SSBMRank Summer 2025: 21–30

Melee Stats is proud to present SSBMRank Summer 2025! The annual countdown of the best Melee players in the world continues with a look at the fifty best players of 2025 so far, from old favorites to new breakouts and so much more.

We polled 21 community figures to rate each ballot-eligible player based on their performances throughout the first half of 2025. These panelists span a wide range: top players, tournament organizers, writers, analysts, and more. Each panelist rated each player with a value between 1 and 70, and then each player’s rating was aggregated to a single value based on their distribution of votes.

SSBMRank Summer 2025 #30: RapMonster | Photographer Credit: Atheen (@atheen_art)

#30: RapMonster | Rating: 58.13

Dylan “RapMonster” Do, originally and still primarily a Project+ Luigi player, appeared seemingly out of nowhere — but he’s on the map now. RapMonster immediately put MD/VA Melee on notice, making a name for himself as he consistently eviscerated the region’s top talent, all while he was still a travel-restricted high school kid. Now no longer bound to MD/VA, RapMonster has been on a tear around the continent, slaying elite players wherever he goes; his impressive debut résumé includes set wins on Krudo, SluG, Mot$, Maelstrom, and Preeminent. This performance has led many to wonder just what RapMonster has that other Luigis don’t; it boils down to his consistently near perfect execution and a mentality that prioritizes growth first, all of which he accomplishes with a character he truly believes is better than people understand.

Whether it’s carrying SparkinMed like a backpack over his shoulder while he 1v2’s your two favorite top players in doubles or bodying your favorite top player in singles, RapMonster will continue to wreak terror on anyone who stands between him and reaching further heights. The world is eagerly waiting to see if RapMonster can solidify himself as what MD/VA ball knowers have always believed him to be: potentially the best Luigi player to ever play the game.

-Andrew “Hoss” Hosseinpour

SSBMRank Summer 2025 #29: 404Cray | Photographer Credit: Steffen Blanco (@yostayfun)

#29: 404Cray | Rating: 59.10

Here’s a question: Arthur “404Cray” Hernandez’s 2nd place finish at Creed IV has to be one of the greatest underdog runs in Melee history, right? So why aren’t people talking about it more?

Well, it might be because those in the know aren’t too surprised by this sort of performance. After all, the New Jersey Falco main has been a staple of the yearly rankings in the post-pandemic era of Melee; but even the most devoted Jersey diehards probably couldn’t have predicted the slew of wins 404Cray would assemble in one tournament. Jmook, Aklo, and SluG each succumbed to his stifling pressure and consistent punish game, propelling him all the way to Grand Finals. There are many players in the Top 100 who have never gotten a win on any of those three people. 404Cray beat all three in one day.

There are a lot of Melee players who we say just need one good tournament run to show off their skills and vault them up the rankings. 404Cray has unquestionably done that — it’s just a matter of what comes next.

-Kezzup

SSBMRank Summer 2025 #28: Zuppy | Photographer Credit: Atheen (@atheen_art)

#28: Zuppy | Rating: 59.85

Blake “Zuppy” Burnham loves doubles. The tournament has a pot bonus for doubles bracket? Zuppy will be there. An event has BO5 for all doubles matches? Zuppy will be there. Being ranked Top 100 in singles every year since 2022? Just an afterthought. Zuppy knows where his priorities are, even if they don’t align with the rest of his peers.

Despite the hurdles of box controller nerfs and the demands of practicing co-op Guitar Hero 3 FCs, Zuppy has still found the time to find success in singles. The Ontarian started off the year hot. At Launders LAN 2, he took advantage of the short drive, making quick work of Goosekhan, Faust, and n0ne twice — all while placing first in doubles, of course. Zuppy’s success in Canada isn’t limited to the east coast; at Battle of BC 7, he surged through losers, ending the tournament lives of Ampp, Preeminent and Mang0 to secure 9th place. As his relationship with singles continues to ebb and flow, and with his participation in events seemingly entirely dependent on the quality of the doubles competition, only Zuppy knows how the second half of 2025 will turn out.

-Nikita “nicklebackair” Bair

SSBMRank Summer 2025 #27: Spark | Photographer Credit: Julzz (@liquidjulzz)

#27: Spark | Rating: 59.87

In March, after losing 3–0 to Aura at Battle of BC, Zaid “Spark” Ali made a decision: that wasn’t going to happen again. The next time they faced off, in May, he beat Aura three times in a row over the course of two days in Aura’s home region, winning both Fight at the Museum and its corresponding pre-local. The only difference? The controller in his hands.

Spark invaded Portland with an all-natural weapon in his holster: a clean OEM Gamecube controller that he’d crafted (as he does all his controllers) with love. At just about every other tournament this season, however, he’s piloted the “Cubstraption,” his beloved frankensteined chimera — half-GCC, half-digital, all eldritch horror. In this era of constant contention over the bennies and drawbies (as Spark himself might put it) of digital controllers, it’s understandable that a top player would seek the best of both worlds. But being the only top player to do so means building the plane as you’re flying it — and trading a decade of experience on GCC for potential that has yet to bear the same fruit.

Is the Cubstraption just a funny means through which to perform the infamous “strawberry back air,” or is it real spill? Even Spark doesn’t really know the answer — but there’s no need to panic. He’ll figure it out, and maybe get another JV5 along the way.

-Nicole “St. Nicholas” Bennett & Zane “epengu” Bhansali

SSBMRank Summer 2025 #26: SluG | Photographer Credit: Atheen (@atheen_art)

#26: SluG | Rating: 62.90

After the great wobbling purge, modern Ice Climbers are experiencing an era of deep character exploration and development; an era led, among others, by Hugh “SluG” Hegarty. After a much deserved break in 2023 and a 2024 that didn’t feature his prior breakneck attendance, SluG has fought tooth and nail this year to assemble his rebound. 2025 is arguably the hardest year to play Ice Climbers. With more Ice Climbers at the top, there naturally comes more counter-labbing — the type that can make already difficult floaty matchups even tougher. But despite a loss here and there from rust, there’s proof enough that SluG has what it takes to challenge for his former spot as a top ten player.

The evidence? Creed IV. SluG started by beating Mot$, Freezus, and Krudo before finally meeting his demise in winners finals to a 404Cray who was hot off of an Aklo upset. But when SluG himself came face-to-face with Aklo immediately thereafter, he made short work of one of the best Fox players in the world, then dispatched 404Cray 6–1 en route to his crown. Just give it a few more majors; real snails may be slow, but this SluG’s trajectory is nothing but exponential.

-Darren “Krakhead” Lynch

SSBMRank Summer 2025 #25: Zamu | Photographer Credit: Victoria Hamilton (@bluerosetori)

#25: Zamu | Rating: 64.04

Veteran midwestern Melee players have had the honor to watch Danielle “Zamu” Bernstein blossom both on and off screen for almost ten years now. We have graduated from the era of the “I miss my dog” sweater — she’s gone from young up-and-comer occasionally punching up at the highest echelon of Midwestern Melee players to Top 30 mainstay and generational poster.

The major highlight of Zamu’s season was her 9th place run at Full Bloom 2025, her closest brush with a major Top 8 since Shine 2023, including a sleeper 3–0 set over Wizzrobe that had the crowd packed in front of the quad stream like a can of sardines. She went on a tear during her 3rd place run at Fight Pitt 10 where she defeated Mot$, Jmook’s Zelda and double-eliminated Sirmeris, and her 2nd place at KREWE where she defeated MOF and SDJ shows her potential to climb even higher.

Zamu’s established herself as a threat deep in the brackets of majors while wearing her heart on her sleeve; whether it be on Twitter, her Twitch streams, or, heck, even in the player cams, she displays a deep level of dedication, competitive anguish, and joy. Long time fans of Zamu watch with the anticipation of something special, and she’s in good shape to show everyone else what the believers see on a Top 8 stage.

-Trinity Meleesadposts

SSBMRank Summer 2025 #24: Panda | Photographer Credit: Victoria Hamilton (@bluerosetori)

#24: Panda | Rating: 68.56

The first half of 2025 was business as usual for Brandon “Panda” Orooji. Central Florida’s resident Fox continued to showcase the hypnotic movement and ruinous edgeguarding that have made him a mainstay of the post-Slippi era. For the past few years, you’ve always been able to count on Panda to make at least one flabbergasting upset; 2025 was no exception. Aided, no doubt, by years of practice with his static doubles partner Krudo, Panda notched a decisive 3–0 over Jmook at Tipped Off 16: Safari, forever enshrining him as “the absolute last person Sheiks want to see in their bracket.”

Though his attendance this year has been somewhat sporadic, the second half of 2025 will see Panda compete at Supernova 2025 and Collision 2025 back-to-back. After years on the cusp of Melee’s top echelon, 2025 could easily be the year Panda breaks through. He’s not sweating it, though. We reached out to Panda to ask if there was anything he wished people knew about him. His response? “I wasn’t able to think of anything in particular.” All good–go watch one of his VODs from this year. His play speaks for itself.

-Tim Kaplowitz

SSBMRank Summer 2025 #23: MOF | Photographer Credit: Toto Sripunvoraskul (@twotoestoto)

#23: MOF | Rating: 68.71

Every year, viewers tune into Melee to follow the journey of players that really want it. Aly “MOF” Oquendo is the embodiment of this beautiful aspect of competition, and Melee fans have watched as poured her heart into the game. She is, in her words, “really real about this shit.” She ditched her dreams of going pro in Halo to pursue perfection in Melee, and this season is all the proof one should need that she made the right decision.

After just barely not making the cut for Top 8 at Full Bloom 2025, MOF was hungry. Hungry enough to go on one of the most exciting runs of the year at Nouns Bowl 2025. After falling to Jmook, the lion bared her fangs and clawed her way through the losers bracket all the way to 4th place, beating some of the landscape’s strongest contenders: Magi, Jmook in the runback, Aklo, and Krudo, fresh off his Full Bloom win.

I’d be remiss to not mention her 1st place finish at Never Melee, a run that went under the radar due to a lack of stream, where she double-eliminated Zamu in the house featured on the self-titled American Football LP. As for the rest of her year to come, let’s just see what happens when “The Summer Ends.”

-Trinity Meleesadposts

SSBMRank Summer 2025 #22: n0ne | Photographer Credit: Atheen (@atheen_art)

#22: n0ne | Rating: 71.19

The distinct DNA of Melee tends to attract two types of players. One is the traditional competitor where nothing is more important than the race for first; the other is obsessed with style, interested not in the ego of placements or records but instead by the thrill of freedom. The player we’d like to celebrate today is a rare exception to this rule, a master of his craft who demands victory — but only as long as it bears his signature. In pursuit of this vision, this player has become known not only as the electrifying Falcon from Nicaragua, but also as one of our most outspoken community members when it comes to our rulesets.

Hidden underneath this loud exterior, however, is an aspect that anyone who has shared a roof with him can corroborate: the ability to light up the mood of everyone within his presence. Whether it be in the roar of the crowd, the trenches of social media, or on the quaint CRT screen you share with him in the venue, the fact of the matter is that his influence can be felt in every corner of the Melee scene. This is the story of Edgard “n0ne” Sheleby: the man responsible for so many unforgettable moments in our history, and the author of so many stories still yet to come.

-Glenn “KayB” Kim

SSBMRank Summer 2025 #21: Nicki | Photographer Credit: Chadd Brown (@browningtons_)

#21: Nicki | Rating: 72.71

Right above these blurb, in the player cards, you’ll see some very important information: the players’ social media links, showing where you can find them on Twitter and Twitch. For Nicki in particular, though, there’s another important one to include — /u/_Nicki, his Reddit account.

I make this point not just as a shout-out to the ragtag group of Peach longposters and discourse-obsessed hooligans that make up the Melee subreddit regulars, but to contextualize the place Nicki holds in the community. After all, this is the guy who was ranked 10th in the world last year; the guy leading the Ice Climbers meta in the modern day; the guy with wins on Hungrybox, Mang0, and Junebug just in 2025. And yet, despite his vaunted status, you’ll find him consistently on the Melee subreddit, rarely as a manner of self-promotion, but just commenting and discussing community topics and gameplay like any other person; someone posting to share their love of the game, regardless of their skill level.

Nicki hasn’t been able to make it across the pond too often the first half of the year, a familiar struggle for the European players. But he’s booked for Tokyo later this year — hopefully just one of many appearances, in and out of game.

-Kezzup

The SSBMRank Summer 2025 Team

Director: Brendan “GimmeDatWheat” Malone Editing Lead: Zane “epengu” Bhansali Data Lead: Eryk “Ambisinister” Banatt Graphics Lead: Nick “DarkDragoon” Konstantino Community Lead: Justin “DarkGenex” Cohen

Check out start.gg/SSBMRank to follow along with the full list as it releases