SSBMRank 2023: 60–51
Melee Stats is proud to present SSBMRank 2023! Since Melee It On Me started SSBMRank in 2013, the Smash community has kicked off the year by celebrating and recognizing some of the greatest talents in the game. This year’s rankings reflect the grit and perseverance that our competitors have embodied over the last twelve months, and we hope you’ll join us in honoring those players and moments that have made 2023 such an incredible year.
We polled 29 community figures to rate each ballot-eligible player based on their performances throughout 2023. These panelists span a wide range: top players, tournament organizers, writers, analysts, and more. Each panelist rated each player with a value between 1 and 120, and then each player’s rating was aggregated to a single value based on their distribution of votes.
#60: Smash Papi | Rating: 55.78
One of the most mindblowing tournament victories of 2023 has to be the first-place run of Luis “Smash Papi” Rangel at the Midwest regional Shield Drop. At an event featuring a gauntlet of Top 100 Midwest talent and multiple out-of-region Top 50 players, Smash Papi somehow showed up to school TheRealThing, Free Palestine, and Flash, winning the tournament without dropping a set. It was proof of the longtime veteran’s seemingly timeless ability to sporadically appear at an event, barely break a sweat, and then disappear.
The secret: a focus on fundamentals, with his Fox showcasing a solid bedrock that leads to consistent performances no matter the timing or location. But it’s not actually a secret; earlier this year, Smash Papi had released a short video literally entitled “SSBM Fundamentals,” in which he also breaks down each of Melee’s three basic states (neutral, punish, and edgeguard). While his attendance at majors seems perpetually up in the air, keep an eye out if you do see him on the registration list. Even if’s been a long time, Smash Papi will always give smashers something to look out for.
-Zane “epengu” Bhansali
#59: Lunar Dusk | Rating: 56.51
They say history repeats itself: and for Jean-Christophe “Lunar Dusk” Léger-Héroux, his 2023 eerily reflected his 2022. Like the year before, 2023 also started off with him vanishing after his first major, only to reemerge with a stunning upset over a top spacie player at Get On My Level — this year’s victim being Soonsay. Then, once again, he triumphantly defeated Magi at Shine 2023, echoing his victory over her at the New England major the year prior. No matter how much the Melee meta changes, some things just stay the same; such as Lunar Dusk ending yet another year on the Top 100.
However, there’s one huge difference this year: Lunar Dusk’s growing reputation as a monster in loser’s bracket. He’s had a few local events where he drops an early set (sometimes with a secondary), and then tears through the entire bracket as if nothing happened. This resilience showed at The Big House 11, where he recovered from an early upset in his first set of Round 2 pools, beating salami and Slowking in a seven-set loser’s run for 33rd. His ability to shake off early losses and take down top 50 players after periods of inactivity reminds us of something we’ve known since wobbling was legal: the Ice Climbers are really good at making comebacks.
-Justin “DarkGenex” Cohen
#58: KoopaTroopa895 | Rating: 56.79
If you encounter Alex “KoopaTroopa895” Plasencia in the comfort and safety of the real world, he seems like a nice enough guy: earnest, friendly, always joking around and laughing. It seems reasonable enough that he used to play Mario, but now has found some significant success with Marth — he might strike you as offbeat enough to play a mid tier, but committed enough to competition to eventually switch to a top tier. But ask anybody who plays with him regularly, and you’ll be assaulted with horrific descriptions like “the most evil player in the world,” or “a player who stomps on his opponents like they are bugs.”
A self-proclaimed “good noodle normal Marth” lovingly referred to as “KoopaThanos” by his SoCal compatriots, Koopa has accumulated the severed heads of many of the most prized trophies in Melee: Medz and KoDoRiN at Saving Mr. Lombardi 4, Zamu at LACS 5, and billybopeep at Wavedash 2023. As part of the Melee Stats Free Agent Showcase in 2023, Koopa finally took the first step in actualizing a great force of evil long-prophesized by SoCal Melee: KoopaTroopa895, if he could travel.
-Eryk “Ambisinister” Banatt
#57: billybopeep | Rating: 58.94
In part due to a temporary Melee Stats sponsorship, Jeffrey “billybopeep” Palmer broke his long hiatus to attend events. He began the year with a strong silver medal showing at the Black Empowerment Melee Invitational 2023, where he took sets over the likes of Shroomed, Flash, and Salt, only to then earn a huge victory over Polish at Super Smash Con 2023. For that matter, in the six total tournaments he entered, billybopeep boasted nine overall ballot wins, frequently showcasing the ability to consistently defeat world-class players.
However, a fun development in billybopeep’s Smash career has been his pursuit of coaching. His knowledge of the game and willingness to share that knowledge with other players shows how much he wants to share his experiences and perspectives with other players. Although billybopeep has certainly made his competitive mark on the game, it will be fascinating to see how his newfound role as a coach could potentially shake up the scene.
-Michael “Wills” Wills
#56: Azel | Rating: 59.20
The idea of a Melee prodigy conjures the image of a cracked Zoomer spacie possessed of a technical proficiency that betrays their birth millennium. For a while, that was the story of Joseph “Azel” Resplandor, a one-time Falco phenom who switched to Fox, later picked up Sheik, and most notably within the last year, picked up Marth. It’s a remarkable transformation for NorCal’s prodigal son, rendering him a unique, mercurial danger in a sea of hungry players. With wins over rising stars like SDJ, Swift, and Spark, he’s shown it by the results too.
NorCal has another reason to cheer for Azel: he’s a modern-day standard bearer of their longtime doubles legacy. With Zuppy as his teammate, Azel notched a stunning doubles major victory at The Big House 11 over Joshman and Plup. When Azel faced Plup in singles at that same tournament, it ended up a game-five heartbreaker where Azel was one missed ledgedash away from making the upset. If Azel can keep his Fox playing at this high of a level while bringing the rest of his characters up to speed, he could continue evolving at a terrifying pace.
-Zane “epengu” Bhansali
#55: TheRealThing | Rating: 59.35
It seems strange to describe Jonathan “TheRealThing” Clinton as a hidden boss. After all, this is his fourth inauguration into a year-end SSBMRank. However, the number next to his name never fully explains how much of a wild card he actually is. The story seems to be the same every season; TheRealThing goes to maybe two big events, disappears like smoke, and just as you start to forget his presence, he reappears like The Grim Reaper to collect all the souls he missed while he was gone. This year, those names included the likes of mvlvchi, Khryke, Professor Pro, Bbatts and, most notably, Joshman at The Big House 11.
In fact, at that same tournament, Cody Schwab was one game from being eliminated by none other than TheRealThing himself. Think about that for a second: one of the greatest loser’s runs and the victory that inspired “The Match,” was on the verge of being erased from the history books. At the rate he’s going, there could be a day where TheRealThing may have a chapter dedicated to himself.
-Glenn “KayB” Kim
#54: Eddy Mexico | Rating: 59.56
The idea of Eduardo “Eddy Mexico” Lucatero Rincón playing someone who isn’t Luigi is like if Steve, from Blues Clues, suddenly showed up with a leather jacket instead of a green collared shirt. He’s an annual mainstay of competitive Melee tournaments, and yet, we didn’t actually see much of Eddy this year at supermajors. The only one he attended was Genesis 9, where he beat Sirmeris and Stiv. However, what would happen six months later at Smash Factor X, Mexico’s premier national, would shock the world.
Let’s get right to it: he beat Mang0. It didn’t come at a bar local, it didn’t come when Mang0 was about to pass out on his controller, and it didn’t involve secondaries. Eddy Mexico’s Luigi straight up defeated Mang0’s Falco in a legitimate best-of-five. By defeating Mang0, Eddy not only guaranteed another year on the Top 100 — he locked in his place in Melee history as the greatest Luigi main of all-time. With further success at regionals throughout the rest of the year, and yet another big win vs. MOF at Santa Paws, it seems like the story of Eddy Mexico is nowhere close to finished.
-Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
#53: Drephen | Rating: 59.82
Wasn’t Drew “Drephen” Scoles supposed to be retired? Despite taking a step back from traveling last year, the legend of Columbus, Ohio has still clocked in yet another showing on the Top 100. Boasting a positive or even record over all but two players ranked beneath him on the Top 100, he also has many great wins this year, having defeated each of Chem, KJH, Ben, and Khalid. In the past, an untrained eye may have once roughly thought, “all he does is grab.” But how about beating Grab, the player, at The Big House 11?
It’s amazing that Drephen is still present after more than a decade of competing. A working man, father, and husband, he’s also a positive member of his local community, as well as a great role model for how to balance Melee with real life obligations. From the days of beating Mew2King to ending Hanky Panky’s reign of terror to still whipping the young guns of the game, Big Dreph continues to inspire us all.
-Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
#52: Colbol | Rating: 61.18
The fame of Colin “Colbol” Green’s name is known across the land, as Colbol remains a perennial veteran of the scene. Every tournament featuring him is just that much more special to watch, in part due to how he’s taken a step back from traveling as much as he used to, but also in part due to his dominance of Georgia. He also routed every invader who dared to enter his territory, ending the SSBMRank 2023 season with wins over MOF, Mekk, and Joshman. Even on vacation in Florida, he schooled Panda and Krudo at Spiral Esports’ Soul of Smash.
In the bigger picture, 2023 marks Colbol’s ninth consecutive appearance on the annual Top 100. Many players who make SSBMRank once tend to be satisfied at having done so and consider it the apex of their career. However, by making the list yet again, Colbol is one of a select few to have ever made each edition of the Top 100. Some things never change.
-Michael “Wills” Wills
#51: Matteo | Rating: 61.58
One year ago, Matteo Caglioti barely squeaked onto the Top 100 rankings at the very last spot. Today, his Twitter bio points out that he was the only player to beat both “Dr. Scorp” and Scorpion Master at Genesis 9 before it lists his recent summer rank, #47. It’s a cute joke that reveals something critical about Matteo’s mentality: he’s been here before. Defeating Mang0’s secondaries is a badge of honor not everyone can claim. Making the Top 100 ranking, however, is just expected at this point.
Forged in the fires of Ontario, a region swarming with fast fallers, Matteo is that rare Captain Falcon player who licks his lips at the sight of a space animal bracket. Take his monster run at BODIED, where he tore through the spacie gauntlet of Ginger, KJH, and Skerzo en route to a second place finish. Matteo’s no slouch in other matchups either, having defeated Palpa’s and Faust’s Jigglypuffs as well. When he’s not making his fellow Canadians hoot and holler over his gameplay, you can usually see — or hear — Matteo going crazy over his friends playing at another setup.
-Zane “epengu” Bhansali
The SSBMRank 2023 Team
Director: Brendan “GimmeDatWheat” Malone
Editing Lead: Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
Data Lead: Eryk “Ambisinister” Banatt
Graphics Lead: Nick “DarkDragoon” Konstantino
Check out start.gg/SSBMRank to follow along with the full list as it releases
