Daily Esports is proud to partner with the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank team once again to present the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v6 (WWRv6)! The Wi-Fi Warrior Rank rates 50 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players based on their performances at online tournaments. Check out the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank Discord to find out more about Smash Ultimate’s competitive online scene.
Today, the WWRv6 concludes with the very best online Smash Ultimate players in the world. They have all made their marks on the community, with more than half of them rising up the ranks since last season. In fact, one of them is even debuting on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank for the very first time.
WWRv6: 10-1
Some players decide to main a character out of personal attachment to their series. Others pick their character based on the competitive meta in order to have the best chance at winning tournaments. But one thing is true for all: they all have their unique playstyle that defines them. This could not be more true for the No. 10 player on this season’s ranking, Saleem “Salem” Young.
Unlike many on the WWRv6, who have decided to use fairly common, highly-regarded characters as their mains, Salem has been representing the niche picks of Hero and Steve in tournaments. Along with a handy Snake switch when needed, he’s been able to make significant waves with the unique DLC characters. Throughout his endeavors, his most notable placement was his 1st place finish at MVG’s monthly, Frame Perfect Series 3: Online. On top of that, he took the gold at Funky Monkey Fracas, landed a 2nd place finish at Jingle Jairs, and finished in 9th place at Ultimate 32.
Salem impressively holds five separate wins on Sonix, a feat not many players can lay claim to. In addition, he has a slew of wins against the likes of Epic_Gabriel and Maister, and has triumphed over other players such as MkLeo and Angel. Topping off that data is his 24-15 record against the top 50, along with a minimal amount of three unranked losses all season. Whatever you think of Salem, you cannot deny that his performance in bracket has been more than impactful. Hee poses a serious threat, no matter what event he enters.
Written by: Cyrus “Cagt” Gharakhanian
A recognizable name for any Ultimate spectator, Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey lands at No. 9 for the WWRv6 season. As the reigning third-best player in the world offline, Tweek managed to match that ranking on the previous season’s WWR. While he did drop six spots between then and now, that is certainly not due to any sort of dip in skill. As a matter of fact, Tweek showed more than ever that he is still among the very best in the game. He did so by showing off yet another character that he’s mastered. In place of Wario, his use of mostly Diddy Kong cemented him as the character’s potential best representative.
Tweek only entered events during July and August, but he remained unmatched at practically every one. This allowed him to easily land within the top 10 with only five WWR results to his name. At Get On My Line, he defeated ESAM, Kola, and BestNess to take 1st place, only dropping one game to Kola for the entire event. He followed this up with two more 1st place finishes at TNS: Pandemic Monthly 5.5 and Uncivil War: 1st Edition. At these events, he defeated Middy, Myran, Ned, Sharp, Wrath, and Epic_Gabriel, and earned two wins on Sonix. Tweek’s run at The Collective 2 was his final tournament showing of the whole season. It included three tight sets against BestNess, who he ultimately lost to in the Grand Finals. Still, Tweek earned a win on FullBloom and an additional win on Epic_Gabriel.
A 9th place finish at The Cosmic Kerfuffle, losing to Benny&theJets and BestNess, was Tweek’s only tournament result lower than 2nd place. But before being eliminated, he still managed to earn wins on Sogoodpop, LingLing, and Angel. A true mark of his consistency, Tweek only lost four sets at all during his two months of competition. Three of his losses were to BestNess, one of the best online players in the world. His only other loss was to Benny&TheJets, who barely missed the top 50 for the first time in years.
Tweek’s noticeable absence during later months of the season was the only thing stopping him from shooting even higher up the rankings. His consistent dominance has shown just how scary any character can be in the right hands. With the recent release of Sephiroth, it’s only a matter of time before Tweek can prove himself in bracket once again, whether it’s online or offline. As one of the greatest players across two Smash titles, he’ll certainly be on the grind to maintain this reputation.
Written by: Sean “GME” Wilkinson
At the end of last season, Luis “Lui$” Oceguera was one of the hottest tickets on the ranking. He came in at 23rd after ending that season strong. Lui$ was able to continue his momentum coming into the WWRv6 season, culminating in a top 10 finish at No. 8 for one of NorCal’s strongest players.
Like many players in this area of the rankings, Lui$ is something of an enigma when it comes to his character pool. He is most known for his Fox, but also has a prolific Palutena and a proficient Mario. Lui$ was even once known as the best Dr. Mario in the world without even maining the character. Regardless of the character he uses, he has historically been a threat both offline and online. This season saw lots of activity from Lui$, with high peaks at major level events. His placements included 3rd at Ultimate 32, 2nd at Smash for RAINN, 5th at Lunch Box #2, and 4th at Get On My Line 2020.
This season, Lui$ went to work with a respectable 24-28 record against the top 50. Meanwhile, he suffered nine unranked losses. In addition to his solid placings, Lui$ has shown he’s able to hang with the best of the best on this version of the rankings. His list of wins includes MkLeo, Maister, and Sonix, and he’s earned a total of four wins on BestNess. The statistics for Lui$ this season paint a picture of a seasoned player who has a strong ability to adapt to his environment and his opponents. For these reasons and many more, Lui$ placed top ten in a very competitive WWRv6 season.
Written by: Kyle “Grayola” Gray
Last season, a victory at one of the season’s biggest S-tiers and a remarkably consistent record propelled Kolawole “Kola” Aideyan to the top of the rankings. And though he didn’t quite reach the peaks of his Soaked Series victory this season, that skill and remarkable consistency was still very much there. It was certainly more than enough for a return trip to the top 10. Slotting in at No. 7, Kola spent all season showing the talent that makes him the world’s best Roy.
It didn’t take very long for Kola to start popping off this season. At Get On My Line 2020, the first WWRv6 S-tier, he finished in 3rd place. In the process, Kola slashed through Lights, colinies, and Lui$, falling only to Tweek and BestNess. Things kept rolling and never really stopped. He took the C-tier Kookus and the Money Machine over Epic_Gabriel and Sonix; placed 2nd at Elympics while beating Maister, Dabuz, and MkLeo; and won the B-tier Galaxy Gambit 2 while beating Epic_Gabriel, Sonix, Maister, and Sparg0 all in a row. And just as Kola started things off with a bang, he went out with one, too. Ultimate 32, the season’s final supermajor, saw him defeat WebbJP, mabelssb, and LeoN en route to a 5th place finish.
Kola seemed capable of beating just about anyone this season. In fact, he had at least one set win over every player ranked above him save for BestNess. And with a 38-26 record versus the WWR as a whole, and only four unranked losses, it took a lot to knock him off his warpaths through bracket. Just before the pandemic started, Kola’s story was only just beginning. And despite the change of scenery, it’s fair to say his trajectory hasn’t slowed at all. There’s a spot on the next PGR with Kola’s name on it. All he’s got to do to get there is what he’s been doing for a year and counting.
Written by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes
From the Mexican hidden boss that Meta Knight-laddered his way to success years ago, to Ultimate’s undisputed greatest player with Joker, the master swordsman Leonardo “MkLeo” Lopez Perez finds himself at No. 6 on the WWRv6. He narrowly missed the top 10 last season, with only six tournament results to his name. MkLeo delved a bit deeper this season and entered a few more tournaments, finishing impressively at practically all of them. A mixture of his best characters played into his success story this season. These included Byleth, Cloud, Marth, Lucina, Wolf, Greninja, and even Ike, showing a range of character versatility only rivaled by Sharp.
MkLeo started off his season impressively with a 3rd place at Flat Realm #7 in July. Using solo Marth, he dismantled ShinyMark, BestNess, and more before falling to Sonix and Sparg0. At Lockhart Series, the first of his two S-tier results for the season, he earned a win on Epic_Gabriel before finishing at 9th place. Meanwhile, he dropped a set to T3 DOM and lost to Sparg0 once again. MkLeo entered plenty of tournaments in August, where his results stayed consistent, but not yet outstanding by his standards. These results included 9th at Elympics #1, 7th at The Collective 2 and 5th at Zinc Tank #3. He found wins over Lui$, Nery, Samsora, and Kola at these tournaments.
Ultimately, MkLeo finished his summer off strong with a gold medal at Frame Perfect Series and a silver medal at The Lunch Box #3. Utilizing a mixture of Byleth, Cloud, Greninja, and Wolf, he slashed through Sharp, SKITTLES!!, Lui$, LeoN, and Dabuz, in addition to besting BestNess three more times.
November brought MkLeo’s lowest tournament result of the season, a 17th place finish at Frame Perfect Series 3. However, it also included a coveted 1st place finish at Ultimate 32, one of the season’s most valuable and competitive events. Every player in MkLeo’s path from start to finish was a world-class player, both online and offline. After narrowly falling to Maister early on in a five-game set, a surprise switch to Ike in their Grand Finals rematch granted MkLeo his greatest victory for the season. Outside of defeating Maister twice, he also took down 8BitMan, Aaron, BestNess, Sharp, Sparg0, and Lui$. Altogether, this was the single most valuable tournament performance by any player this season.
Though two set losses to unranked players may be more than MkLeo would have in a typical offline season, it places him among the head of the pack in this WWRv6 season. The consistency that we see him usually demonstrate is apparent in some capacity online, even if the environment makes it harder to match. As the tournament season for 2021 unfolds, we have yet to see if the top Ultimate competitor will aim for the top of the online scene, patiently wait for the return of offline events, or join events just for the hell of it. No matter what, MkLeo is an absolute threat in any event he enters. He’ll certainly always be at the top no matter what you throw at him.
Written by: Sean “GME” Wilkinson
Perhaps the most iconic lemon in all of esports, Gabriel “Epic_Gabriel” Romero has Arm Rotored his way into the top 5 of the WWRv6. It’s difficult to think of the online era of Ultimate without also thinking of Epic_Gabriel. He is undoubtedly one of the most active, hard-working players in the community. The Florida native constantly grinds events to improve and to make a living off of his passion.
His wins should come as no surprise to anyone who has remotely paid attention to him. Epic_Gabrel holds five wins over BestNess and Lui$, four over Maister and Sonix, and two over Sparg0 and Salem. This is not even mentioning the laundry list of other players he’s beaten on the WWRv6. However, that intense activity goes both ways: his 76 wins against the top 50 are balanced out by 73 losses. Additionally, Epic_Gabriel has suffered 10 different unranked losses, although this is expected given the amount of events he entered.
Alongside his wins are a number of fantastic tournament performances. He has taken the gold medal at Lunch Box #7 and Smash for RAINN; the silver at M-Kolosseum #1 and #2, The Collective, TNS: Pandemic Monthly 5.5, and CGL Smash Stick Showdown; and the bronze at Frame Perfect Series 3: Online and Smash The Router. Outside of major events, he is also consistently placing in the podium of massive weekly events and making his presence known to the world.
Even outside of bracket, you will most likely find Epic_Gabriel’s antics around social media. These never leave a dull moment for him, or the community for that matter. His impact on the scene is more than significant, and you’d be a fool not to acknowledge what he brings to the table. We are eager to continue following his career as he makes his way to the top in future seasons of the WWR and beyond.
Written by: Cyrus “Cagt” Gharakhanian
Proving himself yet again as the online scene’s top Sonic main, Carlos “Sonix” Pérez makes his second WWR appearance in a row within the top 5, this time at No. 4. This season, the race for the top spot was tighter than ever before. As a result, a drop of two spots for Sonix certainly does not indicate any dip in skill or results. In fact, he was evidently one of the several contenders for first in a second straight season of ridiculous levels of competition. His resume of wins against other top 10 players is among the most impressive of any player. Coupled with his multitude of 1st place finishes, these easily make Sonix one of the scene’s most feared players.
Sonix’s season began in July with a 1st place finish at Flamewave Neo #100. There, he defeated SuperStriker in a Sonic ditto, as well as with his secondary Roy. Later that month, he also took 1st place at the B-tier Canada Cup $200 Minor Tournament and the A-tier Flat Realm #7. In the process, he earned wins on ChunkyKong, Sharp, SKITTLES!!, MkLeo, and Sparg0. Two days after the latter tourney, he took 4th place at the S-tier Super Smash Galaxy. Along the way, he outpaced SuperStriker, Aaron, LingLing, and plenty more. Sonix also finished in 2nd place at a multitude of events throughout the season. These included Epic_Tournament, Galaxy Gambit, El Jugo Box, Galaxy Gambit 3, and Funky Monkey Fracas. Sonix notably entered three of the four M-Kolosseum tournaments. He finished in 1st place at #1 and #2 amid some of the toughest competition of the season.
Sonix won the S-tier Smash Out Breast Cancer, defeating Tarik, Chag, Mr. E, and Maister along the way. He also took home six WWRv6 wins on his way to first place at A-tier Gaming For Tots. He homed in on TheMightyDialga, Pokelam, Sharp, Epic_Gabriel, and BestNess twice. Yet another A-tier, Elympics #1, concluded with the blue blur on top after three hard-fought sets against Kola. Sonix ended the season with solid records against top 10 players throughout their many showings: 9-2 against Epic_Gabriel, 4-4 against Maister, and 2-0 on MkLeo.
Looking back on 2020 as a whole, it was extremely rare to see an event conclude without Sonix taking home a premier placing. From the beginning of the season to the very end, he took home a grand total of thirteen 1st place finishes at WWR-eligible events, including one aforementioned S-tier and four A-tiers. Throughout the large quantity of tournaments that Sonix entered, he lost to six unranked players. These losses lead to some lower placings, like 7th at MFOreo’s Chromicide and even 49th at Ultimate 32. Fortunately for him, performances like these were rare, and were far outweighed by his multitude of tournament victories. It’s no secret why Sonix ended up among the very best this season. His countless results and victories speak for themselves. Sonix is truly a master of his craft and will certainly continue to represent his character well at tournaments of all kinds.
Written by: Sean “GME” Wilkinson
Nine-plus months into the quarantine era of Ultimate Wi-Fi, it’s easy to take for granted all the PGR players taking their place in the scene. But those who were here remember there was one who was here first. Spencer “BestNess” Garner has ascended four spots to No. 3 this season. This marks a fitting finish for the player who’s been on the Wi-Fi grind for a year and counting.
On the WWRv6, BestNess’ tag has certainly proven true. Already ranked 1st in his home region of Utah, and 43rd on the Fall 2019 PGRU, BestNess’s success comes as no surprise. He is known for his flashy combos as well as his movement with Ness. These allow him to bring a completely unique playstyle that overwhelms his opponents. His ability to adapt is probably to credit for his impressive set records against some of this season’s best players.
BestNess had an impressive WWRv6 season, being incredibly consistent while also having some of the highest peaks of any player. This can be shown by his 102-53 record against the top 50, that 102 being the most WWR wins of anyone this season. Meanwhile, he only had five unranked losses. Among BestNess’ best placements this season were 1st at Super Smash Galaxy, 2nd at Get On My Line, and 1st at Lunch Box #4. His best wins list is a who’s who of online top players including MkLeo (x2), Tweek (x3), Sonix (x7), and Sparg0 (x3). BestNess had a very active and dominant season, and at certain points he looked untouchable. The aforementioned accolades and a strong competitive drive land BestNess at No. 3 on these rankings. He’s all but a lock for this area as long as he continues to compete online.
Written by: Kyle “Grayola” Gray
Though he specializes in the second dimension, Enrique “Maister” Hernández Solís couldn’t have been further from falling flat this season. Last season, Maister cracked the top 10 without breaking a sweat. He fought his way to even greater heights this time around, and he’s rewarded with a jump of six spots to the No. 2 spot on the WWRv6.
As one of the world’s best players, both online and offline, Maister quickly proved what someone of his caliber is capable of. Aside from double-DQs, he missed top 8 at only one event this season. Even more, he placed lower than 3rd at only three events. Among these excellent showings was a 2nd place finish at Lockhart Series. There, Maister defeated BestNess, SKITTLES!!, and T3 DOM before falling twice to Sparg0. Just as good was his performance at Ultimate 32. He defeated Ned, Dabuz, MkLeo, and Lui$, only falling to another of his countrymen, this time a resurgent MkLeo.
Maister secured a major tournament victory at the A-tier L4st’s Box. After DQing in Winners Round 1, Maister seemed to take it as nothing more than a fun challenge. He breezed through the losers bracket with relative ease, ending the runs of Sonix, Yez, BestNess, Chag, and many more. Met with LeoN’s Bowser in Grand Finals, Maister won two hard-fought sets, 3-1 and 3-2. Thus, he capped off the tournament with eight WWRv6 wins and 15 set wins in total.
Though he lacked an S-tier victory like he earned during the v5 season, it’s nevertheless hard to have a better season than Maister did. Two silver medals at S-tiers, only two unranked losses, and a WWR win rate of 69.69% – repeating, of course. These are all incredible feats, and no one would expect any less from a player of Maister’s caliber. It’s fun to predict where some players will go when quarantine finally ends, but Maister is a known commodity. When the time comes, he’ll enter the Avatar state and ascend to the highest echelons of the PGR. And of course, he’ll keep searching for his first offline supermajor win.
Written by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes
It’s been more than two years since the dawn of Ultimate. In turn, it’s been more than two years since a certain 13-year-old Cloud main first made massive waves. He entered online brackets of up to 800 entrants — standard stuff for those who’ve seen Soaked Series and The Box, but enormous then. And he came out on top in dominant fashion. Before anyone knew anything about the new game or the meta, they knew he was on track to be a big part of it. Barely a month after its release, Smash Ultimate had its first rising star.
And two years later, after PGR wins, strong showings at offline majors, and a never-ending streak of stellar play in the online scene he started in, it’s safe to say he’s surpassing all expectations. The No. 1 spot in the WWRv6 season goes to a five-time WWR veteran and the world’s best Cloud. It’s Tijuana’s own Edgar “Sparg0” Valdez.
Looking at the numbers, it’s easy to see how Sparg0 made it here. He boasts 13 WWRv6 tournament wins, tied for the most of any player, along with Sonix. Chief among those wins was his victory at the S-tier Lockhart Series. Despite losing early to T3 DOM, Sparg0 was not defeated that easily. He made a massive 13-set losers run, during which he only lost five more games. Lui$, MkLeo, BestNess, Sonix, and many more fell to his Buster Sword on the way. He swiftly won the runback on T3 DOM 3-0, and defeated Maister in two sets for a combined score of 6-1 to take the gold.
Statistically speaking, it was the second most valuable tournament run of any player this season. Furthermore, it was the most valuable in terms of set wins alone. Add that to his A-tier win and other top four finishes at S-tiers, and you’ve got a positively monstrous season.
And on the subject of set wins, Sparg0’s were top of his class. His 76% WWR win rate is the second highest of any player. Notably, it’s the most of anyone with more than five tournaments. And though the top four this season were incredibly close together — closer in score than the top two last season — Sparg0 pulled ahead due to his wins over the others. This season, he had seven set wins over Maister, nine over BestNess, and fifteen over Sonix — the latter being a record for any player this season.
On the flipside, Sparg0 had seven set losses to Maister, BestNess and Sonix combined. As excellent as all four players were this season, Sparg0’s 31-7 set record versus his closest competitors almost sounds too good to be true. But he proved just as capable as he was hard to beat. This is reflected in both his win rates and his 1st place finish on the rankings.
After five seasons hovering closer and closer, Sparg0 finally takes his well-deserved place at the very top of the WWRv6. He has truly conquered the online scene through and through. Though he’s a household name in the community now, and has been for over a year, he’s only just begun. Sparg0 has made a promise to make the PGR during the first season after quarantine. And looking at his results throughout 2020, one can only assume he’s capable of making the rankings and then some. Despite the accolades he already has, he’s far from done. There’s no limit to what Sparg0 can accomplish in the future. This star is still rising.
Written by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes
Published: Jan 28, 2021 04:00 pm