SSBMRank Summer 2023: 40–31
Melee Stats is proud to present SSBMRank Summer 2023! Counting down the 50 best players of the year so far to determine the best player for the first half of 2023.
This year, we asked 28 panelists to rate each player based on their results so far in the year based on the following prompt:
Based on the quality of results from December 19, 2022 to July 23, 2023 rate each player on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best)
Exhibitions, online tournaments, and tournaments that did not complete are NOT to be counted
You may consider results at locals and invitationals, but understand that the environment surrounding these events may not always be the most serious in nature
If you as a panelist are a player who is on the ballot, you may give yourself a score as a placeholder, but any score you use for yourself will NOT be counted
Each panelist gives each player a score from 1 to 10. After suppressing the effect of outliers, the votes are aggregated into a single point estimate representing that player’s score. Finally, scores were rescaled to a 1–100 rating, which is displayed above each player’s blurb.
#40: Mot$ | Rating: 33.32
If you scroll down the SmashWiki page for the New Jersey Power Rankings, it will look like a blindfolded orangutan threw darts to pick people’s placements. New Jersey is notorious for its baffling inconsistency; and yet despite living in the Bermuda Triangle of Melee results, Matt “Mot$” Gaydos has put together a deep résumé of dominant records versus his fellow NJ players. He’s also transferred his skill into unmatched consistency against the rest of the competition within the Top 50 ballot.
The newly minted New Jersey #1 boasts astounding mid-tier matchup experience, be it local players such TheSWOOPER and JJM or top ranked talent like Mekk and SluG. As the icing on top, he’s developed a committed secondary Sheik for a formerly problematic Marth matchup, defeating Kalvar twice. Mot$ is an all-rounder, with years of training in the world’s most notorious region preparing him to become a consistent force. We’ll be sure to see him and his Jersey friends bringing their signature upsets to upcoming majors.
-Justin “DarkGenex” Cohen
#39: MOF | Rating: 34.02
The only thing harder than beating an established top player is winning over the crowd. To make things more challenging, imagine doing it with Ice Climbers: a herculean, almost impossible ask. Unless you’re Alex “MOF” Oquendo — then it’s a cakewalk. Before Tipped Off 14, MOF was relatively unknown. A hidden boss in South Florida, she had a handful of solid placings at regionals earlier in 2023: a 7th at Spring GatorLAN 2023, a 9th at Combo Breaker 2023, but nothing that screamed “Top 50 player.”
That changed at Tipped Off 14, where she nonchalantly 3–0'd Jmook off-stream. It wasn’t a spectacle, it wasn’t a fluke, and it wasn’t remotely close. Sure, it was one of the biggest upsets of all-time, but the way it happened, you’d think the Genesis champion was just another Sheik. Thankfully, her next set versus Hax$ was streamed. Adorned in a Halo 2 hoodie, MOF took a vape hit mid-set and casually beat one of the best Fox players in the world. Overnight, MOF gained thousands of followers and cemented herself as a Top 50 player for the summer. Most importantly, she proved that she was the coolest person in the venue.
-Justin “DarkGenex” Cohen
#38: Shroomed | Rating: 39.20
Did it surprise you to see Dajuan “Shroomed” McDaniel here? In a region recently defined by the likes of Marth and Pikachu, the longtime NorCal legend has been more active than you might have expected. Both amazingly and yet unsurprisingly, he’s also maintained a great baseline of play, nabbing sets over the likes of Salt, S2J, Spark, and KJH at a combination of majors, regionals, and locals.
At a time when so many newcomers have made their way up the rankings, it’s always great to see someone like Shroomed continue to prove himself as a strong opponent. No matter who you are — rising star of the current generation, the old guard of the past, or even one of the best players in the world — you always have to respect continued excellence from one of the scene’s most accomplished and timeless players. Unless, of course, you’re Zain’s drunken Roy at Prince Abu’s wedding.
-Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
#37: Khalid | Rating: 41.70
Debuting at 86th on the 2022 rankings, Khalid Serdah began 2023 by stunning both Matteo and Krudo at Genesis 9. He then went on to defeat Bbatts, the “good vs. Puff” Tristate Peach on his home turf at Collision 2023. You might have been tempted to view these tournaments as a decent player having a hot hand and, for a few months, this seemed to be the case considering Khalid’s drop in performances.
That was right before Khalid one-upped himself with a historic seventh place run at Get On My Level 2023. At this tournament, Khalid tore out the hearts of essy, Jmook-slayer Morsecode762, Joshman, and S2J. Wins like these may have him dubbed “Whalid” by his home region, but they also closed out one of the most spectacular half-year rises a single player has ever had. Expect to see him doing jumping jacks before, in between, and after matches on the big stage for a long time.
-Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
#36: KJH | Rating: 42.85
In 2022, Kalindi “KJH” Henderson began dual maining Fox and Falco after years of only playing Fox. It had short-term struggles, as the Falco was still new, but KJH held faith that it would eventually lead to long-term mastery of both spacies. In 2023, KJH’s gambit started to show results. In February, he took down Flash, Shroomed, and mvlvchi at BEMI 2023, following that performance up with a win over Chem at Collision 2023 in March. At one point, KJH even defeated Ginger in the Falco ditto at a local, just to switch back to Fox in his next set and win the tournament anyway.
The most impressive showing, however, came at LACS 5. Seven months after their famous Smashboxing bout, KJH finally got his revenge on Fiction, taking him down in the Falco ditto, fittingly at another Ludwig event. The dual-spacies life has undeniably paid off in dividends. Whether it’s his Fox or Falco, KJH is a top level threat to watch for the rest of the year.
-Justin “DarkGenex” Cohen
#35: bobby big ballz | Rating: 43.66
It’s easy to think you know bobby big ballz. He’s had notable success as a competitor, beating the likes of Zuppy, Mekk, and SDJ this year, and as one of Melee’s few actually successful streamers, bobby is instantly recognizable for his unhinged rants, covering everything from the nature of small talk to Falco’s upsmash out of shield. However, the manic character Bobby plays on stream sometimes masks his capability for kindness and self-awareness.
I like to reach out to players and ask them what they were proudest of during the ranking period and was surprised by bobby’s unique answers. He said he was proudest of the ways he’s been able to grow this year through his relationship with his roommate Salt. He credits her with helping him become a better streamer, Falco player, and competitor, as well as his growth as a person and learning more about himself. “Do I matter, does this stream matter, does anything matter?” bobby once sighed four hours into a stream. I really don’t know, but I think bobby might figure it out.
-Jack “Jackzilla” Harmening
#34: Panda | Rating: 45.24
In the not-so-distant past, a portal must have opened up over Florida from a futuristic universe of relentlessly fast and shockingly fearless Melee players, depositing some of the modern game’s nuttiest players. Chief among them in zaniness might be Brandon “Panda” Orooji. I once saw him approach game 5 vs. a unnamed Top 50 player by repeatedly rolling behind them and uptilting them to start horrific combos and end the set in a blowout. He’s most often found hunting his state’s ferocious Melee beasts like Krudo, Voo, and Gahtzu for sport, but he returned from his trek to Genesis 9 with wins over Jersey powerhouses TheSWOOPER and 404Cray.
When Panda’s on the sticks, it seems like he’s the only person that decides who wins or loses; top players can only watch as he either crushes their tourney runs or inexplicably SDs in the heat of battle. Case in point: facing Game 5 last stock vs Hungrybox at CEO 2023, Panda warped reality and turned the Clutchgod’s set-winning edgeguard into a repeated shine spike to stun the world — well, the part of the world that was unfamiliar with Panda’s game.
-Jacob “chroma” Robins
#33: SDJ | Rating: 46.36
For most of this year, three people have ruled the DFW scene: Salt and bobby big ballz, two instantly recognizable top players, and Duncan “SDJ” Meara. Over the year, SDJ has frequently gone back and forth with those two players, even outright winning tournaments in which both rivals were around. Lest you think this is merely a case of someone disproportionately benefiting from the presence of two strong players every week, SDJ’s had excellent runs on the big stage against out-of-region threats. Wins over Spark and Eddy Mexico at Genesis 9 started the year with a bang, and later on at Low Tide City 2023, SDJ had an appropriately great performance in front of the home crowd, earning additional wins over Magi and Axe.
In the bigger picture, SDJ’s part of a new generation of Jigglypuff players, each with their own distinct style. Although it’s not easy to stand out in a field that includes players like 2saint, Khalid or CPU0, let alone the Juan Debiedma-shaped elephant in the room, SDJ has carved out a unique spot as the top Jigglypuff of Texas.
-Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
#32: Skerzo | Rating: 46.87
There’s two kinds of regional number ones in this world: ruthless overlords who gap the competition in demoralizing fashion and benevolent kings who give every up-and-comer a free Top 50 win. Adrian “Skerzo” Chavez will tell you himself that he’s the second kind. No one else could casually finish 1–2 at The Trail Invitational 3, place out of top eight at The Nightclub, and yet still accomplish enough to make the Top 50. But don’t interpret Skerzo occasionally having a little too much fun (and beer) as a sign of him falling off.
Skerzo started the year with a solid performance at Genesis, where he beat Ben and Medz to place in Top 32. He’d go onto defeat Ben two more times at the Midwest regional House of Paign 23, as well as nab a set over Jflex en route to second place there. But the peak of Skerzo’s year came when he eliminated Jmook from Get On My Level 2023. There’s no shenanigans here. Skerzo, as in the person who didn’t make Top 64 at Collision 2023, 3–0'd a leading contender for best player in the world. It solidified his own position as the most unpredictable player in the world, a title he’ll happily claim.
-Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
#31: Ben | Rating: 47.15
From grinding in the trenches of late night online brackets, striving to shine among the stars, Ben Strandmark’s rise to prominence is the stuff of modern Melee legends. In his own region, his name has become synonymous with passion, persistence, and attendance. This is evident in his presence at nearly every local Minnesota event, usually where you can find him taking on his cousin and fellow top player Preeminent.
Barely missing the Top 50 last year, Ben’s been fueled by his desire to reclaim the former glory he had during the pandemic. In his pursuit to climb his way back, his sky-high peaks tell his comeback story. Between his monstrous loser’s run to third place at Combo Breaker 2023 and his silver medal showing at Invincible VII, he took home wins over Polish, Spark and Zamu. And this is far from the last we’ll see of the young Sheik. Look for “ft. Ben” in the title of any Midwestern tournament, and it’s probably there.
-Justin “DarkGenex” Cohen
The SSBMRank Summer 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
