For the second straight year, MeleeItOnMe is ranking every SSBM Player and counting them down on Twitter (#SSBMRank2014 @Meleeitonme), from No. 100 to No. 1 .

We asked a panel of ~30 players/commentators/figureheads from all across the world to rate the overall level of play for each player in 2014 (From January 2014 –> The Big House 4). This includes evaluating perceived skill in tandem with the tournament results.

Kalamazhu

Rank
Kyle “Kalamazhu” Zhu | @MW_Buster
 Score
40 Up_Arrow(NEW)
 Main(s) Peach Region: Michigan 7.486
Tourney Results
Apex 2014 MLG Anaheim CEO 2014 Evo 2014 The Big House 4
– – – 49th 9th
Summary:
Kalamazhu has been a quickly rising Midwest star for a couple years, but in 2014 he staked his claim as one of the best Peach players in the country. The Michigan Smasher earned some good results throughout the summer, taking 9th at Super SWEET, 33rd at SKTAR 3, and 49th at Evo 2014. At The Big House 4, however, Kzhu tore through the bracket, taking sets off LuCKy, VaNz, Porkchops, KirbyKaze, and MacD before finally succumbing to a game 5 last stock loss vs Hax and a 9th place finish.

 

DJN

Rank
Hendrick “DJ Nintendo” Pilar | @DJNintendo17
 Score
39 Up_Arrow(41)
 Main(s) Fox Region: Tri-State 7.490
Tourney Results
Apex 2014 MLG Anaheim CEO 2014 Evo 2014 The Big House 4
33rd – 17th 33rd 17th
Summary:
Many years of experience as well as incredible character knowledge has led DJ Nintendo to become one of the best players in the Tristate area for much of his very long career. Name a character in the game, DJ Nintendo plays them. This incredible depth and knowledge has led DJ to become very famous for wielding by far the best Bowser in the world, while having an extremely solid Fox, Samus, and Mario to boot.

 

Duck

Rank
James “Duck” Ma | @ssbDuck
 Score
38 Up_Arrow(75)
 Main(s) Samus Region: Michigan 7.517
Tourney Results
Apex 2014 MLG Anaheim CEO 2014 Evo 2014 The Big House 4
129th 45th – 33rd 25th
Summary:
Considered not only the top player in Michigan but one of the best in the Midwest, Duck commands a fearsome Samus with a specialty in eliminating Space Animals. Known as the Canada slayer for his multiple wins over KirbyKaze, RaynEX, and Weon-X, he has also defeated top players such as Cactuar, VaNz, Kels, Tai, HugS, Lovage, and Zanguzen in the past year. His solid neutral game is backed up by a read-heavy punish game and excellent edge guarding. Famously, Duck conceded his Losers Finals set to M2K at Fight Pitt 4 so the already-late tournament could finish Grand Finals, to Twitch chat cries of “Duck the Police”.

 

Hugs

Rank
FRQ | Hugo “HugS” Gonzalez | @HugS86
 Score
37 Up_Arrow(47)
 Main(s) Samus Region: SoCal 7.553
Tourney Results
Apex 2014 MLG Anaheim CEO 2014 Evo 2014 The Big House 4
17th 45th – 49th 33rd
Summary:
HugS is about as old school as players get in SoCal. He’s seen the rise and fall of stars throughout his long career, from Ken to Mango to the current SoCal big five. The one thing that remains constant is his own ability to stay afloat, always being able to compete with the best in his extremely stacked region. He uses many years of experience and extensive matchup knowledge to get the better of his opponents, including wins over Fly Amanita and Westballz. His most notable national result this year is Apex 2014, where he defeated Colbol and took Dr. PeePee down to the wire in a nailbiting three-game set.

 

DEHF

Rank
Larry “Larry Lurr” Holland | @LarryLurr
 Score
36 Up_Arrow(87)
 Main(s) Falco Region: SoCal 7.613
Tourney Results
Apex 2014 MLG Anaheim CEO 2014 Evo 2014 The Big House 4
49th 25th 13th 33rd –
Summary:
Impressively, Larry is proficient not just in Melee, but also Smash 4, Project M, and Brawl. His strong fundamentals along with ability to stay poised allows him to perform at a very consistent high level.

 

ZeRo

Rank
Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios | @ZeRoSSB
 Score
35 Up_Arrow(NEW)
 Main(s) Fox Region: Chile 7.645
Tourney Results
Apex 2014 MLG Anaheim CEO 2014 Evo 2014 The Big House 4
– 17th 17th 17th –
Summary:
Previously known more as a Brawl and Project M player, ZeRo has displayed considerable growth over the last several months in Melee. The Chilean native draws on his strong mental approach and spacing fundamentals, boasting a polished run-and-gun style with his technical Fox that centers around positioning and patience. His ascent in 2014 culminated in 17th-place showings at CEO, MLG Anaheim and EVO, where he picked up wins over aMSa, Fiction and SFAT. The accomplished 19-year-old’s smarts and adaptation should suit him well moving forward.

 

Abate

Rank
Stephen “Abate” Abate | @AbateSmash
 Score
34 Up_Arrow(58)
 Main(s) Luigi Region: Pennsylvania 7.650
Tourney Results
Apex 2014 MLG Anaheim CEO 2014 Evo 2014 The Big House 4
– – – – 17th
Summary:
Hailing from Pittsburgh, Abate is one of the premier Luigi mains out there, contributing largely to the advancement of the character’s metagame. He has earned notable victories against the likes of Hax, Westballz, Cactuar and VaNz, and he brought Colbol to Game 5 of Losers’ Finals at Fight Pitt V. After finishing third to Mango and Armada at The Shape of Melee to Come 5, Abate also placed 17th at The Big House 4, defeating Darkrain and tying with other top players such as DJ Nintendo, KirbyKaze, Nintendude and Shroomed.

 

Bladewise

Rank
62 bit | Teddy “Bladewise” Seybold | @bladewise00
 Score
33 Up_Arrow(34)
 Main(s) Peach Region: Washington 7.692
Tourney Results
Apex 2014 MLG Anaheim CEO 2014 Evo 2014 The Big House 4
33rd 37th – 25th 25th
Summary:
A top Washington smasher as well top United States Peach, Bladewise also wields a deadly Marth. Placing 33rd at Apex was the start of a good year for Bladewise, later getting second at Northwest Majors VI where he defeated his long time rival, Silent Wolf. Top 32 placings at both EVO and The Big House later in the year proves that Bladewise is a Peach powerhouse.

 

Chudat

Rank
Mortality | Daniel “Chu Dat” Rodriguez | @MorChuDat
 Score
32 (22)
 Main(s) Ice Climbers Region: MD/VA 7.823
Tourney Results
Apex 2014 MLG Anaheim CEO 2014 Evo 2014 The Big House 4
33rd 29th 9th 17th 513th (D/Q)
Summary:
The man who took Ice Climbers to a new level, MD/VA veteran ChuDat continues to compete at the highest level of Smash, in both singles and doubles. ChuDat’s unique character pool (Ice Climbers, Young Link, Pikachu) has led him to continue extremely solid placements at both locals and majors, and recently being sponsored by new eSports team, Mortality, Chu shows no signs of slowing down. The man who invented the modern Ice Climbers is still one of the best.

 

Eddie

Rank
XTR | Eduardo “Eddy Mexico” Lucatero Rincon | @EddyMexico007
 Score
31 Up_Arrow(42)
 Main(s) Luigi Region: Mexico 7.825
Tourney Results
Apex 2014 MLG Anaheim CEO 2014 Evo 2014 The Big House 4
– 25th – 17th –
Summary:
Arguably (hey, we love Abate too, Pittsburgh!) the best Luigi main in the world, Eddy Mexico turned in numerous strong showings in 2014. Hailing from Baja California, Mexico, his status as a regular fixture at SoCal events has caused many in the region to claim him as a de facto SoCal resident. His oft-discussed SSS win in March saw him take victories over a veritable murderer’s row including MacD, HugS, Fly Amanita, Westballz, and S2J, cementing his status as a dangerous threat to even the strongest non-gods.

 

SSBMRank 2014: 100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71|70-61 |60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-26 |25-21 | 20-16 |15-11
10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1