In the twenty years of competitive Melee, many figures became famous through their fighting skills. The competitive scene has undergone a series of changes and controversies. However, it remains a vibrant community with many notable players. Here is a list of the ten best Melee players across the world.
10. Shepard “Fiction” Lima
Shephard Lima is a Smash Bros. competitor from Southern California. He rose to prominence in the Brawl competitive scene for his amazing Wario plays. He scored in the top 8 in GENESIS in the early 2010’s. He transitioned to Melee competition back in 2013.
His main in Melee used to be Fox. Due to hand injuries, he transitioned to using Marth as Fox takes a toll on the fingers. He plans to use Fox when the situation calls for it.
Fiction is a former member of Poilon Software and mained Falco. They are a software and esports company with many affiliates.
Some of his great achievements include winning a $1,200 prize for placing first at DreamHack Anaheim 2020 and placing seventh at Smash Summit 2019.
Highlights with Fox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDpUOMZwak8
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbD0y5kTB-FSRwYc_duG42w
Twitch: https://m.twitch.tv/fiction_irl/profile
9. iBDW
Source: Beyond the Summit.
Cody Schwab is the twenty-six-year-old Melee competitor from Queens. He went to college in Rochester before graduating. The beginning of his career was in 2015. He scaled Arthur’s Ladder and improved his playstyle.
His motif is his aerial game with Fox. He’ll use full jumps to create openings in his opponent. Other techniques he uses in his play include juggling with Fox’s tail and out of shield options.
He and Hax were beefing about his past of sexual abuse. iBDW claims that his mother assaulted him as a child and Hax squabbled about the severity of her attacks. In the end, Hax said that iBDW is a “good man”.
iBDW won 1st place in Pound Online 2021, 2nd place in Galint Melee Open for a grand prize of $640, and a 1st place victory at Papercut for $244.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsax1raEC5Q
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWJ9FngguZCzLKfGle8_nrA
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ibdw
8. Zain
Source: Li Hoang of ESPN
A Marth main from Virginia, Zain Naghmi started his competitive life back in spring 2014. He has earned the title of one of the best Melee players worldwide.
His signature moves include punishing the “spacies” (Fox/Falco) and his plays against floaty characters like Kirby and Jigglypuff. Many argue that he is the best Marth main in Melee.
He was affiliated with Panda from April 2018 to November 2019. As of now, his sponsorship is with the Golden Guardians.
Zain has walked home with an incredible sum of three $1,600 prizes from winning three placements in the Slippi Champions League. He defeated Mango at Smash Summit 10 and earned $4,446.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MKeOgLYdhI
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7NKYPjnASCDr2mTWnGRnhg
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/zainnaghmi
7. Hax
Source: SSBWiki
Aziz Al-Yami joined the Manhattan Smash scene back in 2008 and mained Captain Falcon. He revolutionized the meta for the character by focusing on creating openings for attacks. The prior Captain Falcon players were, in Hax’s eyes, reliant on mindless aggression.
Hax has been on a few hiatuses during his professional career. He chose to drop Captain Falcon in favor of Fox since he saw his former main as unable to help him advance. With his new main, he aims for a tactical approach similar to his Captain Falcon.
He and Leffen fought about Leffen’s alleged history of manipulating people for his recognition and status. Many tournaments have banned him with no sign of letting him compete. Will this be the end of Hax?
Hax took home a $1.5K prize from Paradigm Shift, a $500 prize from Major Flavor, and $364 from Super Nebulous.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoKp9U6SlRc
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVJOIYcecIVO96ktK0qDKhQ
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ssbmhax
6. Plup
Source: Genesis 8 Twitter
The Floridan Smash player has great versatility in mains. He is known for his exceptional playstyles involving Luigi, Fox, Samus, Sheik, and Falco. Justin McGarth is his real name.
He and Hungrybox have a history in team matches. Their matchup name is “Plupbox”. His black skin Samus has a good punishment strategy and has taken many stocks from HBox. Mew2King is another player with which he teams.
Plup’s total earnings, as reported by Liquipedia, are estimated to be a total of $105,563. Some notable tourney wins include GENESIS 5, DreamHack Austin 2018, and Aegis.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj_APNU1SDw
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Pluples
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/plup
5. Leffen
Source: Dot Esports
William Hjelte is a Swedish Fox main who has garnered a big reputation across the Smash community. He faced bans in the mid-2010s for toxic behavior. His informal title is the “villain” of the Smash community. One might compare his demeanor to Bakugo. He, however, considers himself an “anti-hero”.
Besides his controversial behavior, he was the first player to beat Armada, Mew2King, Mang0, PPMD, and Hungrybox on separate occasions. For this, he has earned his place in Melee’s history.
Some notable wins of his include Smash Summit 10 - Europe for $1.2K, Super Smash Con 2019 for $3.8K, and EVO 2018 for a whopping $8K!
Highlights of his incredible EVO win: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YOG3e_9VsM
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Shc38nmBnY5FiUrgvggSw
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/leffen
4. Axe
Source: Liquipedia
Jeffrey Williamson is a unique competitor in the world of Melee. He is credited with mainstreaming Pikachu’s tournament presence. The electric rat moved upward from placement on the low end of tier lists to the mid-high range.
Axe’s most impressive win was at Smash SumMangomit 8. He tackled Smash players like Leffen, Wizzrobe, iBDW, Zain, Mang0, and Hungrybox to earn $10K! This was the first tournament win using a Pikachu and earned him his place in Smash history. He has earned around $65K in his Melee career.
His match against Wizzrobe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ftEbCQ6Ec
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AZaxe/videos
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/az_axe
3. Mang0
Source: Olivia Richman of Inven Global
Joseph Manuel Marquez started his Melee career by maining Jigglypuff. Like Axe with Pikachu, Mang0 is credited with Jigglypuff’s rise to the top of many tier lists. He believes that playing Melee kept him guarded against gang activity; notorious in Norwalk, California.
With the “spacies”, Mang0 can maintain his tournament composure while a cheering crowd watches from behind. He looks for flaws in his opponent’s playstyle and uses crouch combos to take stocks.
His son’s middle name is “Mango” after his professional gamer name.
He won over $40K from defeating Zain at Smash Summit 11 - the largest Melee tourney thus far. This was the most amount of money he earned from a single tournament.
He collaborates with the esteemed esports team, Cloud9.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGIAMX-3kgY
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJLpammGMzjc4A2RfBVMbOg
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mang0
2. Mew2King
Source: Liquipedia
Jason Sheldon Zimmerman is one of the greatest Melee players of all time. Starting in the early 2000s, he added information he uncovered about Melee’s physics and frame data onto the Internet. He made invaluable contributions to the game’s meta development.
He was noted as having no natural ability toward Melee but earned his skill through thousands of hours of analysis and practice. His style is to aim for high defense. Few can powershield as he can. Jason likes to use a grip on his Gamecube controller as he plays.
Out of his 70+ tournament wins, some of his greatest include Apex 2016, Zenith 2014, and Smash Summit 6.
Here is a documentary made about Mew2King: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQr295Dh4iQ
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfM_Ssj1bNzrLATiEFBCw_Q
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mew2king
1. Hungrybox
Source: Stephen R. Sylvanie
The spot for no. 1 in this list goes to Juan DeBiedma of Buenos Aires origin. He has relocated to the Orlando region and started his Smash journey back in 2008. He - and Mang0 - are instrumental in Jigglypuff’s rise in popularity.
HBox’s playstyle is to use Jigglypuff’s aerial capacity to attack opponents. He also uses grab combos and punishes to take stocks. His signature in tournaments is to pull off “clutch” victories against opponents when his back is against the wall.
Hungrybox has an incredible amount of tournament wins. From Melee alone, he has accumulated $384,326.55. Evo 2016, Smash the Record, Smash Summit 5, Smash Summit 7, Smash Summit 9, and EGLX 2019 are some of his notable wins.
He has the additional achievement of holding the no. 1 in SSBMRANK for three consecutive years.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9IzMEkjs0U
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/juanthefatty
