Matchup
A matchup, sometimes shortened to MU, refers to the estimated performance of a particular character versus another in competitive matches if the two players are of equal skill. This estimate can be expressed in many various ways, such as numerically in the form of a ratio.
Character matchups are often organised into charts. The links below direct to character matchup charts in the first three Super Smash Bros games (with Smash 64 having two separate lists for the Japanese and North American versions). Note that these lists were made many years ago and are considered outdated (especially for Melee). The Smash community no longer produces unified matchup charts for any game, due to the often irreconcilable different opinions on matchups between even players of the same characters, as well as most matchups lacking insufficient high level data to judge matchups on (especially in newer titles, due to the increased roster sizes). Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate have never had a community accepted full roster matchup chart in their histories.
- Character matchup (SSB), matchup charts for the North American version of Super Smash Bros.
- Character matchup (DSB), matchup charts for the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros.
- Character matchup (SSBM), matchup charts for Super Smash Bros. Melee.
- Character matchup (SSBB), matchup charts for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Definitions and theory[edit]
Matchups are commonly expressed as a percentage, based on how often each player is expected to win a tournament set. For example, if a certain character wins a matchup 60-40 (or 6-4), this means that the advantaged player is expected to win a set 60 percent of the time, while the disadvantaged player is expected to win 40 percent of the time. Another common way is to use a discrete scale (such as from -4 to +4) to denote the difficulty of a matchup. A counter is a matchup where one character has a significant advantage over the other; for example, Peach counters the Ice Climbers in Melee.
Matchups play a large part in each character's placing on a tier list, as characters with strong matchup spreads will almost always be higher-ranked than those with weaker matchup spreads.
Matchups are calculated under the assumption that both players are of similar skill, and have an equal knowledge of both their own character and the opponents' character. However, a better player is usually expected to win against lesser-skilled opponents even through a matchup disadvantage, unless the matchup is particularly extreme. Matchup knowledge is especially relevant for matchups amongst lower-tiered characters. It is not uncommon for mid- or low-tier mains to outperform their perceived matchup disadvantage against top players due to their opponents' unfamiliarity with the matchup, but do worse against players from the same region who they compete with regularly.
A significant part of matchup determination is based on the theoretical abilities of each character, mainly centered on the fundamentals of platform fighting: neutral game, punish game, and finishing (including raw KO power and edgeguarding). In Brawl, the Ice Climbers are regarded as having a large advantage over most of the cast, due to their unmatched punish game. The Ice Climbers have the ability to zero-to-death every other character with their chain grabs, in a game where true combos are largely absent due to the ability to act out of hitstun; in theory, this is enough to swing matchups in their favor and land them at the top of the tier list. Matchups can also be heavily dependent on stage selection and port priority; for example, in Melee, Marth is regarded as having a significant advantage vs. spacies on Final Destination due to his elevated chain grab and punish game, but loses against most other high tiers on Dream Land, as the large blast zones create difficulty landing KOs until very high percents, especially on non-fastfallers; his punish game is also worse due to the larger, raised platforms limiting his option coverage (unlike on stages with smaller platforms such as Pokémon Stadium). In terms of port priority, Marth's up throw to up tilt vs. Sheik is a true combo when Marth has the higher port, but is frame-perfect escapable if Sheik has the higher port (due the game's throw animation mechanics). As a result, the matchup becomes more Sheik-favored if Sheik has the higher port.
Tournament results are also an important factor in determining matchup advantages; these results usually support the dominant theories and matchup charts of the time, but not always so. In Melee, Jigglypuff's perceived matchup advantage over Peach is supported by head-to-head results of their top players, such as Hungrybox vs. Armada. From 2010 to 2015, Armada was unable to take a single game off of Hungrybox's Jigglypuff, despite being in contention for the #1 player in the world for much of this time. Armada eventually gave up trying to defeat Hungrybox with Peach, and switched to Young Link and then Fox as a counterpick. Conversely, the Brawl Back Room's final Brawl matchup chart listed Pikachu as having the only even matchup vs. Meta Knight, the best character in the game. Most Brawl players at the time viewed this as incorrect, as ESAM, the best Pikachu player in the world, held losing records against all the top Meta Knight players, and it has been noted the majority of his wins against top Meta Knights were obtained with the Ice Climbers instead of Pikachu, while this trend would never reverse before the end of Brawl's competitive life. Eventually, even ESAM, who was primarily responsible for pushing the matchup as even and influencing the BBR's decision, would come to admit that Pikachu cleanly lost the matchup against Meta Knight. Mid- and low-tier matchups tend to be much rarer in tournaments, with some specific matchups being completely nonexistent or lacking evidence at the top level. As a result, many of these matchups are based more heavily on theoreticals.
Character matchups are often dependent on the technical abilities of the players in questions, as well as advancements in each characters' metagames, along with patch changes. For example, in Melee, Fox has long been considered to beat Sheik due to his speed and neutral advantage, but many have theorized that the matchup could swing more in Sheik's favor with an optimized down throw punish game. In 2022, Jmook became the first player to pioneer Sheik's reaction tech chasing abilities at the top level, and he was able to frequently score zero-to-deaths off of one grab, which caused many to rethink the Fox-Sheik matchup entirely. Similarly, Jigglypuff has been known as one of Marth's most difficult matchups in Melee; while many believed that Marth should win in theory due to his range advantage, he lacked reliable KO setups on Jigglypuff, and Hungrybox was known for having an extremely strong record vs. Marth players. Perceptions on the matchup changed following the rise of Zain, who began using pivot tipper forward smashes off of throws as a KO setup. While in theory, this advancement should swing the matchup more in Marth's favor, it is extremely difficult to consistently perform in tournament, and thus is another example of optimized play affecting a matchup. In Brawl, several characters have unescapable infinites on specific opponents (including Marth's infinite grab release on Ness and Lucas, and King Dedede's infinite chain grab on Donkey Kong and other characters). As such, these matchups are labelled as hard counters, often deemed unwinnable at the highest level. However, some players chose to avoid using these techniques out of principle, or TOs may choose to ban these infinites altogether, which causes these matchups to become much more balanced.
