Daily Esports is proud to partner with the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank team once again to present the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5 (WWRv5)! The Wi-Fi Warrior Rank rates 75 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.
In previous articles, we have already seen players who were honored for their offline prowess on the Fall 2019 PGRU. However, today’s article features the first of these players to rank higher on the WWRv5. In addition, one of today’s players has the exact same ranking on both the WWR and the PGRU.
WWRv5: 45-31
Slicing and dicing into his second consecutive WWR, George “Sword” Ramos raises his sword high above to place 45th. Sword is no stranger to the scene, continuing his pace of standout performances, especially at C-tier tournaments. For example, Smash Kingdom Monthly 2: Electric Bugaloo saw him demonstrate this point, as he landed in 1st place out of 158 entrants. There, he defeated TR teammates Bluxious and Marvale, Br1 Av, and FatNess in a run back from winners. Ultimately, Sword defeated Cobra 6-2 in two sets of Grands to collect a gold medal finish.
Sword’s accolades developed as the season progressed, as he placed 3rd at two other C-tiers, The 1st Ptooie Prix and SoS: Anthology 5. His consistency didn’t stop there, though, as he made a total of three 5th place finishes at A-tiers. Those events were LS: Ultimate New Year, Dusty_Carpet Edition, and Every Joe for Himself. Across all five tournaments, Sword cut through his opponents, obtaining two wins each on JeJaJeJa and S0N1C3167, while also beating players like Bloom4Eva, ChunkyKong, KirbyKid, Sytonix, and fellow TR members CptRemex, Hydra, and MarkTheSDKing.
Sword knows exactly what it takes to climb to the top. It requires the determination that he has time and time again demonstrated to the scene. Sword has recently expressed a desire to take a hiatus from competitive Ultimate. However, whenever he decides to compete again, he’ll more than likely solidify himself in the highest echelons of the rankings. It’s safe to say that it’s up to this veteran to take a stab at it and open a whole new world for himself in the second half of 2020.
Written by: Michael “Deathyrus” Garcia | Edited by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes
One of the sharpest shooters on the WWRv5, Dakota “Aikota” N. makes his first ever appearance this season as No. 44. A longtime Anther’s Ladder fiend, this Mii Gunner also utilizes Lucas and several other characters to best his competitors. He showed this off at the A-tier Every Joe For Himself, defeating both Sytonix and Sword to place 4th. Aikota also managed to place 33rd at both the Quarantine Series Minor and Major, as well as 25th at Pound Online, making for extremely solid performances at three of the season’s toughest events. At these S-tiers, he picked up wins on strong players like 0mart, Lights, Beast, holopup, Middy, and more.
A true veteran of the online scene, it’s no surprise to finally see Aikota within the top 50. The Georgia resident only took one unranked loss at WWRv5 events this whole season. In doing so, he paved the way for such a high debut rank, not to be weighed down by any sort of slip-ups. As Aikota continues to “socially distance” across the stage with Mii Gunner, he’ll surely be gunning for even stronger showings at major events in the future.
Written by: Sean “GME” Wilkinson | Edited by: Stuart “Stuart98” Hepworth
Cruising to 43rd on the WWRv5 is one of the finest Koopa Kid reps around, Mertcan “Snormanda” Irdem. Despite reaching impressive peaks at S-tiers as early as the v3 season, he kept up the momentum consistently this season and took it all the way to his WWR debut. One of the highlights of his season came in his win at Straight out of Smash Station 2. He defeated sebayee and got two wins on CptRemex to take gold at the C-tier event. Also of note were his two 25th place finishes at the Quarantine Series Minor and Major. At these events, Snormanda netted wins on Goblin, Haven, Regi Shikimi, and Riddles.
Not only did Snormanda collect a handful of strong wins, but only one of his losses this season came to an unranked player. This naturally speaks to his impressive consistency. If he can keep up the performances he put on display this season, there’s no question that Snormanda’s joyrides will keep landing him well within the rankings.
Written by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes | Edited by: Stuart “Stuart98” Hepworth
One cannot think of Vincent “Vinny G” Ghiroli without his wholesome attitude and innocent smile coming to mind first. Not only is he one of the sweetest players to bless the community, but he is also an excellent Snake player. Throughout the WWRv5 season, Vinny G impressively earned three wins on Goblin, with additional wins over Riddles, Pelca, Pokelam, and other top Wi-Fi players.
Additionally, he landed in 9th place during the Quarantine Series Minor, and in 5th place at the TNS: Pandemic Monthly. Pair that up with his absolutely clean record of 0 unranked losses this season—making him the only player outside the top 10 to achieve this—and Vinny G is by far one of the most terrifying Snakes you will meet in tournament. When you put together his WWRv5 ranking, his stellar performance in offline events, and his dominance across Florida, he is easily one of the most talented players to hold a controller.
Written by: Cyrus “Cagt” Gharakhanian | Edited by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes
One of the most recognizable names in all the online scene, Jaiden “Middy” Vong devoured the competition to hit the ranks for the fifth consecutive season. She picked up respectable results from the get-go, reaching top 64 in all but one of her major event showings. However, it wasn’t until the season’s final months that she kicked it into her highest gear. At DDee’s Dreamland Brawl, she defeated Justin, LingLing, and twice bested Pocket to take home the gold. Not long after, she placed 17th at S-tier Rev It Up 2020 with a victory over BluStriker. Finally, she capped off her season by breaking into top 8 at UNW #12. In the process, Middy beat Raffi-X and ApolloKage, and scored a coveted win over Kola for 7th place.
Middy is part of an exclusive group of players who have made every WWR iteration thus far. Truly, Middy’s efforts in bracket always turn out fruitful. Not only is she one of Wi-Fi’s biggest threats, but her growing reputation in the PNW scene may indicate she’s due for an even bigger breakout once offline events resume. For now, she’ll be doing what she always does: knocking out her foes one eye-catching combo at a time.
Written by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes | Edited by: Stuart “Stuart98” Hepworth
Don’t be fooled by his fuzzy-looking Yoshi alt: Myles “MiLe” McKenzie is anything but soft. Today, he returns to the WWRv5 at a clean No. 40. Largely absent from competition in the first half of the season, he made the second half count. MiLe impressively scored 9th place finishes at two consecutive S-tier tournaments. At Collision Online, he defeated Sumgai and Sonix in quick succession, repping the home crowd for the Tristate-based event. The very next day, he bested Nair^ and Br1 AV at Rev It Up 2020. With additional wins throughout the season over Epic_Gabriel, Lui$, Pelca, and more, MiLe’s season had no shortage of successes.
Whether he’s traveling miles and miles to majors, or staying home and wreaking havoc online, MiLe is a safe bet to make it to the final stages of any bracket. The sky is the limit for MiLe. Not only will he keep climbing up this ranking, but also the ranks of the world’s best Yoshis.
Written by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes | Edited by: Stuart “Stuart98” Hepworth
From Mr. 37th on the PGR 100, to Mr. 38th on the Spring 2019 PGRU, Eric “Mr. E” Weber now sharpens his blade to place 39th on the WWRv5. Calculating the “MARTHematics,” as he’s coined in his YouTube videos, Mr. E had nothing short of a wonderful Wi-Fi debut.
Across ten appearances throughout the season, he made his point by making top 8 at three different tiers of tournaments. Starting with the C-tier NorthEast Army Gaming Tournament, Mr. E cut it close, placing 2nd. In the process, he earned wins on prominent players like SZB and Sharp. At B-tier Playing for Pride, he rendered his opponents’ efforts pointless, beating BlueJay, SuperStriker, and LingLing before losing to Pandarian and Sonix for 7th place. At the tipper of his season, the Quarantine Series Minor, Mr. E scored a total of 10 set wins. He took down LingLing, Maister, and Glutonny convincingly, only dropping a game to Maister among the three of them.
As one of Tristate’s premier talents and representatives, it’s no surprise seeing Mr. E here on the WWRv5. He surely has it in him to climb the ranks further, as he utilizes the strengths of Lucina and his personal “Mr. E Classic” to footstool his way to the win. This season could be just the tip of the iceberg of what he can accomplish.
Written by: Michael “Deathyrus” Garcia | Edited by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes
South Carolina’s best Mega Man player, Christian “Peabnut” Londoño, busts onto the WWRv5 at No. 38. He was already known as one of the strongest Mega Man players in the world, and Peabnut has further set himself apart as by far the most successful player of the character in online competition this season. His peak accomplishment was an impressive 3rd place finish at Collision Online. Peabnut went on a winning streak against Sonic, beating Sonix, TonyZTank, and SuperStriker all in a row. Earlier in the season, he placed 33rd at The Box, defeating Justin and Wrath. His offline match-up experience with Sonido and the aforementioned Wrath contributed to a total 4-1 set record against ranked Sonics this season, showing a rare prowess in perhaps the most important match-up to master on Wi-Fi.
With a solid record against the field and few unranked losses, Peabnut has demonstrated just how nutty he can be. As long as he keeps playing, he’ll be striking fear into his foes. Perhaps he’ll even convince Sonic mains to pick up a secondary just for him.
Written by: “Dexy” | Edited by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes
Many players start their careers young, but don’t seek to stay in the community for a long time. However, Darius “Laid” Hill is an example of someone who’s been around longer than some others have been alive. As the no. 37 ranked player on the WWRv5, and one who has been competing since the early days of Brawl, Laid has continued a long history as a fearsome competitor in the transition to online Smash Ultimate. He placed 9th at The Box, snatching wins over the likes of Cosmos, colinies, and more in his impressive run. Laid also placed 9th at the Quarantine Series Minor and 33rd at Pound Online. During those events and others, he scooped wins on VoiD, Pokelam, Snormanda, and FlashBlaziken.
Outside of his online season, he is known to be one of the highest ranked players in New England and an expert at the Doubles metagame. There’s little that Laid can’t do as he lays down the law for his opponents. We cannot wait to see what else he brings to the table as the next seasons develop.
Written by: Cyrus “Cagt” Gharakhanian | Edited by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes
Wielding the blessed sword Ragnell, Springfield’s own Yezre’el “USAE | Yez” Askew places at a respectable No. 36 after nothing short of an astonishing season. The B-tier event WiFi is SS-Tier marked one of Yez’ first breakout performances of the season. There, he placed 4th while defeating Snormanda and colinies. This was only the beginning, though—few can boast that they have made top 8 at the largest Ultimate tournament of all time. However, Yez managed to pull it off, placing 7th at The Box after an unimaginable run that went through the likes of Benny&thejets, Sogoodpop, Fwed, Maister, and Laid. At UNW #12, he Naired his way to another victory on Benny&thejets, as well as one on Ned en route to a 13th place finish.
A positive X-Factor seems to indicate that panelists know Yez can perform even better than this season’s placing shows. People have seen what this Ike main is capable of and there’s no telling how much higher he can go. His already strong character was buffed even further in the latest Ultimate patch, so expect Yez to continue his rise to the top.
Written by: Sean “GME” Wilkinson | Edited by: Stuart “Stuart98” Hepworth
This young, up-and-coming Greninja main from Germany might have first become known to most for his offline performances. However, Tarik “CGN | Tarik” Fayazi’s roots were always in the Wi-Fi scene, and the past few months have seen him shine brighter there than ever before. His best performance of the season came in a Cinderella run to 4th place at Pound Online. He defeated holopup, Kola, Dabuz, and Goblin in the process. Tarik also achieved a 5th place finish at Quarantine Series – Europe Edition with a win on Snormanda.
These performances were balanced somewhat by 65th place finishes at the Quarantine Series Major and Collision Online, and a 9th place finish at NINBOI’S POWER PLAY TOURNAMENT. Nevertheless, they show the potential and skill that have made Tarik one of Europe’s fiercest competitors, both on and offline. Should Tarik match this past season’s peaks with higher attendance and even greater consistency, there’s no telling how high the young Greninja main could rise.
Written by: Stuart “Stuart98” Hepworth | Edited by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes
The iconic blue blur from Iowa, Tony “TonyZTank” Merksick makes a strong debut on the WWRv5 at No. 34. One of the most terrifying Sonic mains to face off against, this money match fiend turned to the online tournament scene this season, and has been on par with Ultimate’s very best ever since. In early May, TonyZTank took 4th at The Legend of Hydra, taking out SuperStriker, Uhh, Pokelam, and Hydra himself. He also defeated Wrath 2-0 in the Sonic ditto at TNS: Pandemic Monthly #2 before losing to Sonix for 3rd place. This trend of strong May performances continued with 17th place at The Box and 7th at Collision Online, two major events that many other strong players struggled to find success at. This blue speed demon swiftly defeated Cosmos, Middy, WebbJP, Benny&thejets, Sinji, and more.
While there is certainly a growing list of Sonic mains that are prevailing over the online tournament scene, TonyZTank is one of the strongest and toughest to pin down. Heading into the next WWR season, he is absolutely a player to keep an eye out for. He’ll be looking to home in on you and wear you down with his speed and prowess.
Written by: Sean “GME” Wilkinson | Edited by: Stuart “Stuart98” Hepworth
Guatemala’s best Ultimate player and a WWR mainstay, Markus “ShinyMark” Florido returns to the WWRv5 at No.33. This time, Pikachu led his wide and ever-changing character roster. He started strong with a 17th place finish at the massive Soaked Series Invitational, picking up wins on theGOAT and holopup. However, this was merely a prelude to his back-to-back 1st place finishes at B-tiers Hitpoint Online Tournament and JWT x ECLIPSE: Joe Goes to Space. Between the two, he collectively beat a laundry list of impressive names: holopup, Riddles, Regi Shikimi, Sonix, Sharp, and Longo. In addition, Joe Goes to Space saw ShinyMark win 13 consecutive sets in a losers run. All the while, he didn’t have a single DQ bye to catch his breath.
As a three-time resident of the WWR prior to v5, it’s no surprise that ShinyMark was able to weather the increasingly competitive Wi-Fi landscape and carve out a high spot on this ranking. Let’s hope he continues to soar to further heights.
Written by: “Dexy” | Edited by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes
Nicholas “Ned” Dovel debuts at No. 32 on the WWRv5, the first of several players ranked higher here than on the Fall 2019 PGRU. Like many others in this category, Ned attended few WWRv5 events. However, whenever he did compete, his Pokémon Trainer and Cloud were forces to be reckoned with. At the Mazer Gaming 1k tournament, Ned defeated Sword to place a respectable 17th. Still unsatisfied, Ned went on to defeat Raffi-X and Wrath at Pound Online en route to a 13th place finish. He followed this up with his best performance of the season at the Quarantine Series Major. There, Ned defeated Wrath, Mekos, and Lui$ to place 9th.
The strength of these placements shone through to earn Ned his No. 32 ranking. Be it by Buster Sword or his formidable Pokémon team, Ned is always ready for battle. If he keeps playing at the level he’s become known for, a return to the ranks is all but inevitable.
Written by: Stuart “Stuart98” Hepworth | Edited by: Liam “Cloudhead” Estes
Routers to Raffi “Raffi-X” Azar are like peanut butter to jelly—they go hand in hand and have been seen together more than a dozen times since the dawn of time. Raffi-X is no stranger to online, as you can find footage of his performances dating all the way back to the Allisbrawl days. Raffi-X’s season was defined by peak performances at the season’s S-tiers. Notably, Raffi-X placed 5th at The Box, scoring wins on Frostbyte, Myran, and BluStriker at the largest Smash event ever. He also placed 7th at Collision Online, where he beat colinies, Colmar, and SuperGirlKels. Earlier in the season, he placed 17th at The Soaked Series Invitational over players like Lights and SNooFL. Other than a single loss to Marss, Raffi-X took no losses to players outside of the top 75, showcasing impressive consistency.
Though his #31 placement is a slight drop from his #14 standing last season, the increased strength of competition, coupled with his significantly positive X-factor, shows little doubt that Raffi-X still has what it takes to rise to the top. R.O.B. is far from being an easy character to maneuver in such a fast-paced game as Smash Ultimate. However, Raffi-X has shown us time and time again that his prowess and resilience as a player continues to be a determining factor when it comes to his performance. Keep an eye on this player as he Nairs his way ever higher.
Written by: Cyrus “Cagt” Gharakhanian | Edited by: Stuart “Stuart98” Hepworth
Make sure to check back on Monday, July 27, as the rankings continue with the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5: 30-21!
