Best Current 3 Players of Every Ultimate Character (Brawl Cast)
Given that Ultimate has a notoriously well-balanced cast, it is naturally difficult to keep track of who is even the best of any given character. Just listing the best of each wouldn’t be reaching the depths of the iceberg; for many not even two is enough! This is why we are opting to highlight the best three of each respective character. This includes even the niche ones who see little competitive play. Each segment has a short description of skill, history, or achievements, and we are using a gap system to signify whether there is a major discrepancy or not between the players. Sometimes a question mark will be used if a gap cannot be fairly or properly assessed (often due to regional differences). I have also decided that at the very end of this series, I will go back to every single article to rerank some characters because the 64 and Melee articles are already partly outdated.
Without further ado, here are the best 3 players of each character in Smash Ultimate, starting with the base Brawl cast:
NOTE: This article is TIME SENSITIVE, this was written post-BOBC. It is also rating the current top players, so legacy means a lot less. Banned players are also excluded. On revisions they will be removed.
Meta Knight: Abadango >> Metara ? Yei
Kanto’s Abadango is famous for piloting multiple characters at once. This said, a majority would say his Meta Knight is his crown jewel. Taking placements like 2nd at Kagaribi 8 and 3rd at VCA 2022 back to back, he single-handedly put the character back on the map. This was just outside of his drought period too, so him reattempting an old counter-pick and succeeding was a surprise. None of these brackets were easy; Shuton, Protobanham, KEN, Kameme, Leon, and quiK were all defeated using the knight. It isn’t just in the past either, some of his best wins this season like MASA, Umeki, and Rizeasu are still attributed to him. The only thing holding his Meta Knight back is that he cycles through several other characters, but even without full focus, it’s by far the best in the world.
Kanto’s Metara could be considered a sudden pick here. They have only played offline for a couple months and already have wins on Jdizzle, Suinoko, kept, and TKM. Most of all though, they would go on to get the biggest upset at Kagaribi 10 over Miya! It goes without saying that a player who pops off out of nowhere to this degree originates from Smashmate. With such a strong win under his belt now, it showcases just how much potential Metara can display in the future.
Costa Rica’s Yei, is a difficult one to track for Meta Knight usage as he uses ten different characters. Even then, from what we can tell, his win quality exceed those of the surrounding skill level. Wins over Shinymark, Chag, Cloudy, and Javi post quarantine while staying relatively consistent signifies great potential, as the depths of central America are known to be brutal. He lives in a tough region to prove himself, but every time he travels things seem to fall in place for him. Pre-quarantine he was able to take sets over top 10 players, notably Maister, who is to say he won’t do it again?
(Dark) Pit: zackray >>> Tet. >> Nata
Kanto’s zackray needs no introduction for what he did for Pit’s meta, single-handedly saving the character from obscurity while inspiring thousands of players who watched. Let’s just go over how absurd his run at Kagaribi #9 was after he lost to Rimu very early. He would then beat Choco, Umeki, Neo, Rizeasu, Kameme, Eim, KEN, and Yoshidora with several of these players being ones he has lost to in the past. This run was only stopped in a last hit situation with Asimo, but still became one of the most impressive in a long time. And then he did it again, taking another 3rd place this time at Kagaribi #10 where he beat Hero, Zomba, Noi, Yamanaction, and Scend. Watching zackray is one of the best examples of pure fundamentals, pushing this character to new heights. The future of Pit lies in zackray, and unlike what many believed early on, he doesn’t seem to be stopping.
Kanto’s Tet. was the safest pick for the best Pit before zackray’s rapid rise, still continuing to put up good results. Just this season he already has wins on Munekin, TKM, Futari no Kiwami Ah~!, T, and YamaD while just outside of the season’s time period he was beating players like Abadango and Eim. His placements have always seemed lackluster, but you can make big rounds even in the depths, something that should never be underestimated in Japan.
Kanto’s Nata is quite similar to what I said about Tet, pretty solid win quality though busters out early a lot. His recent wins are over Nao, takera, Motsunabe, and Ryuoh with almost all of these wins being early in brackets. His peak wins and overall consistency is lower than those of his adversaries, but he is still a threat that everybody should be weary of.
Zero Suit Samus: Marss >>> Choco >> shky
Massachusetts’s Marss said that if he were to stop content creation and practice, he would become top 15/20 in the world again. When he started his current season, people started to believe. Every tournament he has attended this year has shown growth, most notably a 9th at Genesis 9 where he beat one of his biggest demons: Dabuz, alongside MKBigBoss, Sisqui, and Leon. And it kept going, making top 8 at his next major, LVL UP EXPO 2023, beating MVD and Lui$. And just this last tournament, Kawaii Kon, would get a runback over Glutonny from Genesis and go last hit with his biggest demon, Tweek, for the first time ever since early 2019. There is increasing proof that Marss is back, even stretching back to 2022 when he won Low Tech City. He is making it close to players he couldn’t even defeat in his prime, and his attendance only continues to rise. Get ready for competitor Marss, the content creator Marss is not his only form.
Kanto’s Choco is the last remaining Japanese ZSS which continues to showcase semi-consistent results since the nerfs. At his last few events he has beaten players such as Umeki, Toura, Tsubaki, Karaage, and Paseriman. Even just outside of recent times, he could topple the top end of Japan like Kameme and Yaura. His biggest weakness is a lack of overall attendance, which makes his poor performances hurt even more. Even then, his “under performances” are often the top cut. Choco has proven that he is still in the game, and although he is no longer in the top 25 worldwide range, he is still very competitive with the top.
Kanto’s shky is often the type of player who is used to pointing out how difficult it is to stay consistent using ZSS. And although he is inconsistent, this does not mean to any extent that he is out. With recent wins over Taikei, takera, and Tsubotsubo, shky is still able to compete with the active field. His 2021 is quite a surprise for how good it was, which was after the nerfs. There is no reason for people to ignore shky, he has shown the ability to succeed in this new meta.
Wario: Glutonny >>> Huto > crêpe salée
France’s Glutonny is the king of Europe (unless you ask him to a Tea party) and the player who keeps Wario up in the skies. He has wins on almost everybody in recent times and basically never misses top 8 at majors. He hasn’t won a major since his notoriously strong April 2022, but has gotten close several times. The one issue he has is that he gets roadblocked and has yet to beat any of Sonix, Riddles, or Tea post quarantine. These barriers only hurt as they are one of the few things that keep him from breaching into a strong win. As we can tell now and from his past, he is well equipped to get it at some point. Glutonny’s case for top 10 this year is incredibly strong, consistently amazing.
Kanto’s Huto is one of these players which is hard to keep track of character choices, but from what we can tell his best results are with Wario. With wins over Shuton, Nao, Shirayuki, and Abadango, there is sure to be more to come in the future. A lot of his runs have been empty in terms of wins, but his WAVE #4 helped a lot with his otherwise lacking win quality. Huto has been top 100 talent for quite some time, and it doesn’t seem like anything will change about that.
France’s crêpe salée was the player that Glutonny said was the future in middle of lockdown. Fast forward a couple years and we are finally seeing why he said that. With wins over Leon, Raflow, Chag, and Oryon in such a short time period is excellent in terms of the European talent field, paired with everybody here having Wario experience, it is clear that these wins were fully earned. His results and regionals have only been getting more consistent, and his win count grows. crêpe salée really may be the future.
Snake: Apollokage >> DIO > Shogun
Missouri’s Apollokage may have had one of the fastest rises of any NA player in recent times. Going from a fringe top 100 threat in 2021, Apollokage became someone who is teetering on the line between top 20 in 2023. A lot of this is attributed to his incredible work ethic and mentality, always striving to improve even in the face of losing. In just this past season he already has wins on MkLeo, Riddles, and Glutonny for those ranked above him while having a generally solid head to head on those surrounding him. He does have iffy performances and losses, which make a top 20 inclusion debatable, but at his current rate he may do it. The one-piece wonder will only display more growth as time progresses.
Chubu’s DIO has had quite a year already. He top 8ed Umebura SP9 over Miya, Asimo, and Noi which immediately brought him out of a small slump of inactivity. His regionals stay relatively inconsistent, but when he finds success, it is incredible. And then he joined the now sizeable group to successfully defend against invaders, beating Riddles alongside MASA and chicken at Kagaribi #10. He has always stood out as one of the most interesting depth players in Japan, very often getting amazing placements but being unable to hold them for a long period of time. Prior to Golden Week, DIO was known as a threat who doesn’t often replicate his greats, but now he has. Over the past two years , DIO has cemented himself cleanly as a top player, taking the helm of the vast Japanese Snake meta.
Kanto’s Shogun was one of Smash’s most active players since Brawl, creating a vast legacy. Shogun’s amassed win quality is quite incredible: KEN, zackray, Umeki, Neo, takera, and so much more depth. His attendance being so high can be considered a deterrent, as he collects an amount of unranked losses quicker than most. But whenever Shogun was in need for a good win or performance, he always seemed to do it. Unfortunately, Shogun has decided to step away from Smash after Kagaribi #10, retiring to pursue other fields. We will miss his Snake. This is not the end of the Japanese Snake meta outside of DIO though. It seems to be in good hands, with so much Snake finally seeing results offline.
Ike: Yez > PsyKod > Tora
Missouri’s (or Kanto’s) Yez is the one who holds the best Ike run post-lockdown, this time being at Kagaribi 8. He lost early to YamaD in pools but then made a big run for 9th place, beating Taikei, Motsunabe, and TKM. Recently he has taken wins over Tsubotsubo, takera, and Hurt too. Even when living in Japan, a good portion of his wins come from his USA runs like Scend and jaredisking1, truly being an international warrior. Yez is potentially coming out of retirement for Smash, potentially giving him the chance to protect a title in the future.
Ohio’s PsyKod shares the highest placement with Ike post-lockdown, being 9th at Big House 10. The win quality falls a bit shorter, beating Icymist and Bassmage to get there, but is still quite impressive. They are usually a local grinder though, with a couple exceptions like beating Stroder at LMBM. It is tough to gauge where PsyKod is in terms of the rest of the world, but some of their runs prove they are the best of the character.
Kansai’s Tora is an odd case where a lot of her best wins are from locals, but still has some great wins at recent regionals and majors like Suinoko, YamaD, and Kaeru. She is a Smashmate warrior with quite a high score, likely from beating the top players there. However, much like Yez’s online success, it hasn’t yet directly translated to offline. She is still the best Ike from Japan, and a bracket threat to anyone in her path.
Pokémon Trainer: Quidd >> DDee ? Atelier
New York’s Quidd is most famous for being a one-hit wonder. He won LMBM 2022 and top 8ed Collision 2022, almost instantly having the makings of a top 20 player! And then he vanished. Being a student and so young, having consistent travel was a near impossible task, and due to that, was ineligible for every 2022 ranking. Finally, Quidd has come back and is already putting up wins like Zomba, Dabuz, Jakal, Chase, DDog, and Chag. Neither of his major performances had high placements, but both came with great wins. And the one super-regional he attended this year, EON: Revelation, he won. This already surpasses his ranked tournament count from last year, potentially leaving him to be ranked as the best Pokemon Trainer, something people have been thinking about for years.
Georgia’s DDee is yet another player who is famous for being young and, yet again, being locked in his region due to it. Luckily for him, Georgia is a fantastic region for earning wins. Wins on Kola, omega, and Mugen in recent times with Pokemon Trainer are impressive, especially given that he has only just started coming back to the character from Steve. He still uses Steve for a lot of characters, but has primarily focused on Pokemon Trainer for the time being. Oftentimes he has to wait for players outside of Georgia to come to him, but from what we have seen from the likes of Momocon and Dreamhack, DDee is fully capable of beating anybody from everywhere.
Kanto’s Atelier has reduced his Pokemon Trainer to a secondary, mostly using Wolf for his runs. That doesn’t mean his Pokemon Trainer doesn’t lead to a lot of his success. Notably it was the character who was able to defeat Neo at DELTA#2, which then allowed him to win the entire rest of the tournament over Shuton with Wolf. For other recorded sets, we know he has beaten players like Tsubaki and alice in Pokemon Trainer, perhaps more have been lost to time. I feel obliged to mention that he became famous with his Pokemon Trainer, but his Wolf has caught up and is still a top 50 threat with him. Atelier may have had on-and-off usage with Pokemon Trainer, but still remains one of the strongest representatives with the character.
Diddy Kong: Tweek >>> Aaron > Ryuoh
New Jersey’s Tweek needs no introduction; he is currently the best player of the United States and likely the second best of all time. His Diddy Kong has only accelerated his success, with an incredibly impressive 1st place finishes at LMBM 2023, where he beat Sparg0 x2, MkLeo, and Riddles. The best part, his achievements list this year just keeps going: top 8 at both Genesis and Collision, 2nd at Summit 6 and LVL UP EXPO, and winning Kawaii Kon over a big bracket demon of his. In these runs, he defeated Light, Glutonny, Protobanham, Apollokage, Big D, Cosmos, and Marss. His worst placement was a 9th at a premier, still taking wins on Light and Riddles. Tweek has been talking, and everybody has been listening. There is no telling where he can go as he starts breaking down his demons time after time and defeating nearly everybody in peak condition.
Florida’s Aaron has had a laundry list of success, often underestimated by seeders and making top players pay the price for that mistake. This year has been quiet as he has been busy campaigning for trips to Summit and Japan. He got a few good wins at the former, notably Jagaimo and HIKARU, while keeping it competitive with everyone he faced at both tournaments. Aaron’s peak of last year was PAX West Arena, defeating Light and double eliminating Kola which near single handedly made his season. Aaron still strives to replicate this success, and with his incredible work ethic, he will one day do it again or even surpass it.
Kansai’s Ryuoh has an incredibly high attendance, thus allowing him to garner a pretty large list of wins in such a short time span this season: Kome, Shogun, Kaninabe, Motsunabe, Karaage, Jdizzle, and alice. His attendance comes at the cost of all of these wins being spread out across several events, not having one sole big run to cite. However, when Aaron was being housed by Ryuoh, he stated that Ryuoh had immense potential. Every individual win he gets showcases that potential, under the right circumstances, Ryuoh could easily break into the spotlight.
Lucas: Nitox > Rinkururu ? Regalo
France’s Nitox has consistency, only made more impressive with a meta which is harsh to his character. He has a big win at BDE Last Stock in recent times with wins over Leon, Raflow, and Flow along with other wins just this year such as Oryon, crêpe salée, and Neeroz. Nitox has consistently been in the top echelon of Europe, even being the first person to ever eliminate Glutonny from a bracket in Europe ever (something that took others a long time to follow suit in). Nitox continues to play at a level which others have given up with the character, proving he is one of the best of his class.
Kansai’s Rinkururu is a slightly overlooked player. His wins this year are Shogun, Yamanaction, Manzoku, and Yn which are all aging quite nicely. However, due to an active Min Min secondary, a lot of wins are difficult to pin point. Rinkururu is the only one here who has gotten super strong wins in recent times, but still lacks general data and character tracking to place any higher. Do not be surprised if Rinkururu becomes the best Lucas in the future.
North Carolina’s Regalo has one run which made him famous, Super Smash Con 2022. Here he would place 9th out of 2400 entrants which is staggering with the character as he wasn’t even in the conversation of even making top 64 seeding wise. He would beat Sisqui, Apollokage, yonni, and ChunkyKong which was easily the best Lucas run ever. Since then they have gotten a stray wins on loaf, but oftentimes stays inside the Carolinas attending whatever local and regional he can. For someone who so clearly proved themselves to be at the top of his character, Regalo stays a hidden force.
Sonic: Sonix > KEN >> Taikei
Dominican Republic’s Sonix has now showcased what grinding online can do, along with taking thousands of dollars from Hungrybox. As a definitive top 10 player, Sonix might be the most consistent player in the world as of right now. 2nd at Momocon 2023, 3rd at LMBM 2023, 4th at Genesis 9, 3rd at LVL UP EXPO, and 5th at Collision 2023 just this year, it is almost as if he is allergic to getting a singular bad result. I haven’t even listed the wins yet: Sparg0, MkLeo, Light, Riddles, Glutonny, Kurama, Apollokage, and so much more outside of this incredible top cut. If only he had made the cut for Summit, the world would fear Sonic even more than they already do. Nothing has signified that Sonix is anything less than one of the best in the world, and he is incredibly likely to continue in future majors.
Kanto’s KEN continues to be the premier Sonic in Japan, and now that he is mostly done with his Sephiroth Challenge, his Sonic has been shown in great condition. With peak wins over acola, Nao, Umeki, Abadango, and Jagaimo, it has started to see a lot more consistent usage against the depth of Japan. He still utilizes Sephiroth for some of his best wins this season, but the Sonic has been the primary driver for his best placements, such as 2nd at MaesumaTOP#11. KEN has always been one of the best in the country, constantly making successful runs no matter how many people doubt he will stay consistent.
Kanto’s Taikei has had one of the fastest rises of any player, barely making top 100 last season. His biggest issue last season was that he lacked win quality, but that is far from the case now: KEN, Dabuz, Atelier, Omuatsu, Huto, takera, Repo, Yamanaction, and Shogun just to name a few. In just five months he has a record that is comparable to his entire last year. Alongside top 8ing his first major at KOWLOON #5, Taikei will only expand his repertoire over time.
King Dedede: ZAKI >> D3_Will ? Peli
Kansai’s ZAKI has been on a bit of a hiatus where he just came back but has yet to put up super great results yet. This won’t stop us from looking at what happened directly before that though. The wins he gained at Sumabato SP31 and SP27 would arguably make a season alone: HIKARU, Kome, Kaninabe, sssr, and Injelly. None of these are good matchups, but he doesn’t care, low tier mains in Japan can beat anybody. ZAKI is notorious for this, time and time again he will fight back against unbeatable odds, and we can’t wait for his return.
Virginia’s D3_Will doesn’t attend many events that aren’t locals, but is always on the map to make the big upset of the tournament. At Glitch Infinite, he took incredible wins on both Apollokage and LeoN, with the quality of these wins aging like fine wine. These types of wins are infrequent due to his attendance, but just this week he did it yet again. At Gateway Legends, he took the upset over Muteace, creating one of the largest upset factors of this year so far (UF11). For a player who often doesn’t enter conversation, his win quality is incredibly impressive, and D3_Will takes every opportunity given.
Britain’s Peli may have one of the most forgotten histories of a low tier character. His King Dedede arguably won a major, VCA 2021. Although he didn’t win grands with him, he did take wins on Leon and Space which then lead to a victory. Peli has since stopped playing King Dedede for the most part, but still has the character in the back pocket. Perhaps one day the king may eventually lend to more victories, though Sonic might be a better bet against most characters.
Olimar: Shuton >> Dabuz >> Noi
Kanto’s (or Kyushu’s) Shuton has perpetually been one of the greatest Smash Ultimate players of all time, this year having some of his most important accomplishments yet. No tournament showed his resilience more than KOWLOON #5 which he would win in a 9 set losers run. Here he would beat Senra, Taikei, Shirayuki, Yaura, and Miya twice all with Olimar, proving to everybody that yes, Olimar and Shuton can still win majors. And immediately afterwards, he won a second major in WAVE#4, though it was mostly Aegis. Shuton was famous for not closing at majors, but now he has won two just this year. And his success isn’t limited to Japan either, getting 3rd at Battle of BC 5 beating Maister and Sisqui with Olimar. His variety of wins isn’t limited to these two tournaments either, as he still has wins over the likes of zackray, Lima, Kome, Eim, and DIO. He has traded his trademark consistency for the ability to win, which may make this Shuton’s season.
New York’s Dabuz was a shocking search, as what was soon realized is that he has almost exclusively going Rosalina in recent times. Before Golden Week, his only recorded wins with Olimar were against Marss and naitosharp. This left his future with the character uncertain, that was until Golden Week. Almost all of his wins were with Olimar such as Abadango, DIO, and HIKARU. With his new commitment to Rosalina, it’s tough to be competitive for the slot of best Olimar, but it is clear he still is.
Kanto’s Noi is an oddity, being one of many players in Japan who seemingly can’t pick just one character. It seems a majority of his great wins come from Pokemon Trainer, but the Olimar doesn’t lag much behind. It is also notable to mention that finding VODs of Noi is notoriously difficult, so character selection is hard to identify. However, there is good chances that the recent wins he has gotten with Olimar include Shogun, Shirayuki, Scend, Omuatsu, and Repo. His unpredictability when going into a match is quite useful, as you never know what Noi will bring. The Olimar is always there.
Lucario: Gachipi ? Armadillo > Tsu
Kanto’s Gachipi has gone under the radar for most, and has just begun getting an incredibly strong season rolling. The wins this year has given him a solid chance for top 100 worldwide: Hero, Zomba, Umeki, Taikei, Shogun, Yamanaction, Omuatsu and Manzoku. A peek at his tournament history implies he is inconsistent, but his commonly low seeds cause him to run into players which he shouldn’t have encountered so early. This makes many unfortunate runs, but TOs have slowly been putting Gachipi higher and higher. With Tsu passing down his ancient title, Gachipi pushes the character when nobody else dares to.
Canada’s Armadillo pilots Lucario to an impressive degree, lending to one of the best low/mid tier runs in recent times. His run at LMBM was quite notable, beating players like Jake, quiK, and Sinji, but pales in comparison to the tournament that got his name rolling. His run to 9th at Battle of BC 5, despite being in the DQ path, was nothing short of incredible. After defeating AndresFn, he would take a dominant set over Shuton, proving he didn’t get lucky to get that far. The majority of the time he stays at the regional and local level, which often means a lack of notable data. We very much know that Armadillo is great; he proved it online, and is proving it offline too.
Hokkaido’s Tsu may be using Cloud more and more, but Tsu is still tied to Lucario and still puts up great results when in need. He still beat Abadango recently with him and in that same run, beat Shirayuki and Paseriman (although it is unknown if it was Lucario). His biggest tournament victory this year was also won with Lucario, HSTSP ChampionShip Winter Stage over Nao twice. It seems that no matter how many times Tsu tries to drop Lucario, it continues to come back and bring him success. It’s almost an inevitability at this point.
ROB: Zomba > MKBigBoss >> Anathema
New York’s Zomba initially had an odd season: sporadic wins with placements which leave a bit to be desired. Even during this “slump”, he took wins over players like Big D, Gen, and Wrath. And with the unfortunate loss of TOKYO SMASH BOOTCAMP being ranked, his trip in Japan was mostly empty, with the only ranked win being Huto. However, TSBC reminded us that he was still great (took wins on acola, Asimo, and Hero), and that he only needed one good run to prove he never left. He then got that run, this time at Battle of BC 5. Almost like a mirror to his TSBC, he lost to the same two players, Shuton and Miya, while matching the win quality in an actual ranked setting. This time he beat Tweek, MkLeo, and KEN to finish 7th. The first two are especially notable as not only were they his first pillar wins of the season, but they were also the first time he has ever beaten either of them. Zomba never actually left, he is a force to be reckoned with and has been for the past two years.
Mexico’s MKBigBoss has had a rapid return from an underwhelming back half of 2022, for awhile being contentious for the title of best ROB. This was made immediately clear with a top 8 finish at LMBM, with wins over Sonix, Kola, and Anathema. Since then a majority of his wins come from regionals, including a 1st place at Dreamhack San Diego. These regional wins include Kurama, Skyjay, and Dark Wizzy. The rest of his majors leave a bit to be desired, but his other runs prove MKBigBoss can replicate the same amazing results he got very early on.
Florida’s Anathema has been the player who has “almost been there” so many times over the past year. With current season wins over Quidd, Goblin, Kobe, Jahzz0, Peabnut, and Icymist, there is still a lack of a season making run or win. However, this places him in an eerily similar place at 2022, great loss quality but lacks the wins until the second half. This means that if the trend continues, Anathema is destined to get a big run, and soon. And we have all seen Anathema’s peaks, it is clear that he can do yet another breakout.
Toon Link: Sigma > Manzoku ? Lv.1
Chubu’s Sigma has quite a small record this season, only having a couple tournaments, but still impresses. With wins over Dabuz, DIO, Jahzz0, Suinoko, and sssr, what Sigma lacks this season compared to his past is that one incredible run or win. However he has done all of this while avoiding any bad losses, something he peers can not say. As the historically best Toon Link, he is still favored to be the best now, but it is close. There are still several Kansai and Chubu events coming up for the season, and with his track record, is likely to put up great performances there.
Kanto’s Manzoku has quite the interesting season, taking some of the oddest wins of anybody, yet still putting up great win quality. HIKARU, Huto, Taikei, Senra, takera, Toriguri, and Ryuoh have all fallen to him, giving him a pretty diverse selection of wins. That said when he busters out of tournaments, he goes out hard. His peak performance was a 4th place at Gen 1.1, which given the circumstances of the tournament, may be hard to replicate in the future. There is no lack to Manzoku’s list, as he continues to enter a large list of events to tip the balance into his favor.
Chubu’s Lv.1 is an oddity as on paper he should be the highest one here. With a 9th at Kagaribi #9 and 13th at MaesumaTOP#11, they are the best placements of anybody here. However looking at the runs themselves leaves a but to be desired: wins over Huto, Repo, and Ryuoh. These are the same wins that Manzoku have but packaged into a better placement with less quantity. Now Lv.1 still has wins to call his own outside of those tournaments such as Kaninabe, Motsunabe, and alice. Generally his wins and losses falls a bit behind. However do not let this text fool you too much, Lv.1 is still very much in contention for the title of best Toon Link, as he demonstrates a great ability to win at the correct opportunities.
Wolf: Masha ≈ Ouch!? ≈ Atelier
Chubu’s Masha is the perfect balance between of peaks and consistency, but unfortunately doesn’t get the fanfare of either. He deserves it though, with several great runs such as 7th at Japan 24 and 9th at Kagaribi 10, it matches the peak placements of Atelier and consistency of Ouch. Every major which appears to have a poor placement is almost only due to poor bracket luck, his loss quality stays consistent. His win quality this season is staggering too: Kameme, Umeki, Hero, Gackt, Atelier, Jogibu, MASA, Shogun, Shirayuki, Abadango, and more which I had to omit from listing due to how much depth he has (particularly Chubu where he has a win on everybody). The reason I listed so much is because I have seen nobody mention his season so far, yet if I had to pick an early front runner for best Wolf currently, I would have to go with Masha. Masha has been playing since Brawl, but even then this appears to has the potential for his best ever season ever.
Canada’s Ouch!? is your pick for best Wolf if you value consistency, he is always a player you can reliably predict. With two 9th placements at his majors this year, Genesis and Major Upset, he has yet to make the top cut yet is always on the cusp of doing so. These runs include wins over Kameme, Nao, and Aaron which may seem like a small number for the whole year, but the bulk of Ouch’s success comes from his excellent regional records. It is very rare for anybody to take a BC regional from him, taking wins over Big D, Scend, Bassmage, MVD, Chronos, and jaredisking1 in the process. The only thing which he lacks in this dataset is that big run or win, one which resembles his famous Battle of BC 4 run. However, with his track record in BC alongside Battle of BC 5 being on the way, Ouch may finally have his moment.
Kanto’s Atelier is your pick for best Wolf if you value peaks and wins, it seems that most people have forgotten has ridiculously good he is at his peak. After drowning at a regional only a couple days earlier, he had a 7th place finish at Umebura SP9 with wins over Miya, zackray, KEN, Abadango, and Kaninabe which is an instant season maker. Yet he didn’t stop yet as his win at DELTA #2 came with wins over Shuton x2 and Taikei. Almost all of his wins were with Wolf, which quite easily gives him the best win quality of anyone here by far. Yet as I alluded to earlier, Atelier is incredibly on and off, likely being the most upset prone top player in the entire world. For reference just this season he has not only lost in pools, but his round one, three separate times at ranked events. There is no denying that when Atelier is playing well, it reminds people that he is a player that nobody should ever sleep on.
Next article will be on the Smash 4 cast. If you disagree feel free to comment it in the twitter or reddit thread as finding playing, especially a third one, was challenging. All the players here deserve recognition for staying strong in a game with so much competition, it is absurdly difficult to stay consistent in this meta. Thank you for reading.
Ultimate Iceberg
Writing/Production/Graphics: Swidd
