Upcomer is proud to partner with the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank team to present the WWRv7! The Wi-Fi Warrior Rank rates 50 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players based on their performances in online tournaments. Check out the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank Discord to find out more about Smash Ultimate’s competitive online scene.
Some of the players on today’s list are established offline veterans; long hailed as some of the best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players in the world. Conversely, the list also features a handful of newbies making their WWR debuts, including the highest-ranking newcomer on the WWRv7.
WWRv7: 20-11
A man who is no stranger to the PGRU or the WWR, Samuel “Dabuz” Buzby and his Min Min appear at No. 20 on the WWRv7. Dabuz remained incredibly consistent in the handful of events that he entered throughout the season. He initially made waves at The Lunch Box #8 in Jan. There, he took down names like MVD, Oatmeal and SKITTLES!! before finishing in third place. His fifth place finish at Beyond the Spectrum in April also helped him climb the ranks this season. At that event, Dabuz defeated Middy and Capitancito.
A pair of ninth place finishes at both the Pandemic Anniversary Series: Finale and the SWT NA Northeast Online Qualifier elevated Dabuz’s performances for the season to even greater heights. At these events, he found wins on LingLing, Ravenking and Sogoodpop, plus another win on Middy. Dabuz was one of the most consistent threats that this season had to offer. This was evidenced by the fact that he had only one unranked loss. However, his lack of many wins against players ranked above him held him back from being any higher. Regardless, Dabuz has proven, time and time again, that he is one of the greatest players that Ultimate has ever seen. As he returns to offline play, we can certainly expect his Olimar, Rosalina & Luma and Min Min to continue bringing him to the very top.
— Sean “GME” Wilkinson
Yet another player prominent in both online and offline play, Nicholas “Ned” Dovel makes his mark on yet another WWR. This time, he has dropped only one spot from last season to land at No. 19. Opting for Sephiroth, rather than Pokémon Trainer for a majority of this season, he managed to make top eight at all but one of the WWRv7 events he entered. That included some of the season’s most stacked events. At both Lunchbox + and The Lunch Box #10, Ned finished in fifth place. He slashed through Yez, ven, JeJaJeJa, ATATA, Riddles, 9superpie and more across both brackets. Ned also placed fifth at Get Clipped #9: Smashentine’s Day, eliminating rm8 and Kiyarash.
Additionally, Ned performed incredibly well at the S-tier SWT NA Northeast Online Qualifier. He finished at seventh place while defeating three strong Tristate threats: NickC, Mr. E and WebbJP. In such a challenging season, Ned’s consistent appearances in top eight were incredibly impressive. These performances showcased just how strong Ned is with his new character in hand. While he may have been held back a bit by not having as solid a resume of wins as other players above him, Ned has still proven to be an incredibly strong threat in any bracket. As the metagame develops, we’ll be sure to see him pushing the limits of Sephiroth offline.
— GME
After a season’s absence, Eric “ESAM” Lew has taken his rightful spot back in the top 20 of the WWRv7 on the back of a few electrifying performances. His ability to find openings and extend his advantage on his opponents makes his Pikachu a nightmare to fight online or offline. This is especially true when complimented with a methodical Min Min for when he wants to play at a distance.
Undoubtedly, ESAM’s most well-known result of the season would be his second place finish at the SWT NA Southeast Online Qualifier. He only dropped games to the FGC character specialist Vendetta. Meanwhile, he easily qualified for the offline portion by beating players such as 8BitMan, Wrath and Kola. Possibly even more impressive was his performance at Return To Subspace: Online. After losing early to EmoLord the Samus, ESAM careened through losers bracket with wins over Goblin, Myran, Myles, WebbJP and Sonix. He completed the run with a game 10 win over Capitancito in grand finals.
A limited attendance of six events stunts what could otherwise have been an even stronger season. But, this handful of strong events is more than enough to remind everyone of how skillful of a player ESAM is. That’s a fact he will no doubt further reinforce once offline events return in full swing.
— Hannah “Dexy” Adey
His tag may fool you into thinking he’s a Kirby player, but his play certainly didn’t fool the WWRv7 rankings. Luke “KirbyKid” Richmond has made his way to the No. 17 spot of the list. One of the premiere representatives of King K. Rool in the world, this Louisiana talent has made more than one killer run throughout the season.
Second at Flow State, fifth at both the SWT NA Southeast Online Qualifier and Lunch Box #8, and 13th at Frame Perfect Series 5: Online are just a few of the solid results that he’s accomplished over the last few months. He’s also managed to gather wins over the likes of Sonix, Rivers, Chag, Jake, Mr. E, Lui$ and many more. His 9-9 record against the top 50, four wins against the top 20 and a low number of three losses against unranked players also prove his tenacity and consistency as a player.
Many believe that his character isn’t all that great. Nevertheless, KirbyKid has more than proven King K. Rool’s worth in tournaments, as well as his own. Make sure to follow him as he continues his reign through North America, accompanied by the continuing support of his loving father, KirbyDad.
— Cyrus “Cagt” Gharakhanian
In his best finish since v4, Markus “ShinyMark” Florido finds himself at the No. 16 spot on the WWRv7. Consequently, he boasts the title of the highest-ranking wi-fi Pikachu. That’s not to say ShinyMark is just a Pikachu player, though. The arsenal of characters he may use on any given day includes a lethal Lucina, a precise Pit and a polished Pyra and Mythra.
Proving the efficacy of even his newest characters, ShinyMark piloted solo Pyra and Mythra only two days after their release to an impressive second place finish at Get Clipped #10. In the process, he earned wins on Atomsk, Suarez and YoseFu, while only dropping sets to Jake. Easily his most impressive tournament of the season came at Smash The Router 4. There, he collected wins over Grayson, naitosharp and Yez, and even bested Lui$ twice.
With an 11-10 record against the top 20, ShinyMark has shown, over and over again, that he can face the best that the field can offer and overcome. We hope to see even more from him in the future. He could very well prove with conviction that he has the makings of a PGR player, in addition to an esteemed WWR player.
— Dexy
He might be sporting a new tag, but Noah “naitosharp” McCulley hasn’t changed one bit. He’s still taking names and topping brackets day in and day out. Naitosharp joins Middy as one of the only two players to appear on all seven iterations of the WWR. He has also become the only player to place in the top 20 for six consecutive seasons.
It doesn’t takes long for naitosharp’s strong results to come pouring in, and this season was no exception. Early on, he placed third at B-tier Smash The Router and ninth at S-tier The Airlock. Between the two, he cut through ShinyMark, Peckham, AlanDiss and many more. He added podium finishes at several B-tiers to follow. For example, second place at Zinc Tank #4, with wins on Br1 AV and Myles, and third place at Lunch Box #10. There, he defeated Ned and Lui$, and scored an ever-valuable win on Sonix. Finally, he earned a statement tournament victory at Beyond The Spectrum. That’s when he came out ahead of Epic_Gabriel after three hard-fought sets.
Naitosharp’s 37 tournaments this season outpaced the entire WWRv7. In addition, he got top 50 wins with seven different characters (those pictured above, plus Fox and Marth). On the other hand, his prolific attendance brought with it a slew of unranked losses; a blemish on an otherwise outstanding playercard. But, that shouldn’t detract from the incredible player that naitosharp is. There will probably come a day where we reveal a WWR and naitosharp’s not on it. But when that happens, you won’t have to go far to find him — he’ll be on the PGRU soon enough.
— Liam “Cloudhead” Estes
One of Europe’s online titans, if not THE European online titan, Pau “sisqui” Caire marks his spot at No. 14 on the WWRv7. And when we say titan, we’re not saying that lightly. Sisqui’s results speak for themselves when it comes to his dominance.
He has placed first in nearly every major online European event he’s entered. These include Coca-Cola Breakpoint 2021.4, GOUKEN LEGACY II and FCW x GC: Special Edition #1. He also famously placed second at the SWT Europe Online Qualifier. In his reign of terror, he secured two wins against the reigning European god Glutonny and took down other EU threats like AndresFn, Tarik, Freetox_, Silintor, DarkThunder and more. His only two unranked losses came at the hands of Glutonny; a member of this season’s Area 51. You had to be among the best to slow sisqui’s dominance.
However, being a European in a North America-centric scene does come with its own unfortunate setbacks. Due to the heavy enforcement of region locks during the pandemic, he has a deceptive 0-2 record against the Top 50. Bloom4Eva, his only European contemporary on the rankings, defeated him in both sets they played. Regardless, sisqui’s results more than speak for themselves. There’s no doubt that he is a fearsome player to be respected by all.
— Cagt
With only four events to his name, Angel “Angel” Nunez flew under some radars this season. But not the radars of those players in his bracket paths. He put together a heavenly performance to end the WWRv7 season at No. 13.
Angel’s position in northeastern North America gave him access to two S-tiers this season, and he made the most of both opportunities. He placed seventh at The Airlock, defeating SuperGirlKels, Sparg0 and naitosharp on the way to top eight. Then, Angel took a solid 17th place finish at the SWT NA Northeast Online Qualifier. For a while, it seemed he may stop at two tournaments and, therefore miss the minimum three to qualify for the WWRv7. But that wasn’t the case, as he made two valuable stops in the last week of the season. He placed 13th at GOML 2021, with a win over Capitancito, and third at Lunch Box #12, taking down Monte and adding one more win over Sparg0.
Four top 50 wins in four tournaments may not look like much, but all of them were against players in the top 15. Furthermore, two of them were against the reigning No. 1. Coupled with only one loss outside of Area 51, Angel had one of the most rock-solid seasons of them all. Angel’s only got so much to prove in upstate New York, where he’s already winning the locals he can make it to. We wait with bated breath for him to make it to an offline major and turn in the kind of angelic performance he’s made himself known for.
— Cloudhead
In the ever-growing sea of fearsome players that is Tijuana’s Mario “WaKa” Cervantes stands out as one of the very best. A longtime Wi-Fi attendee who had a breakout season, the Luigi master’s 12th place finish is the second-highest among newcomers on the WWRv7. And, when you take a look at his results and skill, it’s easy to see why.
WaKa’s season started strong, with such results as a lengthy losers run to third place at The Online Olympus II and a 17th place finish at S-tier event The Airlock. However, he kicked things into a new gear in the season’s final months. Lunch Box #11 saw him score two top 10 wins over Chag and Sonix en route to an impressive third place finish. He made it to fifth place at Mexico’s S-tier Maruchan Gaming Series, taking down Maister on the way. He also matched that placing at the Pandemic Anniversary Series Finale. There, he took out three WWR players with three different characters: Myran with Luigi, Jake with Cloud and Dabuz with Duck Hunt.
Versatile as anyone and a threat to everyone, WaKa was an under-the-radar titan in online play this season. He should never be overlooked in the conversation of the best Luigis around. Already recognized and ranked in Mexico, he’ll join the likes of AlanDiss, Sparg0 and many more when vying for the top spot in Tijuana. And, he’ll certainly be striking fear into anyone brave enough to invade.
— Cloudhead
The second of the Dominican Republic’s top three to appear on the WWRv7 is Kevin “Capitancito” Rossell. He made a case for himself as the king of all of Central America this season. A Wolf main under normal circumstances, he’s been rocking the Mii Gunner since early in quarantine. This character blasted him into the No. 11 spot in his WWR debut after a monstrous season that saw him defeat some of the very best.
If anyone didn’t know Capitancito before, that surely changed at the SWT Central America South Online Qualifier. He took out Sonix in a tight 3-2 set before sweeping ShinyMark 6-0 in two sets of grand finals. Thus, he secured the top seed in the upcoming offline portion of the event. Things just kept rolling as he made himself known at the many Pandemic Anniversary Series qualifiers. He placed second at Return to Subspace: Online, taking another set from Sonix. Then he took third at Beyond The Spectrum, with wins over Pokelam and Nair^, and seventh at A-tier Collision Online, defeating Epic_Gabriel and eliminating ShinyMark once more.
Supporting these standout results were several strong ones, only suffering three unranked losses. And, though ShinyMark and Sonix would each win a runback or two, Capitancito finished the season with winning records on both his closest Central American competitors. Just like they are online, the next offline battles between the Dominican Republic’s finest are sure to be intense. Capitancito is more than capable of coming out on top.
— Cloudhead
On Friday, July 30, the rankings will conclude with the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7: 10-1!
Published: Jul 28, 2021 04:00 pm