The Path to the PGR: Contenders Tier List begins today with part 1 of our Ultimate NA series.
Part 1 will cover the 17 players who were voted in to the B and C tiers of the North American PGRU Contenders Tier List. These are among the top threats our assembled panel of experts expects to compete for high rankings on the next PGRU. The Ultimate NA ranking will continue Thursday with the 13 players voted into the S+, S and A tiers.
By Jack "Jackie Peanuts" Moore
Four players were up for consideration for this list but were ultimately removed from the ballot due to a lack of data. As with the following tiers, they are presented in alphabetical order:
Notes: Cloudy qualified for the Smash World Tour Championship via the Central America Regional Finals, where he picked up wins over Chag, Nair^ and Yei (x2). However, he has not entered a single offline tournament of over 100 players since lockdown. Wielding pretty much every sword character in the game, Cloudy looks poised to join the group of elite Mexican players making waves at US majors sooner rather than later.
Notes: Loaf attended just one post-lockdown tournament of at least 200 players, but he made it count. At Riptide, he ran all the way to 13th out of 1,044 players, defeating Ravenking, ZD and Kurama as part of a five-set losers bracket run. Loaf had been a force in the Heartland previously, but this was a major improvement over his previous S-Tier equivalent best, 49th/1,610 at Smash 'N Splash 5. Dominant in his local scene in 2021 as well, Loaf will look to fully prove he's the country's best Wario in 2022.
Notes: Had these rankings been voted on after Let's Make Big Moves, Quidd, the hottest name in Ultimate, would have been a lock for this list. As is, Quidd's 25th at Mainstage was the only real major result the panel had to go off of. Quidd was clearly establishing himself as a strong player before the Let's Make run—his 2nd/192 at Philadelphia regional CROSSxUP and wins over Light and LeoN at Encore Monthly #14 showed it to those who were paying attention in the Northeast. Now, for Quidd, it might just be a matter of showing up.
Notes: After an invigorating run to fifth place at Ultimate Summit 3 in which he opened the world's eyes to Sheik's potential, VoiD has essentially gone into Smash hibernation. Taking 2021 to dive into other games like Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, VoiD's only other competitive foray in Ultimate was at Mainstage 2021, where he finished 33rd. Still, his wins over Maister, Aaron (x2), Riddles and Charliedaking show just how captivating it his when VoiD pushes Ultimate Sheik as far as she can go.
These six players emerged from a pool of over 40 finalists to finish in the Top 30 of the North American panel-voted rankings.
By Robert "BobbyWasabi" Wilson
It’s been quite the past few months for our Moist boy. And no, he’s not “just a content creator” — 7th place at Ultimate Summit 3 cemented Aaron’s status as a solid competitor in the current era.
Of course, Aaron’s rise to the top hasn’t been all smooth sailing, and his inconsistencies over the past few months make him difficult to place in a higher tier. 65th at Riptide and 129th at Mainstage are blemishes on an otherwise very impressive record.
The aforementioned Smash Summit 3 saw Aaron defeating Cosmos, Riddles, and claiming the upset of the tournament over Tweek. At Low Tide City, he outperformed his seed by beating Lima and Fatality, finishing at 9th in the process and proving he's one of the best in the game when he's on.
With Ultimate’s DLC concluding, and Sora joining Aaron’s rotation of ROB and Diddy, we anticipate this is far from the peak for him.
By Robert "BobbyWasabi" Wilson
Since that article dropped, Anathema has continued to grow as a competitor. 17th place finishes at Riptide, Low Tide City, and CEO 2021 round out the start to his offline major attendance. Based on the placings alone, Anathema’s C-Tier may come as a surprise to some. Looking at his wins, however, you can easily see why he’s deserving of a mention: his hit list includes names such as Marss, Lui$, Myran, Jakal, MuteAce, Lingling, Chocotaco, and so many more.
And with a recent 7th place finish at Let’s Make Big Moves 2022, concluded outside of this ranking period, we expect Anathema to continue improving faster than anyone prepared.
By Jack "Jackie Peanuts" Moore
That rare combination of brilliant character innovator and skilled character pilot, Charliedaking pushes Wolf harder than anybody out there. His explosive playstyle and tight execution earned him a spot at Smash Ultimate Summit 3, where he picked up wins over Dabuz, Cosmos and Atomsk to prove that despite missing out on the first two PGRUs, he has what it takes to not just hang with some of Ultimate's best, but take them down.
Charlie's attendance was minimal in 2021, and his best performance arguably came overseas at France's Temple: Hermés edition, where he took down Rinor, Space and iStudying en route to a 7th place finish, eliminated by none other than Glutonny.
At Glitch 8.5, the largest American major he attended, Charlie recovered from a stunning upset loss to Virginia Dr. Mario extraordinaire BacoN to rattle off nine straight wins, one of the post-lockdown periods longest losers runs. It included wins over Dark Wizzy, BigBoss, Pink Fresh and the runback over BacoN, a huge run that shows that even on days where Charliedaking is off his game, he's still one of Ultimate's most dangerous players.
Jude “Jakal” Harris has been one of Tristate’s biggest underdogs for a while now, dating back to his days in Smash Wii U. The frontrunner for best Wolf has been spending the past few years really coming into form, and in 2021 we saw everything come to fruition.
He corrected a shaky September with stellar performances at Super Smash Con: Fall Fest (5th) and Mainstage 2021 (25th), casually picking up wins on Dabuz, Kurama, Light, SKITTLES!!, and Zinoto in doing so. The Top 8 run at Smash Con marked Jakal's first at a tournament of at least 400 players after coming agonizingly close so many times before lockdown, placing ninth at Shine 2019, Glitch 7 and 2GG: Nightmare on Smashville in the course of three months back in the game's first year of competition.
Jakal's 2021 sample size should be enough for most to see the potential on display, and eliminate any kind of surprise around a seemingly inevitable PGR ranking in the future.
By Jack "Jackie Peanuts" Moore
Scend was a beast at the regional level, picking up wins at LEVELUP Arena 2 (Kansas) and Back in Blood 2 (Oregon) alongside two other Top 8s at events of 200 or more players. He was on the wrong end of upsets on a regular basis at majors, though, with 13th place finishes at Port Priority 6 and the Smash World Tour Championships offset by a pair of finishes outside the Top 64 (Riptide, Mainstage 2021).
Nobody was on the local grind like Scend in 2021. With a fifth place finish at Let's Make Big Moves, held after the rankings were completed, it's looking like that grind is already paying off.
For the entirety of Ultimate’s lifespan, Carrington “Wrath” Osborne has balanced out rare appearances at the biggest events by treating Top 32 as the floor when he does attend.
When events resumed he continued his ways, taking full advantage of Sonic’s craftiness en route to qualifying for Smash World Tour Championships by beating Syrup, KirbyKid, and ESAM at the NA East Regional Finals, then placing 25th at the big dance after taking out MVD and XIFL. It's not just the Sonic you have to fear, either. He has even started to show some magic with his Joker on regional level in the strong state of Georgia, picking up a win over Kola with it at July's Typhoon Saga.
Wrath’s future in Ultimate is currently in the air, rightfully so considering the volatility of offline events nowadays, but let it be known: if he chooses to compete, it will quickly become everyone’s problem to deal with.
By far our largest tier, B-Tier NA covers 11 of the region's scariest players, ranging from new threats who emerged over lockdown to players who have been winning Smash tournaments for over a decade.
By Jack "Trash Day" Clifton
Fatality was ranked 15th on the last PGR of Smash 4. Then, Captain Falcon was changed heavily in the transition to Ultimate and Fatality seemed lost. His 9th place finish at Glitch 8, showed a hint of that old flash, but after lockdown, Fatality would prove there was much more left in his tank.
Fatality grinded during the online era as much as anyone. The discovery of IDJ and Falcon buffs gave Fatality a bevy of new tools to play with, and that, combined with Fatality’s unbelievable work ethic, meant that expectations for him coming out of the lockdown were huge.
It’s safe to say that he exceeded those expectations.
There are a few Top 8s to choose from this season, but Fatality played arguably the best Ultimate of his life at CEO, where he beat Jake, WaDi, ESAM and MVD to take 4th. He looked like the better player in each one of those sets, even against some of the best competition in the world. In his set against ESAM he took what is considered to be a clear losing matchup and destroyed the world's best Pikachu in a decisive 3-1.
Fatality has a major victory in his sights this year, and he wants to be a top 10 player. They’re lofty goals, but with the way he has been playing, it’s hard to bet against him.
By Jack "Jackie Peanuts" Moore
One of post-lockdown's most-traveled players, Goblin attended nine tournaments of at least 200 players, placing top eight five times in 2021. At Riptide and Low Tide City, Goblin proved he still has the explosiveness that earned him PGRU rankings of 39th and 42nd respectively in the first two seasons, appearing in consecutive Top 8s and picking up wins over Dabuz, MuteAce, Tweek and Anathema in the process.
Goblin wouldn't reach that lofty peak for the rest of 2021. His low point would come with a 49th at Mainstage, followed by disappointing results in his home state of Florida in December at CEO (17th losing to JAVI ON EARTH) and the Smash World Tour LCQ (13th, two rounds away from qualification).
Capable of turning any hit into a KO, Goblin is appointment viewing not just for his explosive play, but because he has proven time and time again that he is capable of beating anyone, from his pre-lockdown wins over Tweek and Kameme to his post-lockdown Top 8 runs. A run to a sixth such Top 8 at Let's Make Big Moves, held after these rankings were voted on, only cements Goblin's status as one of the must-watch names in Smash Ultimate.
Ranked 3rd in his home state of New Jersey, Spacestation Gaming’s very own David “LeoN” Leon is the character specialist responsible for putting Bowser onto the map. His fateful run at Defend The North 2019, where he took second with wins over Dabuz, Light and Marss made sure that everyone knew both he and his character were going to cause some serious problems.
LeoN did, indeed, cause some problems this season: he kept getting sent to losers early, only to demolish just about anyone in his path. During Temple: Hermès Edition, he was upset during winners quarter-finals of Top 64, only to then place 4th out of 863 entrants. Fast forward to Riptide: LeoN was upset in Top 96, but won four sets in a row including a clean sweep over Marss before finishing a formidable 17th. The same phenomenon even occurred at Glitch 8.5 where, upon losing his second set of the event, he had to claw his way to 25th by winning five consecutive sets.
Port Priority 6 finally broke LeoN’s losers bracket curse, with him ultimately placing 5th and getting a couple of wins over Dark Wizzy and Fatality, his second major Top 8 of 2021 in four chances. Somehow, despite the most perilous journeys, LeoN gets to his destination every single time.
By Jack "Trash Day" Clifton
MuteAce turns Peach into a floating wall, using movement and deceptively large hitboxes to make his opponent’s life miserable. It’s near impossible for most players to get within a body length of MuteAce, then when they do, they go for a ride. MuteAce’s combos are incredible, and he can make stocks evaporate with one or two neutral wins.
His lowest placing since the return of offline Smash is 17th at both Low Tide City and Riptide, tournaments that both had over 1000 entrants. Wins on Kola, Goblin, Marss and Cosmos just scratch the surface of what he’s been able to accomplish. His unbelievable consistency and insane losers runs, particularly since his 8-set winning streak at Mainstage 2021, are becoming expected from him. Now that we’re starting to see the peaks that MuteAce can reach, it feels like he can beat anyone.
MuteAce is a player who keeps breaking through, reaching new heights and vanquishing new foes. With no sponsor, a difficult character and a stacked region, some might doubt MuteAce’s ability to reach the next level, but at every turn he’s been up-airing, down-tilting and turnip-throwing your favorite players into oblivion. Few can say they're carrying momentum into 2022 like MuteAce, and there’s no reason to think that will stop any time soon.
By Jack "Jackie Peanuts" Moore
The post-lockdown period has seen a few young Snake mains emerge in the discussion of best Snake in the United States. There's Ronnichu in Texas, and ApolloKage in St. Louis, both making huge waves at major events. But as has been the case since the very beginning, since his win at Don't Park on the Grass all the way back in December 2018, the best Snake in the United States is none other than MVD.
For MVD, who was ranked 17th on the PGRU v1 but fell off the PGRU v2, 2021 was a major return to form. His fourth place at Super Smash Con Fall Fest was just his second Top 8 since July 2019, and his win at the SWT NA West Regional Finals was his first tournament win at an event featuring another PGRU player since his win at the eight-player invitational Thunder Smash 2 over Dark Wizzy and ESAM.
MVD would reach another major Top 8 with a fifth place at CEO, adding Myran to a list of wins that includes Jakal, Tilde, Lima, Scend and Moxi. MVD has been a gatekeeper in competitive Smash for years now, and after a successful 2021, his position is looking as fortified as ever.
By Robert "BobbyWasabi" Wilson
Through the nerfs, buffs, and ever-evolving changes to the meta, the once top-tier zoner Olimar has undergone quite the metamorphosis over the years.
Yet through it all his most loyal champion continues to get people talking.
Myran has had a hot and cold few months. His 7th place finish at CEO 2021 is counterbalanced with a 129th from a DQ out of losers bracket at Mainstage; 3rd at InfinityCon was followed by 33rd at Riptide.
At face value, his results might seem more worthy of C-Tier, but if you take a closer look at who Myran has beaten since the return to offline things make a bit more sense. At CEO 2021 alone he picked up wins on KirbyKid, Javi on Earth, and Zinoto. Oh yeah, and at the Smash World Tour’s North American East Qualifier he beat a little known player named Tweek in a win so wild it had a double digit upset factor. Disrespect him at your own risk.
Michael “Riddles” Kim has been Toronto’s finest for a while now- first with Richter, then with Ken and a hint of Joker, now with a mix of Terry and Kazuya… but for 2022 and beyond, it’s a mystery to all but himself, truly putting the riddle in Riddles.
Despite solid placements at larger events such as 25th at Mainstage 2021, 33rd at Super Smash Con: Fall Fest, 7th at Pinnacle 2021, and 4th at The Comeback, not to mention wins over LingLing, Light, Sharp, Pink Fresh, and Puppeh, a character crisis revealed itself in the form of some nailbiter wins and unexpected losses post-timeskip, prompting an immediate re-evaluation of his current character rotation.
Regardless, Riddles has proven that once he has a gameplan cemented, results are certain to follow. With hopefully more opportunities to travel in 2022, he can strengthen his claim as one of the best players, not just in The Great North, but in the world.
By Jack "Trash Day" Clifton
There’s something that statistics cannot measure about Sonix, at least not yet. You can see it in any set in which he takes a lead. Take his set against Tweek at the Smash World Tour Championship. Tweek starts the set locked in, a competitor and unflappable killer, but as the set progresses the fire and the light fades out of his eyes and he’s left as just a person, a man who can’t play the game he bought for $60.
Sonix’s run at SWT is one of the most unexpected of the year. He showed up on Day 1 and lost two sets that did not feel close, forcing him into a situation where he needed to beat Chag and Dabuz, two of the best players in the world, to stay alive. Sonix not only beat them, but swept them both.
Sonix went on to beat Tweek and Maister before he eventually lost to ProtoBanham, finishing ninth. You could count the number of people who thought Sonix could finish ninth on one of Sonic’s gloved hands.
That’s the magic about Sonix. Nobody brings the set-to-set fear to their opponents like he does. The amount of mental damage that Sonix can inflict in a best-of-5 set is unreal, and his own mental stamina rarely wavers. If he starts to travel more, the Ultimate community is not safe; he is coming for you, one spindash at a time.
From New York City hidden boss to the finest Falco you can find, Michael “Tilde" Tedesco has taken flight to becoming a staple of top level Smash. Before the WiFi era, few outside of his home region of Tristate even knew who he was. Today, he is widely known not only as the world’s greatest Falco player, but the poster child of campy playstyle hatred. No matter his opponent, they will bend to the will of Tilde, who boasts one of the most frightening punish games in Smash. Off of even seemingly innocuous stray hits, Tilde is able to throw his foes into a vortex until their stocks are inevitably obliterated.
Prior to this season, Tilde’s only appearance at a major was at Defend The North 2019, where he finished at a respectable 25th. During lockdown, nobody grinded quite like Tilde, streaming constantly and entering almost every single WiFi event. His win against Marss during the time was written off as a fluke, especially after returning offline and losing again at Riptide. He quickly proved that this win was no mere accident, picking up two consecutive wins against him at both Super Smash Con: Fall Fest, where he placed an incredible 7th, and The Smash World Tour Championships, where he was able to qualify through the LCQ.
A few years ago, Tilde was nothing more than a local guy who just really believed in his Falco. If the Tilde we see today is already triumphing over a top 10 PGRU player such as Marss himself, the sky's the limit (because, y’know… Falco is a bird).
By Robert "BobbyWasabi" Wilson
It’s almost funny how close WaDi has been to Top 8-ing all the majors he’s attended in the post-quarantine era.
It all started at Riptide, where WaDi’s impressive run including wins on Sparg0 and MVD came to an end upon reaching Tweek, followed by a tournament ending upset by Lui$. 9th place. He’ll get em next time, right?
Later that month was Glitch 8.5, where WaDi made the losers run of his life beating Puppeh, Ned, and Dabuz. Who does he have to play to make it into Top 8? None other than his fellow Panda, Marss. Out at 9th again, but at least Low Tide City is next week.
Good news: Not 9th again. Bad news: 25th this time, getting sent to losers early on by Deathspade, collecting some nice wins over Sonido and Lingling, but suffering elimination to fellow ROB player BigBoss. Fast forward to SmashCon, where WaDi just made the upset of the tournament over Dabuz in losers side. Next opponent? Marss. Again. Out at 13th, time to practice for Mainstage. 33rd. Ouch. But hey, there’s CEO in a few weeks!
Well, CEO came and went, along with another 9th place finish for WaDi after he fell into the path of a speeding Fatality in losers bracket. Fate, it seems, was not in WaDi's corner for 2021.
While we're sure this is much funnier to us than it is to him, few in the scene can consistently laugh off such close calls like WaDi. And we’re sure whoever is on the losing end of WaDi’s inevitable future Top 8 qualifying match will also be on the receiving end of a very, very firm handshake.
The young king of Staten Island and one of New York City’s finest, Salvatore “Zomba” DeSena has become nothing short of a Super Smash Bros. household name. Originally a jack-of-all-trades known for his (slightly toxic) random ditto money matches, Zomba has honed himself into one of the deadliest ROB players not just on the east coast, but in the entire world.
Zomba’s consistency in 2021 was staggering: he either met his seed or severely outplaced it at every single major event this season, making bracket-shattering upsets along the way. His run to 4th at The Smash World Tour Championships was nothing short of legendary. Revenge was finally taken on Kola, to whom Zomba had lost at Super Smash Con: Fall Fest and just a few weeks prior at CEO 2021. It is at SWT that Zomba made his biggest claim to fame: the infamization of ROB’s back-air, now aptly dubbed “The Zombair.”
At only 16 years old, Zomba has already achieved and accomplished so much in the realm of Smash, but he is not done yet. He has an even brighter future ahead of him and every day that he chooses to pick up his controller is a day that he makes his home region of Tristate proud to call him their own.
