SSBMRank 2023: 90–81
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.
#90: Akir | Rating: 33.29
What would you do if you 3–0’d Hungrybox with Donkey Kong? If your answer is to shake your head in disappointment at how bad he was playing, then congratulations — you are Joseph “Akir” Neidig. But though one online set obviously doesn’t count toward rankings, the real results we’ve seen from Akir have nonetheless been a legitimate step forward from previous years of obscurity. Judging by his reaction to accomplishing a unique feat, he too is well aware of his immense potential.
Starting with his first out-of-region appearance at Collision 2023, Akir began the year with an immediate win over Skerzo, then defeating Gahtzu at CEO 2023 in Florida, his home state. But this year, rather than fading away into the ether of online tournaments, as he did in previous seasons, Akir would go on to travel to Texas and Maryland on separate occasions, showcasing newfound drive to pursue Melee. Though winning GatorLAN Fall 2023 back home over Wevans cemented Akir’s spot on the list, the real treat has been seeing more of him at all.
-Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
#89: Fishbait | Rating: 33.94
For several years, one of the scene’s most cracked Peach players was hidden in the mountains of Colorado. With a love for up-air’ing opponents out of their jumps and downsmashing the dirty down-holders of the world, Arman “Fishbait” Little caught many off guard with his surprise appearances in 2023, exiting the year with sets over Chem, Khalid and Stiv. On the surface, it may look like a sudden burst to national relevance for an obscure player.
However, the real story of Fishbait has been one of gradual progress. Having began playing Smash competitively with Brawl in 2009, he’s not your average Slippi kid. Within Colorado, he’s been power ranked in each of Brawl, Smash 4, Ultimate, and Melee, which he started taking more seriously in 2016. He was initially someone you’d see randomly cash in a big win before disappearing, like when he upset Kalamazhu at Genesis 7 and then proceeded to fade into relative obscurity. Four years later though, here he is, with his first appearance on the Top 100. It may have taken some time, but the results show that Fishbait could be on this list for many years to come.
-Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
#88: Slowking | Rating: 35.11
In 2023, David “Slowking” Fuentes ended the year with more than ten regional and major appearances across the Heartland, scoring a bevy of impressive set wins within the Midwest. Up north, he was able to defeat talent like essy, Skerzo, and Mekk, but he had strong out-of-region wins too, having defeated Azel at Wavedash. On the surface, his 2023 season mirrors his 2022 season, in which his heavy attendance within the Midwest and broader travel led to him making the Top 100 for the first time.
Along with his national achievements, the most recent year marks an especially understated milestone: the length of time he’s now ruled his home state of Iowa. As of right now, Slowking’s been number one in the state for five consecutive years, all while still representing it at a top level. It’s a testament to Slowking’s commitment to the game that he continues to put Iowa on the map while still being very much active at home and never forgetting his roots.
-Hank Strandberg
#87: Lowercase hero | Rating: 35.39
Imagine showing up to your first ever local, only to find out that someone else is already registered with your tag. Well, no matter — your doppelganger’s name is fully capitalized, so you ask the TO to use lowercase letters for your entry, since there’s no way he would misunderstand what you meant by that. That was the story of Henry “Lowercase hero” Moser, and several years later, he’s now made his Top 100 debut as Wisconsin Melee’s strongest player since the age of Frootloop.
The self-proclaimed dragon warrior from Madison started off 2023 with a bang by reverse 3–0'ing FatGoku at Genesis 9. As the year went on, he picked up an additional win over Ben, but his strongest performance to date came at Riptide 2023 where he took down Panda and Free Palestine to place 25th. Two additionally strong regional showings at Out of the Blue 2 and The Function 3, coming with wins over Dawson and Mekk, were the icing on the cake for Wisconsin’s hero — with a lowercase h, of course.
-Seal
#86: Wevans | Rating: 35.70
For a long time, it was plausible for the average player to just not know of William “Wevans” Evans. He’d been making gradual waves in Florida for years, and yet for the most part, you only heard his name pop up among Melee die-hards, even when he made the Top 100 for the first time in 2022. But if 2022 was the year where Wevans made his debut onto the Top 100, 2023 was the year where Wevans could be found anywhere with a CRT and a GameCube (or Wii). He went anywhere the action could take him — San Diego, Chicago, and Miami just to name a few locales — and truly leaned into a newfound reputation as a travel fiend.
The crowning accolade for all his efforts came in Worcester, Massachusetts of all places. Here, he defeated Azel, Franz, and Tito JoJo in a breakout run at Shine 2023: the best run in the Floridian’s career. His story spins a path any would-be top player could envy, and he’s now settled comfortably as one of three Samus players to make the Top 100 last year, as well as the most likely one you’ll find at a major.
-Michael “Wills” Wills
#85: prof | Rating: 37.19
Boasting a slick Marth and killer Sheik, Garen “prof” Mazmanian has officially made his debut on the Top 100. Although he ended up missing the Summer Top 50, he was on the ballot for it thanks to a series of strong regional performances, such as LVL UP Expo 2023 and Low Tide City 2023. In those two tournaments, he nabbed sets over Kürv, Wevans, and Mekk. However, prof saved his best for last; at The Big House 11, he had great loser’s run through Sirmeris and hidden boss Zealot to finish in 17th place.
Outside of Melee, prof’s a big fighting game fan. If you check his Twitter, you’ll overwhelmingly see combos from games like UNICLR and Guilty Gear, as well as Melee. What you might not have expected, however, is the amount of Touhou references. For those who have checked his streams, most of them involve prof listening to extremely bass-boosted Touhou beats as he plays Melee. With continued improvement in 2024, prof could continue climbing his way up the Top 100, while also being part of the increasingly large crossover between fighting game players and Touhou fans.
-Michael “Wills” Wills
#84: Chango | Rating: 37.89
Alejandro Federico “Chango” Gastelum Callahan has circled the globe — and several stages — over the last decade, representing Washington Melee. From slaying old heads like ChuDat and HugS to shocking Zamu at The Big House 10 to his controversial triumph over Fauxhebro at Battle of BC 3, he’s had a handful of career highlights despite never previously finishing in the Top 100. In 2023, however, he added to these highlights with a series of performances which have finally brought him to a #84 debut on SSBMRank.
Just look at his remarkable Wavedash 2023 run: a game 5 victory over Axe, a 3–0 on KoopaTroopa895, and who knows how much further Chango could have gone had it not been for an unfortunate last stock SD against DontTestMe? With additional wins over Khalid, Flash, and shabo, it was also clear that Chango was due for greater recognition. He now joins a group of ten Washington players to ever make Top 100, a testament to his region’s legacy and his own perseverance.
-Justin “DarkGenex” Cohen
#83: Stiv | Rating: 39.14
In 2023, Anthony “Stiv” Orr made the leap from obscure Oregon rising star to national-caliber Fox. His first big win came over Khalid’s Jigglypuff at Major Upset, and he followed that up with another victory over n0ne at Battle of BC 5. The best performance of his season, however, came at LACS 5, where Stiv defeated null, Azel, and SDJ to effectively cement his spot on the annual list, and with several months left to go in the year too.
It’s worth understanding the context of the Pacific Northwest and its relationship to the broader scene. The region historically boasts many strong players — Silent Wolf, Bladewise, FatGoku, and Aura come to mind — and yet it’s always been relatively underrated due to its isolation from the rest of the community. However, with Stiv leading the charge, there is a growing contingent of new-school Oregon players ready to put the PNW even further on the map. With the blessings of his forefather in FatGoku and practice partner Aura, Stiv looks prime for further greatness.
-Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
#82: Dawson | Rating: 39.17
Every region claims their Jigglypuff player is different from every other Jigglypuff, and they are all liars — except for Philadelphia. You see, Dylan “Dawson” Dougherty is actually different; he loves to hold W. It may sound like it shouldn’t work, but it somehow has paved the way for his best year yet.
One of the most bizarre elements to Dawson’s résumé has come in the form of whom he’s beaten: the Marth players. With wins over Khryke, Kalvar, Grab, and KoopaTroopa895, Dawson has apparently had a penchant for terrorizing them. Beyond whatever you may believe about the intricacies of Marth vs. Jigglypuff, think about how ridiculous this looks. Imagine a floating balloon slowly drifting toward a man with a large sword, then landing on the ground, ducking at random, and jabbing away like a boxer with especially stubby arms. Then consider that this same floating balloon somehow defeats this very opponent while barely (if at all) using Rest, its greatest weapon. That’s Dawson.
-Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
#81: Preeminent | Rating: 40.41
The young are often underestimated, but Anthony “Preeminent” Braun boasts a well-earned reputation as a Minnesota’s top Fox. As the year went on, he had a series of strong performances at regionals in particular, gaining wins over Kalvar, Grab, Smash Papi, and Mekk. However, an especially fascinating dynamic of Preeminent’s year has been his regular showdowns in Minnesota with Ben.
Although the two are cousins, there’s no mercy between them once they get in the game. Together, the two have played a total of 46 sets within the latest SSBMRank period, with Preeminent ending it with a 30–16 lead in their head-to-head. One of the wins even came on the big stage at Shine 2023, his best major performance of the year. When he’s not roaming the Midwest or playing random characters in friendlies, Preeminent can be found farming the side events at any given major. Underestimating this young Fox would clearly be a foolish mistake.
-Seal
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
