The Melee Stats Top 100: 80-71
The Melee Stats Top 100 Players of All-Time as presented by PGstats continues today with the reveal of players 80-71.
The Melee Stats Top 100 Players of All-Time as presented by PGstats continues today with the reveal of players 80-71.
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 Leon "ycz6" Zhou
Ask any Jigglypuff player from the pre-Brawl era who their favorite player was at the time, and they’ll tell you it was The King. The legend of NorCal and Canada was one of the first players to succeed on a national level with Puff, and his iconic combo video, “Rollout,” inspired a generation of players, including a young Mango, to pick up the character.
While The King finished No. 14 on the final nationwide Smash Panel Power Rankings in 2006 and held the No. 2 spot behind Isai in NorCal for several years, he was perhaps best known for his dominance in doubles. Here, he pioneered the modern Rest-heavy Puff style and achieved success with multiple teammates, including a second place finish with at the MLG New York Playoffs in 2006 and a first place performance with Isai at Zero Challenge 3.
By Melissa Blight
When Azen brings up NEO in "The Smash Brothers," I'd wager to think many people thought he was talking about the main character of The Matrix. Instead, the person he meant when talking of a player who could see everything coming was the Roy aficionado himself.
While it's easy to bring up how he's beaten players like and PC Chris, NEO also invented the true "tomahawk" - jumping in front of an opponent, landing with nothing, and forward smashing them in the face.
By Leon "ycz6" Zhou
The career of Melee’s finest true Sheik and Peach dual main spans 13 years and roughly two-thirds the width of the United States. grew up in NorCal, but started making a name for himself after moving to St. Louis, where he would eventually become the city’s most decorated player ever. His best wins came over top players from several eras, including at Genesis 2 in 2011, at The Big House 5 in 2015, and at Genesis 6 in 2019.
Even more impressive, however, is Darkatma’s doubles career, which boasts a boatload of placements above much higher-ranked opposition. His resume at supermajors includes a fourth at Evo 2015 and a fifth at Evo 2016 with fellow Midwest-to-NorCal émigré , and fourth places at The Big House 9 and Genesis 7 alongside Ralph.
By Glenn "KayB" Kim
For a very long time, was the face of Luigi’s metagame—and for good reason. His career primarily developed in Pittsburgh, an unorthodox region so weird that it had its own section in the crowd at The Big House 5. At that same tournament, however, Abate became the first Luigi main to finish in top eight at a modern supermajor.
His willingness to embrace the green hero for what he was, a strange, kooky misfit amongst the game’s scariest top tiers, is likely why he will be remembered as one the most influential Luigi players to ever touch a controller.
By Anokh "EdwinBudding" Palakurthi
It may stun you to see VaNz alongside players like , , Mew2King, , and Armada among smashers to reach winners' finals of a Big House, but he was there at the very first one. The Tristate Peach main also had a great showing at Pound V, where he beat Remen, , and, most surprisingly, .
Keeping that in mind, another VaNz classic is his ridiculous attempt to rotate on Hungrybox in a tournament set at Apex 2010. I don't want to give anything away, so you'll have to take my word when I say that every smasher should be required to watch it.
By Glenn "KayB" Kim
When left the scene in early 2010, a few players appeared to fill the Luigi mantle. One was , who came seemingly out of nowhere from Baja California. Unlike his contemporaries who would go on to attend major tournaments on the East Coast, Eddy frequently traveled to and honed his skills in SoCal, where he regularly fought the likes of , , , and Fly Amanita - all players who sat comfortably within the Top 20 for years.
Eddy excelled in both consistency and longevity; not only was he ranked for eight of his twelve active years, but he peaked at No. 31 in the 2014 MPGR, which remains the highest rank a Luigi has ever achieved in the modern era. He still plays to this day, having outlasted many of the Luigis who had challenged his title.
By Anokh "EdwinBudding" Palakurthi
It's not too soon to call one of the all-time greats. The former Midwest-turned-SoCal Sheik player is a shining example for what the "documentary" generation of Melee players could accomplish.
From the very first time he made a local power rankings to winning DreamHack Atlanta 2019 over Mew2King, Captain Faceroll has made his mark on the community. Ask his poor, poor opponents from Irvine what it's like to get grabbed by him.
By Anokh "EdwinBudding" Palakurthi
Of all the Fox players to follow in Leffen's path, is probably the one who did the most to directly push Fox's metagame. Along with his technical contributions to the character, he was a formidable competitor as well, finishing as a Top 50 player from 2015 to 2019.
If you hate Samus, you should have a dedicated shrine to KJH. He was one of the few top Fox players during his prime to know what the hell he was doing in that matchup and make it look miserable for every Samus unfortunate enough to see his name on their side of a tournament bracket.
By Anokh "EdwinBudding" Palakurthi
Between defeating , , and nearly every Fox player he's faced off against, 's got a lot to be proud of. However, let's talk about a result that some of you might see as modestly impressive: when Ginger defeated at The Big House 5.
What you've almost certainly forgotten is that it happened not just in wave one pools, but in Druggedfox's first set of the entire tournament. Seeding-wise, it's up there as one of the biggest upsets in Melee history, but it's not remembered as much because, in hindsight, it was the start of something really special. Well, that, or the adorable photos of a much younger Ginger dressing up as Falco for Halloween.
