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MattyIce once again soars into the Rivals top 10 with a small, yet strong cluster of events under his belt. MattyIce finished top 8 at both of his RCS appearances, DreamHack Atlanta 2019 and Genesis 7. His appearance at the Florida regional, GatorLAN 2020 resulted in a nearly perfect tournament, with two wins over Backpack and a win over Forrest while only dropping two games along the way.

MattyIce has recently announced his departure from Rivals as he focuses more on his personal life and career path. We wish him all the best in his ventures and will welcome him back with open arms if/when he ever returns!

Sparx21, the sole representative of The Aerial Arsenal, breaks into top 10 for the first time! It’s no secret how much of a threat Elliana is these days, mainly due to the ingenuity and mind-blowing gameplay presented by Sparx21 over the course of Season 4. His early season outlined a monster emerging from the offseason, taking down players such as gracefulknight, MSB, Lord Bagel, Blue, Penguin, and more. Post-Elevate, Sparx21 faltered ever so slightly while coping with character nerfs while still placing just outside of top 8 at Glitch 7 and Heat Wave 3.

His 17th place finish at Genesis 7 marked his worst placement of the year; however, he seems to have recently found his groove once again. Sparx21 shot his way to 5th place at Frostbite 2020 by beating CakeAssault in an astounding 3-0 set. If he can keep this momentum going into Season 5, Sparx21 is an early favorite for the highly competitive top 5!

A longtime competitor and community organizer, SBS adds another accolade to his long list of Rivals achievements with his first Top 10 ranking! Tending to his grassroots garden didn’t leave much time to play in RCS events, but that wasn’t a problem as the growing community-organized scene attracted just as much talent for him to beat up on. The best solo Clairen in the competitive scene, he placed top 8 at every event he attended with the exception of Smash’N’Splash 5. On the way he collected multiple wins from top 10 players and more with sets over DolphinBrick, ZeeBee, Sparx, TapScott, Lattim, Bullets, and other notables in Season 4.

With him recently joining the Rivals Dev team as our new Esports Manager, it looked like he might have been thinking of hanging up his sword and cloak until he took out Windows, Sparx, FullStream, and Starbos at Frostbite 2020 during our offseason. Whatever this year holds for him, we know Rivals Esports will continue to thrive with SBS around.

Starting out Season 4 ZeeBee began a journey into the frozen tundra, polishing up an Etalus for several matchups. During his 8 event long season, ZeeBee placed top 3 at both TAPS events, 3rd at Glitch 7, 7th at Heat Wave 3 and 5th at DreamHack Atlanta 2019 while capturing wins against SBS, CakeAssault, Forrest, Sparx21, and many more along the way.

Much like his Twitter, ZeeBee’s approach to the game can be confounding at times, with many players getting caught off guard by his strangely brilliant in-game options. While returning to the coveted top 10 for the second season in a row, his fun-loving attitude and infectious personality make any experience with him one to remember.

The head of Tristate, a real world traveler, King of Kragg. MSB returns to yet another top 10 reveal in the most satisfying of ways. As one of the only two players to be ranked in the top 10 in every season to date, MSB attended eight separate events in Season 4, only missing top 8 on two separate occasions.

Season 4 has been a series of milestones for MSB, besting FullStream for the first time, going undefeated against ZeeBee, and of course his first trip to the paramount mainstage at Genesis 7. Season 4 has been an incredible journey for MSB, and we can’t wait to see what his beautiful mind can lead him to in Season 5. Kragg CAN do it!

While Xaro has been a household name for a few years now, it wasn’t until Season 4 that he began traveling to events. Xaro placed 9th at Super Smash Con 2019, 3rd at The Big House 9, and a phenomenal 3rd at our Genesis 7 season finale. True to form, Xaro made sure to collect 1st place finishes at BOTH Online RCS events in 2019. While dropping sets to Adi and Forrest, Xaro was able to take down Windows and maintain a 2-3 record offline with CakeAssault, not an easy feat. Fast forward to our offseason and Xaro show no inclination to slow down, beating CakeAssault yet again and placing 3rd at the heavily stacked Frostbite 2020.

After two seasons at 5th place DolphinBrick finds himself a level higher. DolphinBrick placed 2nd at Overgrown, 4th at Smash’N’Splash 5, 2nd at EVO 2019, 3rd at CREST, and 5th at Heat Wave 3 while only losing sets to 4 players the entire season. He is astoundingly consistent and a master of Orcane with a heavy emphasis on neutral and mid-set adaptations.

DolphinBrick is always a treasure to see, which makes his missed appearance at Genesis 7 this year even more sad. Regardless, his time with Tuxedo Esports was well spent and we are excited to have him back out to events this summer!

Windows soars into Rank 3 in Season 4! As his photo shows, Windows is no stranger to success, placing within the top 5 at seven different events this year. To complement his rank this year, Windows placed 3rd at Smash N Splash 5, Heat Wave 3, and DreamHack Atlanta 2019 while boasting season long achievements including a 2-3 record against Penguin and a 1-0 record against Blue. Windows has been hot on the heels of CakeAssault and Penguin for years, and now it seems he is closer than ever to closing the gap!

A neck and neck race this season concluded with what appeared to hinge on the grand finals of Genesis 7. Penguin finished Season 4 with a stranglehold on the scene at large, only dropping sets to four different players, and only missing grand finals at a single event. Penguin Vs CakeAssault has all but become a staple of events, with Penguin coming out on top at Smash N Splash 5 and Glitch 7. While their final record is 3-6 in CakeAssault’s favor, it came down to Genesis 7 to definitively prove a champion. Penguin has moved up from 3rd in Season 3 and, if his dominant showing at Frostbite 2020 is any indication, Season 5 may just be his to take!

The only player to never miss a top 5 ranking, the Season 2 Genesis champion, and the Season 3 top dog. CakeAssault has finally combined a Genesis victory with the undeniable distinction of the best player in the world. His back-to-back number one rankings did not come easily by any means. While only missing top 2 at one event, CakeAssault has made several legendary losers runs following early upsets. The term “Losers’ Cake” has become common after such upsets, as he consistently dismantles all in his path.

In addition to his crown at Genesis 7, CakeAssault placed 1st at EVO 2019, The Big House 9, and DreamHack Atlanta 2019 while maintaining a positive head to head record against every opponent except for Blue. Keep a close eye on Season 5, as CakeAssault attempts to fend off the bloodthirsty hoard and become the first player to be ranked 1st in three separate seasons!

View more articles in the Season Four NA Rankings Series:

• Introduction
• #50 – 41
• #40 – 31
• #30 – 21
• #20 – 11
• #10 – 1 (You are here.)

After just barely missing the Top 50 last season, Lattim storms his way onto the Season 4 rankings with a top 20 placement! Lattim’s events this season boasted impressive runs at CREST and Glitch 7, placing top 6 at both. Lattim’s star studded portfolio includes victories against Forrest, Akashi, and Jesier. We hope to see Lattim attend more events in the upcoming season, his ferocious playstyle has been making big waves in the Rivals community ever since his run at TAPS 1 in 2018.

The Genesis 6 Champion and the second ranked player in Season 3, Panda Global’s FullStream spent his year focusing primarily on Smash Ultimate. While he may have dropped a few spots from last year, FullStream remained stunningly consistent; placing 9th at Smash N Splash 5, Glitch 7, and Genesis 7. FullStream was also able to snag top 8 twice this year at EVO 2019 and Big House 9. FullStream’s late season included a grind to return to rivals. He streamed practice sessions and restored some of his former glory with a fantastic 9th place at the Season finale. FullStream has continued the grind with a top 8 at Frostbite 2020 and promises to be a deadly threat once again in Season 5.

Making three trips out to the mainland, The Hawaiian Giant erupts with a substantial Season 4. Protagify’s 9th place at Heat Wave 3, and 13th place at Genesis 7 are impressive enough without mentioning his victories over Dam Danny, Chompers, Sparx21, PrimeTime, and TurtleBox. Protagify’s keyboard skills were only bested by top 25 players and our hidden boss, Wai. His keyboard Vs keyboard match against Windows was the first of its kind in an RCS setting, adding some enjoyable problem solving to the Heat Wave execution.

Another old school tyrant, LBO continued his expedition in shovelry this year, attending EVO 2019 and Heat Wave 3. While LBO may have just fallen short of top 8 at EVO, he took an astonishing 5th place at Heat Wave 3 with wins on Tapscott, ZeeBee, and seemingly unstoppable Penguin. As a former top 5 Rivals player, LBO may enter events sparingly; however, he is never to be slept on. As a head of fan favorite, Tuxedo Esports, LBO certainly is the classiest Shovel Knight to ever dig it!

When it comes to reaching the top, Tapscott may be the most devoted player in the scene. His improvement over the last few Seasons has been astronomical, while his hunger for competition brought him to six of our Season 4 events, of which Tapscott missed Top 8 at just two. Hailing from Alabama, Tapscott has jumped up by 16 total spots in the Top 50 rankings this year, inching closer to the top with every event. We are excited for his potential burst into top 10 come Season 5!

Canada’s top representative of “The Glacier’s Might” has recently been working to become a truly threatening Zetterburn main. While his heavy handed upsets of Season 3 weren’t present this year, Bagel remained devastatingly consistent with placements in and around Top 8 at six of his seven events, with the outlier being 33rd at Genesis 7. Bagel’s early season includes wins on some of the best Rivals players to ever do it; including MSB, Chompers, Corkxx, and many more. While his late season may have faltered a tad, Lord Bagel still poses a looming threat to any player’s bracket run, even with his new main, nearly taking down Sparx21 in our offseason event.

Widely recognized as one of the best Clairens in the world, Guard’s meteoric rise is the stuff of legend. Word of the up and comer percolated out of his own region over the course of a single season, as Guard became a threat known to the community in seemingly record time. Guard began Season 4 with upsets over Corkxx and Windows at CEO 2019 for an impressive second place finish. Guard proceeded to place 9th at Super Smash Con 2019 and 4th at DreamHack Atlanta 2019, taking down the likes of Tapscott and region mate, MattyIce. Players such as Guard have helped Florida become a spotlight of the Rivals community over the past few years, showing talent and endless passion with no end in sight.

Another Tampa player, and brother of Guard, Backpack explodes onto the Rivals Top 50 for the first time. Over the course of a single season, Backpack has proved himself as a top player and community leader. Through his work as the GoTE Community Manager and his ambitious matchmaking server, The Arena, Backpack has helped ignite a fire into the increasingly dangerous Florida scene. Backpack placed Top 8 at both RCS events he attended this season and Top 3 at both Florida regionals. His drive and pure passion for improvement while keeping a fun loving attitude towards competition is commendable. It’s rare to see such an influential community member rise up in such a short period of time, and we’re excited to watch him and Tampa evolve into giants in the community!

Coming in at the 12 spot for his second year in a row, Jesier is the sole representative of Ori mains on the Season 4 Top 50. Jesier placed no lower than 9th at his four RCS events this season, tacking on early wins against FullStream and Lord Bagel, while keeping the same energy in the second leg of the season by taking down even more top players including MSB and Forrest.

A former top 3 player returns to the Top 50 in Season 4! Forrest is known for his innovative and momentum heavy, touch-of-death style Maypul punish game. Forrest managed to hit massive peaks at several points this season with victories over four of our top 10 players. Forrest placed 5th at Glitch 7, 2nd at The Big House 9, and 3rd at GatorLAN 2020. His talent and fundamental understanding of the platform fighter genre is undeniable, and with some extra time learning the new-age Rivals meta, we can bet that Forrest will punch his way back into the top 10 in Season 5.

View more articles in the Season Four NA Rankings Series:

• Introduction
• #50 – 41
• #40 – 31
• #30 – 21
• #20 – 11 (You are here.)
• #10 – 1

Giga Bowser is yet another New York player making his first appearance on the Rivals Top 50. Giga had a solid start to the year, placing 13th at TAPS 2 and 17th at Smash N Splash 5, taking down Dos Rogers. Fast forward to September where things really intensified, Giga placed 13th at Glitch 7 and 4th at TAPS 3, scoring wins against Danzello, Lucius, Starbos, and Lord Bagel. As the highest ranked Sylvanos main this year, Giga Bowser’s constant work pushing the character’s metagame and helping his fellow community members has certainly paid off!

Yesdefinitely attended a slew of events this season, bringing his unique flavor of Orcane from California to New York. Yesdef has been a player on the rise for quite some time, and has found his stride in Season 4’s second leg. Yesdef placed 13th at the season’s most stacked events in Heat Wave 3 and Genesis 7, taking down the likes of Jesier, Prime, Shotti, and Nexplosion along the way. Yesdef leaped ahead 16 spots from the Season 3 rankings, and rightfully so. After watching his set with MSB at Genesis 7, it’s clear that this upwards trend is bound to continue in Season 5.

Long foretold to be one of the best to ever wield a shovel, O-Gazm makes his Top 50 debut with appearances at CREST and Heat Wave 3. After his 5th place at CREST, the rumors proved to be true. O-Gazm was able to defeat Sparx21 and Dunk on his path of shovelry and we hope to see his energetic personality next season!

Bullets is another BC player widely considered to be a master of his character. Bullets placed 7th place at both CREST and EVO 2019, beating a star studded cast of yesdefinitely, AZCards, and Lattim to do it. Bullets’ only losses this season were to top caliber players, and we believe that he would be much higher on the rankings this year had he gotten another chance to prove himself. We expect his diligent training with players such as Blue and DolphinBrick to break through the glass ceiling and take him to new heights in Season 5.

Akashi jumped up a whopping 18 ranks this season with semi sporadic moments of greatness. He made his first RCS top 8 at EVO 2019 by defeating Stroder and Shovel King, LBO. Akashi was able to score yet another RCS top 8 at Glitch 7, earning a huge upset over FullStream. While his consistency is still in the making, Akashi’s peaks and drive to attend as many events as possible point to a player on the rise with much in store for Season 5.

Relatively consistent out of region, and a monster in New York, PrimeTime was able to place 17th or higher at all four RCS events they attended while taking 5th and 2nd at TAPS 2 and TAPS 3 respectively. Prime’s notable wins include Tapscott, Hatz, Starbos, Giga Bowser, ZeeBee, and O-Gazm. Their explosive playstyle and incredibly vocal cheering light up events whenever they’re in the crowd.

Primarily an online warrior, Kobra made his way out to Super Smash Con 2019, proving his worth by taking down five of this year’s Top 50 competitors, including MSB to place 4th. Kobra’s other impressive event this year was the December Online RCS, where he placed 5th with wins against Levin, Giga Bowser, and DolphinBrick. Kobra’s first appearance on the Rivals Top 50 will undoubtedly be outdone in Season 5, assuming we get to see him come out to more events in 2020!

An AZ Etalus with wins and losses all over the map this season. Chompers is a true character loyalist, pushing the Etalus meta to its limits. Chompers took 3rd place at EVO 2019 by upsetting both FullStream and SBS. His resume doesn’t stop there, 5th place at Overgrown with wins on Proux.EXE, Dos Rogers, and Protagify made Chompers an early favorite to explode in Season 4. He almost did just that at Elevate, just barely falling to Lord Bagel and Cake Assault in game 5 thrillers. His patient neutral and exponentially evolving punish game continue to take him and his character to levels the community hasn’t seen.

Another AZ champion returns to the Top 50 with gusto. While his local activity has been on the decline, Danny still finds chances to unleash his natural talent when it really counts. Danny placed 4th at both Overgrown and EVO 2019, securing victories against the likes of Stroder, Dos Rogers, Tapscott, Proux.EXE, Dunk, Akashi, and SBS. Late season, Danny was able to attend Heat Wave 3 and Genesis 7, securing a comfortable 17th place for his efforts. We hope to see Danny at more events in Season 5, and more AZ Rivals locals in 2020!

Seggo may not have many events under his belt this season; however, his local appearance at Smash N Splash 5 sported victories over several upper echelon players. Seggo was able to topple Forrest, ZeeBee, and MSB to place 5th at the first RCS event of the year. Rounding out his incredible run at Smash N Splash, Seggo placed 9th in the July online RCS with victories over TurtleBox and Penguin. Seggo has been dominant as of late in his local scene, utilizing an arsenal of characters to secure 1st on the Wisconsin/Illinois PR.

View more articles in the Season Four NA Rankings Series:

• Introduction
• #50 – 41
• #40 – 31
• #30 – 21 (You are here.)
• #20 – 11
• #10 – 1

Dunk! The Backwards Kragg! An inadvertent character loyalist, Dunk is truly one of the most unique players on the market. While this season may not have been as kind to him as Season 3, Dunk still was able to find his way to an impressive 9th place at EVO 2019 and 25th place at Heat Wave 3, taking down players like Akashi and Plastic Dinos along the way. Dunk recently found his way to Arizona, where he’s quickly become one of the State’s most challenging opponents.

Nevereatcars returns to the Top 50 after a short departure in Season 3. Cars is an OG West Coast Maypul loyalist known for his love of her fast paced neutral and punish game. His playstyle speaks for itself with an arsenal of innovative tether punishes and deep blastzone reads. Cars traveled to exclusively West Coast events this year while earning wins against the likes of yesdefinitely, Spook, Akashi, and more!

Lucius had a slow burn this season, picking up steam to an epic showing at The Big House 9, where he placed 4th by eliminating FullStream. Lucius has also made quite the splash in Smash Ultimate as of late and his expanded skill set in the platform fighter genre has paid dividends with a win on Windows and 9th place at our off-season event, Frostbite 2020. Lucius has the potential to leap his way up the list in Season 5.

Levin makes his first appearance on the Rivals Top 50, touting a 25th place at Smash N Splash 5 and 9th place at Super Smash Con 2019 with an impressive win over PrimeTime. Levin has been an active member of the community for years; but, only recently started attending RCS majors. His confidence in Zetterburn and positive mentality towards improvement stands out among the rest. We hope to see Levin travel more in Season 5!

CheesyPotato has been an online monster for years now. This year, Cheesy made it out to TAPS 2 and Glitch 7, bringing her online prowess to the local communities. Cheesy placed 13th at Glitch, dropping sets to Windows and Lattim, and 5th at TAPS 2, losing only to ZeeBee while having to DQ in losers. In addition to her lan successes, Cheesy made sure to remind us of her roots by securing a fantastic 2nd place in the December Online RCS.

If there was a “most improved” award, Plastic Dinos would most certainly be a contender. Dinos’ sharp improvement is evident in his Top 50 events and has been cataloged over the course of Season 4 at the AZRivals locals. In the course of a year, Dinos has become an Academy mentor, the owner of Clairen-cord, and a key figurehead in the AZRivals scene. Obviously we expect big things from Plastic Dinos in Season 5! Till then, you can find him working hard at improving the community one step at a time.

Calm, collected, and methodical, TurtleBox has been a Top 50 staple since Season 1. TBox made it out to the season’s two most stacked events, placing 13th at Heat Wave 3 and 17th at Genesis 7. While he has taken a step back from competitive play he has retained his consistency and terrifying edgeguards. We wish TBox the best in his retirement and not-so-secretly hope the competitive bug brings him out to at least one event in Season 5!

One of the biggest wild cards on the Top 50, Stroder placed 13th at every event he attended this season besides Genesis 7. Stroder’s peak event this season was Heat Wave 3, where he was able to score back to back upsets over Dunk and MSB. While his jump in rankings from Season 3 are nothing to scoff at, Rivals is only Stroder’s second focus, you may know him from the Smash Ultimate PGR v1 and his consistent dominance over the AZ Smash scene. His ability to balance Smash and Rivals at such a high level of play is unmatched and we love his passionate presence at our events.

Kruz is yet another new addition to the Top 50, attending 3 events including COST, Elevate, and Heat Wave 3. Kruz’s second place finish at COST was certainly impressive; however, no one was prepared for his monumental upset over CakeAssault at Elevate, earning him Top 8 at the most stacked GRL event of the year. From there Kruz bested Akashi at Heat Wave 3, but faltered in a set against Junuh, keeping him out of top 32 at Heat Wave 3. Kruz promises to be a top contender going into Season 5, as anyone seeing his name in their bracket path will certainly know they’re in for the match of their life.

Starbos splashed into Season 4 with upsets over Adi and EU top player, Slimepuffen at Super Smash Con 2019 for a 9th place finish. From there, he never really looked back, placing 13th at Glitch 7 and achieving his first Top 8 at TAPS 3, besting players such as Nexplosion and Akashi along the way. Starbos also attended Frostbite 2020 during our offseason, where he was able to snag a second Top 8 finish in a row. His unique punish game and movement intensive play has only refined itself with time as he joins the ranks as one of the best Orcane players in the world.

View more articles in the Season Four NA Rankings Series:

• Introduction
• #50 – 41
• #40 – 31 (You are here.)
• #30 – 21
• #20 – 11
• #10 – 1

Jorane is a Canadian legend who has been a staple of the Rivals Top 50 since season 1. While he has not been able to travel as much, his Absa still strikes fear into new players and veterans alike. After a long hiatus Jorane traveled to CREST and Genesis 7 this year and proved he’s still a threat by taking down Stroder and collecting an impressive 25th place at the season finale.

Nexplosion is another Absa player known for his breakneck aggression approach to the character. Nexplosion was incredibly active this season, attending seven different events and traveling cross-country on multiple occasions. After an impressive showing at Genesis 7 and showcasing some incredible sets with Hatz, DolphinBrick, and Kobra throughout the year, it’s no secret that Nex is a rising star moving into season 5!

Before Dos took a year break from competitive Rivals, he traveled to Overgrown and Smash N Splash 5 with impressive results. While Dos may have been absent competitively for a good portion of season 4, he remains a prominent figure head and teacher in the Rivals Academy, the Ranno character discord, and the official Rivals of Aether discord. We eagerly await his explosive return in season 5.

Another newcomer to our top 50 players, Junuh is an Arizona Wrastor/Kragg co-main who has proven his ability to thrive in high stress environments. Junuh collected a few outstanding wins over Chompers at Overgrown and Kruz at Heat Wave 3. Junuh placed 25th at Heat Wave and has proven that he can take down any player when the time is right.

This New York Zetterburn is a player with a taste for upsets. What Danzello lacks in consistency, he makes up for in his resilience. Along his incredibly active season 4, Danzello tallied wins against Stroder and Dam Danny, while placing 9th at the most stacked Grassroots League tournament of the year, Elevate. Danzello has evolved into a constant demon to his local scene with several wins over MSB. Keep an eye out for Danzello, he’s sure to SHINE his way to the top.

Colorado tournament organizer, Spook, makes his first appearance on the Rivals Top 50 with consistent placements at some of the most stacked tournaments of the year. In addition to his top level Etalus play, Spook played a key role running Elevate in Colorado Springs, which successfully hosted some of the best talent Rivals has to offer!

The SoCal hero, Proux.EXE returns to the Top 50 with impressive feats including an upset over Stroder and 25th placement at Heat Wave 3. Proux’s innovative punish game is awe inspiring at times, with blazing fast reactions putting him in the mix with some of the best players in the world. Proux has recently branched out to the other members of the fire tribe, with sporadic showings throughout the season. We expect to see this character mastery evolve over the next year while becoming a powerful new addition to the Arizona scene.

It’s hard to keep an old school legend off of the Top 50, even if they happen to be retired. AZCards placed third in the July Online RCS and made his way out to EVO and CREST, placing 9th at both and proving that fundamentals don’t die easily. AZ’s shift in focus makes seeing him, and his now trademark Sylvanos, at events even more special. We wish him the best and sincerely hope to spend some time at future events with one of the most kind players in the community.

Another Ranno slings his way onto Top 50 for the first time! Known for his unique usage of ranno side special, Kaaeru showed consistency and had an impressive breakout tournament at Super Smash Con, scoring a huge upset over Backpack and placing 13th. Kaaeru has already shown evidence of riding this momentum in season 5 after placing 13th in our off-season event, Frostbite 2020!

Formally known as SCUM, Marx makes his first of what promises to be many appearances on the Rivals Top 50. His first tournament was around the release of our beloved guest character, Shovel Knight, where he bested his first Top 50 player. Marx’s season 4 continued in much of the same manner, achieving top 8 at Super Smash Con by defeating Danzello, Kaaeru, and Levin among others. Marx’s skyrocket towards success could be indicative of a very exciting future!

View more articles in the Season Four NA Rankings Series:

• Introduction
• #50 – 41 (You are here.)
• #40 – 31
• #30 – 21
• #20 – 11
• #10 – 1