2023 was a whirlwind year for Super Smash Bros. Melee, both inside and outside of Southern Ontario. The year was truly a renaissance for the GTA and its competitors, with the highest level of Top player representation in years, tournaments to attend nearly every weekend, the return of the The Come Up and GOML, and the first appearance of an Ontario player in the Global Top 5. Through it all, many players have tested their mettle on both the local and international stage and shown what they can do. This ranking, which to our knowledge is the first of its kind in the history of Toronto, is to celebrate the competitors who displayed the dedication and tenacity to make our city proud. Please join us in congratulating them for their accomplishments.
The Methodology
Near the end of 2023, I approached other members of the PR team about the possibility of creating larger, year long PR alongside our Q4 PR, celebrating our players accomplishments from all of 2023. After deliberating and brainstorming a shortlist of over 30 possible candidate, eight members of the Ontario community (Players, TOs and community figures) were offered ballots and asked to score these players on a scale from 10.0–1.0, akin to the method SSBM Rank uses. Seven members accepted, and after compiling the scores we arrived at our list of 25 players.
Panelists
Riley “Drnt” Durant
Shashwat “Schmeez” Panwar
Mike “Quiggles” Abu-Halagah
Jacob “Faust” Fischer
Matt “Mono” Drake
Oren “Otes” Jungreis
Zoey “Zaza” Marra
Addition Credits
Jacob “Faust” Fischer — Director & Organizer
Mario “Guat” Hackney — Blurb Writer & Editor
Shashwat “Schmeez” Panwar — Graphics Lead