Welcome to the 2023 Super Smash Bros. 64 PR! This list was made by Andykins, BigRed, Box, Darkhorse, Dogs_Johnson, Dr. Sauce, Fray, Huntsman, Josh Brody, KrisKringle, Pokehero, Shihman, and SOTO!
Players who attended 2 qualified tournaments are eligible with the exception being if a player only attended Super Smash Con and they played 8 total sets there. Hidden Bosses and “Expansion Pak” are added to recognize players who are not eligible to be ranked or just missed out on ranking respectively.
Rankings
Hidden Bosses
HB – (PA, USA) Finio [Pikachu]
HB – (AZ, USA) Sleepy Fox [Fox]
HB – (ON, CA) Janco [Yoshi]
HB – (Peru) Chars [Yoshi]
HB – (UT, USA) Nackle [Kirby]
HB – (MX) Sombrero [Kirby]
HB – (MD, USA) Darkhorse [Captain Falcon]
HB – (FL, USA) SheerMadness [Yoshi, Fox]
Expansion Pak
65 – (PA, USA) Razz [Yoshi]
65 – (AZ, USA) Freean [Luigi]
65 – (VA, USA) Cool Lime [Captain Falcon]
65 – (VA, USA) MasterHandJob [Pikachu]
65 – (NJ, USA) Bloogo [Pikachu]
65 – (NY, USA) Bobakanoosh [Captain Falcon]
65 – (NY, USA) dmolz [Captain Falcon]
65 – (FL, USA) Grandma [Captain Falcon]
65 – (IL, USA) Combo Blaze [Donkey Kong]
65 – (MI, USA) Velocity Jones [Kirby]
Top 64
Top 10
Like a fine wine, JaimeHR continues to get better with age. After picking up the game in the early 2000’s and remaining a top NA threat for years, Jaime is having the best stretch of his storied career. Strong performances at Super Smash Con and Smashtoverfest, led up to his crown jewel of 2023, Battle at the Border. There, Jaime would go on to have the most impressive Mario run in SSB64 history where he took out top-level foes of KD3, Josh Brody, and finally SuPeRbOoMfAn (playing Captain Falcon) in Winner’s Finals. He would go on to be bested by Boom in the run-back well into the later hours of the night, but his patient play combined with precise edgeguarding and deadly combos with a rarely seen character at top level will be remembered and perhaps inspire future Mario players similarly to Isai’s performance at Apex 2013. Only time will tell what other great feats Jaime has in store for 2024.
– Box
The Falcon, and sometimes tri-main from Texas, is no stranger to being a top player in Smash; his lowest rank landed him at 19th back in 2016. Despite only going to two major tournaments from 2021-2022, Zero upped his attendance in 2023, attending four major tournaments. He started the year off with a bang, locking in a 3rd place finish at Xanadu. Here he locked in his marquee win of the year against SuPeRbOoMfAn’s Fox, using his hardened Kirby to win the set. He also grabbed set wins against KD3, Hero Pie, and baby caweb along the way.
He followed up the strong performance at Xanadu by making it out of pools to the winner’s side bracket of SSC, a momentous task in today’s competitive environment. There he met the gauntlet of fellow American top players. Despite losing to Shihman, he more than made up for it with a back-to-back 3-0 against KD3 and Dogs_Johnson finishing 9th at our World Cup. In all, Zero looked to be back in traditional form, winning a whopping 29 sets against ranked players on year, and closing out the year with a 3rd place finish at Off-Season 2 and 5th at SmashtoVerfest. Rumor has it that Zero has solved his controller issues moving forward, meaning the sky’s the limit for this Texan superstar. Although we have yet to see if he’ll give 2024 a fair shake, you can’t help but get the feeling that ranking top 10 in the world is entirely up to him deciding to show up.
– Andykins
Rumors of Alvin retiring from competitive Super Smash Bros. 64 have echoed countless times, and each time he has returned with a vengeance. Alvin proved in 2023 that he still has what it takes to compete at the highest level, even in today’s evolving meta. Despite this being the lowest rank of his career, this marks the 6th time in six rankings that Alvin has been ranked as a top 10 player, a feat no other player has accomplished. This is a testament to his skill and longevity. Despite competing and practicing less, Alvin still posted a 9th place finish at Super Smash Con 2023 earning victories over top 20 talents Shihman, Maha, and Joshi before falling to Chilean phenomenon Nax in the bracket
A few months following Super Smash Con 2023, Inka Fest 2 was hosted in Tacna, Peru. This tournament featured 2022 #1 player, Kurabba, and 2016 #1, Wario, both traveling from Japan; alongside several top American talents. Alvin bested many of his fellow countrymen, including the legendary Gerson. Alvin finished with a strong 3rd place finish following a victory over Wario, bringing his lifetime record against the former world champion at 3 to 2. We do not know if Alvin will grace the stage of competition again, but his legacy is indelible. For those who’ve had the pleasure to witness his maneuvers, study his strategies, and cheer for his victories, Alvin will forever be etched into memory as one of the titans of Super Smash Bros. 64—a true legend of the game.
– Dr. Sauce
The venerable Wizzrobe has always been in the conversation as the best Yoshi player in North America, proving relatively dominant against his peers and more than capable against the outside-of-region talent, as shown by his supermajor win at Inka Fest in Peru in 2019. This, in turn, put him in the conversation as world-class, a status few could achieve in their career. Despite this, a few lackluster performances created gossip questioning that position: had Wizzrobe lost his touch? Was this just a slump? 13th at Super Smash Con 2022 was a career low for Wizzrobe, failing to reach the top 10 for the second time ever at a 64 event. Surmounting personal battles and focusing elsewhere such as other smash games may have affected the consistency we had once seen.
However, Wizzrobe reformed and emerged as a strong competitor– one we always knew of. Placing 7th at Super Smash Con 2023 with victories over world-class players such as Alvin and Hammerheart, and playing in extremely close competitive sets against former world champions SuPeRbOoMfAn and kysk proved he still has a lot to show as a competitor. His tenacity and willingness stood against doubt, arguably reclaiming his status in 2023. Wizzrobe’s overall performance at Super Smash Con 2023 and The Off-Season 2 could be considered ‘business as usual’ outlasting many up-and-comers and other ‘giants’ in the scene.
– s_goon
Having already placed first at Super Smash Con 2019 in both Singles and the Combo Contest, KYSK had one goal in mind: to complete the trifecta of the main Super Smash Con events by winning the doubles bracket too. In the lead up to his trip to Chantilly, Virginia, where Super Smash Con 2023 is held, KYSK practiced tirelessly with his teammate and fellow ranked player, Take, against some of Japan’s best to prepare for the incredibly competitive bracket at Super Smash Con.
This practice paid off with wins over excellent teams like Stevie G & KD3 and Tacos & Alvin, until running into Isai and SuPeRbOoMfAn, possibly the greatest team combination SSB64 has ever known, in the grand finals.
With singles becoming more of an afterthought for KYSK, one would think a drop-off is inevitable. While he didn’t reach the peaks of his 2019 performance, a 5th place finish and comeback wins on multiple top ten players showed he has the ability to win again when he decides to focus on singles.
– Box
One of competitive Smash 64’s most surprising journeys is that of 2023’s #5 ranked player, KeroKeroppi, who matured from a cocky kid making boisterous claims on SmashBoards – to one of North America’s foremost competitors in a few short years. More than a decade later, Kero’s masterful Pikachu finished in 2023 being ranked in the top 5 for the 3rd time in his career, and achieved one of his long-time goals: winning a major tournament over SuPeRbOoMfAn.
As if winning Xanadu Origins undefeated wasn’t enough, Kero backed it up with his most impressive Super Smash Con performance ever, making a run to 4th place and finishing the year without dropping a single set against a player ranked below him. There’s one more goal Kero set for himself all those years ago that he has yet to meet: being the best, but his performances in 2023 sent a clear message. KeroKeroppi is closer to the top than ever before.
– Fray
Although it’s been less than two years since Nax made his debut in North America, the Chilean hero has cemented himself as one of the world’s very best players for two years in a row. After stunning everyone with a dazzling 2nd place finish at Super Smash Con 2022, Nax would return once again for an elongated stay in the States. His first major tournament on his North American tour was the notorious Super Smash Con, but right before the long-awaited weekend, he would participate in a Teflon Ron tournament where he would best SuPeRbOoMfAn in a 2-1 set. It seemed that this information was enough for Boom to turn the tables on Nax, as Boomfan adapted and ended up winning their set at SSC 2023. Nax would then fall to his now firmly established rival, Kurabba to finish in 5th place.
Although the performance was not what he wanted, Nax would make up for this performance by annihilating everyone in his path in each subsequent NA tournament without dropping any sets, winning a Grease My Stick over Robert, a WisePheno tournament over KD3 and Lowww, the Offseason 2 over Wizzrobe, and finally Smashtoverfest over Josh Brody and KD3 once again.
He would then return to South America where he entered the 2nd most stacked tournament of the year, Inkafest 2. Nax took out Peru’s prior #1 player, Gerson, as well as home turf Alvin, where the previous best South American player had a significant buff. However, Nax would falter once again to Kurabba two sets in a row to finish in 2nd place. He didn’t go out without swinging though; Nax’s Pikachu showed glimmers of hope after he switched to the rat once the Kirby counterpick didn’t work. Is this a sign of things to come? Nax fans around the world are hoping he will be able to emulate the goat of Smash 64 and best the beast from Japan someday soon.
– Dogs_Johnson
SuPeRbOoMfAn’s unexpected return to the competitive realm of Super Smash Bros. 64 sent ripples of excitement throughout the community. Following his retirement post-Super Smash Con 2019, the community had settled into a new era without the presence of his legendary gameplay. However, in 2023, he made a surprising comeback that rekindled the spark of classic SSB64 showdowns. Before stepping back from the competitive scene, his reign over North America was unrivaled. His passion for competition led him to issue a unique stipulation to the community —they would determine what character(s) he’d play in each tournament through an online poll on Twitter.
His resurgence kicked off at Xanadu Origins, the largest non-Super Smash Con SSB64 event of the year, drawing the eyes of the community as the poll dictated his use of Fox. Boom managed to dazzle spectators, and although he’d drop to loser’s bracket at the hands of Zero’s Kirby, he’d go on to secure a commendable 2nd place finish, only bested by KeroKeroppi.
Following this impressive performance, SuPeRbOoMfAn continued to showcase his versatility across the Super Smash Bros 64 landscape. The character selections through community polls led him to play as an array of characters: Mario at Crovy Fest, both Kirby and Yoshi at Super Smash Con, and Captain Falcon at Frame 13 & Battle at the Border. This string of tournaments saw him rise to the top podium spot at all but Super Smash Con, where he still achieved an outstanding 3rd place finish.
What sets SuPeRbOoMfAn’s achievements apart is not merely the titles and placings, but rather his ability to adapt and win with a multitude of characters, each with their unique play styles and technical demands. This speaks volumes about his deep understanding and control of the game’s intricacies. To secure 3rd place at the Smash 64 world championship is a testament to his exceptional skills; doing so while playing characters outside of his traditional mains elevates his accomplishments to a realm of their own, solidifying his legacy as one of the all-time greats in the competitive history of Super Smash Bros. 64.
– Dr. Sauce
The Japanese Smash 64 scene has produced many incredible Yoshi players, but the best of the best is without a doubt this year’s #2 ranked player, Kurabba. Since establishing himself as a top threat in 2017 it has been very rare to see Kurabba miss the finals, and this year’s Super Smash Con proved to be no exception as Kurabba swept one of the toughest Division 1 pools before tearing through Alvin, Kero, Nax and Isai in bracket, making it to the winner’s side of Grand Finals before ultimately placing 2nd at the tournament.
Kurabba once again proved his consistency when he travelled halfway around the globe to compete in Peru’s Inka Fest 2, one of the year’s most stacked events, and triumphed over South America’s legendary smashers, including 2 sets over Nax, taking the tournament undefeated. Kurabba’s Yoshi playstyle is constantly evolving to push the boundaries of what refined play looks like, so there’s no doubt that next time the world’s best Yoshi makes the trip overseas he’ll have some new tricks up his sleeve and a winning strategy prepared for a potential rematch against North America’s champion.
– Fray
“Isai could be the best if he tried,” has long been the rallying cry among Super Smash Bros. enthusiasts – a testament to the raw talent of one player who, until recently, had an enigmatic competitive presence that both frustrated and fascinated his fans. But in 2023, the narrative took a turn towards triumph as Isai claimed the most coveted title in the Smash 64 community, the Super Smash Bros. 64 world championship at Super Smash Con. It wasn’t just a win; it was a statement – a 6-0 grand finals reset against previous champion Kurabba (who defeated Isai 3-1 earlier in the event) that had everyone in attendance on their feet, chanting his name.
Isai’s journey to the grand finals at Super Smash Con was a Herculean endeavor, marking one of the most arduous and impressive runs to victory the tournament had ever witnessed. He carved a path through an elite group of champions, including kysk and SuPeRbOoMfAn (who he defeated twice), as well as KeroKeroppi, Dogs_Johnson, and Mercy – all of whom are titans within the competitive scene, consistently ranking in the top 15 globally. The grand finals match showcased Isai in a breathtaking display of Smash 64 mastery, as he played with aggression and executed a series of swift, precise combos. Spectators were captivated by his electrifying Pikachu, especially his strategic deployment of the down special move thunder, which proved crucial in overcoming Yoshi multiple times during the match. Isai’s intense pressure forced Kurabba, a player known for his calculated and near-flawless gameplay, into making uncharacteristic errors.
This wasn’t just a tournament win; this was Isai’s renaissance, a fulfillment of the “what if” that had loomed over his legacy. Through his passion and his awe-inspiring performance, the crowd’s passionate “Isai” chants were more than just support; they were an acclamation. He was no longer just the people’s champion; he was, undeniably, the world champion of Smash 64, and his victory was as much a win for his adoring fans as it was for his own storied career in competitive Super Smash Bros. This astounding success at Super Smash Con not only marked a new chapter for Isai but affirmed the belief that had persisted since his earliest days in the 64 community: Isai truly could be – and is – the best.
– Dr. Sauce
Special Thanks
DunK (discord @feliloler750) for creating all the ranking cards
Tercero, Robert, Dogs_Johnson, Fray, and Smash 64 Theater for all the work put into the top 10 video