets to HyperKirby and ScAtt, Salt One is a key part of Georgia’s elite and has numerous wins on the rest of his region. Although he hasn’t traveled much, and his MomoCon was hampered by an early DQ, his performances at Just Roll With It! 11 and 2GG: Grand Tour SC show that it’s not just his state that he’s good against: wins over Abadango, Tsu, Puppeh, and Peabnut prove otherwise. Alongside a three-set win streak on ANTi, Salt One has shown himself to be one of Georgia’s best and potentially the strongest Cloud in the world.

See the FAQ for more info on Georgia’s presence on EchoRank

#14: Shoyo James (Chrom) [Tristate]

Score: 6.385

Shoyo James has consistently shown up at majors throughout his Ultimate career. At Frostbite, he took 9th place, defeating MuteAce, Pelca, HIKARU, and coming out on top in Chrom’s hardest matchup against VoiD, ESAM, and DM. Subsequent 7th and 9th place finishes at Get On My Level, MomoCon, and Smash’N’Splash, alongside a strong winlist and a dominant record at regionals, land Shoyo James at a top 15 spot for the first half year of Ultimate.

#13: PG | Cosmos (Inkling) [LoFT House]

Score: 6.205

In Smash 4, Cosmos opted for Corrin – a character who, although thought to be high tier, had very few actual results – and became a top 15 player with her. He does that again here with Inkling. Apart from a 17th place finish at Don’t Make moves, Cosmos hasn’t placed outside of top 16, an impressive feat when you consider the number of majors he’s attended. Even in Japan, a country renowned for turning expectations on their heads, Cosmos managed consistent top 8 finishes. Along the way, he’s defeated Marss, Nairo, Myran, ESAM, Lea, VoiD, MVD, NAKAT, ProtoBanham, Light, and Dabuz, among many, many others.

#12: HyperKirby (Roy) [Georgia]

Score: 6.125

HyperKirby, alongside Salt One, is part of Georgia’s top two. Although he can be slightly more inconsistent, his skill is nothing to scoff at, and through the EchoRank dataset he holds winning records on almost all of Georgia, even only against Benny&TheJets (1-1). Although his singular major performance was a mediocre 33rd at MomoCon, his performance in region against the heavy hitters of Georgia prove that HyperKirby is not a player to be messed with.

See the FAQ for more info on Georgia’s presence on EchoRank

#11: CLG | VoiD (Pichu) [SoCal]

Score: 6.100

VoiD is the world’s top Pichu, and for good reason. Apart from being dominant in region, he has a myriad of major top eights under his belt, including an especially impressive second place finish at Genesis, where he defeated Samsora, zackray, ESAM, Shuton, and Umeki. Although he seemed to falter a little in the spring, consecutive top 12 finishes at Get On My Level, MomoCon, and Smash’N’Splash suggest that those performances at Prime Saga and Pound were the outlier, not the norm. If only he could stop running into Samsora in bracket…

#10: Rogue | Light (Fox) [New England]

Score: 5.099

Light, living in Connecticut, gets a double helping of strong region practice between Tristate and New England, and it shows. Right from the start he placed third at Glitch, defeating MkLeo and Salem, and followed it up with fifth place finishes at Genesis and Frostbite and an astounding win at Ultimate Nimbus. He continued to appear in top eight at Collision, Suplex City Smash, and Prime Saga, and although he hasn’t quite reached the same heights since, he continues to make strong runs at majors and regionals alike.

#9: Solary | Glutonny (Wario) [France]

Score: 4.951

Glutonny quickly established himself as the best player in Europe by far, but the lack of overlap between regions made it difficult to compare him to the rest of the world. This quickly changed; after a strong Genesis, Glutonny blew all expectations out of the water by finishing third at Summit. Subsequent stateside appearances at Prime Saga and CEO confirmed that Glutonny was among the best of the best. Back at his home continent, Glutonny has dropped a single tournament (Stunfest, to Shuton), successfully managing to defend Europe at Albion 4 over the likes of Dabuz and Raito.

#8: Ally (Snake) [Quebec]

Score: 4.517

#7: SST | Shuton (Olimar) [Japan]

Score: 3.431

Shuton quickly established himself as one of Japan’s finest, placing first at the single-elimination Umebura SP 1 and second at its sequel. However, even his strong stateside appearances at Genesis and Frostbite paled in comparison to his win at Prime Saga, where he defeated Nairo, Tea, and Sparg0 and double eliminated both zackray and Light en route to first. Although he hasn’t ome back stateside since, he’s continued his strong performances in Japan, as well as traveling to Europe to take Stunfest 2019 over Glutonny.

See the FAQ for more info on Japan’s presence on EchoRank

#6: Liquid`Dabuz (Olimar, Rosalina) [Tristate]

Score: 3.344

In Smash 4, Dabuz was noted for his consistency in an upset-heavy game, and he’s carried that trait over. His only double digit placing so far is a 17th place at Frostbite, where he fell to a difficult bracket of Tea and VoiD. Other than that, he’s made top 12 without fail, including 4th at Genesis and CEO, 2nd at Summit and Albion, and 5th at Pound and Smash’N’Splash. Even more impressive is the fact that his worst loss is to either Raito or WaDi, both easily top 50 players. This is a feat that no other player can claim.

#5: NRG | Nairo (Palutena, Lucina) [Tristate]

Score: 3.271

The fact that this is the lowest Nairo has been since the 2014 SSBBRank says it all. Nairo is undeniably skilled, and even though he’s only barely holding on to top 5, he’s continued to be the immense threat that he’s always been. Apart from a pair of 17th place finishes at Genesis and Smash’N’Splash and a 9th at Pound, Nairo is a top 8 staple, and has wins over basically all of Ultimate’s best. Of particular note is his run at Suplex City Smash, where after losing to LeoN in Winners Sixteenths, Nairo defeated Blank, Bankai, Jakal, Dabuz, LeoN, Dark Wizzy, Wishes, and Shoyo James twice to win the tournament in one of the strongest losers runs of Ultimate so far.

#4: eU | Samsora (Peach) [Florida]

Score: 2.737

If there’s anyone more consistent than Dabuz, it’s Samsora, who has yet to place outside of top 16 so far; in fact, among the fifteen tournaments he’s attended, he’s only placed outside of top 8 three times. Unfortunately, despite second place finishes at Smash Conference United and Smash’N’Splash, third place at Genesis, and fourth at Summit, Pound, and MomoCon, Samsora has yet to win a national; the largest tournament he’s claimed first at is Kawaii Kon. Nevertheless, the fact that Samsora keeps pulling in these strong placings means that his major victory is inevitable.

#3: PG | Marss (Zero Suit Samus, Ike) [New England]

Score: 2.711

Marss has been a strong player since Smash 4, but after losing Push The Limit to MattyG and falling at 9th at Let’s Make Moves, very few people would have predicted him to finish in the top 3. Despite the occasional underperformance (Frostbite, Prime Saga), Marss’s highs are higher than they’ve ever been, and he’s become almost a shoo-in for top 4 at any major. Of particular note is his first place finish at Collision, where he defeated Nairo, Dabuz, Wishes, and Frozen, but realistically, most of his other performances are just as impressive.

#2: TSM | Tweek (Wario, Various) [LoFT House]

Score: 2.422

Tweek, coming off of his strong last season of Smash 4, seemed poised to be the number one player, especially after wins at Let’s Make Moves and Glitch over Dabuz, Nairo, Light, and WaDi. Although that’s no longer the case, MkLeo’s sheer dominance now makes it all the more impressive that the #1 spot ever was in contention – and for good reason. Strong wins at Frostbite, Saints Gaming Live, and Get On My Level and consistent high finishes elsewhere show that Tweek is clearly next in line, and given the state of Ultimate, second is an amazing place to have.

#1: FOX MVG | MkLeo (Joker, Lucina) [Mexico]

Score: 1.799

Is anyone surprised? Earlier, in Salt One’s bio, I noted that he had more first place finishes in the EchoRank dataset than not. MkLeo has the same number of first place finishes as non-first place finishes, with a footnote: MkLeo’s attendance is almost entirely nationals and majors. Apart from a 33rd place finish at Umebura Japan Major, MkLeo has finished in top 8 without fail and has taken numerous wins over all of the game’s greatest. Of particular note is his post-Joker period, where he seems to be untouchable, having taken MomoCon, Smash’N’Splash, and CEO back to back without dropping a set. It’s not an argument at this point: MkLeo is the king of Ultimate.

FAQ

How is this ranking any different from other rankings? What’s so special about it?

The premise for this ranking is based on the prompt for the SSBMRank / MPGR:

Imagine if everyone entered a tournament, one hundred times. Who would perform the best?

This is the prompt from 2017, which I’m using here because it’s shorter and matches my implementation more than the 2018 prompt.

In particular, the following apply:

Attendance is almost inconsequential. There is an attendance requirement to prevent players from winning one event, disappearing, and getting top 20, but other than that attending 8 tournaments vs. attending 25 tournaments doesn’t really make a difference if the performances are roughly the same.

Wins and losses are evaluated based on the tournament they are achieved in. In particular, long runs have a diminishing returns effect; the more wins a player gets, the less each win is worth. This is meant to prevent absurd inflation resulting from incredibly long losers runs, and also serves to more accurately depict the importance of wins relative to the player who got them; for example, a player defeating Pelca is a good win, but it is less significant if they also attain wins on players such as Tweek, zackray, and Dabuz over the course of the tournament (no offense to Pelca, of course).

Another feature I implemented that doesn’t seem very common is a continually updating player-skill tracker. My favorite illustration of this is Mistake (now known as tamim) during the PGRv4 season. In the beginning of the season (approximately June 2017), Mistake was coming off of 17th placements at tournaments like Midwest Mayhem 8 and 2GGC: Nairo Saga; noteworthy, but not particularly impressive. At a tournament such as EVO 2017, Mistake could be reasonably described to be a low top 100 player. However, throughout the rest of the summer, he began to amass more and more impressive placings and wins, maintaining single-digit placings from Get On My Level 2017 to Showdown: Battle Royale 2, a period of time that encompassed majors such as Super Smash Con 2017, 2GGC: SCR Saga, and Shine 2017. By GameTyrant Expo 2017, in late September, claiming Mistake as anything below a top 10 player, results-wise, would have been absurd. These two periods of time fall within the same ranking season, but clearly a win on Mistake at EVO 2017 and a win on Mistake at GameTyrant Expo 2017 should not be weighted the same. The EchoRank algorithm takes this into account, using each week’s tournament results to update players’ point values for the next week.

Speaking of which…

What’s up with Salt One and HyperKirby?

Anyone who has eyes will probably note that among the staples of the top 15 are two incredibly surprising names. What’s up with that? Why are they so high up?

The answer has to do with the player skill tracker I mentioned in the last section. Since this ranking began when Ultimate released, I started everyone off at an equal skill level and let the results in the beginning of the year sort themselves out. Unfortunately, this meant that the skill tracker heavily prioritized attendance, which ultimately ballooned a little out of control for Georgia.

Basically, how it works is that every player has a running skill level. When you perform better than your skill level, it goes up a little; when you perform worse, it goes down a little. What this means is that every time you go to an event, your skill level moves a little bit towards your approximate average; thus, since everyone starts at zero, repeated attendance and consistently solid results goes a long way. Georgia, then, became the perfect place to “farm” these points, with an incredibly large amount of tournaments near launch, including the monthly Gwinnett Brawl series, Smash @ the Mountain, Battle and Brew, Dare to Dair, +2 on Block, and several others.

To demonstrate, here are the number of tournaments for a select few players in the first eight weeks of Ultimate (up to right before GENESIS 6):

Ned: 4

The Great Gonzales: 4

ZD: 4

MVD: 3

Captain L: 5

yeti: 3

Light: 6

VoiD: 3

Ally: 3

MkLeo: 3

Tweek: 3

Nairo: 2

Glutonny: 2

Eon: 4

zackray: 2

Shuton: 1

And for Georgia, a noticeably larger attendance record:

Salt One: 6

HyperKirby: 4

Aikota: 5

ScAtt: 6

Sonido: 5

Fatality: 6

And to top it off, the visualization for the skill level tracker:

I’ve highlighted the trajectories of the Georgia players. Here it’s easy to see the effect of attendance on the players’ levels; Salt One (the thick yellow-green line) has a very consistent attendance schedule, indicated by his constant rises; HyperKirby (thick blue) has a similar story. Meanwhile, Samsora (thin red near the top) seems to be keeping up with Salt One initially, but a couple weeks of inactivity leave him in the dust. Even the lower tier of players, such as ScAtt (thick green), Sonido (thick yellow), and Aikota (thick pink) manage solid spots within the top 30 range.

So from the beginning, the algorithm has established that the Georgia players are all very good. This is further sustained by, once again, the number of consistent series in the area such as Gwinnett Brawl, Nerd Corner Knockout, and +2 on Block; the volume of one-off regionals such as Yancey Saga, Knockout 2019, and BigPlay’s Big Bar-B-Q; the occasional strong out-of-state performance from ScAtt, Sonido, and Fatality; and the continued attendance of Salt One, Fatality, ScAtt, and Sonido to literally every tournament in their state.

The biggest reason that this bubble still exists to an extent is the relative isolation of the region’s two best players, Salt One and HyperKirby. As long as they keep beating up on the rest of Georgia and each other, they will continue to push out consistently strong scores. It’s as if New England became completely shut off from the rest of the country and Marss and Light just beat up on each other for all eternity; we know they were both incredibly good before this hypothetical secession, so even though they don’t interact with the rest of the world, playing each other constantly should still keep them fresh. Only by having them play other players can we truly reevaluate their rank.

That’s sort of the logic that the algorithm ended up using, and the only way to really fix it is to either have Georgia go inactive for a while (probably not happening), have tons of majors so that other players can boost their scores, or have Georgia, and more specifically Salt One and HyperKirby, have more tournament overlap with the rest of the world, whether that be out-of-state players coming in or them traveling to other regions. With the summer of Smash coming up, Atlanta on the DreamHack circuit once again, and both Salt One and HyperKirby expressing more interest in traveling out-of-state, hopefully this unexpected bubble will be popped soon.

Also I should probably edit the algorithm so that constantly farming small tournaments doesn’t affect your skill level score as much as going to larger tournaments, but that’s a change that’ll have to be implemented for next year lol

Why are the Japanese players so underrated?

First of all, maybe you’re overrating them.

Apart from that, it’s a combination of three factors:

the algorithm queries for average placing

Japanese players tend to attend Japanese tournaments, where upset potential is high due to best of three variance, inconsistent seeding, and a ridiculous talent depth

when Japanese players attend out-of-country tournaments, they tend to attend tournaments that have a higher skill depth. This means that they face a higher-than-average amount of competition and thus tend to place lower

Players in regions such as North America and Europe tend to be able to pad their resume with strong performances at smaller regionals, but because even Japanese regionals are absurdly stacked, they don’t get this benefit.

Once again, this is another instance where changing the skill level algorithm would be helpful, since Japanese players would have their skill levels bolstered by consistently attending larger tournaments, and then would be able to earn more points by facing each other. Tune in next year to see if this does go according to plan.

Other questions?

Feel free to post them on the Reddit thread (link to profile) or in response to my tweet (link to profile)