We are down to the big 5. These players have shown that they are a league above the rest of the competition. While the order has still yet to be revealed, we asked some players to assess their rankings of the last 5 (Assume that this order was done Pre- RoM6)

 1.       Which player is #5?

Calvin “GIMR” Lofton – Dr. PeePee. Although PeePee had an amazing showing at Apex his Zenith and Evo performances were lackluster compared to his normal placings. He DID take two sets of Armada though and I think he’s getting top 2 at Apex.

Manuel “Diakonos” Cardenas – Hungrybox. Hungrybox placed 5th at Apex and 3rd at EVO. Despite not being able to beat Mango at EVO or Armada at Apex, Hungrybox made it to WF at EVO by beating a hot Mew2King. He very narrowly missed GFs by losing a 2/3 against Wobbles. And, of course, he has continued to dominate doubles with his godlike rests and saves.

Jason “Bizzarro Flame” Yoon –  Dr. Peepee – Probably the most consistent Falco main ever seen since the heydays of PC Chris, Dr. PP had a very strong showing at Apex. However, his lackluster performance at EVO and Zenith brings him down to the bottom of the top 5 melee players of 2013. Conversely, his achievement of taking two sets off from Armada may place him higher than the #5 placing in the eyes of some smashers, but it is not convincing enough, especially taking into consideration that Armada took a bit of a hiatus from Melee before EVO, to place him higher in my book.

Vegard Nyeng – Mew2King. You simply can’t base this ranking solely on the year 2013 (particularly the last three months), it would be unfair to the top 4. Armada, PP, Hbox and Mango have all outplaced M2k throughout the last three-four(??!) years. M2k’s had a REALLY good run lately. But he’s also the only player that’s attended all possible tournaments he’s come across the last few months. The times he’s beaten Mango has happened AFTER Mango had a baby and has had other commitments and also post-Armada’s retirement. Naturally, this has lead to a weaker competition. Not to take anything away from Mew2king, but the top 5 has either attended fewer amounts of tournaments or just been more inactive than him.

 2.      Which player is #4?

Calvin “GIMR” Lofton –  Mew2King. Before TBH3 Mew2Kings greatest accomplishments were taking sets off Dr. PeePee and Mango. He still couldn’t secure top 2 at national tournaments though and kept getting bested by HungryBox

Manuel “Diakonos” Cardenas – Dr. PeePee. Despite a very impressive showing at Apex 2013, Dr. Peepee had a less impressive year that followed puts him in this position in a very tight race. He beat a rejuvenating M2K, who himself beat Mango twice this tournament. But more importantly, PP twice took sets off Armada this year: at Apex with Marth and at EVO. He had “disappointing” losses against Mango and Wobbles at the latter tournament. I suppose I put PP over Hungrybox because they lost to the same people at EVO (Wobbles, Mango). Hungrybox beat M2K, but then so did PP at Apex 2013, and PP also had an impressive win against Armada at both tournaments—a feat that Hungrybox did not manage this year. For such a close matchup it also probably does not help Hungrybox’s case that PP has a winning record against him.

Jason “Bizzarro Flame” Yoon – Mew2King. Before The Big House 3, M2K’s most notable performances were taking sets off from Dr. PP and Mango. Other than that, his placings in the national tournaments are not that impressive. If only the tournaments starting from TBH3 era were counted, then he would probably come up one or two spots.

Vegard Nyeng – Dr. PeePee. A tough pick. Only reason I’m picking PP intead of Hbox is because I feel like Hbox’s been a tougher competition for Armada (and maybe Mango) the last couple of years. Still, I feel PP and Hbox could both be listed 3^rd on the rankings.

 3.       Which player is #3?

Calvin “GIMR” Lofton – HungryBox. Prior to TBH3 and TO9 Hungrybox had an exemplary year. if I recall correctly he lost to Mango a bunch and he lost to Armada and Wobbles only once each.

Manuel “Diakonos” Cardenas -Mew2King. The king is returning, and his very recent performances really make me wonder if he is not actually the best at this moment in time. Nevertheless, pre-November 2013 performances don’t yet earn him a top 2 spot. He lost at Apex after falling twice to PP, but he also managed to beat Mango twice (and several more times at smaller tournaments in 2013). Go figure. Losing to Armada and Hungrybox is rough. Recent tournaments suggest that M2K is poised to win future matches against the Puff, for whatever that is worth. And, his impressive recent record vs. Mango is nothing to scoff at.

Jason “Bizzarro Flame” Yoon – HungryBox. During this period, Hungry Box had a dominating melee career. His accomplishments include his 1^st place at the NCR, where he bested Mango, and his 2^nd place at Zenith. Other than these accomplishments, he always has had a strong performance, where his only non-top 3 placement was at Apex: 5^th place.

Vegard Nyeng – Hungrybox. He has taken tournaments from Mango (so has PP at KoC2 tho), has solid wins vs Armada, and also had a winning streak vs M2k until very recently. You could argue Puff vs Peach or Young Link for that matter is an easier matchup than PP has, he still has a better record vs the top 5 ranked players and deserves the number 3 spot.

 4.       Which player is #2?

Calvin “GIMR” Lofton – Armada. Armada won Apex and immediately retired. He came out of retirement for Evo only losing to PP & Mango. There’s a strong chance he’d be #1 if he didn’t retire and underperform at Evo.

Manuel “Diakonos” Cardenas – Armada. It may initially seem strange to put Armada at #2, since he retired from full-time competitive smash after Apex. But Armada has been so dominant for so long and he remains such a threat to any player in any bracket that it seems wrong to put him anywhere else. He beat M2K and PP at Apex, at times rather handily. (For the little it’s worth, he also gave Mango a royal ass-whooping in his own turf in Europe. Stitchface shieldbreak omg stahp.) I can’t help but think Armada was disappointed at his 4th placing at EVO, but again, we have to consider bracket. PP has a stronger record against Armada than anyone else does.

His loss to Mango at EVO is what decides these final two placings for me. Despite Armada’s excellent record against Mango and the rest of the world coming into EVO, this tournament was the final showdown, and he needed to win here if he wanted to retain the title of #1. That’s what Mango did, and he did so with style throughout the loser’s bracket, beating PP, Armada, Hungrybox, then Wobbles twice. That’s no joke at a single tournament, especially the most competitive tournament of this year.

Jason “Bizzarro Flame” Yoon – Armada. Although he has only attended a few national tournaments in the U.S., Armada made a very impressive performance at Apex, 1^st place. His not so impressive performance, 4^th at Evo, is not such a disappointing showing due to his absence from the smash community between Apex and Evo. However, this tournament must be taken into account because every tournament, no matter what excuse, should be weighed. Other than that, many melee players have a very high outlook on Armada and some still believe that he is the best melee player in the world regardless of his retirement. The main reason why he is placed second above other top 5 contenders is because of the fact that he is the only one other than Mango to win a national tournament during the time frame provided here (Pre-Rom6). During this time period, he was capable of beating any of the top 5 players on this list, including Mango.

Vegard Nyeng – Mango. Likes to excuse himself with retirement, motivation and other external influences for his many losses, yet he has a huge fan base or NATION to support him. He’s sort of like a Walter White, no matter how obnoxious he gets, people won’t stop liking him. I’m guessing his extremely entertaining play style and willingness to play for the crowd gives him a biased opinionated status in the Smash scene. It would be a lot easier to give him a definite #2 placing if it wasn’t for the fact that Armada was somehow forced out of retirement last minute to enter Evo.

 5.       Which player is #1?

Calvin “GIMR” Lofton – Mango. Although he only got 4th at Apex he pretty much dominated all tournaments leading up to Evo including Zenith and Kings of Cali 2. After a surprising loss to Wobbles, he dominated Evo losers bracket making himself look levels above his competition

Manuel “Diakonos” Cardenas – Mango. See Above. This is not an easy list, because if 2013 results are the emphasis for the ranking, then 1-3 are largely interchangeable and 4-5 are interchangeable, too. My ranking places primary emphasis on Apex 2013 and EVO, because I think those were the two most significant tournaments with the most pride and money on the line with all top 5 players present. At the time of Apex 2013, remember, there was no EVO on the horizon and all players were striving to establish themselves as the best. The results of Zenith (Hungrybox over M2K and PP; Mango and M2K beating each other) complicate things even more, showing just how close these players really are.

Jason “Bizzarro Flame” Yoon – Mango – His smashing victories at Zenith and EVO should earn him the #1 spot of the Super Smash Bros. Melee world-wide ranking. Along with his other wins at regional tournaments including Kings of Cali 2, Impulse 2013, and BEAST 3, Mango always had great consistency in placings with the exception of his 4^th place at Apex, but even that alone does not deviate too far from consistency. Additionally, his versatility in different characters truly highlights an amazing display of skill and experience that Mango has. And popularity-wise, I can safely say that at least half of the community hails him as a king for many ages to come. But now, there is tension boiling as M2K in the current age, as the other half of the community would say, is on his path of returning as the king.

Vegard Nyeng – Armada. Had an unbeatable run until Evo, had yet to be beaten in Europe in years before his retirement. Although facing weaker competition in Europe (bluntly put), he still manages get on an extremely high level and get solid wins in the US facing the highest level of competition with all players highly motivated and well prepared. Not only that, he also pulled it off with a seemingly weaker character that no one thought could win a major. The only shortcoming is his “weak” Evo placing, which happened after a 6 months break from the game. Unfortunately, 2 weeks of intense practice couldn’t get Armada back in shape for Evo, but this shouldn’t be the determining factor on the very first global Smash rankings.