By: Callisto, SNC, and Gabe.
This is part of an article series highlighting the Australian Rivals of Aether community, focusing on the top 20 AU players. Get to know more about our newest RCS region as we release their write-ups over the next three days.
If you’re an AU player make sure you show the online scene your support by signing up for online monthlies on smash.gg. Get to know the community and play for points and prizes, including a travel voucher to our finals event in North America for the top ranked AU player.
Articles in the Series:
| Rank | Results | Rivals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 |  #5th |
– |    |
| Summary | |||
To start our list we have young Saraxxus, fresh to the competitive Rivals scene and swiftly proving that he’s no pushover. It’s evident that he is still learning his place in the game, discovering strategies and bouncing between a few characters on the roster. That said, there’s no doubt that his two top 5 placings at Sydney local events weren’t a fluke. His online placings in both our amateur and pro brackets alike suggest that he may be a player to watch.
| Rank | Results | Rivals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 2nd |
– | |
| Summary | |||
A consistent face in the NSW rivals scene, William (aka ‘BoyLips’) has achieved solid results at local Sydney tournaments. While William is a melee player at heart, he flawlessly transitions his melee fundamentals to Rivals of Aether, using his patient and grounded Zetterburn to keep Sydney’s newer players in check.
| Rank | Results | Rivals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 5th |
 9th |
|
| Summary | |||
A relatively new player to the scene, MAST began entering local tournaments at the start of 2017 before appearing in our online brackets. Although he was unable to match up to our regulars it was clear he was eager to learn. Through persistence his placings have slowly risen and his Zetterburn is becoming a real threat to our mid-level players. Peaking with a very solid 7th place finish in May’s RCS bracket, it’s clear that MAST is not done climbing the ranks just yet.
| Rank | Results | Rivals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 3rd |
 9th |
|
| Summary | |||
The bear from Australia’s capital, Glacier has been showing the rest of Australia that the ACT has talent. Coming from a Smash 4 background, Glacier has placed high consistently in his local scene while also getting good results when traveling out of his territory with limited practice. Having recently taken a set off Dave at a local Sydney event, it’s already evident that the fresh ACT team will promptly make their mark on the competition.
| Rank | Results | Rivals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 9th |
9th |
|
| Summary | |||
The only player from Queensland to make this list, Chats has come very close to taking sets off a number of the players above him, and even clutched out a few along the way. With his signature pink skin, he has been a top contender in every amateur bracket and slowly rising through our pro brackets. His Zetterburn has become more disciplined since a rough 9th place finish at Expand Gong 2, something he attributes to a far too aggressive playstyle. Hopefully with some practice Chats can start consistently winning more of those close last game sets.
| Rank | Results | Rivals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 5th |
5th |
|
| Summary | |||
One of the most well-practiced players from Sydney, Karito has developed his Orcane over the past eighteen months into a formidable foe. He’s performed well against many of the top players in the community, using his hasty and volatile approach to catch competitors off guard. The young gun has always had his eyes on the top position, but has fallen a little short on the podium finish in a handful of online and local events this year.
| Rank | Results | Rivals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 3rd |
– |    |
| Summary | |||
OSU is always the first player to provide gameplay tips when asked, mentoring many of the players rising through our amateur ranks. Originally a dedicated Maypul main, OSU has been bringing secondaries into each bracket he plays lately, counterpicking and switching characters as he feels necessary.
After taking a short break from the scene late last year OSU has returned and made himself a player to be respected. By working on his punish game and matchup knowledge he’s been able to push his local results to greater heights. With sights on taking those results even further in the RCS series, he is definitely a player to watch out for.
| Rank | Results | Rivals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 2nd |
9th |
 |
| Summary | |||
Fiskit (known previously by many as Palirock) has been a prominent yet polarizing player in the Australian community since late 2015. He has developed his playstyle to adapt to the opponent he’s facing off with, exercising no restraint in playing almost every character on the roster to get an advantage in battle.
Although a strong competitor for much of 2016, Fiskit has since recorded the most varied placements in Australia. His play swings wildly from winning online tournaments undefeated to being knocked out of a competition in first round loser’s bracket. Time will tell this year how he steps up to further cement his diverse and malleable playstyle.
| Rank | Results | Rivals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 2nd |
7th |
|
| Summary | |||
A veteran of the Aus smash scene, Jamwa has relatively little playtime in Rivals. Despite this, it cannot be argued that the impact he makes in the rare event he attends is extremely noteworthy. His deliberate and highly adaptive style of Absa makes up for his limited matchup knowledge, and his cloud use is without equal. Surprising everyone by coming back from a round 1 loss at CoM 8 to place second and a week later upsetting Palirock to make top 8 at BAM, Jamwa is worthy of a placing of 12th on this list.
| Rank | Results | Rivals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 3rd |
– | |
| Summary | |||
Stutter has had a very steady rise in the scene over the past year, making clear efforts to minimize the weaknesses of his neutral whilst also enhancing his own style of Forsburn. He now stands as one of the more adaptable players in the scene with his reactive neutral proving deadly to some of our more careless players and his stylish cape combos constantly surprising the competition.
Though he unfortunately wasn’t able to attend BAM 9, the May RCS event soon after provided him with his the opportunity to demonstrate how far he’s come. He ended up placing 7th after losing only to Dave’s Kragg and SNC early in losers side of bracket, two very worthy opponents. His improvement so far has been substantial and looks to only continue as the year progresses.