The Melee Stats Top 100: 50-41
The Melee Stats Top 100 Players of All-Time as presented by PGstats continues today with the reveal of players 50-41.
The Melee Stats Top 100 Players of All-Time as presented by PGstats continues today with the reveal of players 50-41.
For more on the methodology behind these rankings, the people who made this all possible, and the schedule going forward, read our introductory article here.
For other articles in the series, see below:
By Melissa Blight
's legendary run at Apex 2012 is one of the most storied in Melee history. At this tournament, he defeated , KoreanDJ, VaNz, , , , and . Believe it or not, before his Apex breakout, a few smashers had discovered tapes of him playing against other Mexican players in 2006, looking exactly as good as he did in 2012.
While some were skeptical, a few believers saw it as proof that this guy from Mexico might have secretly been the best player in the world. As once put it before Javi's Apex breakout, "Mexico will beat you down, son!"
By Anokh "EdwinBudding" Palakurthi
Was the apex of 's career when he ignored the fire alarm and ruthlessly tech chased the soul out of to win Tipped Off 11? Or was it when he sent to loser's bracket at HTC Throwdown, playing two characters he'd casually drop at the start of the next year?
Surprise; it's neither. The real answer is right after he beat through a wall at Royal Flush. On cue, Druggedfox proceeded to shake his head in disappointment before fist-bumping a dejected Leffen. If that's not the quintessential Druggedfox moment, I don't know what is.
By Melissa Blight
At one point, Cort was at a serious contender for being one of the best in the world. A transitional time for the scene, in which majors were a rarity, led to his prime being often forgotten, which is a real shame.
In his career, he beat players like Azen, , PC Chris, and even Mango. There's an alternate world out there where Cort is even more cemented as one of the most celebrated players to ever touch a GameCube controller, and we'd all be better for it.
By Melissa Blight
's career almost feels like one of two different, but equally insane halves. One half is his innovation with Mewtwo, undoubtedly the greatest to ever touch the character, as he'd routinely beat top players at majors with him. If you ask Taj, he'll tell you the Shadowclaw combo video series was so good that Pokémon literally named the move after them.
However, the other half of his career involves his deadly Marth - specifically how he mastered the art of "Flappy Bird", where he could kill any Falco the second they left the stage. Using the latter skill, he stunned PPMD and Mango at Genesis 2. In doing so, he became the first player to beat two "gods" in their prime at the same tournament, and he also inspired a certain young little lady to start caring about this cool GameCube game and its stats (me).
By Eryk "Ambisinister" Banatt
If you look at - I mean, physically look at the man named Michael Brancato - it’s almost ridiculous to picture this mild-mannered dude to have existed as a sort of “villain” within the Smash community. But once you realize that he’s one of the all-time greatest Ice Climbers players in history, perhaps it starts to make a bit more sense.
His killsheet spans some of the greatest to ever handle a GameCube controller - Mango, , , and . He was a regular fixture at national top eights throughout his career, including at Genesis 3, Royal Flush, and The Big House 3 (the latter of which was a wobbling-banned tournament). But perhaps his most untouchable achievement can be found within 10-Man Melee, a game mode for which he holds the world record with thirteen separate characters.
By Jacob "chroma" Robins
I've been dying to talk to you about ! There's a decade-long conspiracy here and I've got a paper trail to prove it! vs Cactuar 4, Event 52, 2008: this guy JV4s the Falcon legend with Fox's nair! Wizzrobe vs Cactuar, HTC Throwdown, 2015: he wins with Marth! Fight Pitt 9, 2019, winners finals, still there! Where did M2K get all of those controllers and Marth practice over the years?
Who knocked Mango out of Pound 5 winners? Who's coaching PPMD's Marth vs Armada during Apex 2013 grand finals? Why is there a Rivals of Aether video about the Cactuar Dash? Why were people at Riptide 2021 playing Cactuar Stamina Pancake at 2am? I've got boxes full of Cactuar! I go to smashboards, every good thread, every backroom, Cactuar, Cactuar, Cactuar! This goes right to the top!
By Anokh "EdwinBudding" Palakurthi
A frequently forgotten fact about 's legendary upset over Mango is that he called his shot on GameFAQs before the tournament. While it's tempting go on about his other accomplishments, I want to bring up a lesser-known one: unceremoniously thrashing in an exhibition at Evo 2015.
It was so lopsided that down 3-0, Bizzarro Flame shook Kage's hand, only to react in horror when Kage told him they had two more games to play. You can guess what happened next.
By Anokh "EdwinBudding" Palakurthi
Not many players can boast to making the world Top 15 three years in a row, but can. From 2016 to 2018, the longtime top dog of Michigan nabbed countless tournament victories, punked Leffen a few times, whooped Hungrybox, and won Pat's House 3 over , which might be the most stacked regional of all-time.
To this day, Duck's contributions to his character loom over all the top Samus players who beg him in his DMs to retweet their latest combo. If only impressing him were so simple.
By Jacob "chroma" Robins
Probably one of the most "" sets of all time came vs in Winners Semis of the Big House 6. SFAT, fresh off 3-0'ing in a set so decisive people were ready to consign Jigglypuff to the mid tiers, sits down at the setup, confident and composed. The set is over seven and a half minutes later. SFAT takes four stocks total. Ice stands up and sheepishly makes the "choke" gesture after patting SFAT on the back in consolation.
It's enough to make you look back at a career full of major top eights, four straight top 20 year-end rankings, massive wins and countless close calls while maining three separate characters at top level and wonder: is he yet to realize his true prime?
