User:Ac2k/Most historically significant players status (SSBM)

This page lists my subjective ranking of how notable every player on the "Most historically significant players" is (for Melee). Due to the game's long history, many of these sections are at or near full capacity, and eventually, we would have to start removing players on the list if a newer and more notable candidate makes waves and deserves to replace them (unless there is a strong movement to increase the maximum capacity for that character).

I gave every player a ranking on a scale from S to C. The S rank is basically for all time GOATs of the character who would basically never get replaced unless this game somehow lasts for like a thousand years. In my opinion, the players with a C rank should be the first to get replaced if a more notable player appears on the scene and the list is full already.

I am judging these players based on a few main criteria: tournament placings, peak rankings, longevity, and innovations to the metagame. As an example, we will take a look at the Fox list.

Leffen is an easy S tier, as the first solo Fox main to become a consistent tournament favorite. I also place Chillin at an S tier; while his results were probably more around A tier, he is widely recognized as the inventor of the modern Fox metagame (perhaps the biggest influencer of Melee's most popular character). I list SFAT at A tier due to being a consistent top 10-15 player for nearly a decade. Hax is also A tier, as despite his short career as a Fox main, he had a high peak at 8th in 2014, and had a large influence on the 20XX metagame. I also list Armada at A tier; although he used Peach more frequently, his Fox developed into an incredibly fearsome threat in its own right and his Fox playstyle had a major influence on the Fox meta (with things like the Armada Shine, etc.) I list both Lucky and moky as B tier; Lucky for being a consistent top 20 player for a decade, and moky for reaching top 20 for 2 years and top 10/top 5 level for one year in 2023 (whilst never being a tournament favorite), though I suspect moky will eventually rise to A tier very soon if he keeps this up for not that long. I list Plup as C tier, as his Fox has been largely a secondary to his Sheik, but it's not just a Hungrybox counterpick, as he's defeated players like Jmook + many other top 20 Foxes and Sheiks, and his Fox has become a respected character throughout the Melee community (it's definitely not Mew2King's Peach vs. Ice Climbers level). Also I gave many of the non-North American players a C ranking if they never competed in North American tournaments, unless they were considered the best in the world at their character/had some really strong European wins.

Also, this page only documents the players listed on each article. There are definitely some players who I personally think deserve to be on the lists, and others who should be cut, but that is a separate issue.

Feel free to update this page as you like, though if you're changing a player's rank by more than one letter, I recommend bringing it up on the SmashWiki discord (preferred) or this talk page.

Fox
Player limit: 20

Current number: 20

Marth
Player limit: 15

Current number: 15

Jigglypuff
Player limit: 10

Current number: 9

Falco
Player limit: 15

Current number: 14

Sheik
Player limit: 15

Current number: 15

Captain Falcon
Player limit: 15

Current number: 15

Peach
Player limit: 15

Current number: 14

Ice Climbers
Player limit: 10

Current number: 8

Pikachu
Player limit: 10

Current number: 5

Yoshi
Player limit: 10

Current number: 5

Samus
Player limit: 10

Current number: 10

Luigi
Player limit: 10

Current number: 9

Dr. Mario
Player limit: 10

Current number: 7

Ganondorf
Player limit: 10

Current number: 8

Mario
Player limit: 10

Current number: 6

Donkey Kong
Player limit: 10

Current number: 7

Young Link
Player limit: 10

Current number: 6

Link
Player limit: 10

Current number: 8

Mr. Game & Watch
Player limit: 10

Current number: 5

Mewtwo
Player limit: 10

Current number: 3

Roy
Player limit: 10

Current number: 7

Pichu
Player limit: 10

Current number: 1

Ness
Player limit: 10

Current number: 3

Zelda
Player limit: 10

Current number: 5

Kirby
Player limit: 10

Current number: 3

Bowser
Player limit: 10

Current number: 4