Greatest of all time

Greatest of all time, often shortened to GOAT, is an informal title used by a fanbase to label a person considered the best ever to compete or participate in a particular field. The term is most widely used in professional sports; for example, is widely considered the greatest boxer of all time. It can also be used in other competitive fields such as chess or esports; is largely seen as the greatest League of Legends player of all time.
The Super Smash Bros. series has been played competitively as early as 1999 in its native Japan and since 2002 in western regions, and as the tournament scene has continued to develop, the communities for each game in the series have formed a consensus around one, or several, candidates considered the "greatest of all time" for their particular title.
There is no definitive criteria for what determines the greatest of all time, and GOAT debates can be hotly contested. Common criteria for judging include:
*Level of dominance over the rest of the competition during the player's peak performance.
*Number of first-place finishes at major or supermajor tournaments, as well as the prestige of the tournaments won. For example, prior to Smashs removal, was widely considered to have the most prestige across all Smash titles.
*Longevity (length of time spent competing as a top player).
*Consistency as a top player; for example, how often the player lost to those ranked below them.
*Influence on the development of the metagame or the competitive scene.
==Across all Smash games==
 is widely considered the greatest player across all Smash titles due to his success in multiple Smash titles. Mew2King is recognized as the greatest Brawl player of all time, one of the greatest Melee players of all time, and a strong Project M and Smash 4 player, having placed top eight at many major tournaments. Mew2King is well known for his enjoyment of every Smash title and is one of the only top players who has spent their career competing in multiple games at once; along with Melee, he competed in Brawl from 2008-2014, Project M from 2014-2015, Smash 4 from 2014-2018, and Ultimate from 2018 up until his hiatus from Melee in 2020. Mew2King is also perhaps the most recognized player across the entire competitive Super Smash Bros. scene.
The tournament series , formerly Super Smash Con, previously ran an exhibition event called "Smash Masters" in which players compete against each other across all official Smash titles in an attempt to determine the best overall Smash player. Mew2King won Smash Masters in 2016 and 2018, won in 2017, and won in 2019.
==In Super Smash Bros.==
 is widely considered to be the greatest Smash 64 player of all time. This is due to his extended longevity as a competitor and dominance over the Smash 64 scene across all regions of the world (most famously showcased during his trip to Japan in 2006-2007), and most recently with his singles and doubles victory at Super Smash Con 2023, with no other player close to being able to match his accomplishments.
==In Super Smash Bros. Melee==
Super Smash Bros. Melee is perhaps the only Smash title with significant debate regarding its all time greatest player.
Many Melee players, commentators, and supporters consider , one of the game's "Five Gods," to be the greatest Melee player of all time, due to his consistent level of dominance over all other competitors during his prime. Among Armada's major accomplishments include first place finishes at some of the most prestigious Melee supermajors; he won and , three titles, two titles, and four s in a row.
He was considered a candidate for the best player in the world from 2009 until his retirement from Melee in 2018. Armada was considered the best player in the world in 2011 and 2012, and ranked 1st on the 2015 and 2016 SSBMRank lists. Additionally, he was ranked 2nd in 2013, 2013, 2017, and 2018, meaning that Armada never ranked below 2nd since 2011.
Supporters of Armada also point to his unrivaled level of consistency as a competitor; unlike the other Gods, who were known for occasionally losing to lower-ranked players, Armada was known for almost never dropping a set to players below his skill level. In addition, Armada holds positive set records against all other Gods. From 2009 to 2018, he never placed below 5th at a major, and lost only three sets to players ranked below the top six: two best of three sets to and (the former of which was later found out to be inadvertently played under a 0.9 launch rate), and one best of five set to . Armada was known as the largest roadblock in the path of many players' goals to achieve victory over all five of the Gods, such as and , the latter whom had defeated all other Gods. In addition, Armada achieved much of his dominance using almost entirely , a character considered less viable than other top tiers such as , and also while hailing from Sweden, in a continent with far fewer major tournaments and far weaker competition than North America.
A significant share of the Melee community, however, argues that , another one of the "Five Gods", is the greatest Melee player of all time, due to his continued longevity as one of the best players, if not the best, throughout his career. His major accomplishments include back-to-back victories at and , matching Armada's record; four titles, four titles, and two titles.
Mango began his career as a top ten player in 2007, and has since remained as a top five player from 2008 to the present, aside from a period in 2010-2011 he spent sandbagging as Scorpion Master and in 2023, where he ranked 8th. He was considered one of the two best players in the world in 2008, and the undisputed best player in the world from 2009-2010, 2013-2014, and in 2021.
Mango has spent the longest time as a top Melee player by far, being considered one of the best in the world for 17 years. Supporters of Mango cite his greater longevity compared to Armada with his peaks being just as dominant, if not greater than, Armada's (for example, winning back-to-back EVOs which no other player has done). They also argue that he was able to achieve number one in the world using three different characters (Jigglypuff, Falco, and Fox), all with different playstyles. Mango is often seen as the most influential and recognizable Melee player, as he popularized a highly aggressive and read-based style of play with his space animals, which made him a fan favorite at tournaments; he is often regarded as the "protagonist" of Melee. Mango is commonly nicknamed "the GOAT" or "ManGOAT," even by players who consider Armada the greatest of all time.
Both Armada and Mango have publicly commented on the GOAT debate. Armada has referred to himself as the GOAT on Twitter multiple times since 2018. In October 2020, Armada and Mango both replied to a Tweet posted by discussing the GOAT of Melee. Armada replied to the Tweet first, arguing in favor of his GOAT status, citing his winning record over the rest of the top six, better placements at events the two both attended and having never placed below 5th at any tournament. Mango argued that Armada was only ranked number one for two years (2015 and 2016), and even then, Mango boasted a winning record over him in 2016. He argued that his performance was superior to Armada's before 2012 and that his consistent performance did not necessarily translate into dominance, suggesting that he could have been declared the undisputed GOAT if he chose to retire in 2015. He also added, "At the end of the day it's dumb to discuss whos the goat when we're only halfway thru the movie... There's so much more melee to be played."
 and have also been suggested by smaller groups as outlier candidates. Ken, known also by his nickname "The King of Smash", is considered the undisputed best player of the early MLG era, and was a candidate for best player in the world from 2003 to 2007. During his prime, Ken was considered the best player by a significant margin, winning nearly every event he entered, including and two Major League Gaming championships, and dominated competitive Melee to a degree far greater than Armada or Mango did during their peaks. However, it is generally agreed that Ken's short longevity at the top diminishes his claim at the GOAT. It is also suggested that Ken competed in a less advanced era of Melee, and that the overall level of competition has greatly improved since his retirement, as evidenced by his failure to place top eight at majors during his return to Smash from 2013-2016.
Hungrybox is arguably the closest in GOAT conversations to Armada and Mango. Hungrybox has been considered a top-five player from 2009 until 2023, remaining a staple of the top 10 afterward, and was considered the best player in the world from 2017 to 2019, the longest consecutive period post-MLG. Additionally, he holds the record for the most major wins overall, at 37, including his victory at , the largest Melee tournament of all time. His has been responsible for major developments in the Melee metagame; his dominance caused many to start seeing Jigglypuff as potentially the best character in the game, and many players, most notably Armada, developed secondary characters specifically in an attempt to counter him. On top of this, Hungrybox has also maintained an unparalleled level of consistency at major tournaments, possessing a streak of finishing in the top 8 of every major he attended for nearly 10 years, a statistic rivaled only by Armada, who's only non-top 8 major placement occurred at at 17th. However, Hungrybox's reign as a consistent tournament winner has been relatively short compared to that of Mango or Armada, and his lowest level of play has also been below them; most notably from to , he went nearly five years without placing 1st at a major title, and failed to win both tournaments during his 2017-2019 reign. It is often theorized that Hungrybox could become the greatest of all time if he continued to dominate the Melee scene after several more years of competition; however, this has became increasingly unlikely as he has struggled to win a major since .
Melee GOAT conversations remain highly debated to this day. The Top 100 Melee Players of All Time is a project by Smash History creators and , which subjectively ranked the 100 greatest Melee players throughout the history of the game. Pikachu942 has released annual updates to the ranking, and its lists are often cited in GOAT debates. The first edition, published in 2018, ranked Armada as the greatest player of all time, with Mango in second, Ken in third, and Hungrybox in fourth. A 2019 update moved Hungrybox up to third, ahead of Ken. The ranking was again updated in 2020, and Hungrybox was again moved up to second, ahead of Mango. The 2021, and so far current, edition moved Mango over Armada, leaving the current top 4 as Mango, Armada, Hungrybox, and Ken in that order.
==In Super Smash Bros. Brawl==
 was widely considered to be the greatest Brawl player of all time. Mew2King was by far the most dominant player from 2008-2011, placing first or second at nearly every event he attended. Although his tournament results slumped from 2012 to 2014, he was still considered a threat to win any major tournament, and few other players were able to match his earlier levels of dominance at that time. Many of Brawls most memorable sets featured Mew2King being upset by other players, including against , , and .
==In Super Smash Bros. 4==
 is widely considered to be the greatest Smash 4 player of all time. From 2014 to 2017, ZeRo placed first at nearly every tournament he entered, including a 56-tournament winning streak from 2014 to 2015. Taking a set off of ZeRo was often considered one of the highlights of a Smash 4 player's career. Although ZeRo retired from entering Smash 4 tournaments in 2018, no other player was about to match ZeRo's level of dominance and consistency before the end of the game's competitive life, leaving his claim as the Smash 4 GOAT undisputed.
==In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate==
 is considered the undisputed greatest Ultimate player of all time due to his longtime dominance on the scene, ranking first in the offline metagame from 2019 to 2022 and having a streak of finishing top 2 at every offline event he attended from to the in 2021. He also possesses the most supermajor wins (17) and had the most amount of major wins overall until won on January 19th, 2025.
==In Project M==
 is generally considered to be the greatest Project M player of all time, due to both his dominance and consistent level of play, placing first at nearly every tournament he entered from 2016 to 2019.
==References==
==External links==
*Top 100 Melee Players of All Time (2018)
*All-Time Melee Top 100: One Year Later
*All-Time Melee Top 100: Another Year
*The Melee Stats Top 100 (2021)
Category:Competitive play
Category:Unofficial lingo