Over the last week, I’ve been working on a database for major top eights. In the process, I’ve learned quite a bit about Melee results, as well as how rare of an accomplishment it is to make an offline major top eight. Per my estimate, and using Liquipedia’s definition for majors, only 174 people have done this. But as it turns out, some of the greatest players ever have yet to make top eights.
In today’s column, I’m going to break down five of the greatest active players who have yet to make a top eight. For each person I bring up, I’m going to briefly recap what their current “legacy” is within the scene, their best performances, the closest they’ve ever been to making a top eight, and, more or less, where they are trending.
Frenzy
Years before becoming a mainstay of top echelon European Melee, Frenzy used to meticulously study Professor Pro videos, with the hopes that he would one day finally surpass the top dog of the United Kingdom. It took him a bit longer than he might have wanted to do, but here he is now, the best of his country, the top Falco player in Europe, and now a reliable pick for Top 50. As it stands, he’s been a top player for about five years.
Frenzy’s also been surprisingly close to making major top eights. This may surprise you, considering his distance from most of them is clearly one large break, but he was a game away from getting it at Smash Summit 13, where he beat Salt and Mekk, just barely failing to beat his third Falcon, n0ne. And yet no true Frenzy fan can ever act like he hasn’t ever had a penchant for devastating losses, such as when Moe knocked him out of the winners bracket at Fete 3: EU’s biggest event of last year. Even a few years ago, he had that incredible loser’s run to ninth at Smash World Tour Championships, right before Pipsqueak promptly eliminated him for ninth place. In fact, does anyone else remember the fact that he beat Jmook, and then told his friends that max was better?
Given that Frenzy is a Top 50 player, with a pretty good matchup spread into most characters, his chance of making a major top eight seems as good as several peers. Crazier things have happened in Melee, and I could see him doing it later this year in Europe. It wouldn’t be too crazy to see him beating the rest of his continent and then maybe defeating a top Fox like Aklo.
Panda
I spoke with an anonymous Top 30 player a long time ago about who they thought was the most underrated player, and they told me Panda. He’s basically like the new age Colbol; a very crafty and creative Fox that bulldozes his opponent in creative ways that are usually based on denying them specific positions. When he has a read on you, per my source, he can feel even harder to beat than a Top 10 player. It’s probably how he beat Hungrybox – an actual Top 10 player – and made a regional top eight last year at CEO.
Keeping this in mind, Panda hasn’t made a major top eight yet, which is somehow both not that different from his CEO placing, and yet all that much more different. While he came close last year in his great run to ninth place at Smash Con, he’s also had a few stinkers in which he failed to finish in the top 32. Panda’s just always been a volatile player. Historically, for every big win he scores over someone like KoDoRiN, you find a loss to a Top 100-hopeful.
At the same time, Panda’s big wins have come through a relatively strong spread of matchups. While it may not have happened at the actual event itself, I think it’s worth remembering his monstrous Collision pre-local performance. What happened here, you ask? He overcame an early loss to Maher to then win the entire tournament from the losers bracket, defeating Mot$, Bbatts, 404Cray, Krudo, and Aklo (twice). Anyone who can win this type of tournament, even with lesser stakes, is someone who can make a major top eight.
Zamu
Zamu is special to me in a way that not many other players are. Two years before the Melee Stats Free Agent Showcase, I actually “sponsored” her (in other words, I gave her two hundred dollars to put on the “MS” tag for a year). Even after the pandemic ended, she rocked the tag for some time to keep her word. It is pretty wild that here we are, nowadays, at a time in which the whole scene can collectively agree she’s one of the best regional stars of the modern era. I genuinely feel joy when I look back at her Melee career – the journey of regional Fox ditto specialist to the Top 25 – and how it’s nicely shaped up.
i do not like that a ness player is teaching our top players…
what if they rediscover their childlike whimsy ? what then ?
— Zamu (@zamu_ssbm) April 9, 2024
If Zamu were to retire today, I would not blame her, as she basically has nothing left to prove in her time in Smash. However, I would feel a little sad because I think she is genuinely one of the most successful smashers to never make a major top eight. This is the same player who defeated Cody Schwab and Ginger to be the last person standing in the winners bracket at Wisdom Melee; the Fox ditto master who shocked moky at Shine 2023. All things considered, that particular showing was probably the closest she got to making a major top eight; she ended up finishing in ninth, just losing to Axe.
Zamu still attends regional tournaments across the Midwest, so it’s not like she has totally disappeared. She also continues to stream on a regular basis and is both quite friendly and enjoyable to watch. Still – somewhere inside me, I dream of the final Zamu run in which she beats all the top fast faller players and achieves a personal, historic first. It would not change my very high opinion of her as a competitor and as a person; it would just be cool.
Spark
Spark has one of the most recognizable player brands in the scene. He attends tons of events, typically does great, is a top Sheik, has somehow become a Fourside Fights regular contributor, is all about vibes, and likes milkshakes. If you ever want to talk about Spark publicly, you must mention at least half of these things about him in a favorable manner, or you may risk the fury and wrath of Big Milkshake coming down upon you. It is practically law. Stick to the script.
Spark, Jmook, Zain, and Cody. Will they be playing in 2050?
Find out. Fourside Fights Ep. 31 is up on Youtube! pic.twitter.com/70tXmKnQok
— Fourside Fights (@FoursideFights) March 9, 2024
In all seriousness, the fact that Spark has not made a major top eight yet is pretty wild. It’s especially crazy because in some ways, he actually has, but he technically hasn’t, because the only force more powerful than Big Milkshake is Liquipedia (and PracticalTAS, AKA Big Controller). Wait; individual weeks of Summit Champions League count as majors? Really? Maybe he has made a major top eight. Actually, no. I am going to say that it does not count as a major top eight due to the inherently bizarre format. It does not pass the vibe check. So outside of that and his Smash Camp performance, Spark has the ninth place at Apex 2022, where he was a game and a monster comeback from moky away from making top eight.
I feel like Spark will make a major top eight soon. I don’t know if you could watch him obliterate a motley of top players to win Eggdog Scramble 2 and conclude “he can’t do it.” If Krudo and Ben have achieved it in the last couple years, there’s no reason to think Spark can’t. Milkshakes. Vibes. I think I got everything out of the way here. Your move, Big Milkshake.
Eddy Mexico
When we think about the greatest and most iconic character mains ever of the middies you obviously think of aMSa and Axe. Maybe some of you say Shroomed. Samus is a little weirder, but I think most people would still say Plup above HugS or Duck. But beneath that you get into the figurative hero of time (and not the real hero of time in The Germ) in Eddy Mexico. Since the day he stunningly defeated Colbol at the first Genesis, this guy has basically defined Luigi play for the last 15 years. Just last year, he achieved a stunning high in defeating Mango, a first for his character ever. Granted, Mango was apparently very drunk during this set, but let’s be honest. It could have been seven shots in; the greatest player of all time losing to a Luigi, even Eddy Mexico, seemed fairly unthinkable.
Really glad to be ranked in this crazy stacked TOP 100! 😁
I am very flattered for being called the Luigi GOAT 🥳
I have set new Melee goals now! 👀
Thank you all for your support! Still got a few years in me! 🇲🇽💚🤍❤️ pic.twitter.com/1LU8LQgj89— CG | Eddy Mexico (@EddyMexico007) January 19, 2024
I mention Eddy Mexico’s immense legacy because it is frankly astounding that he has never made a major top eight. He has basically hovered around Top 50 to Top 100 for his entire career span. If anything, he’s usually been a mainstay of top 48s, maybe a couple placements worth of variation above or underneath 33rd. In fact, looking at his major placements, the closest he’s come to a major top eight was a pair of ninth places: Pat’s House 2 and Kings of Cali, both I’d consider borderline majors.
Given the type of events Eddy Mexico currently prioritizes (either the biggest supermajors or stacked events that nonetheless fall short of major status), it just seems extraordinarily difficult. But who could have ever predicted him to defeat Mango and Lucky at the same tournament last year? If a Melee Hall of Fame were ever made – or the Top 100 list re-done – Eddy Mexico would practically be a lock for the list. In my opinion, he is the greatest active player, as well the longest running smasher, to have never made a major top eight.