By Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
Following a long hiatus from competing, Kalindi "KJH" Henderson returned to show us glimpses of the top player we knew and loved from last decade. Better yet, he beat Hungrybox on his own home turf, which is, without question, the standout win of his career.
But it's not what defines his 2022 results - at least not by itself. That would be his Fox beating Hungrybox and what immediately happened afterward: him switching to Falco vs. Chem and Panda, his final two opponents of the event. This year, KJH has committed to dual maining spacies, and the decision's naturally led to a few challenges. Does the switch eventually pay off?
Let’s be fair to Jeffrey “Axe” Williamson. Consistent top 16 placements at Genesis and Pound are nothing to scoff at, and if anything, clearly encouraging signs for the longtime great. It’s frankly a miracle that a character as relatively weak in the metagame as Pikachu can still find success against top players like Fiction at majors.
But is it enough to bring the Smash Summit 8 champion back to Top 5? Lately, we’ve seen Axe dabble in the previously unthinkable: experimenting with Fox in some of Pikachu’s weaker matchups. The upcoming era of Axe will mark a pivotal moment in his career, and no matter what capacity in which we see the mouse return, it’s nothing short of exciting for one of the most inspiring players ever.
By Darren “Krakhead” Lynch
Luis “Smashdaddy” Rangel is on a warpath to reclaim his spot on the SoCal PR this year. At Get On My Level, he beat Soonsay and Lunar Dusk on their own turf, following the performance up with a standout Double Down. Here, he claimed a quality win over Professor Pro and an even bigger win over KoDoRiN, SoCal’s current No. 1, en route to ninth place.
With more majors coming around the corner, keep an eye on those upset threads. I guarantee you’ll see Smashdaddy on the winning side more than once - or maybe enough times before it stops being a surprise.
In this game where tier lists and matchup ratios are obsessed over to no end, there must always be a Samus that defies comprehension. Luis "TheSWOOPER" Olivo terrorized New Jersey and beyond this period, keeping his frighteningly talented region at bay while scoring breakout wins out of Tristate over Swift, Wally, and SFAT at Pound 2022.
Lest you think TheSWOOPER can only win with the element of surprise on his hand, take a look at his Nightclub VIP run - where he downed Skerzo, SluG, and finally iBDW in a set that left even one of the world's best wondering what on earth was happening on the screen.
By Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
Just like that, Dan "Swift" Petruso became one of the most exciting players to watch. Sets over Aklo, Zuppy, Magi, and Eddy Mexico prove him to be someone who can consistently defeat some of the best in the scene, not just occasionally surprise them.
Heading into the second half of the year, we'll see if Swift can bring his Fox up to speed on the big stage. From what it's shown at smaller stakes events, it's the real deal. Replicating that kind of success at the national level could bring Swift from top eight darkhorse to someone we should expect to see there multiple times.
During quarantine, you could regularly find Gio “null” Rossi on Mango’s stream, getting clipped and shipped on an almost daily basis. These last few months have demonstrated that it was all worth it. With wins on Ginger, Magi, Smashdaddy, and Lucky, null has established himself as one of the toughest opponents a Fox or Falco could encounter in bracket.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of null is how, when he’s not breaking new PGstats assets, he’s always improving. After tournaments you can find him at a local Raising Cane’s, watching his vods to learn from his mistakes. For null, the grind has always paid off. He turned losses to Polish and Bbatts into a win on Aura; a local loss to Webwipe into a win on 2saint and Game 5 clencher with Hungrybox. The sky is the limit for null, and it won’t be long before he’s the one clipping Mango in top 8.
By Eryk “Ambisinister” Banatt
Historically, Linus "Pipsqueak" Nordin has always struggled with two matchups more than any other - Marth, and traveling outside of Europe without immense difficulty. In 2022, Pipsqueak finally broke through on one of these matchups, as he went on an intensive tour of the United States via the Melee Stats Free Agent Showcase.
While his time in the States was tragically cut short by COVID-19, it was certainly not lacking in achievement, with a first place finish at Low Tide City 2022 and wins over Axe, Krudo, Salt and Swift. With Smash Summit 14 looming on the horizon, and a lovecraftian horror of a secondary Captain Falcon waiting for all his unfortunate Marth main opponents, something tells me we haven’t seen the last of Pipsqueak’s achievements.
With a murderer's row of breakout stars chasing him down and some early losses at majors plaguing him, Zac "SFAT" Cordoni finds himself outside the top 20 for the first time in our ranking's history.
Is it time to count him out? Absolutely not. A closer look at SFAT's season reveals dominant records vs the field below top 15, with wins or positive records on Jflex, Joshman, Salt, Skerzo, Suf, and Spark, but no breakout wins above that level. Don't worry - whether it's with in-game controller experimentation or out-of-game attention to his fitness, SFAT is willing to sacrifice temporary comfort for long-term greatness.
Zaid “Spark” Ali is no stranger to the global ranking. In addition to being ranked on the MPGR multiple times, he was almost certainly trending upwards, becoming a regular contender for major top eights; that is, until it all seemingly came to halt when he moved to his homeland, Pakistan, in the very beginning of 2021.
As burgeoning as international Melee scenes are, compared to North America and certainly for Spark’s caliber, where he was can only be described as a Melee desert. It's what makes Spark's brief return to the United States all the more impressive. After returning to the US in December, he split sets with KoDoRiN en route to third place at Smash Camp 2022, then defeated S2J in a solid showing at Genesis 8, before finally beating Joshman twice to win Emerald City X. Spark’s circumstances were harder than most in an already tumultuous time, and yet despite the adversity and the ever changing world of Melee, it already seems as if he never left at all.
Sasha "Magi" Sullivan has had a frantic 2022 so far. After an astounding 2021, Magi came into this year with big promise, and has mostly kept up that impressive level of quality.
A runner-up showing at The Town Throwdown and a top eight placing at major tournament Double Down may have been highlights for other players, but the real story was Magi's 2nd at CEO 2022. This Panda Cup qualifying run showcased just what Magi was capable of when she was able to knock Plup out of winners bracket and make it all the way to grand finals, where she qualified for this December’s Panda Cup finale.
By Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
In 2017, back when Kyle "Krudo" was on the CFL power rankings, I came up with the "Krudo Challenge," in which someone quite serious about improving in Melee would travel to every East Coast state's locals over the span of a month, with the goal of beating Krudo in Florida. I truly cannot explain what inspired this, but if I were to guess, it was watching Kill Bill for the 9th time and finding a way to shoehorn a then-obscure Melee player into an analogous situation.
Anyway, since the creation of this plan, Krudo's become a household name in Melee. This year, he snagged wins on KoDoRiN and iBDW, additionally taking sets over the likes of Pipsqueak, Joshman, Zamu, and Mekk. I guess I was onto something.
Matt "Polish" Warshaw came into 2022 like a surge of lightning, having an explosive 2021 that led many to label them as Top 10 in the world. While this year has been relatively quiet, make no mistake in thinking they've fallen off.
With difficult brackets and low attendance, Polish still has a standout win over aMSa at Pound. Furthermore, while it was outside the ranking period, a set on KoDoRiN at Phantom shows they can still contend with other top threats. Keep an eye out for this dastardly Peach in the coming months.
By Eryk “Ambisinister” Banatt
At Pound 2022, Dawud "Aklo" Rahman ventured outside of his home state of New York this season for just the fourth time in his entire career (the other three being Smash Summit 11, SWT NA East Finals, and SWT Finals, all three of which were in 2021). Thankfully for Aklo, his home state has no difficulty attracting strong players, which allowed him to build a resume full of victories over elite-level players like iBDW, n0ne, Polish, and TheSWOOPER.
It's with players like Aklo that we need to be grateful for well-supported local scenes - a player of Aklo's caliber from a less-developed region would likely have been one of the greatest what-if stories in the game's history. In a way, he still is.
By Darren “Krakhead” Lynch
In a post-wobbling world, Hugh “SluG” Hegarty is the one player pushing Ice Climbers to their true potential. At Genesis 8, he may have taken an early loss to Salt, but that didn’t stop him from tearing through Fizzwiggle, null, Spark, and Krudo in loser’s bracket. His most impressive performance, however, was in Vegas. At Double Down, he took out KJH, Kodorin, and Jflex - only to follow it up with a historic upset over Zain.
The only thing seeming to limit SluG’s rise are regional performances and unfamiliar matchups, as Peach and Samus surely don’t get any easier without an infinite. If SluG can overcome these obstacles, there’s little doubt that he will climb the mountain and throw everyone he finds into an icy vortex of death by handoff.
By Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
Since a quiet start to 2022, Johnny "S2J" Kim has come back in full force. His initial return to competing at locals came when Fiction was in Germany, and yet even when Fiction returned, S2J was able to defeat him and KoDoRiN alike.
The smaller victories within SoCal are beginning to point toward S2J as the clear No. 1 in Melee's most stacked region. With steady improvements in his major performances, as well as an amazing win over Hungrybox at Double Down, S2J could claw his way back to having an official Top 10 spot by the end of the year.
By Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
After an uncharacteristic setback at Genesis 8, Josh "Joshman" Lyras turned on the jets. Over the next few months of his stay in North America, Australia's reigning champion would cement himself as one of the five best players in SoCal. Joshman slowly improved upon each of his previous major placings, grabbing wins over Soonsay, Zealot, Aura, and FatGoku, also beating KoDoRiN and null.
As if that wasn't impressive enough, he took down moky, aMSa, and iBDW to make Top 4at GOML in one of the most magical underdog runs of the last decade; an incredible first for his continent and grand finale to his PGR season.
By Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
Not only did Avery "Ginger" Wilson defeat Plup in a massive losers run to ninth place at Genesis - he followed it up by winning The Function 2. This is a tournament where one of the best players in the world finished in ninth place - a result that broke the brains of so many people that it forced the community to entertain the idea of regionals not counting for rankings.
Meanwhile, Ginger didn't even drop a set, beating moky, SluG, Krudo, Swift, Zuppy, and Wally like it was just another day at work. Imagine ignoring the best single tournament victory a Falco player has had all year.
By Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
Kurtis "moky" Pratt is a reminder of all the things that make Melee a timeless experience. The fact that he routinely wows long-time viewers with dazzling combos and creative uses of his character's different tools - seemingly on the spot - is a testament to the game itself, let alone moky's sky-high potential.
It helps that he's a damn good player too; who can forget his monstrous loser's run to second place at The Function 2? Here, he steamrolled his way through Foxy Grandpa, iBDW, Skerzo, Zamu, Pipsqueak, and SluG. If you switched the names in a different order, it comes awfully close to the kind of run you'd see from someone who won a major. Makes you think, doesn't it?
No player truly fulfills the role of final boss for their region like Shephard "Fiction" Lima does for SoCal. For six months, Fiction only dropped one set at Verdugo, SoCal's most stacked local. On a weekly basis, he was challenged by top 50 talents like S2J, null, Joshman, Smashdaddy, and Suf, and regularly came out on top. In a time when many top players don’t even attend their locals, Fiction will compete at every local he can go to and win.
But don't let this success overshadow his top 8 runs at Pound 2022 and Double Down 2022, where he picked up wins over the likes of Jflex, Magi, SluG, Mango, and n0ne. This success might not be too surprising considering where Fiction was before quarantine, someone who might be considered top 10 in skill with Fox. Yet, with little to no fanfare, he switched to Falco during quarantine, and in less than two years, he grinded his way to being one of the best Falco’s in the world. If his Twitter is anything to go by, however, we may have to call him the uncontested best Falco in the world sometime soon.
By Anokh “EdwinBudding” Palakurthi
No player benefited from a single year of Melee more than Joseph "Mango" Marquez did in 2021. He had won the greatest tournament of all-time (Smash Summit 11), finished at No. 1 on the MPGR Contenders, and was officially dubbed the greatest player of all-time.
Keeping that in mind, can you really blame people for giving Mango a pass for a slow start to 2022? Besides, his performances are still good. Anyone else would have received acclaim for a solid loser's run at Genesis 8, where Mango overcame an early loss to beat FatGoku, BBB, and Axe.
If you're looking for extra reason to be hopeful, reverse 3-0'ing Jmook at Smash Summit 13 shows that Mango still has what it takes to challenge the top tier of play. Slowly, but surely, the GOAT is starting to heat up - recent wins over n0ne, S2J, Lucky, and a convincing set over KoDoRiN after the PGR season are incremental steps for the face of Melee to make a big splash in the second half of the year.
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