At the only tournament they've both been to, Shogun did as well (placement-wise) as Chamberlin, who is also from Arkansas. However, he (Shogun) never played (as far as I know) anyone else from Ark, so there's no direct results to back the "best in Ark" title with. And it's worth mentioning that I beat him in all (or at least most, I don't really recall losing any though) the Samus dittos we had, while I tend to go pretty even with Saberguy (also from Ark) and Chamberlin.
That said, from talking with him, I don't think he'd go around trying to claim that title himself, as he didn't seem really cocky to me. I think you're just backing up your friend because he's your friend, which isn't that bad, unless you say things he wouldn't want you to (I wouldn't want my crewmates to say I was the best Samus in the south or anything, because I'm not). Also, from playing him, I know he's a d@mn good Samus/Mario/Link?, and I'd like to see him come to more tourneys and get more experience. Also I want to play him again ^_^