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2023 has been a good year for Brawl. Super Smash Con this year was the largest event in almost a decade, since Apex 2014, and we’ve had 11 (!) events qualify for rankings this year. Brawl is looking to be in a good place for next year, with more events, an online player-base that will only grow, and more. And with this, we are bringing the SSBBRank from a multi-year ranking into a single year ranking. Every event considered here was from 2023. And as we move forward, each year will be able to have its own single year ranking. If you want to join in on the Brawl action, just join us in the Brawl Central Discord server! But for now, let’s take a look at who the best Brawl players in the world were this year.
20. Max Power
Sheik is a character who has a lot of flaws, the largest being her inability to kill the opponent. Despite her flaws, Max Power has been able to pilot Sheik to success. At Super Smash Con 2023, he defeated Ness682, and reached 17th, losing to Player-1 and Ish. Later, at SSC Ranbats, he would place 5th, defeating Ness682 again, and nearly took a set from Bike, going to game 5. Despite not attending very much this year, Max continues to lab out new tech and strategies for Sheik. Watch out for what he could do next year, and maybe he’ll show us that his mid tier isn’t so bad after all.
–written by ninja1167
19. Dabuz
Dabuz only had one tournament this season, Super Smash Con 2023. At this tournament, he took down Big D and Azazel, but had some unfortunate bracket luck beyond that. His character, Olimar, is one of the best characters in the game. However, the character does struggle against Ice Climbers, and Dabuz happened to run into not one, but two of them. He would end up losing to Hoenn and Lux for 9th place, not a bad placing but a bit of a fall from his top 4 finish last year. Despite this, we all have seen what Dabuz is capable of, and if he chooses to compete next year (which we all hope he does), look out for him to bounce back to his former heights once again.
–written by ninja1167
18. Fabian
Fabian, with his Marth, is one of the best players in Norway, behind Gardex and Bike, and his results this year have shown it. At Smashborg Sesh 5, after beating Edeas, he would even take a win over Gardex, only losing to Bike for 2nd place. Despite dropping a set to Gardex at Smashborg Sesh 6, he still placed 3rd at that tournament, and gained wins over Edeas and Afrotwist. He’s already been making waves in Norway’s Brawl scene, and with a great year in sight, watch for Fabian to make even more upsets next year.
–written by ninja1167
17. LOE1
LOE1 only attended one event this year: the Michigan regional Youmacon 2023. However, at this event, he would end up picking up some great wins, defeating Ori, Chia, and Lain in Grand Finals before losing in the reset to finish in an impressive 2nd place. Taking down one of the top 10 players in the world is no small feat, especially for having not played in such a long time. Maybe this will be a return to prominence for the Wario main who was once in the top 60 on the SSBBRank. With this ranking, he is the first Wario main to have made a global ranking since 2014, showing that he and the character still have what it takes to compete at the highest level.
–written by ninja1167
16. Vex Kasrani
Vex last entered an offline Brawl tournament in 2020. He hasn’t entered Smash Con since 2019. However, this year he and a couple others from the Philadelphia region began putting on their own local tournaments, which attracted attention from other ranked players who lived nearby. At Brotherly Love in September, Vex would showcase that he doesn’t even have to play his main to compete at the top level. He won this tournament over Kyoz using Fox against Kyoz’s ZSS, and picked up a win on Hinkage as well. With the return of the Tri-state Brawl scene, Vex has shown that he has what it takes to not only compete, but dominate his local competitors, which includes some of the best players in the world.
–written by ninja1167
15. RipplePuff
RipplePuff entered this year with a promising start, motivated to achieve higher than what she accomplished last ranking. RipplePuff first entered Sweet Spot 7, and managed to achieve 3rd place at the tournament, falling short to Lux while still managing to take wins over Fino and Chia, which the latter was ranked 9th on the 2020–2022 SSBBRank. However, due to circumstances that have occurred outside of Brawl, RipplePuff could not attend any more tournaments for this season, however, there can always be next year.
— written by streety
14. Lain
Lain is a legend of old school Brawl. He was one of the best players in the world in 2009, and has continued to enter Brawl events at majors even in recent times, and still does well at them, for example he made top 16 at Super Smash Con 2022 last year. This year, his first tournament was The Big House 11. Despite his 7th place finish seeming a little lackluster at first, he only lost to top 5 players Player-1 and Gunnermaniac, and picked up wins on Merrick and Grunyan Using Meta Knight and Ice Climbers. Then, just a couple weeks later, he would have his best performance of the year at Youmacon 2023. Lain would end up winning this event, defeating Chia and LOE1 twice. What’s even more impressive? This event had Meta Knight banned, and so lain decided to use King Dedede instead to take the victory, putting himself on a global Brawl ranking for the first time since 2009
–written by ninja1167
13. Big D
Big D is a Brawl veteran from the early-to-mid 2010s. This year, he took the plunge and participated in his first supermajor Brawl tournament: Super Smash Con 2023. He made a splash by gaining wins over Xufactor, Arch, and Gardex to claim 9th place. He wound up tying with other veterans Dabuz and Chia, as well major newcomers like Kyoz. While his lack of tournaments this season keeps him in the 13th rank, if he continues playing Brawl, he might very well work his way into the top 10.
-written by Tori
12. Gardex
Gardex dominated Norway for three straight years. With Bike taking a step back from competing during this time, Gardex was left as the best active player in Norway. This year, he decided to take a trip to the United States for the first time since Apex 2015 and compete at Super Smash Con 2023. He would end up losing to Hoenn and Big D, but beating Fishbait, at this tournament for 17th, however his real star showing would come later that weekend. At SSC Ranbats, he would defeat Tori, Lux, and Player-1’s Bowser to get 2nd at the event, only losing to Bike. After this tournament, Gardex would take a loss to Fabian at Smashborg Sesh 5, going out at 3rd, but would even up the record at Smashborg Sesh 6. At this event, he would get 2nd, only losing to Bike, and solidified his place as the #2 player in Norway. Should Gardex travel again, or if NAs top players make a trip to Norway, they will find his Mr. Game and Watch waiting to take them down.
–written by ninja1167
11. Strawberrow
Strawberrow has been playing friendlies on and off again for some time, but had not attended an offline tournament since BTIKC in 2018. However, he decided to attend The Big House 11 this year. This tournament featured 5 of the SSBBRank 2020–2022 top 10, but that didn’t stop Strawberrow. He would take out both Gunnermaniac and Zenan at this event on his way to 4th place, only losing to Player-1 and Chia. This was a fitting end to the year of Ice Climbers. After 3 others got top 8 at Super Smash Con, Strawberrow showed that he has what it takes to join that echelon. Don’t be surprised if he cracks his way into the top 10 next year, solidifying that the year of Ice Climbers is here to stay.
–written by ninja1167
10. Kyoz
Kyoz went from being one of the best Super Smash Flash 2 players to being one of the best Brawl players. After being ranked in the top 10 last season, he would start the season off well, taking wins over Mikeray4 and Hinkage at Xanadu Origins, en route to a 4th place finish. At Super Smash Con 2023, he would lose to his two bracket demons, Gunnermaniac and Chia, for 9th, but would still take wins over Iota, Reaux, and Azazel. After this, he would attend both Brotherly Love events, ending up with 2nd at both, but still getting wins on Vex Kasrani and Mikeray4. Kyoz knows what it’s like to be the best in the world, and he won’t stop until he knows that is where he stands.
–written by ninja1167
9. Lux
Lux, entering an offline Brawl tournament for the first time since 2018, would start the year off at Sweet Spot 7, where he would finish in 2nd, beating RipplePuff twice and only losing to Player-1. He would continue this success at Super Smash Con 2023, where after taking a loss to Mikeray4, he would take out Pelca and Dabuz in losers before losing to 686M for 7th place. Wanting to gather more data for ranking purposes, Lux would then host SSC Ranbats after this, getting 3rd losing to Gardex and Bike, but defeating Max Power and Ness682. Lux was one of the best Ice Climbers players on the 2014 SSBBRank, and, despite using Meta Knight more, has reclaimed his position as again being one of the best Ice Climbers in the world.
-written by ninja1167
8. Chia
After attending 3 tournaments that were qualified for this season, it would make sense why she would achieve a well deserved 8th place on this ranking. She first went to Sweet Spot 7, and achieved a solid 4th place, falling short to RipplePuff, while still maintaining wins off Fino and Zeton. However, she also attended Super Smash Con 2023 and The Big House 11, getting 9th and 3rd respectively. She also has an additional win on Gunnermaniac as well. Overall, she’s a force to be reckoned with, and you should watch out if you want to be ranked next year!
-written by streety
7. Mikeray4
After not having been able to compete offline since 2020, Mikeray4 made his return to offline competition this year. His first tournament ended up being a little underwhelming, as at Xanadu Origins he would lose to Kyoz and Gunnermaniac for 5th. However, he would more than make up for it at Super Smash Con 2023, where he would defeat Blacktwins13, Lux, and Bike before losing to Player-1 and to 686M in a close game 5 heartbreaker, going out at 5th place. Getting 5th in the largest tournament of almost the last decade is already good, but Mikeray wasn’t finished. He would end up winning Brotherly Love Fall Fest, defeating Kyoz twice in grand finals after losing in winners finals and in pools, as well as taking a win over Hoagieland. Mikeray is here to stay, and with his return to offline competition this year, he shows that he still has what it takes to compete with the best.
— written by ninja1167
6. Bike
As an international player from Norway, Bike went into Super Smash Con 2023 seeded outside of top 16. He had not entered an offline tournament in three years. Though he had been ranked 1st in Norway and 16th in the world in 2019, he had been largely inactive since then, but this year traveled to the US for his first international tournament. First, he defeated Pelca in top 64. Then, he did the impossible. He defeated 686M to make it to top 16 winners side. Despite losing to Mikeray4 in the fabled Mike vs Bike Snake ditto (and Snake vs Meta Knight), he would still take down Big D in losers before losing to Gunnermaniac for 7th place, which was a very impressive run considering he beat the eventual winner of the tournament. After this, however, Bike simply decided to stop losing. He would defeat Max Power, Ness682, Lux, Player-1’s Bowser, and Gardex to win SSC Ranbats, then would dominate in Norway. He won Smashborg Sesh 5 and 6, without dropping a single set in any of these. This is a very impressive string of results from Bike, and with Norway’s Brawl scene looking to have its largest event ever in 2024, look out for what he can do in next year, and beyond.
–written by ninja1167
5. Gunnermaniac
Starting our top 5 players, Gunnermaniac’s lightning-fast Pikachu has claimed many victories over the course of the season. Kicking it off with Xanadu Origins, he earned a solid third-place finish after beating Mikeray and Kyoz. His only losses were against Cody, the eventual winner of the tournament. At Super Smash Con, he continued taking names by beating Ish, Hinkage, Kyoz, and Bike, showing versatility against not only strong, heavy characters but against highly-mobile characters as well. He finished the year strong with a fifth place win at The Big House, earning a win against lain and ninja1167. With a consistently strong showing against all kinds of characters in Brawl’s roster, Gunnermaniac speedran his way into our hearts and the fifth place ranking.
— written by Tori
4. Hoenn
Hoenn brought a strong performance as a dual-main of Meta Knight and Ice Climbers. Starting with Beak Bonk 2023, he beat several regional top-players like Jamntoast and Praxis, only losing against last-years top-ranked player, 686M in winners and grand finals. He had a similarly strong run at Super Smash Con with notable wins over Gardex, veteran Olimar-player Dabuz, and Cody. Hoenn brings consistently good play to the table and fights with the best of the best, earning him the fourth spot on the ranking.
— written by Tori
3. Player-1
Despite maining Diddy Kong, Player-1 made it clear he was having no monkey business and maintained a strong performance over the course of the season. Starting strong with a first-place finish at Sweet Spot 7, he beat other ranked players, Chia and Lux, without dropping a set. He continued to place at the three largest tournaments of the year by getting second place at Xanadu Origins, Super Smash Con, and The Big House 11. In addition, he also placed third at Ranbats using only Bowser, showing off strong fundamentals. After such an impressive year, the results make it clear that Player-1 is a contender for the top spot and more than deserves his third place in the ranking. Only time will tell if he can trip up the people above him to take their place
.— written by Tori
2. Cody
Cody went into this season looking like the best player in the world after his win at Apex 2022, and he started this season off with a bang. At Xanadu Origins, he would make it all the way to winners finals using his Marth and Olimar secondaries, defeating Gunnermaniac on the way. After taking a loss to Player-1 in winners finals while playing these secondaries, he switched to Meta Knight, and went 9–0 in games and 3–0 in sets, including a rematch with Gunnermaniac, and defeating Player–1 6–0 in grand finals. Despite a bit of an underperformance at Super Smash Con, where he would place 4th losing to Hoenn and 686M in two game-5 sets. Cody would bring things back at The Big House 11. At this tournament, he would take down Chia using his Lucario, and then Player-1 twice using Meta Knight and Marth, winning his second national of the year. This performance solidified his 2nd place finish on this ranking, and next year, maybe he’ll show that he has what it takes to make that jump and claim the number 1 spot.
–written by ninja1167
1. 686M
Super Smash Con 2023 was a monumental tournament. For one thing, it was the largest event in almost a decade, sitting at 223 entrants. It also was an incredibly stacked event. It featured 12 out of the SSBBRank 2020–2022 top 15. It also featured Bike and Gardex, the two best players from Norway, as well as many other skilled players (for more info, check out this article I wrote). For an event like this, it would be a very impressive feat to win. And for a while, it may have seemed like we would have a new Smash Con winner for the first time since 2019, when 686M was knocked into losers outside of top 16, by Bike. However, he would go on to win nine consecutive sets in losers, defeating players such as Chia, Lux, Mikeray4, Cody, Hoenn, and Player-1 twice to take the event, in a dominating fashion (despite the dropped chaingrabs), and became the first player since 2016 to win a major without Meta Knight, using Ice Climbers instead. Couple this with a pair of wins over Hoenn at Beak Bonk 2023 and 686 has solidified his grasp on the Brawl scene as the number 1 player in the world.
-written by ninja1167
Well, there it is, the top 10 Brawl players in the world for 2023.
A couple interesting facts:
With this ranking, Player-1 and Mikeray4 are the only players to have appeared on every edition of the SSBBRank. Vex Kasrani and Cody have appeared on 4 out of 5, and everyone else has appeared on less than that.
Of all the players on the ballot, Player-1 attended the most ranked events, making it out to 5 of the 11 tournaments considered.
Chia is for two years in a row the only solo mid-tier main to be ranked in the top 10.
For the first time since 2014, the #1 ranked player has been someone who doesn’t play Meta Knight, with 686M playing exclusively Ice Climbers (and Peach) in singles.
2024 is looking to be a big year for Brawl, and if you want to be a part of it, join us at Brawl Central! We’d love to have you!
Credits:
Writing: @ninja1167 (Including the introduction, methodology and conclusion in addition to the player write-ups), Streety, Tori
Proofreading: @ninja1167 , Tori
Playercard Graphics: Ashley, Template by E2B
Thumbnail Graphic:
Zerp
