LumiRank 2023 | 51-60

Welcome back to LumiRank 2023. Smash Ultimate has only seen its competition grow stronger week after week in one of its busiest years yet. LumiRank is thus proud to bring you the 150 strongest players in the world, based on the period from December 19th, 2022 to December 17th, 2023.

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For information on the LumiRank 2023 schedule, check out the landing page here.

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He’s long been Japan’s best Luigi, but Yamanaction’s got a new character: Steve. The top Luigi still used the green plumber en route to some of his best runs, but with Steve in his lineup, he broke through to new heights. His season was defined by one tournament series: seibugeki.

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He struggled early, placing 49th at seibugeki #13. But it didn’t faze him. He’d start claiming top level wins and making top 8 at regionals and superregionals, rising in the ranks. seibugeki #14 let him bounce back from seibugeki #13, placing a solid 9th. But everything would culminate in his best tournament of the season: seibugeki #15.

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In winners quarters, Yamanaction met Asimo. It was expected he’d go Luigi. After all, it was a difficult matchup for Ryu that Asimo had lost prior.

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But Yamanaction had other ideas. He picked Steve.

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Asimo was ready. He bested the Steve twice to go up 2-0.

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Yamanaction hovered over Luigi.

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He didn’t pick Luigi. He won three last stock games in a row to take the set with his trusty block man.

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Once he was in top 8, he faced off against Shuton, possibly the biggest challenge he could possibly have: Yamanaction was 0-4 in sets against him, and hadn’t even taken a game. But today, it didn’t matter.

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Yamanaction two stocked Shuton in game one.

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Yamanaction two stocked Shuton in game two.

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Yamanaction three stocked Shuton in game three.

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Placing third, Yamanaction put his name out there: he’s someone you can never really count out. Even if he’s never taken a game, even if his opponent’s got the seeding, the set count, the crowd on their side, he can claim victory against all odds. In the 2024 season, keep your eye on him, because he might just take it all when you least expect it.

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— Rose “Rosebloom” Kermode

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‍HIKARU finds himself in a very unique position, as he did not attend a single tournament since the mid-year ranking release. The world renowned Donkey Kong phenomenon that once terrorized Japan, the U.S.A. and France alike has moved on to Street Fighter 6, and has not entered a Smash tournament since Golden Week, outside of a sole local in June.

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After not attending a single tournament in the second half of the year, HIKARU fell down the rankings as competitors caught up to him but still ranked relatively high due to his prior strong performances. If this is indeed the end of his Smash career as it seems to be right now, he has quite a beautiful career to look back upon.

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Few will ever forget his iconic breakout run at 2GG: Civil War back in Smash 4, where he made top 8 at arguably the most stacked tournament we’ve ever seen out of seemingly nowhere, taking down many of the international scene’s top. He placed 3rd at one of the first majors in Ultimate at Umebura SP 2 in January of 2019, and continued his strong results throughout the first year of the new game to get globally ranked again in the first half.

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2022 would be his final full year competing, and it was his strongest to date, with crazy 3rd place finishes at major tournaments Ultimate Fighting Arena 2022 in France and JAPAN 24. 

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HIKARU has been one of Smash’s staple names for many years now, piloting several characters to success in different metas and being a crowd favorite the entire time. He has hinted at intending to come back for a sixth entry in the Smash series, and if he does so, we will welcome him with open arms.

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— Alice “Alice” Len

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In the seemingly constant discussion of who the best Snake player is, the master of Nikita AlanDiss is a name that often goes unmentioned. Not because of a lack of skill, however, but because the Tijuana native has never competed in the United States, thus flying under the radar of many.

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2023 was yet another year where, despite this limitation, AlanDiss made the most out of the few opportunities he was given, as he performed admirably at both majors Mexico was able to host this year. Dual 9th placements at Delfino Maza 2023 and Smash Factor X saw him pick up impressive wins over Zomba and MuteAce, and barely lose a competitive game 5 set to Sisqui.

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Despite not competing stateside, AlanDiss managed to put up some respectable international performances regardless. He won Colombian regional CLIMAX over the country’s #1 player jjcat00, and defeated Skyjay en route to a 3rd place finish at El Salvador national Smash Legends 4.

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AlanDiss consistently put up strong showings at Mexican regionals as well, where outside of struggling in the head to head vs top Luigi WaKa he took sets off of multiple top Mexican competitors like Javi, Guilheww and Andrik.

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Despite narrowly missing out on top 50 this year, AlanDiss is headed into the new year committed to his road to best Snake, and if he manages to encounter a few more top players in brackets, he will be a dark horse candidate for a much higher ranking in 2024!

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— Alice “Alice” Len

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Avid followers of the Smash 4 scene will remember when Lv.1 first made his name known on a national scale, running a monster losers run to 5th place at Umebura T.A.T. But even then, Lv.1 could never claim to be the best Toon Link — not in the world, not in the country, not even in his home region of Chubu, always existing in the shadow of Brawl legend Sigma. That is, until now.

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Lv.1 started off the year solid — 9th at Kagaribi #9, 13th at MaesumaTOP #11 — but it wasn’t until the middle of the year that he began to truly stake his claim. The 256-entrant Grand Slum 15 saw Lv.1 emerge victorious, defending his home region against threats such as Tsubotsubo, Ryuoh, and, most impressively, Yoshidora to win Toon Link’s largest tournament ever.

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The next goal: a major top 8. It’d been a long time since Toon Link had appeared in the illustrious top cut, and Lv.1 had never made it there himself. But the weekend of November 26th, 2023 saw not one, but two Toon Links enter top 8, and while the Hero of Winds’ appearance over at UFA might have had a couple asterisks attached, Lv.1’s run at the final MaesumaTOP was an undeniable one that rivaled that of his breakout performance. A strong path through players such as Karaage, Hero, and Shirayuki found Lv.1 in winners finals, where a final 3rd place finish concluded Toon Link’s best major performance ever.

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Going into the new year as the forefront Toon Link, it’s clear that Lv.1 has grinded hard to get to where he is. And if he can continue to gather that big stage experience, there’s no telling what levels he’ll be able to reach next.

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— Kenny “kenniky” Wang

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‍Quidd will always be a Smash Ultimate legend after winning Let’s Make BIG Moves 2022 as the 32nd seed, the lowest seed to ever win a major outside of Japan, on top of winning squad strike and getting second in doubles on a team with his brother at the same tournament. There he cemented himself as the best Pokémon Trainer player in the world and one of few to even make Grand Finals at a major since 2019.

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But much to the detriment of the Smash community and society at large, Quidd doesn’t seem to be too interested in attending Smash tournaments outside of Tristate. Luckily for us all, Tristate has plenty of tournaments to go around, and this year we got to see enough of Quidd to know that he’s still the same player we know and love.

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He won 4 of the 6 B tier and below tournaments he entered, where he collected wins over a who’s who of Northeast talent. Zomba, LeoN, Jakal, Ling, Quandale Dingelingleton, Yoda Cage, Syrup and Suarez all were eliminated in the Quidd games.

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And despite not winning another major in 2023, he had three strong performances at the ones he attended. He beat Chase at Let’s Make BIG Moves 2023, Sinji, Chag and Dabuz at Collision and Kyros and MKBigBoss at Luminosity Makes Moves Miami 2023, his only event south of Pennsylvania.

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He is one of the most talented and prolific hidden bosses in the scene; like a celebrity cameo, it doesn’t matter if he makes an appearance in every episode. When he does show up, the people will cheer.

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— Jack “Trash Day!” Clifton

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In any competitive bubble, you will frequently hear the argument of if talent or hard work matters more. No matter where you stand on this topic, one look at Tarik’s outrageous output over 2023 would make anyone value just how much hard work goes into reaching this level, as the young German could be found at seemingly any event in Europe or North America of note, trying to prove his competitive worth to the world with his flagship frog Greninja.

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Despite the above statements, Tarik started the year relatively modestly, dominating events in his home and neighbouring countries. He earned a solid 17th place at Battle of BC 5, which sounded the start of an upwards trend. 7th at King Of Fields 95 #3 beating crêpe salée and Raflow. 25th at Super Smash Con 2023 eliminating Ned and Mr. E. 3rd at Regen 2023 in an insane losers run over Oryon, Flow, Lancelot, Space and Peli. Avenging his loss to Ikan at Tera and ending in 9th. It only got better later in the year as he finished 5th at Rise ‘N Grind 2023 with clean sweeps against Jahzz0 and SHADIC. The year concluded with an incredible bang though, as November saw him defeat Shuton at Port Priority 8 as well as Bloom4Eva in a set-of-the-year contender for 7th at Ultimate Fighting Arena 2023.

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It speaks volumes that Tarik has earned the chance to prove himself on the grandest stage despite having less opportunities available than many of his neighbours. Amongst the top 100, there are very few competitors who have seen an upwards trend like this, and Tarik will push even further this year, no matter what talented competitors he has to work past.

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— Tom “G-P” Scott

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Some characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are so rare that we sometimes forget they’re even on the roster. But all a character like that needs is someone with passion and skill to make it work. Skyjay brings Incineroar to the top level. Peanut takes Little Mac to insane heights. HIKARU championed DK. For Banjo & Kazooie, Toriguri is that player.

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Starting on Wi-Fi, Toriguri made himself a top 50 mainstay on the online ladder Smashmate from 2022 onwards. After the Banjo began to grind both locals and Wi-Fi, it wasn’t long before he started taking names offline and placing near the top at major tournaments.

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Toriguri truly reached the top level of Japan’s Smash scene this year. It started out rough with some truly awful bracket luck (Shirayuki and Hero losses for 65th? really?) but Toriguri found his groove, and at MaesumaTOP #12, he had the chance of a lifetime: A set lined up against Peach extraordinaire MuteAce, traveling to Japan for the first time.

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MuteAce might have fought Banjo players before. He might have been familiar with the matchup, maybe he’d played some in his region.

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Toriguri was not just any old Banjo player.

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MuteAce didn’t stand a chance.

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Defeating MuteAce and placing 9th, Toriguri later in the year gave Banjo his first solo top 8 at a major, then did it again, reaching a new high at major MaesumaTOP #15. He made a stunning losers run through Atelier, Jogibu, Kome, and finally a reverse 3-0 over Doramigi to claim an incredible 5th place, truly leaving his mark on the game and giving his character the representation it deserves.

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The face of Banjo & Kazooie in Smash is only gaining steam heading into 2024, and with this kind of momentum behind him, who knows what peaks he’ll reach.

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— Rose “Rosebloom” Kermode

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‍Masha is a player you might never have heard of. But that doesn’t mean he can be ignored or dismissed. Not for long. He’s a player who’s been on the rise and improving for a long time, and 2023 has truly brought the Wolf main to a new level.

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He’s the kind of player whose best runs don’t come at the supermajors and majors everyone watches. Instead, Masha went to B tier event Chubu Smash Bros. Chronicle #2 in March, and absolutely flattened the competition. Defeating Atelier twice, DIO, Gackt, Jogibu, Shirayuki, and Ly, he took that momentum and tore through 2023 with it.

Always flying a little under the radar, Masha would pick up some of his biggest wins at supermajors. Recorded on a grainy handheld camera, Masha would play and win sets over Kameme at Kagaribi 10 and Rizeasu at MaesumaTOP #15. He’d take yet another big regional win at C tier Karisuma SP 17, where he beat Tsubaki, DIO twice, Gorioka, Ryuoh, Kinaji, Miru, and Carmelo for a phenomenal performance to cap off the end of his year.

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This Wolf is not to be slept on, and it’s only a matter of time before he gets the recognition he deserves.

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— Rose “Rosebloom” Kermode

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Inside of Atelier there are two wolves: the one that played from January to March of 2023 and the one that played the rest of the year. It’s rare to see a season that can be partitioned so neatly into two parts, but in Atelier’s case the difference is clear as day.

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Early-year Atelier played like he was top 20 in the world, opening the year with an astounding top 8 finish at Umebura SP 9, where he beat Abadango, Kaninabe, zackray, KEN, and Miya. He followed that up by outright winning B-tier DELTA #2, defeating uame, Taikei, Neo, and clinching victory with two set wins on Shuton, and he capped off this jaw-dropping string of results with back-to-back silver medal finishes at superregionals DELTA #3 and Chubu Smash Chronicle #2, adding wins on Toriguri, Masha, Tsubaki, and Jogibu to his belt. But following these events, Atelier’s results slowed down, as he placed at-or-below his seed for his next 14 events, and only made one major top 16 for the remainder of 2023, at Chubu major UltCore.

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A lot changed for Atelier in this period — he departed Team Liquid, made a return to Pokémon Trainer as a co-main for his Wolf, and throughout it all, he remained a bracket threat, picking up wins on M0tsunabE, Eik, HIKARU and Kome over the rest of his year. However, it’s evident by the strength of his first quarter that if next year he can consistently play on point, Atelier will pull far ahead from the pack.

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— Vincent “SelfDestructGambit” Chow

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‍MKBigBoss kicked off his year with one of the strongest performances of his career, defeating Anathema, Kola, and Sonix to place 7th at Let’s Make BIG Moves 2023. This can be both a blessing and a curse — it’s always encouraging to start the year off on the right foot, but the pressure to follow up an outlier performance is always immense. MKBigBoss rose to the challenge, turning in a season that, while not surpassing the early peak of LMBM, certainly lives up to its promise in both breadth of wins and strength of placements.

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MKBigBoss beat SHADIC at Collision 2023, found a Skyjay win at Texas regional EGOBOOST, and was even lauded by Zomba as the best current ROB after winning B-tier DreamHack San Diego 2023 and taking 2 sets off Kurama in the process. Though the scales tipped back in Zomba’s favor after his legendary Japan powerup and BigBoss’s comparatively slower mid-year, BigBoss still made a great run at Get On My Level 2023, where he beat Cosmos and Sisqui, and he ended the year strong with a November tour of Europe, placing 7th at Ultimate Fighting Arena and winning regionals Vienna Challengers Arena and Sunrise 2023. And on top of all this, BigBoss also spent the year as half of one of the strongest doubles teams to ever grace Ultimate, taking dubs with MkLeo at Battle of BC 5, Smash Factor X, Delfino Maza, and Rise ‘N Grind. Though MKBigBoss may not have saved his best for last this season, he continued to put in work up until it came time to clock out.

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— Vincent “SelfDestructGambit” Chow

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