Super Smash Bros. 4 in competitive play

Super Smash Bros. 4's competitive scene began at the Super Smash Bros. Invitational on June 10, 2014, before either version was publicly released. Following its release, the Wii U version became the largest Smash scene in the world, especially as many Brawl veterans switched to the game. The main competitive lifespan ultimately lasted four years, ending after Ultimate's release in 2018.

Smash 4 is the first Smash game to have balance patches via online download, which had a significant impact on tournament play. These updates forcefully shifted almost every character's metagame (by varying degrees) multiple times through 2014 into 2016.

Smash 4 Invitational and early 3DS scene (2014)

A tournament hosted by Nintendo at Nintendo New York.

The Smash 4 competitive scene unofficially began at E3 2014 on June 10th, 2014, where Nintendo of America invited 16 players to compete at the Super Smash Bros. Invitational. ZeRo ultimately came out on top, foreshadowing his eventual dominance in the game's competitive scene.

Upon its release, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS was the main version used in competitive play from September 12th until around the end of December. The vast majority of the competitive scene used the Wii U version upon its release, as it allowed for superior viewing quality and native GameCube controller support. As such, the 3DS version's offline metagame ceased to exist after the release of the Wii U version, though the game remained actively played by casual players and for online play.

Since the 3DS game started with version 1.0.0, it initially had a plethora of bugs, (primarily carried over from Super Smash Bros. Brawl), some of which were either enhancements or a deterrence to the competitive scene. Gameplay imbalance was also far more prominent. For instance, DACUS was still present from Brawl, and was discovered through using hacks to make the GameCube controller usable. However, it was completely removed in the Wii U version and version 1.0.4 in the 3DS version.

The Umebura tournament series was among the only notable tournaments ever held for Smash 3DS.

Early metagame and ZeRo's dominance (2015-2016)

ZeRo congratulating Nairo on his victory at MLG World Finals 2015. Nairo was the first smasher in Smash 4 to eliminate ZeRo from a tournament.

2015 marked the first year of the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U's competitive timeline. This Smash game had a rather unique start compared to previous ones, considering the fact that the 3DS version was essentially the same game. Players were able to "hit the ground running" going into the new year. The 3DS version saw a dramatically reduced tournament presence, as its Wii U counterpart shares the same gameplay while benefiting from more control options and clear, high-definition graphics. Thus, every major from here was played on the Wii U version.

Almost immediately, there were several characters who became infamous in competitive play. The first was Diddy Kong, whose powerful neutral game and throw combos, most notably the "Hoo-Hah" (down/up throw to up air), dominated competitive play, making Diddy dittos common, much to the disapproval of spectators. Another character was Rosalina & Luma, who thanks to Luma had incredible zoning abilities that were frustrating to play against and had strong KO potential. Finally, Sheik possessed an excellent neutral game thanks to her fast frame data and extensive combo game, while also being incredibly dominant offstage. All three characters received nerfs in subsequent patches; however, the many balance patches and five new DLC characters all released throughout 2015 resulted in an extremely unstable early metagame. There was also debate over the legality of custom moves, which were allowed at the biggest tournament to date, EVO 2015, but banned in most tournaments soon afterwards.

These various changes did not stop ZeRo, who quickly began dominating competitive play by winning many of the game's earliest events. These include Apex 2015, the first supermajor — and therefore major — of Smash 4, and EVO 2015, where ZeRo became the first Smash player to win EVO without dropping a single game. Though several players were eventually able to defeat him, starting with MrConCon at Smash 4 Oomba, no one was able to eliminate ZeRo until MLG World Finals 2015, when Nairo defeated ZeRo in Grand Finals and became the only player to defeat ZeRo in 2015, ending ZeRo's win streak at 56. Even after the loss, ZeRo continued to dominate the competitive scene until his temporary hiatus in early-2016.

Though many of the game's best players during the early metagame were globally ranked Brawl veterans such as ZeRo, Nairo, Dabuz, and Mr.R, this period also saw the rise of many other players who did not have as much attention on them in the previous game. In the United States, this "newcomer" was VoiD, who primarily competed in Hawaii prior to the Smash 4 era, and as such was unknown to the rest of the world. Though VoiD's performances were initially mediocre, it gradually improved, especially after he moved to Southern California, before he finally found his breakout event at the start of the new year by placing 2nd at 2GGT: ESAM Saga and 4th at GENESIS 3 the following weekend. Since then, he has become one of the best Sheik players in the game.

In addition, Japan saw komorikiri and Ranai take over the scene in the game's first year. Both players had competed in Brawl, but were largely unknown outside of Japan. Early Smash 4 in Japan was initially dominated by a group of players known as the "Heiwajima Squad", which largely included some of Japan's best Brawl veterans. Komorikiri and Ranai were among the few Japanese players able to defeat the Squad, with komorikiri winning several events in the early months of 2015 and Ranai dominating the competitive scene afterwards, winning a slew of events that culminated in his win at Umebura Niconico Qualifier, the final major of the year. Both players eventually gained even more recognition after appearing at overseas events and became pioneers for their respective characters.

Another notable newcomer from Japan was Abadango, yet another player who was not that well-known in Brawl. Though greatly successful in Japan, Abadango became known for his performances in the United States, placing top 8 at all American majors he attended in 2015. Despite his success, he was known for rotating his characters out often, beginning as a Pac-Man player before picking up Wario, then dropping both for Meta Knight and Rosalina & Luma. This inconsistent roster eventually ended when he picked up Mewtwo, and he went on to win Pound 2016 with primarily Mewtwo, marking the first major won by a DLC character. His victory, as well as the subsequent success from other DLC characters, created a stigma that DLC characters were, on average, stronger than the base-game characters, a reputation that stuck even into the following game.

One final notable newcomer of note was Leo, a young Mexican player who mained Meta Knight, a character long dismissed by many players as a shell of his Brawl self. Despite this poor reputation, Leo piloted the character to great success by dominating competitive play Mexico, including winning Smash Factor 4 over Mr.R, the runner-up to EVO 2015. His performances greatly improved Meta Knight's perception, which remained positive even after Leo moved on to other characters, and made Leo Smash 4's first prodigy, beginning one of the greatest careers in competitive Smash.

Though a worldwide ranking did not exist in Brawl until the game's final two years, Smash 4 immediately received a ranking in the form of the Panda Global Rankings (PGR), an algorithmic ranking that ranked the world's best 50 players. The first season took into account most of 2015 and first few months of 2016, until the first week of May, and each subsequent season ranked a half-year period. Despite many flaws with the first ranking, it helped establish the PGR as the de facto official ranking for Smash 4, and many elements of its methodology and presentation, especially in subsequent rankings, would become the norm.

End of balance patches and ZeRo v. Ally (2016)

2016 marked the release of the last two DLC characters, Corrin and Bayonetta. Bayonetta was initially seen as a highly controversial character, due to her powerful combo game, allowing her to zero-death most foes, and Witch Time giving her one of the strongest punish games in Smash 4. As a result, Bayonetta was quickly banned in several regions. However, significant nerfs, most notably in patch 1.1.6, brought her on more even ground with other characters, and the bans were lifted. The lack of any other patches for the rest of the year finally gave the metagame time to develop without interruptions.

ANTi's iconic entrance at CEO 2016. He would go on to win the event, becoming one of several players to win their first major that year.

With ZeRo taking a brief absence from the competitive scene due to medical issues and Nairo unable to maintain the consistency he had the previous year, the metagame gave way for players ranked below both of them on the Panda Global Rankings to rise, with several of them winning their first majors that year. Upon ZeRo's return to the scene in May, he was no longer the dominant force he was previously, with a wider array of players defeating him compared to before the hiatus, and for the rest of his Smash 4 career, he had to protect his throne from rising threats. The first was Ally, who notably had a positive record over him since the onset of patch 1.1.6 and had defeated ZeRo at events such as Get On My Level 2016, Smash 'N' Splash 2 and Super Smash Con 2016. This began one of the biggest rivalries in Smash 4, and Ally's success, especially his victory at EVO 2016, led many players to question whether it was time to crown a new champion. However, ZeRo was eventually able to return to his dominance, winning a slew of events in the second half of the year such as 2GGT: Abadango Saga, The Big House 6 and UGC Smash Open, while Ally's results saw a few slip-ups. As such, ZeRo remained 1st on the PGR v2 while Ally was ranked 2nd.

Outside of ZeRo, there were many new shakeups that took place during this time. In Japan, the Smashmate player KEN rose into the upper echelon of competitive play after a slew of strong Japanese performances, including winning Umebura 22 and Japan's second major Umebura S.A.T., becoming one of the best Sonic players in the world in just a few months. In addition, after slowly rising throughout the first half of the year, Kamemushi surprised players by placing 2nd at EVO 2016, defeating ZeRo along the way, all the while using the then-perceived mid-tier Mega Man. The summer of 2016 saw Mario's rise in the metagame, with ANTi winning CEO 2016 and Ally winning EVO 2016, while many DLC characters such as Mewtwo, Cloud, and Ryu became increasingly prevalent. Finally, September marked the rise of Apex 2013 champion Salem as he double-eliminated ZeRo at Collision XIV, foreshadowing events that would happen in the following year.

The greatest shakeup, however, took place at the end of the year. MkLeo was finally able to secure a US visa in October, allowing him to enter tournaments in the United States. This led to him winning the end-of-the-year supermajor 2GGT: ZeRo Saga, defeating a slew of established players that included the year's supermajor winners ZeRo, Ally, and ANTi. At 15, he became the youngest player in the game to win a Smash 4 major and erased any doubts that his Smash Factor 4 run was a fluke. MkLeo's run at 2GGT: ZeRo Saga catapulted him into the top 10, where he would remain for the rest of the game's competitive lifespan.

The 2GG Championship (2017)

ESAM's pop off after his 3-1 victory over Ally at 2GGC: Civil War, eliminating him at 25th. This was one of the many upsets that happened during that tournament.

At the end of 2GGT: ZeRo Saga, 2GGaming announced the 2GG Championship Series, a circuit of tournaments in 2017 that will culminate in a finale event at the end of the year. As such, tournament activity became revolved around the circuit, with international players frequently traveling to or being invited to 2GGC events. This made 2017 the busiest year for competitive Smash 4, as it featured a total of 31 majors, more than any other year before and after, and established SoCal as the center of competitive-Smash 4.

Though all the 2GGC events were at a bare minimum majors, there were several that stood out than the rest. The most notable amongst all the 2GGC events was 2GGC: Civil War, an event themed around Ally and ZeRo's rivalry from the previous year. Featuring 866 entrants and all but 3 of the PGR v2's ranked players, it is often considered the most difficult Smash 4 tournament. The event became known for its slew of upsets, including the highlighted players being eliminated at 25th and 49th, respectively; MkLeo placing 65th; and many other top 10 players placing outside the top 8. Conversely, this event marked the breakout event of many non-American players, including Japanese Link player T, who placed 3rd; Japanese Donkey Kong player HIKARU, who placed 7th; and Canadian Ryu player Locus, who also placed 7th. Grand Finals was between Dabuz and up-and-coming Captain Falcon player Fatality, with Dabuz ultimately coming out on top in spite of all the upsets, finally winning the first major of his Smash career.

Though not the first event to do so, 2GGC: Civil War emphasized a shift in competitive Smash 4 where many new players, particularly international players, established themselves at the highest level of competitive play. The first half of the year especially introduced many American players to Japanese players who played less-common characters. In addition to the aforementioned Japanese players at 2GGC: Civil War, Frostbite 2017 became a breakout event for Lucario player Tsu-, who placed 2nd, and Olimar player Shuton, who placed 5th, while CEO Dreamland became a breakout event for Duck Hunt player Raito, who placed 9th. Alongside these players, Kirihara also won the major Shots Fired 2 over ZeRo, beating out Dabuz to become the first Rosalina & Luma player to win a major by just a few weeks.

In addition, following MkLeo's victory at ZeRo Saga and his subsequent win at GENESIS 4, several other younger players began making waves in competitive play. The most notable player was CaptainZack, who established himself as the best Bayonetta player in the world after placing 4 at GENESIS 4 and Civil War, ultimately ranking 7th for the PGR v3 season. In addition, Elegant reversed opinions on Luigi after the character's nerfs by placing well at several events, including 7th at 2GGC: Nairo Saga. Though he did not debut that high on the PGR v3, he would make a noticeably larger impact in the second half of the year, especially after placing 2nd at GameTyrant Expo 2017.

Salem's victory against ZeRo at EVO 2017 after making a 2-stock comeback in the final set and securing the EVO title. This event was one of the few events in the second half of the year that threatened ZeRo's position as the number one player.

As the season went on, however, it became clear that the second half of the year would be defined by another storyline: the rise of Bayonetta, a character initially dismissed as a weaker variant of her pre-1.1.6 self but had been slowly achieving better results thanks to the efforts of players such as CaptainZack and Salem. Salem especially became another threat to ZeRo's throne; in the PGR v4 season, he defeated ZeRo to win EVO 2017 and subsequently won DreamHack Atlanta 2017 and 2GGC: Fire Emblem Saga.

ZeRo made the fight competitive, winning 2GGC: SCR Saga and Shine 2017 and having an overall positive record over Salem for the season (4-2); however, it ultimately came down to the 2GG Championship, the 2GGC's finale. The tournament was effectively a summary of the year's events, as it featured both the best players in the world at that time and many of the newer rising stars mentioned previously. Ultimately, ZeRo was able to secure his number one spot by making Winners finals at the event; however, many players still anticipated the Salem vs ZeRo set, where ZeRo was able to win 3-1 in Losers Finals.

Despite the anticipation for the two to meet up, neither Salem nor ZeRo won the circuit finale. Instead it would be MkLeo, a player that had seen a small slump for most of the year, had not won a single circuit event, and had struggled to defeat ZeRo (with an overall record of 1-12 prior to the event). Despite this poor record, MkLeo shocked audiences by swiftly 3-0ing ZeRo in Winners Semi-Finals with Meta Knight, and although ZeRo reset the bracket in Grand Finals, MkLeo was able to defeat ZeRo again to win the circuit finale. Many players in the community believed this represented a turning point in competitive Smash, with the event representing how ZeRo would eventually pass the torch to MkLeo.

Unique to the PGR this year was an "off-season" that took place after 2GG Championship and before GENESIS 5, though a few international events were still counted. As such, the final major of the year Smash 4 Boot Camp was untiered on the PGR.

A vacant throne and Bayonetta's dominance (2018)

With ZeRo's retirement from the scene in January, the #1 spot on the Panda Global Rankings was up for grabs, with players such as MkLeo, Nairo, Dabuz and Tweek setting their sights on taking ZeRo's throne. MkLeo led the charge by winning GENESIS 5, followed by Dabuz winning Frostbite 2018 and Tweek winning EGLX 2018. Nairo then challenged MkLeo by winning Niconico Tokaigi 2018 and Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas over MkLeo, and MkLeo challenged Nairo back by winning SwitchFest and Get On My Level 2018. Nairo then underperformed at 2GG: Hyrule Saga and CEO 2018, knocking him out of contention, while Dabuz failed to win another major for the rest of the season. This left Tweek as the last challenger, and he made it close by winning MomoCon 2018 and 2GG: Hyrule Saga. MkLeo and Tweek faced off at the final tournament of the PGR v5 season, CEO 2018, where MkLeo won, becoming the new #1 player in the world.

Bear issuing a yellow card to Lima and CaptainZack for stalling during Grand Finals at EVO 2018. This incident was a tipping point for many regarding Bayonetta's dominance in the final year of competitive play.

The race for #1, however, was severely dampened by the ever-growing presence of Bayonetta in competitive play. Majors often featured several Bayonetta players place in the top 8, with many of them also winning the event. This was exacerbated by the fact that several established players had already or were beginning to pick up Bayonetta as either a secondary or co-main. This was most apparent with the top 2 players of the PGR v5 season, with MkLeo picking up Bayonetta before Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas and Tweek having been playing Bayonetta since the last season. Ultimately, half of the season's top 10 players played Bayonetta. This led to what seemed like an influx of Bayonetta players at the highest level of competitive play, an issue that ultimately defined Smash 4's legacy, and led many to detest Bayonetta in competitive play and question why a proper Bayonetta ban was not enforced.

Bayonetta's presence reached a tipping point in the summer of 2018 due to two major factors. First, at E3 2018, the next Smash game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, was announced to be released at the end of the year, leading many top players, especially those who were good at fighting against Bayonetta, to retire from the game. In addition, the Grand Finals set between Bayonetta players CaptainZack and Lima at EVO 2018 was heavily criticized for not being treated seriously, leading many to walk about of the venue before the tournament ended and tarnishing competitive Smash 4's reputation.

That was not to say there weren't any noteworthy achievements in 2018. First, although most majors were won by Bayonetta players, there were a few notable major victories that did not feature Bayonetta: two solo-Sheik players were able to win majors during this time, with VoiD winning Smash 'N' Splash 4 and Eim winning Umebura Smash 4 Final, and Cosmos became the first and only Corrin player to win a Smash 4 major, doing so at The Big House 8.

In addition, several mid- and low-tier characters received renewed attention to their respective playerbases as several of their best players found great success during this period. Most notable among these players were Maister and Sinji, two players ranked on the PGR v5 with solo-Mr. Game & Watch and solo-Pac-Man, respectively, and Glutonny, a Wario main who became the best player in Europe with Mr.R's absence in the continent. Other notable low tier performances include Captain L, who used Jigglypuff as a secondary to defeat several players, including Larry Lurr, despite Jigglypuff being considered the worst character in the game; ZAKI, a Japanese King Dedede player who upset MkLeo at 2GG: Hyrule Saga; and Tea, another Pac-Man player, who became known for his run to 2nd at SoCal Regionals 2018 and 3rd at Umebura Smash 4 Final. These results led many players to question their respective characters' placements on the tier list, though with the final tier list being released in 2017, any improvements in these characters' standings remain unrecognized by the tier list.

Finally, this period marked the rise of several "newer" players to the scene, some of whom became recognizable names in Ultimate's early metagame. In the United States, Mewtwo player SDX first broke out onto the scene defeating several top players to place 9th at Get On My Level 2018 before achieving his first major top 8 at 2GG: Hyrule Saga, leading him to be ranked 27th on the PGR v5. Additional strong performances in the rest of the year, including finishing 5th at The Big House 8 and winning Canada Cup 2018, established SDX as one of the best Mewtwo players in the world, and even placed him in contention for the top 10. In Japan, Corrin and Bayonetta player Zackray broke out onto the Japanese scene by placing 2nd at Umebura Tokaigi Qualifier 2 and by the end of the year he was considered one of the best players in Japan, especially after winning Sumabato 27 and Sumabato Smash 4 Final. Still, with the PGR ending their seasonal runs after PGR v5, players who excelled in the final months of competitive play, such as Jakal, MagiMagi, and yuzu, failed to have their performances recognized by the rankings.

After the PGR v5 season, Panda Global announced the PGR 100, which ranked the best 100 players of all time for Smash 4, starting with Apex 2015 and ending with DreamHack Atlanta 2018; the rankings ignored Umebura Smash 4 Final, which took place after DreamHack Atlanta 2018 and was the final major event of Smash 4's main lifespan. The rankings were revealed days before Ultimate was released, and they ranked ZeRo as the greatest Smash 4 player of all-time.

Post-Ultimate Release (2019-present)

Tournament activity of the game declined sharply following the release of its successor, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Although a few major tournaments such as Albion 4, Super Smash Con 2019, and CEO Dreamland 2020 held Smash 4 events, those events either had low entrant counts or many disqualifications. This low attendance can be partially attributed to the stigma that the final year of Smash 4 created for the game. The only notable recurring event for Smash 4 today is the Supernova series, and while it continues to hold a respectable entrant count in each iteration, Supernova 2024 and Supernova 2025 notably lacked the top-level representation that other events in the series had, and as such, are not considered majors.

Bayonetta would notably continue her dominance in the post-Ultimate metagame. Aside from Dabuz winning Super Smash Con 2019, all majors in this era have been won by Bayonetta player Mistake, establishing him as the best Smash 4 player in the post-Ultimate landscape, while most other Smash 4 events featured many Bayonetta players. The exception to this was Supernova 2024, which notably saw Ness player Marcus take the event over other Bayonetta and Cloud players. Bayonetta would be formally banned in Supernova 2025's ruleset, and as such, Cloud, Diddy Kong, and Fox became the most represented characters at the tournament, being the only characters in top 16 to be used by more than 2 players. The Southern Californian smasher falln would win the event, using Rosalina & Luma.

On the other hand, with the game being treated less seriously, this allowed some more relaxed rulesets. Notably, some events allowed customization for the Mii Fighters, and as such, they, primarily the Mii Brawler, were able to see greater tournament activity than when Smash 4 was in its prime.

Effect on the Melee and Brawl communities

Smash 4 has had little impact on Melee's tournament scene, as it is not uncommon for both games to be featured at tournaments simultaneously. Most already established Melee players have chosen to stay with the Melee community over Smash 4 due to several factors; they include the physics of Smash 4 being more similar to the controversial Brawl game engine, their main being more tournament viable in Melee than in SSB4 (such as with Falco and formerly Marth), or Smash 4 having a lower reliance on technical skill. Overall, both games attract large numbers of players and spectators.

Brawl's competitive scene has largely tapered off and moved onto Smash 4 since it was released. Almost all of its high-level players primarily played it because it was simply the latest installment in the series after Melee and was, therefore, their personal preference.

While the Smash 4 engine was viewed as more tournament-friendly than that of Brawl ever since its earliest days, character balance has helped greatly in the game's perception relative to others. In contrast to the infamously unbalanced Brawl, SSB4 balance patches have allowed unbalanced character matchups and attributes to be corrected throughout the game's lifetime, resulting in a very large range of viable characters (including historically poor characters such as Bowser and Mewtwo), top-tier characters that are relatively easier to defeat, and bottom-tier characters that can hold up better against the higher tiers (to the point that the "Bottom" tier ranking was completely abolished in the third tier list). Some SSB4 supporters cite this as an advantage over even Melee, due to the fact that its top-tier characters are more dominating and ubiquitous than those of SSB4 (particularly its single best character in Fox), resulting in near-universal use of the top tiers and fewer appearances and results from lower-tier characters.

Criticisms of competitive Smash 4

Although Smash 4 has been more successful competitively than Brawl, it has not come without its own criticisms. A number of former and current Brawl players have stated their preference for the older title, believing Brawl to have had greater competitive depth. For example, edgehogging was removed from Smash 4 in favor of ledge trumping, significantly limiting the power of edgeguarding, which has been a core aspect of previous Smash games. In addition, in Brawl, many characters could perform techniques such as DACUS and glide tossing, which created enhanced movement options; these techniques were largely removed in Smash 4.

Since the shift to Ultimate, many former Smash 4 players have criticized some of the more polarizing traits of the game that were fixed or reduced in Ultimate. The greatest complaint was rage, which allowed characters with a higher percentage to deal more knockback. This led to many "cheese" situations where characters can lose a stock at early percents due to the opponent being at high percents. This was most apparent with Ryu and characters with set knockback, such as Samus and Mario, whom rage also applies to. In addition, though the engine is faster than that of Brawl, many still complain that the game was too slow, especially when compared to Melee and Ultimate.

See also

• Tournament rulesets (SSB4)
• Super Smash Bros. 64 in competitive play
• Super Smash Bros. Melee in competitive play
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl in competitive play
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in competitive play

External links

• 「Rivalries」: ZeRo Vs. Ally (A Smash 4 Documentary)