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'''Sparg0''' is an ''[[Ultimate]]'' {{SSBU|Cloud}} player born in San Diego, California who is currently residing in Tijuana, Mexico. He is considered one of the best ''Ultimate'' players of all-time, the best Cloud player of all-time, one of the best [[Aegis]] players of all-time, being one of the first top-level representatives for both characters, and is also the best player in North America's online metagame, ranking 1st on two iterations of the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank]]. He was also the best player in North America throughout 2023, ranking 1st on the [[LumiRank 2023/North America Top 200|LumiRank 2023 North America]] and was one of the four best players in the world for 2023 alongside {{Sm|acola}}, {{Sm|Miya}}, and {{Sm|Sonix}}. In addition, he is also considered one of the best doubles players in the world, often teaming up with either {{Sm|Chag}} or {{Sm|Skyjay}}, and having won several large doubles events with them.
'''Sparg0''' is an ''[[Ultimate]]'' {{SSBU|Cloud}} player born in San Diego, California who is currently residing in Tijuana, Mexico. He is considered one of the best ''Ultimate'' players of all-time; the best Cloud player of all-time; one of the best [[Aegis]] players of all-time, being one of the first top-level representatives for both characters; and the best player in North America's online metagame, ranking 1st on two iterations of the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank]]. He was also the best player in North America throughout 2023, ranking 1st on the [[LumiRank 2023/North America Top 200|LumiRank 2023 North America]], and was one of the four best players in the world for 2023 alongside {{Sm|acola}}, {{Sm|Miya}}, and {{Sm|Sonix}}. In addition, he is also considered one of the best doubles players in the world, often teaming up with either {{Sm|Chag}} or {{Sm|Skyjay}}, and having won several large doubles events with them.


Sparg0 is one of the most well-known prodigies in Smash, competing with and even taking sets off of top professionals as early as the age of 13. This, along with his heavy usage of sword characters, has given him comparisons to MkLeo's ''Smash 4'' career. He is one of the youngest ''Ultimate'' players to win his first major alongside {{Sm|Doramigi}} and {{Sm|acola}}, winning {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 4}} at the age of 16.
Sparg0 is one of the most well-known prodigies in Smash, competing with and even taking sets off of top professionals as early as the age of 13. This, along with his heavy usage of sword characters, has given him comparisons to MkLeo's ''Smash 4'' career. He is one of the youngest ''Ultimate'' players to win their first major alongside {{Sm|Doramigi}} and {{Sm|acola}}, winning {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 4}} at the age of 16.


In ''[[Smash 4]]'', Sparg0 was also a {{SSB4|Cloud}} player. He was ranked 31st on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v2]] and has a win over {{Sm|MVD}}.
In ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', Sparg0 was also a {{SSB4|Cloud}} player. He was ranked 31st on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v2]] and has a win over {{Sm|MVD}}.


On April 17th, 2022, {{Team|FaZe Clan}} announced they had signed Sparg0 as their first ''Super Smash Bros.'' player.<ref>[https://twitter.com/FaZeClan/status/1515799921718403076 FaZe Clan signs Sparg0]</ref>
On April 17th, 2022, {{Team|FaZe Clan}} announced they had signed Sparg0 as their first ''Super Smash Bros.'' player.<ref>[https://twitter.com/FaZeClan/status/1515799921718403076 FaZe Clan signs Sparg0]</ref>


==Playstyle==
==Playstyle==
In all Smash games, Sparg0 is a methodical, yet aggressive player, using his movement, game plan, and solid fundamentals with the characters he plays. One of Sparg0's most fearsome traits has always been his adaptability and the capability to change his playstyle. His Cloud has been known to constantly switch up which aerials he will use, as well as the timing of said aerials to constantly throw off his opponents. In particular his ledgetrapping game is a forefront of his playstyle, able to continuously pressure his opponents with back air and constantly keep them at the ledge or offstage. A particular trait of his Cloud's gameplay is a tendency to go all-in with a calculated risk, heavily using Cloud's limit for an extended edgeguard or suicide up-b, able to keep his opponents on edge for a surprising kill.
In all Smash games, Sparg0 is a methodical, yet aggressive player, using his movement, game plan, and solid fundamentals with the characters he plays. One of Sparg0's most fearsome traits has always been his adaptability and the capability to change his playstyle. Using Cloud, he has been known to constantly switch up which aerials he will use, as well as the timing of said aerials to constantly throw off his opponents. In particular his ledgetrapping game is a forefront of his playstyle, able to continuously pressure his opponents with back air and constantly keep them at the ledge or offstage. A particular trait of his gameplay while using Cloud is a tendency to go all-in with a calculated risk, heavily using Cloud's limit for an extended edgeguard or suicide up-b, able to keep his opponents on edge for a surprising kill.


Sparg0 is also notorious at mitigating the weaknesses of his characters. Both Cloud and Aegis are known for having subpar recoveries, yet Sparg0 has shown incredible creativity when it comes to getting back on the stage. His knowledge of when to use his resources and when to take risks has given him a reputation for being notoriously difficult to edgeguard, even when on paper he should be at a disadvantage.
Sparg0 is also notorious at mitigating the weaknesses of his characters. Both Cloud and the Aegis are known for having subpar recoveries, yet Sparg0 has shown incredible creativity when it comes to getting back on the stage. His knowledge of when to use his resources and when to take risks has given him a reputation for being notoriously difficult to edgeguard, even when on paper he should be at a disadvantage.


==Tournament history==
==Tournament history==
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===''Ultimate''{{'}}s rising prodigy===
===''Ultimate''{{'}}s rising prodigy===
Shortly after ''Ultimate''{{'}}s release, Sparg0 won {{Trn|Smashing Legends Ultimate Christmas Special}}, the first [[WWR]]-eligible event of the new game. About a week later, he won the 818-entrant {{Trn|Ultimate Naifu Wars 2}}, defeating {{Sm|Vendetta}} 3-1 in grand finals. With the tournament's large size, and its wide viewership on {{Sm|Nairo}}'s stream, Sparg0 quickly gained notoriety in the Smash community for his skill at only 13 years old. Around this time, Sparg0 made his first trips to compete in the United States. He quickly made an impact in the [[SoCal]] weeklies he attended, defeating well-known players such as {{Sm|Elegant}}. He placed 49th at his first major, {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}, losing to California natives {{Sm|ImHip}} and {{Sm|Lui$}}. Months later at {{Trn|2GG: Prime Saga}}, he placed 25th losing to {{Sm|Shuton}} and {{Sm|Teb}}.  
Shortly after ''Ultimate''{{'}}s release, Sparg0 won {{Trn|Smashing Legends Ultimate Christmas Special}}, the first [[WWR]]-eligible event of the new game. About a week later, he won the 818-entrant {{Trn|Ultimate Naifu Wars 2}}, defeating {{Sm|Vendetta}} 3-1 in grand finals. With the tournament's large size, and its wide viewership on {{Sm|Nairo}}'s stream, Sparg0 quickly gained notoriety in the Smash community for his skill at only 13 years old. Around this time, Sparg0 made his first trips to compete in the United States. He quickly made an impact in the [[Southern California]] weeklies he attended, defeating well-known players such as {{Sm|Elegant}}. He placed 49th at his first major, {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}, losing to California natives {{Sm|ImHip}} and {{Sm|Lui$}}. Months later at {{Trn|2GG: Prime Saga}}, he placed 25th losing to {{Sm|Shuton}} and {{Sm|Teb}}.  


However, it wasn't until late in the season that Sparg0 made his biggest waves offline. In April and May, he entered all three tournaments in the [[Naifu Wars#Qualifiers|Ultimate Naifu Wars: Sandy Road to CEO]] circuit, with the winner of the circuit being flown out to {{Trn|CEO 2019}}. Despite finishing second to {{Sm|king_chris}} in the circuit, chris opted to award the flight to Sparg0, so he was able to attend his first tournament outside Mexico or California. At CEO, Sparg0 defeated {{Sm|Myran}} 2-1 and {{Sm|Sinji}} 2-0, achieving wins on two players en route to PGR-ranked seasons of their own. Though he lost shortly after to {{Sm|Marss}} and {{Sm|WaDi}}, his 17th place finish and aforementioned wins were his best ever at an offline major. Finishing the season with wins at weeklies over {{Sm|VoiD}}, {{Sm|Kameme}}, and {{Sm|Zenyou}}, he was ranked 2nd on the [[SoCal Power Rankings#Super Smash Bros. Ultimate rankings|SoCal Ultimate Power Rankings]] despite living just outside the region. His strong play online continued as well, and he was ultimately ranked 2nd on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v3]].  
However, it wasn't until late in the season that Sparg0 made his biggest waves offline. He first had his breakout event offline at the special weekly {{Trn|Weds Night Fights x Orange County Spring 2019 2.6}}, where he surprised everyone by defeating {{Sm|VoiD}} 2-0 (then considered the best player in SoCal and one of the best players in the world), {{Sm|Elegant}} 2-0, and {{Sm|kameme}} 2-0 to finish 4th, all the while using {{SSBU|Cloud}}, a character many had dismissed due to his nerfs from the previous game. This performance, alongside other notable weekly performances, led himm to be ranked 2nd on the [[SoCal Power Rankings#Super Smash Bros. Ultimate rankings|SoCal Ultimate Power Rankings]] despite living just outside the region. In addition, in the spring, he entered all three tournaments in the [[Tournament:Naifu Wars#Qualifiers|Ultimate Naifu Wars: Sandy Road to CEO]] circuit, with the winner of the circuit being flown out to {{Trn|CEO 2019}}. Despite finishing second to {{Sm|king_chris}} in the circuit, chris opted to award the flight to Sparg0, so he was able to attend his first tournament outside Mexico or California. At CEO, Sparg0 defeated {{Sm|Myran}} 2-1 and {{Sm|Sinji}} 2-0, achieving wins on two players en route to PGR-ranked seasons of their own. Though he lost shortly after to {{Sm|Marss}} and {{Sm|WaDi}}, his 17th place finish and aforementioned wins were his best ever at an offline major. Finally, his strong play online continued, and he was ultimately ranked 2nd on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v3]].  


Heading into the second half of 2019, Sparg0 was well known as a strong player and one of the best {{SSBU|Cloud}} players in the world. However, he was unable to build on the success he found in June. Seeded 8th at his home country's {{Trn|Smash Factor 7}}, he fell at 17th after a loss to {{Sm|Mr. R}} and an upset by {{Sm|Pablo}}. Continuing to attend majors throughout the season, he placed 33rd at {{Trn|EVO 2019}}, 25th at {{Trn|2GG: SwitchFest 2019}}, and 49th at {{Trn|2GG: Kongo Saga}}. Despite respectable placings, none were breakouts to eclipse his previous peak at CEO, and he was unable to get a [[PGR]]-ranked win at any. During this time, Sparg0 remained a top threat online, but reduced attendance with his shift to offline play led him to drop to 15th on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v4]].  
Heading into the second half of 2019, Sparg0 had became well-known in the North American community, and was considered one of the Cloud players in the world. However, he was unable to build on the success he found in the first half of the year. Seeded 8th at his home country's {{Trn|Smash Factor 7}}, he fell at 17th after a loss to {{Sm|Mr. R}} and an upset by {{Sm|Pablo}}. Continuing to attend majors throughout the season, he placed 33rd at {{Trn|EVO 2019}}, 25th at {{Trn|2GG: SwitchFest 2019}}, and 49th at {{Trn|2GG: Kongo Saga}}. Despite respectable placings, none were able to eclipse his previous peak at CEO nor his incredible performance at Weds Night Fights, and he was unable to get a [[PGR]]-ranked win at any. As such, he was unranked on both the PGR and [[OrionRank]], especially as Weds Night Fights was not used on both rankings despite it being a special event rather than another weekly. Sparg0 remained a top threat online, but reduced attendance with his shift to offline play led him to drop to 15th on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v4]].  


Sparg0's results held steady after the new year. In January 2020, he attended {{Trn|Let's Make Big Moves}} in New York City, traveling the furthest from his home yet. Despite a strong performance in the Tristate vs The World Crew Battle, taking five stocks for Team World, he placed 33rd in the main bracket, defeating {{Sm|Mr. E}} 2-1 but losing to {{Sm|Larry Lurr}} and {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}}, both 0-2. A 49th place finish at {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}, losing to {{Sm|MuteAce}} 1-2 and {{Sm|Cosmos}} 0-3, ended his final major event before the quarantine period. Though still ranked highly in-region and regarded as one of his character's best players, Sparg0 was unable to break top 16 at a major during this time, and the quickly rising {{Sm|Kola}} had begun to challenge him for the title of best Cloud.
Sparg0's results held steady after the new year. In January 2020, he attended {{Trn|Let's Make Big Moves}} in New York City, traveling the furthest from his home yet. Despite a strong performance in the Tristate vs The World Crew Battle, taking five stocks for Team World, he placed 33rd in the main bracket, defeating {{Sm|Mr. E}} 2-1 but losing to {{Sm|Larry Lurr}} and {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}}, both 0-2. A 49th place finish at {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}, losing to {{Sm|MuteAce}} 1-2 and {{Sm|Cosmos}} 0-3, ended his final major event before the quarantine period. Though still ranked highly in-region and regarded as one of his character's best players, Sparg0 was unable to break top 16 at a major during this time, and the quickly rising {{Sm|Kola}} had begun to challenge him for the title of best Cloud player.


===The King of Wi-Fi===
===The King of Wi-Fi===
Upon the cancellation of events worldwide in March due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on competitive Smash|COVID-19 pandemic]], Sparg0, like many others, shifted his focus to online competition. Though the influx of PGR-ranked players made the competition tougher than ever, Sparg0's skill and familiarity with online conditions allowed him to keep his footing at the top. He placed highly at many large and lucrative online events, including 1st place at {{Trn|Mazer Gaming Smash}}, 2nd at {{Trn|The Quarantine Series: Minor Tournament 1}} and 5th at {{Trn|The Quarantine Series: Major Tournament 1}}. At the end of the season, he was ranked 4th on the 75-player [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5]], and was the only returning player to rise in placement despite the massive influx of offline threats.
Upon the cancellation of events worldwide in March due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on competitive Smash|COVID-19 pandemic]], Sparg0, like many others, shifted his focus to online competition. Though the influx of PGR-ranked players made the competition tougher than ever, Sparg0's skill and familiarity with online conditions allowed him to keep his footing at the top. He placed highly at many large and lucrative online events, including 1st place at {{Trn|Mazer Gaming Smash}}, 2nd at {{Trn|The Quarantine Series: Minor Tournament 1}}, and 5th at {{Trn|The Quarantine Series: Major Tournament 1}}. At the end of the season, he was ranked 4th on the 75-player [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5]], and was the only returning player to rise in placement despite the massive influx of offline threats.


The second half of 2020 brought even greater success. Early on, Sparg0 won {{Trn|Lockhart Series}}, taking winners' and grand finals 3-1 and 3-0 over {{Sm|Maister}}. As the thousand-entrant supermajors gave way to a landscape of top player-hosted sub events, Sparg0 gladly traded his subs for first place finishes. He won Maister's {{Trn|Flat Realm 8}}, {{Sm|Hungrybox}}'s [[The Box: El Jugo Box|El Jugo Box]], {{Sm|Dabuz}}'s {{Trn|Galaxy Gambit 2}}, and {{Sm|MkLeo}}'s {{Trn|M-Kolosseum 4}}. Additionally, he was able to keep positive records over his closest competitors, Maister, {{Sm|BestNess}}, and {{Sm|Sonix}}. This dominance led him to be ranked 1st on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v6]], topping the rankings for the first time.
The second half of 2020 brought even greater success. Early on, Sparg0 won {{Trn|Lockhart Series}}, taking winners' and grand finals 3-1 and 3-0 over {{Sm|Maister}}. As the thousand-entrant supermajors gave way to a landscape of top player-hosted sub events, Sparg0 gladly traded his subs for first place finishes. He won Maister's {{Trn|Flat Realm 8}}, {{Sm|Hungrybox}}'s [[The Box: El Jugo Box|El Jugo Box]], {{Sm|Dabuz}}'s {{Trn|Galaxy Gambit 2}}, and {{Sm|MkLeo}}'s {{Trn|M-Kolosseum 4}}. Additionally, he was able to keep positive records over his closest competitors, Maister, {{Sm|BestNess}}, and {{Sm|Sonix}}. This dominance led him to be ranked 1st on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v6]], topping the rankings for the first time.


2021 was more of the same for Sparg0, who continued winning major online events with few blemishes on his record. Notably, two of these tournament wins secured him spots at offline events later in the year. At [[SWT: Mexico Ultimate Online Qualifier|his region's online qualifier]] for the recently announced [[Smash World Tour 2021]], he recovered from an 0-3 loss to MkLeo with a 3-2 win over Maister and two wins over MkLeo in grand finals, earning him a spot at the upcoming offline regional qualifier. At {{Trn|Collision Online 2021}}, he 3-0'd Maister twice in two sets of grands, securing him a spot at {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 3}}. In the end, despite a close race against Sonix and Maister, he repeated as 1st place on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7]], becoming just the second player ever to rank 1st in two separate seasons. With nothing left to prove on Wi-Fi, and with the return of online majors around the corner, the pressure was on Sparg0 to translate his dominance to the in-person stage for the first time.
2021 was more of the same for Sparg0, who continued winning major online events with few blemishes on his record. Notably, two of these tournament wins secured him spots at offline events later in the year. At [[SWT: Mexico Ultimate Online Qualifier|his region's online qualifier]] for the recently announced [[Smash World Tour 2021]], he recovered from a 0-3 loss to MkLeo with a 3-2 win over Maister and two wins over MkLeo in grand finals, earning him a spot at the upcoming offline regional qualifier. At {{Trn|Collision Online 2021}}, he 3-0'd Maister twice in two sets of grands, securing him a spot at {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 3}}. In the end, despite a close race against Sonix and Maister, he repeated as 1st place on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7]], becoming just the second player ever to rank 1st in two separate seasons. With nothing left to prove on Wi-Fi, and with the return of online majors around the corner, the pressure was on Sparg0 to translate his dominance to the in-person stage for the first time.


===The next best player?===
===The next best player?===
At {{Trn|SWT: Mexico Ultimate Online Qualifier}}, Sparg0 placed 6th, losing 3-2 each to {{Sm|MkLeo}} and {{Sm|Maister}}, and disqualifying out of the tie-breaker against {{Sm|Yei}}. Despite falling short of both his 1st place finish at its online counterpart and expectations from those who were watching him, this placement was good enough to secure him a spot at the {{Trn|Smash World Tour 2021 Championships}} later that year. A week later at {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 3}}, Sparg0 was faced with daunting pools matchups against invitees {{Sm|Tweek}} and {{Sm|KEN}}, both of whom were among the best in their home regions and the world. However, he shocked the world by winning both sets, 3-1 and 3-2, respectively. Not only did this secure him a spot in final bracket on winners' side, but it marked his first PGR wins at a major since {{Trn|CEO 2019}} more than two years prior. He continued his hot streak on Sunday finals, defeating {{Sm|Riddles}} and {{Sm|Zackray}}, before falling to Tweek 3-1 and to MkLeo in a crushing reverse 3-0. In the post-set interview, Leo commended Sparg0, and stated his belief that Sparg0 would be the next player to become the best in the world after himself.
At {{Trn|SWT: Mexico Ultimate Online Qualifier}}, Sparg0 placed 6th, losing 3-2 each to {{Sm|MkLeo}} and {{Sm|Maister}}, and disqualifying out of the tie-breaker against {{Sm|Yei}}. Despite falling short of both his 1st place finish at its online counterpart and expectations from those who were watching him, this placement was good enough to secure him a spot at the {{Trn|Smash World Tour 2021 Championships}} later that year. A week later at {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 3}}, Sparg0 was faced with daunting pools matchups against invitees {{Sm|Tweek}} and {{Sm|KEN}}, both of whom were among the best in their home regions and the world. However, he shocked the world by winning both sets, 3-1 and 3-2, respectively. Not only did this secure him a spot in final bracket on winners' side, but it marked his first PGR wins at a major since {{Trn|CEO 2019}} more than two years prior. He continued his hot streak on Sunday finals, defeating {{Sm|Riddles}} and {{Sm|Zackray}}, before falling to Tweek 3-1 and to MkLeo in a crushing reverse 3-0. In the post-set interview, Leo commended Sparg0, and stated his belief that Sparg0 would be the next player to become the best in the world after himself.


Since quarantine, Sparg0 had relegated his {{SSBU|Cloud}} to a secondary, and was now using {{SSBU|Pyra}} and {{SSBU|Mythra}} for most matchups. With this new character choice, he continued to reach the podium at every major he attended. At {{Trn|Riptide}}, he once again lost to MkLeo and Tweek, placing 3rd. With the two absent from {{Trn|Super Smash Con: Fall Fest}}, Sparg0 entered grand finals on winners' side, but lost two sets to {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}} to place 2nd. Later that month, he outplaced Tweek for the first time, defeating him 3-2 in losers' finals of {{Trn|Port Priority 6}}; he lost to Leo 2-3 in grands, once again placing 2nd. By this time, Sparg0 had cemented himself as one of the top three players in North America post-quarantine, along with his fiercest competitors Leo and Tweek.
Since quarantine, Sparg0 had relegated {{SSBU|Cloud}} to a secondary, and was now using {{SSBU|Pyra}} and {{SSBU|Mythra}} for most matchups. With this new character choice, he continued to reach the podium at every major he attended. At {{Trn|Riptide}}, he once again lost to MkLeo and Tweek, placing 3rd. With the two absent from {{Trn|Super Smash Con: Fall Fest}}, Sparg0 entered grand finals on winners' side, but lost two sets to {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}} to place 2nd. Later that month, he outplaced Tweek for the first time, defeating him 3-2 in losers' finals of {{Trn|Port Priority 6}}; he lost to Leo 2-3 in grands, once again placing 2nd. By this time, Sparg0 had cemented himself as one of the top three players in North America post-quarantine, along with his fiercest competitors Leo and Tweek.


Arguably Sparg0's most notable result of the year came at {{Trn|Mainstage 2021}}; with a Summit spot and supermajor win on the line, all eyes were on him to see if he could finally come out on top. An early 1-3 loss to {{Sm|Chag}} put this in doubt, but Sparg0 responded with a monster losers' run, defeating {{Sm|ESAM}}, {{Sm|Kola}}, Light, Chag, {{Sm|Tea}}, and {{Sm|Elegant}} along the way. Waiting for him in grand finals was MkLeo, who he had yet to take an offline set from. Sparg0 won the first set of grands 3-1, and looked poised to take the second after leading in percent during game 5. However, an untimely reversal allowed Leo to stuff out Sparg0's recovery with a devastating {{SSBU|Byleth}} down air, stealing the Mainstage title in seconds. Despite another strong finish at the SWT Championships, Sparg0 was unable to get revenge, losing once again to MkLeo and then to {{Sm|Cosmos}}, both of whom also used Pyra & Mythra.
Arguably Sparg0's most notable result of the year came at {{Trn|Mainstage 2021}}; with a Summit spot and supermajor win on the line, all eyes were on him to see if he could finally come out on top. An early 1-3 loss to {{Sm|Chag}} put this in doubt, but Sparg0 responded with a monster losers' run, defeating {{Sm|ESAM}}, {{Sm|Kola}}, Light, Chag, {{Sm|Tea}}, and {{Sm|Elegant}} along the way. Waiting for him in grand finals was MkLeo, who he had yet to take an offline set from. Sparg0 won the first set of grands 3-1, and looked poised to take the second after leading in percent during game 5. However, an untimely reversal allowed Leo to stuff out Sparg0's recovery with a devastating {{SSBU|Byleth}} down air, stealing the Mainstage title in seconds. Despite another strong finish at the SWT Championships, Sparg0 was unable to get revenge, losing once again to MkLeo and then to {{Sm|Cosmos}}, both of whom also used Pyra & Mythra.
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Though a major title eluded him, Sparg0 ended the year widely considered as the second best player in the world. He was ranked S+ tier, or top 3, on the [[PGRUContenders North America]], and 2nd on the concurrent [[OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse/North America|OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse North America]].
Though a major title eluded him, Sparg0 ended the year widely considered as the second best player in the world. He was ranked S+ tier, or top 3, on the [[PGRUContenders North America]], and 2nd on the concurrent [[OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse/North America|OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse North America]].


The lull in tournament activity in early 2022 allowed Sparg0 time to reconsider his character choices. After finding himself the third best {{SSBU|Aegis}} player at SWT, he decided to return to his longtime choice of {{SSBU|Cloud}} as his main. Having qualified for {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 4}} back at Mainstage, this became his first major event of the year. He swept his pool again, this time as the first seed, defeating {{Sm|Tea}}, {{Sm|Elegant}}, and {{Sm|Lavish}}. After winning his runback against {{Sm|Chag}} in final bracket, he defeated {{Sm|MkLeo}} for only the second time, 3-1. Sparg0 then faced off against {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}}, and defeated him twice in winners' and grand finals, to achieve his first-ever victory at a national tournament, using Cloud for the majority of his sets other than {{Sm|Chag}} and {{Sm|Lavish}}.
The lull in tournament activity in early 2022 allowed Sparg0 time to reconsider his character choices. After finding himself the third best {{SSBU|Aegis}} player at SWT, he decided to return to his longtime choice of Cloud} as his main. Having qualified for {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 4}} back at Mainstage, this became his first major event of the year. He swept his pool again, this time as the first seed, defeating {{Sm|Tea}}, {{Sm|Elegant}}, and {{Sm|Lavish}}. After winning his runback against {{Sm|Chag}} in final bracket, he defeated {{Sm|MkLeo}} for only the second time, 3-1. Sparg0 then faced off against {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}}, and defeated him twice in winners' and grand finals, to achieve his first-ever victory at a national tournament, using Cloud for the majority of his sets other than {{Sm|Chag}} and {{Sm|Lavish}}.


Sparg0 continued his hot streak at {{Trn|Collision 2022}} the next weekend, reverse 3-0ing MkLeo's {{SSBU|Byleth}} in winners' finals and 3-0ing {{Sm|Tweek}} in the second set of grands for his second straight major victory. However, at the Mexican invitational {{Trn|Delfino Maza RETA 2022}}, a major in its own right, he finished in 2nd place after Leo pulled out a character counterpick of his own: {{SSBU|Corrin}}. Despite this result, coming out of the first quarter many players started to believe that Sparg0 had the potential to finally dethrone Leo as the best player in the world, and many eyes were on him and Leo coming into {{Trn|GENESIS 8}}.  
Sparg0 continued his hot streak at {{Trn|Collision 2022}} the next weekend, reverse 3-0ing MkLeo's {{SSBU|Byleth}} in winners' finals and 3-0ing {{Sm|Tweek}} in the second set of grands for his second straight major victory. However, at the Mexican invitational {{Trn|Delfino Maza RETA 2022}}, a major in its own right, he finished in 2nd place after Leo pulled out a character counterpick of his own: {{SSBU|Corrin}}. Despite this result, coming out of the first quarter, many players started to believe that Sparg0 had the potential to finally dethrone Leo as the best player in the world, and many eyes were on him and Leo coming into {{Trn|GENESIS 8}}.  


Sparg0 fell slightly short at GENESIS 8, losing to both MkLeo and Glutonny to place third. This, alongside his losses to MkLeo at {{Trn|Relax & Smash at GeekFest Cancún}} and his disappointing 7th place finish at {{Trn|The Gimvitational}}, solidified his rival's position on the throne. Still, despite threats from Light, Glutonny and Japan's rising star {{Sm|acola}}, Sparg0 managed to hold onto his 2nd place position thanks to his incredible first half of the season, as well as his run at {{Trn|Low Tide City 2022}}, where after he fell to {{Sm|MuteAce}} prior to top 8, he tore through the loser's bracket, 3-0ing almost everyone in his path, before double-eliminating {{Sm|Kola}} to take the tournament. On the [[PGRU v3 NA]], he was 0.7 points away from MkLeo, marking the closest time MkLeo was outranked.
Sparg0 fell slightly short at GENESIS 8, losing to both MkLeo and Glutonny to place third. This, alongside his losses to MkLeo at {{Trn|Relax & Smash at GeekFest Cancún}} and his disappointing 7th place finish at {{Trn|The Gimvitational}}, solidified his rival's position on the throne. Still, despite threats from Light, Glutonny and Japan's rising star {{Sm|acola}}, Sparg0 managed to hold onto his 2nd place position thanks to his incredible first half of the season, as well as his run at {{Trn|Low Tide City 2022}}, where after he fell to {{Sm|MuteAce}} prior to top 8, he tore through the loser's bracket, 3-0ing almost everyone in his path, before double-eliminating {{Sm|Kola}} to take the tournament. On the [[PGRU v3 NA]], he was 0.7 points away from MkLeo, marking the closest time MkLeo was outranked.


However, even with all of his success within the last year, Sparg0 struggled with his mental health. As a result, on June 20th, he announced his hiatus, which he initially declared was indefinite.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1ss2god|title=Sparg0's hiatus}}</ref> During the next few months, the meta saw some notable shifts. In particular, around the time of his hiatus there was a surge of Steve results, largely due to acola's continued strong performances which included his victory at The Gimvitational, as well as Onin's victory at Super Smash Con 2022, where he decisively defeated several top players including MkLeo, Glutonny, and Maister. Furthermore, Sparg0 wasn't the only other player in contention for the throne as other players such as Light and acola saw consistently strong performances throughout the year.
However, even with all of his success within the last year, Sparg0 struggled with his mental health. As a result, on June 20th, he announced his hiatus, which he initially declared was indefinite.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1ss2god|title=Sparg0's hiatus}}</ref> During the next few months, the metagame saw some notable shifts. In particular, around the time of his hiatus, there was a surge of Steve results, largely due to acola's continued strong performances, which included his victory at The Gimvitational, as well as Onin's victory at Super Smash Con 2022, where he decisively defeated several top players including MkLeo, Glutonny, and Maister. Furthermore, Sparg0 was not the only other player in contention for the throne, as other players such as Light and acola saw consistently strong performances throughout the year.


Although Sparg0 did attend a couple of regional and locals during his hiatus, he didn't return to top level play until he was invited to Smash Ultimate Summit 5 in September. However, he was somewhat rusty in his initial few appearances. At Summit, Sparg0 ultimately placed 7th, with his only top 10 win being Glutonny, and he fell to Tweek, ProtoBanham, and Glutonny in the runback. Sparg0 faired better at the Ludwig Smash Invitational, the most stacked invitational of the year, where he qualified for the final bracket after going 3-1 in his Swiss Pools, notably showing his confidence in the Steve matchup by defeating Onin 3-0 and losing only to Shuton. Although he was sent to the loser bracket early by Kurama, Sparg0 saw an impressive loser's run defeating Dabuz, Riddles, Sonix, and Shuton, but ultimately fell to acola following an unfortunate SD at the start of the final game. Even with this run, however, Sparg0 still had much to prove if he were to claim the top spot, and two other players stood in his way: MkLeo, who despite underperforming at Super Smash Con and Summit, dominated the Ludwig Smash Invitational; and acola, who in addition to his continued dominance in Japan, placed 2nd at the invitational and claimed victory at the supermajor Let's Make Moves Miami the following week. In order for Sparg0 to get back into the conversation, he'd need to derust quickly, as the end of the season was starting to close in, and with the cancellation of the {{Trn|Smash World Tour 2022}} and the postponement of the {{Trn|Panda Cup}}, only two major tournaments remained for Sparg0: {{Trn|Mainstage 2022}}, a supermajor which saw many SWT-qualified players in attendance, and Ludwig's second invitational the {{Trn|Scuffed World Tour}}. Sparg0 would need to see strong performances at both if he were to reclaim his former glory.
Although Sparg0 did attend a couple of regional and locals during his hiatus, he did not return to top level play until he was invited to Smash Ultimate Summit 5 in September. However, he was somewhat rusty in his initial few appearances. At Summit, Sparg0 ultimately placed 7th, with his only top 10 win being Glutonny, and he fell to Tweek, ProtoBanham, and Glutonny in the runback. Sparg0 fared better at the Ludwig Smash Invitational, the most stacked invitational of the year, where he qualified for the final bracket after going 3-1 in his Swiss Pools, notably showing his confidence in the Steve matchup by defeating Onin 3-0 and losing only to Shuton. Although he was sent to the loser bracket early by Kurama, Sparg0 saw an impressive loser's run defeating Dabuz, Riddles, Sonix, and Shuton, but ultimately fell to acola following an unfortunate SD at the start of the final game. Even with this run, however, Sparg0 still had much to prove if he were to claim the top spot, and two other players stood in his way: MkLeo, who, despite underperforming at Super Smash Con and Summit, dominated the Ludwig Smash Invitational; and acola, who, in addition to his continued dominance in Japan, placed 2nd at the invitational and claimed victory at the supermajor Let's Make Moves Miami the following week. In order for Sparg0 to get back into the conversation, he would need to derust quickly, as the end of the season was starting to close in, and with the cancellation of the {{Trn|Smash World Tour 2022}} and the postponement of the {{Trn|Panda Cup}}, only two major tournaments remained for Sparg0: {{Trn|Mainstage 2022}}, a supermajor which saw many SWT-qualified players in attendance, and Ludwig's second invitational: the {{Trn|Scuffed World Tour}}. Sparg0 would need to see strong performances at both if he were to reclaim his former glory.


Despite facing a bit of trouble early on, Sparg0 easily made it into top 8 at Mainstage 2022. Unfortunately, a headset malfunction knocked him out of the groove, leading to Sparg0's 3-0 defeat by Tweek. This setback did not hinder his run, however, as after switching out his headset Sparg0 made yet another strong loser's run, defeating Kurama, Light, and Big D to face Tweek once again in grand finals. Despite coming close, Tweek failed to reverse 3-0 Sparg0 as the bracket was reset, and Sparg0 ultimately defeated Tweek 3-2 in the next set, claiming his first major victory since Low Tide City, avenging his devastating loss from the previous Mainstage.
Despite facing a bit of trouble early on, Sparg0 easily made it into top 8 at Mainstage 2022. Unfortunately, a headset malfunction knocked him out of the groove, leading to Sparg0's 3-0 defeat by Tweek. This setback did not hinder his run, however, as after switching out his headset, Sparg0 made yet another strong loser's run, defeating Kurama, Light, and Big D to face Tweek once again in grand finals. Despite coming close, Tweek failed to reverse 3-0 Sparg0 as the bracket was reset, and Sparg0 ultimately defeated Tweek 3-2 in the next set, claiming his first major victory since Low Tide City, avenging his devastating loss from the previous Mainstage.


In Sparg0's predicted bracket at the Scuffed World Tour he had to face Miya, Japan's other rising star, as well as acola. Despite having experience from fighting Maister, Miya prove challenging for Sparg0 as he was ultimately down 2-1 against him, and Sparg0 was forced to switch to the Aegis, which ultimate gave him the set victory. In the following match, despite Sparg0's confidence in the matchup, he quickly realized that acola was still in peak shape, and their set once again went to game 5. However, Sparg0 did not SD this time, and ultimately won the runback and moved on in the winner's bracket where, instead of MkLeo, he had to face Tweek yet again. Sparg0 ultimately cleaned up Tweek, both in their winner final's set and their grand final's set, winning the invitational.
In Sparg0's predicted bracket at the Scuffed World Tour, he had to face Miya, Japan's other rising star, as well as acola. Despite having experience from fighting Maister, Miya proved challenging for Sparg0, as he was ultimately down 2-1 against him, and Sparg0 was forced to switch to the Aegis, which ultimate gave him the set victory. In the following match, despite Sparg0's confidence in the matchup, he quickly realized that acola was still in peak shape, and their set once again went to game 5. However, Sparg0 did not SD this time, and ultimately won the runback and moved on in the winner's bracket where, instead of MkLeo, he had to face Tweek yet again. Sparg0 ultimately cleaned up Tweek, both in their winner final's set and their grand final's set, winning the invitational.


Sparg0's performance in December blew away expectations. Not only was he able to win two major tournaments back-to-back, but he did so as if he had never left before, winning runbacks against players who had defeated him during his rusty period, and proving that he was still one of the best despite returning in a new meta. His run at these two tournaments marked a strong end to the season and while rankings for the year have ranked him in different places, all of them agreed that Sparg0 was in the top 3: [[OrionRank 2022]] and [[UltRank 2022]] ranked Sparg0 3rd while [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-bRlO0Xtqoll8av1RLMjTVSt3twfXangE4WM1XbV5Ec/edit#gid=1234604201 EchoRank] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZb_-WMJ9Ys RaccRank] ranked Sparg0 1st.
Sparg0's performance in December blew away expectations. Not only was he able to win two major tournaments back-to-back, but he did so as if he had never left before, winning runbacks against players who had defeated him during his rusty period, and proving that he was still one of the best despite returning in a new metagame. His run at these two tournaments marked a strong end to the season, and while rankings for the year have ranked him in different places, all of them agreed that Sparg0 was in the top 3: [[OrionRank 2022]] and [[UltRank 2022]] ranked Sparg0 3rd, while [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-bRlO0Xtqoll8av1RLMjTVSt3twfXangE4WM1XbV5Ec/edit#gid=1234604201 EchoRank] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZb_-WMJ9Ys RaccRank] ranked Sparg0 1st.


===Fight for the throne===
===Fight for the throne===
Coming off his strongest year yet, Sparg0 was eyeing the throne for the following year. Unfortunately, Sparg0's initial few performances were rather mixed for a #1 contender. Although Sparg0 started off with a strong run to 2nd at {{Trn|Let's Make Big Moves 2023}} and 5th at {{Trn|GENESIS 9}}, his next two major performances saw some missteps. At {{Trn|Collision 2023}}, although he ultimately placed 3rd, Sparg0 was double-eliminated by {{Sm|Skyjay}}, giving him two non-top 10 losses for the season. He then followed it up with arguably his worst performance since the pandemic period: at {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 6}}, Sparg0 ultimately went 2-4, only defeating two players who were not ranked in the top 100 that season, and was notably upset by {{Sm|VoiD}} in the Final Bracket to place 13th, giving him a non-top 100 loss for the season.  
Coming off his strongest year yet, Sparg0 was eyeing the throne for the following year, and at a first glance, it seemed like it was finally his time to shine. Sparg0 saw the best performances of the mid-year season in the spring, where he won the major {{Trn|MAJOR UPSET}} and the premier-tier tournaments {{Trn|Kagaribi 10}} and {{Trn|Battle of BC 5}}. Although Sparg0's MAJOR UPSET run was notable as he double-eliminated {{Sm|MkLeo}} in Grand Finals, the latter two events were the highlights of his season, as not only were they two of the largest tournaments of the season, but he also defeated {{Sm|acola}} twice at each tournament. This, alongside his victory over acola at {{Trn|GENESIS 9}} at the start of the season, gave Sparg0 a dominant 5-0 record against acola going into the mid-year season. Sparg0's two premier-tier victories, more than any other player up to that point, and dominance over acola led many players, particularly in North America, to believe Sparg0 would be ranked first by the end of the mid-year season.


However, Sparg0 turned around this bad streak, and was able to show a return to form by winning his next three major events: the major {{Trn|MAJOR UPSET}} and the premier-tier tournaments {{Trn|Kagaribi 10}} and {{Trn|Battle of BC 5}}. Although Sparg0's MAJOR UPSET run was notable as he double-eliminated {{Sm|MkLeo}} in Grand Finals, the latter two events were the highlights of his season, as not only were they two of the largest tournaments of the season, but he also defeated {{Sm|acola}} twice at each tournament. This, alongside his victory over acola at GENESIS 9, gave Sparg0 a 5-0 record against acola going into the end of the year's first season.  
Unfortunately, Sparg0's incredible performances were offset by several weak performances. First, he greatly underperformed at {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 6}} by going 2-4 in sets, only defeating two players who were not ranked in the top 100 that season and conversely being upset by {{Sm|VoiD}} in the final bracket to place 13th. In addition, Sparg0 also underperformed at {{Trn|Crown the Third}}, as he was first upset by {{Sm|Jakal}} before being eliminated by MkLeo at 9th. His two major finishes outside the top 8 and his loss to a player ranked outside the top 100 weakened his season. Conversely, acola did not have a single placement outside of the top 8, and in fact had a stronger record than Sparg0 (against all players qualified for [[LumiRank]] that season, Sparg0's record was 71-16 and acola's record was 90-10, while acola did not have a single loss outside the top 50), therefore making acola the more consistent player. This consistency ultimately pushed acola just barely ahead of Sparg0 in what became the most contentious season of ''Ultimate'', leaving Sparg0 ranked 2nd on the [[LumiRank Mid-Year 2023]]. However, the race remained very close to the very end: had Sparg0 won both Grand Finals sets against {{Sm|Sonix}} at {{Trn|Get On My Level 2023}}, he would have just barely been ranked #1.  


Sparg0's two premier-tier victories and dominance over acola led many players, particularly in North America, to believe Sparg0 would be ranked first by the end of the year's first season. However, the race was actually closer than what most players thought due to acola's dominance over most events he had attended: unlike Sparg0, acola did not have a single placement outside of the top 8 and had no sub-top 50 losses. This lead to the closest race for #1 in ''Ultimate''{{'}}s history, as both players had strong arguments for the #1 placement by the mid-way point of the year.
Despite this disappointing finish to the season, Sparg0 was looking to take the #1 throne from acola. He started the season strong at {{Trn|Smash Factor X}}, which saw Sparg0 take his first-ever set against MkLeo, who used {{SSBU|Joker}}, and get his grand finals runback against Sonix in a tense game 7 that nearly went to time. Sparg0's appearance along with Sonix in Grand Finals at two consecutive North American supermajors cemented the offline rivalry of the two players, who had both long since been dominating the online ''Smash'' scene. This led to subsequent Grand Finals featuring these two to be termed "{{Trn|Coinbox}} Grand Finals", referring to the online weekly tournament series hosted by {{Sm|Hungrybox}} in which Sparg0 and Sonix regularly trade tournament titles.  


However, Sparg0's final two supermajor events were what hurt his chances. At {{Trn|Crown the Third}}, Sparg0 was upset by {{Sm|Jakal}} and was eliminated by MkLeo at 9th, giving Sparg0 yet another finish outside the top 8. Then, at {{Trn|Get On My Level 2023}}, Sparg0 was upset by {{Sm|Zomba}} and, after making a strong Losers run, lost to {{Sm|Sonix}} to place 2nd. These two placements further weighted down Sparg0's season and was what ultimately allowed acola to pull ahead: with two placements outside the top 8, a sub-top 100 loss, and a worse record compared to acola (against all players qualified for [[LumiRank]] that season, Sparg0's record was 71-16 while acola's record was 90-10), Sparg0 was ultimately ranked 2nd on the [[LumiRank Mid-Year 2023]]. However, the race remained very close to the very end: had Sparg0 won both Grand Finals sets against Sonix, he would have just barely been ranked #1.  
Sparg0's strong outings at Get On My Level 2023 and Smash Factor X earned him the 1st seed going into {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2023}}, which, at 2,607 entrants, was poised to be the biggest ''Ultimate'' tournament since the post-quarantine era. Expectations on Sparg0 were high, and with a bevy of high-profile Japanese talent attending the tournament, many were wondering if he could repeat his career-highlight successes at the previous two premier events. Unfortunately, Sparg0 ended up with a shocking 49th-place finish at the event, his worst placement ever tied with {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}, {{Trn|2GG: Kongo Saga}}, and {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}. Sparg0's losses at the event were to players who weren't ranked in the top 50 at that time: {{Sm|Ly}} and {{Sm|Aaron|p=Florida}}. The magnitude of this placing was not lost on Sparg0's competitors: {{Sm|acola}} ultimately won the event without dropping a set, widening the gap between him and Sparg0.


Despite this disappointing finish to the season, Sparg0 was looking to take the #1 throne from acola. He started the season strong at {{Trn|Smash Factor X}}, which saw Sparg0 take his first-ever set against MkLeo's Joker and get his grand finals runback against Sonix in a tense game 7 that nearly went to time. Sparg0's appearance along with {{Sm|Sonix}} in Grand Finals at two consecutive North American supermajors cemented the offline rivalry of the two players, who had both long since been dominating the online ''Smash'' scene. This led to subsequent Grand Finals featuring these two to be termed "{{Trn|Coinbox}} Grand Finals", referring to the online weekly tournament series hosted by {{Sm|Hungrybox}} in which Sparg0 and Sonix regularly trade tournament titles.  
Although Sparg0 was able to bounce back the following weekend by taking {{Trn|Delfino Maza 2023}} over Glutonny, the next few events saw Sparg0 have a more difficult time against other top players. At {{Trn|Tera}}, Sparg0 lost 2-3 to Tweek before being eliminated by Glutonny for 3rd, despite having defeated him in their last two encounters. {{Trn|ReWired Fest 2023}} saw Sparg0 fall to his bracket demon MuteAce yet again before being swiftly cleaned up by Light 3-0. Finally, Sonix remained a thorn in Sparg0's side; Sonix defeated Sparg0 in Winner Finals at {{Trn|Luminosity Makes Moves Miami 2023}} only for Sparg0 to double-eliminate Sonix in a grueling 10-game, hour-long pair of grand finals sets.


Sparg0's strong outings at Get On My Level 2023 and Smash Factor X earned him the 1st seed going into {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2023}}, which, at 2,607 entrants, was poised to be the biggest ''Ultimate'' tournament since the post-quarantine era. Expectations on Sparg0 were high, and with a bevy of high-profile Japanese talent attending the tournament, many were wondering if he could repeat his career-highlight successes at the previous two premier events. Unfortunately, Sparg0 ended up with a shocking 49th-place finish at the event, his worst placement ever tied with {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}, {{Trn|2GG: Kongo Saga}}, and {{Trn|GENESIS 7}}. Sparg0's losses at the event were to players who weren't ranked in the top 50: {{Sm|Ly}} and {{Sm|Aaron|p=Florida}}. The magnitude of this placing was not lost on Sparg0's competitors: {{Sm|acola}} ultimately won the event without dropping a set, widening the gap between him and Sparg0.
Although these performances still established Sparg0 as one of the best in the world, it wasn't helping him in his race for #1, especially with acola's continued dominance in Japan. In addition, Sparg0's race to #2 was also becoming tighter after {{Sm|Miya|p=Honshu}}'s string of equally strong performances. Not helping his case was his performance at {{Trn|Port Priority 8}}, which saw Sparg0 lose to {{Sm|KEN}} before being eliminated by {{Sm|Riddles}} for 17th, yet another underwhelming finish at an important event; with Sonix winning the event, a few players even went as far as to question whether Sparg0 would end up outside the top 3. Following the event, Sparg0 acknowledged his struggle to adapt to the game's fast-changing metagame and promised to come out stronger at the final invitational of the year, {{Trn|Watch The Throne}}.


Despite this devastating performance, Sparg0 was able to bounce back the following weekend by taking {{Trn|Delfino Maza 2023}} over Glutonny. However, the next few events saw Sparg0 have a more difficult time against top players. At {{Trn|Tera}}, Sparg0 lost 2-3 to Tweek before being eliminated by Glutonny for 3rd, despite having defeated him in their last two encounters. {{Trn|ReWired Fest 2023}} saw Sparg0 fall to his bracket demon MuteAce yet again before being swiftly cleaned up by Light 3-0. Finally, Sparg0 continued to have some difficulty against Sonix; Sonix defeated Sparg0 in Winner Finals at {{Trn|Luminosity Makes Moves Miami 2023}} only for Sparg0 to double-eliminate Sonix in a grueling 10-game, hour-long pair of grand finals sets.
Ultimately, Sparg0 was able to deliver on this promise. Although his Round Robin stage was somewhat shaky, which included a close game 5 set with {{Sm|ApolloKage}} and being once again swiftly defeated by Light, Sparg0 was able to tear through his Gauntlet Stage, defeating MkLeo 3-1 and Glutonny 3-0. The main bracket saw Sparg0 quickly dispatch the rest of the top 4, with Sparg0 defeating both acola and Miya 3-1 despite both players putting up a noticeably more competitive fight than before. Most notable among this was Sparg0's surprising dominance over his two sets against Sonix, whom Sparg0 defeated in Winner Semis 3-0 and Grand Finals 3-1, using Cloud for every game he won instead of the Aegis, the character Sparg0 normally used for the Sonic matchup. Sparg0's victory at this event, especially his clean victories against acola, Miya, and Sonix, led many to reassess his overall season: many players believed Sparg0's Watch The Throne saved him from falling from his mid-year placement, which was confirmed when he was ranked 2nd on the [[LumiRank 2023]].


Although these performances still established Sparg0 as one of the best in the world, it wasn't helping him in his race for #1, especially with acola's continued dominance in Japan. In addition, Sparg0's race to #2 was also becoming tighter after {{Sm|Miya|p=Honshu}}'s string of equally-strong performances. Not helping his case was his performance at {{Trn|Port Priority 8}}, which saw Sparg0 lose to {{Sm|KEN}} before being eliminated by {{Sm|Riddles}} for 17th, yet another underwhelming finish at an important event; with Sonix winning the event, a few players even went as far as to question whether Sparg0 would end up outside the top 3. Following the event, Sparg0 acknowledged his struggle to adapt to the game's fast-changing meta and promised to come out stronger at the final invitational of the year, {{Trn|Watch The Throne}}.
Not content on missing out on the top spot for yet another year, Sparg0 looked to finally claim the spot in 2024, and initially, it seemed like he had a great shot. Up until the beginning of April, Sparg0's tournament performances were stellar, placing no lower than 3rd at any event he attended and even claiming a supermajor win at {{Trn|Collision 2024}}. His record over the top 10 was also pretty solid, having a positive record over Light and {{Sm|SHADIC}} (both 2-0) but a negative record against Sonix and {{Sm|Hurt}} (both 0-2). Despite having two losses outside the top 50 in the form of {{Sm|WaKa}} and {{Sm|Skyjay}} (though the overall records that season were still in Sparg0's favor) and a negative record against MkLeo up to that point (4-3) in what was MkLeo's worst season yet, many players still considered Sparg0 as a shoe-in for the top 5.


Ultimately, Sparg0 was able to deliver on this promise. Although his Round Robin stage was somewhat shaky, which included a close game 5 set with {{Sm|ApolloKage}} and being once again swifly defeated by Light, Sparg0 was able to tear through his Gauntlet Stage defeating MkLeo 3-1 and Glutonny 3-0. The main bracket saw Sparg0 quickly dispatch the rest of the top 4, with Sparg0 defeating both acola and Miya 3-1 despite both players putting up a noticeably more competitive fight than before. Most notable among this was Sparg0's surprising dominance over his two sets against Sonix, whom Sparg0 defeated in Winner Semis 3-0 and Grand Finals 3-1, using {{SSBU|Cloud}} for every game he won instead of [[Aegis]], the character Sparg0 normally used for the Sonic matchup. Sparg0's victory at this event, especially his clean victories against acola, Miya, and Sonix, led many to reassess his overall season: many players believed Sparg0's Watch The Throne allowed him to keep his 2nd-place position, which was confirmed with the release of the [[LumiRank 2023]].
Unfortunately, all these strong performances were offset by the rest of his season, which was arguably Sparg0's worst string of performances since the pandemic. The superregional {{Trn|PSKSHOWDOWN 7}} was his first underperformance, as Sparg0 was upset by {{Sm|Mr. E}} and {{Sm|AlanDiss}} for 5th. However, this was soon overshadowed by his performances during the Golden Week. Despite high hopes for him due to his previous win in Japan, as well as his reputation for being great against Japan's best players, Sparg0 underperformed at both of his Japanese events, placing 13th at {{Trn|DELTA 8}} after losing to {{Sm|Rarikkusu}} and {{Sm|Lv.1}} before then placing 33rd at {{Trn|Kagaribi 12}} after losing to {{Sm|Toriguri}} and {{Sm|Noi}}. Finally, he failed to replicate his Smash Factor X victory, falling to 5th at {{Trn|S Factor 11}} after losing two game 5 sets to {{Sm|Cosmos}} and SHADIC, an unfortunate reverse 3-stock in the fourth game effectively sealing the deal in the latter set. Although he was able to even up his record against MkLeo at S Factor 11, this unceremonious conclusion to Sparg0's season, coupled with underwhelming records for a top 10 player (4-5 against the top 10 and 22-12 against the top 50) was reflected in his final ranking, where he fell to 9th on the [[LumiRank 2024.1]], his worst placement since the early metagame and a placement that surprised many.
 
Not content on missing out on the top spot for yet another year, Sparg0 looked to finally claim the spot in 2024, and initially, it seemed like he had a great shot. Up until the beginning of April, Sparg0's tournament performances were stellar, placing no lower than 3rd at any event he attended and even claiming a supermajor win at {{Trn|Collision 2024}}. His record over the top 10 was also pretty solid, having a positive record over Light and {{Sm|SHADIC}} (both 2-0) but a negative record against Sonix and {{Sm|Hurt}} (both 0-2). Despite having two losses outside the top 50 in the form of {{Sm|WaKa}} and {{Sm|Skyjay}} (though the overall records that season were still in Sparg0's favor) and a negative record against MkLeo up to that point (4-3) in what was MkLeo's worst season yet, many players still considered Sparg0 as a shoe-in for the top 5.


Unfortunately, all these strong performances were offset by the rest of his season, which was arguably Sparg0's worst string of performances since the pandemic. The superregional {{Trn|PSKSHOWDOWN 7}} was his first underperformance, as Sparg0 was upset by {{Sm|Mr. E}} and {{Sm|AlanDiss}} for 5th. However, this was soon overshadowed by his performances during the Golden Week. Despite high hopes for him due to his previous win in Japan as well as his reputation for being great against Japan's best players, Sparg0 underperformed at both of his Japanese events, placing 13th at {{Trn|DELTA 8}} after losing to {{Sm|Rarikkusu}} and {{Sm|Lv.1}} before then placing 33rd at {{Trn|Kagaribi 12}} after losing to {{Sm|Toriguri}} and {{Sm|Noi}}. Finally, he failed to replicate his Smash Factor X victory, falling to 5th at {{Trn|S Factor 11}} after losing two game 5 sets to {{Sm|Cosmos}} and SHADIC, an unfortunate reverse 3-stock in the fourth game effectively sealing the deal in the latter set. Although he was able to even up his record against MkLeo at S Factor 11, this unceremonious conclusion to Sparg0's season, coupled with underwhelming records for a top 10 player (4-5 against the top 10 and 22-12 against the top 50) was reflected in his final ranking, where he was ranked 9th on the [[LumiRank 2024.1]], a placement that surprised many.
Despite this unfortunate finish and his string of underperformances, Sparg0 was able to get out of this slump immediately as the new season started. His third trip to Japan for {{Trn|Kagaribi 12}} saw what many considered a return to form: although knocked into losers by {{Sm|Doramigi}}, Sparg0 was able to make a strong losers run to 3rd, knocking out {{Sm|Asimo}} and getting his revenge against Doramigi and Lv.1, ultimately losing to acola for the first time since Ludwig Smash Invitational. His performance at this event, especially his wins over players who had previously defeated him that year, was a foreshadow to what was coming at {{Trn|Supernova 2024}}. In what many considered his revenge tour, Sparg0 was able to win his runbacks against Hurt and SHADIC, while a surprise character choice of {{SSBU|Roy}} in game 2 onwards allowed him to defeat Sonix and claim his first P-tier win of the season.  


Despite this unfortunate placement and his string of underperformances, Sparg0 was able to get out of this slump immediately as the new season started. His third trip to Japan for {{Trn|Kagaribi 12}} saw what many considered a return to form: although knocked into losers by {{Sm|Doramigi}}, Sparg0 was able to make a strong losers run to 3rd, knocking out {{Sm|Asimo}} and getting his revenge against Doramigi and Lv.1, ultimately losing to acola for the first time since Ludwig Smash Invitational. His performance at this event, especially his wins over players that had previously defeated him that year, was a foreshadow to what was coming at {{Trn|Supernova 2024}}. In what many considered his revenge tour, Sparg0 was able to win his runbacks against Hurt and SHADIC, while a surprise character choice of {{SSBU|Roy}} in game 2 onwards allowed him to defeat Sonix and claim his first P-tier win of the season. Sparg0 followed this performance with yet another P-tier victory at {{Trn|Riptide 2024}}, winning every game up to winner's semifinals and taking the event by double-eliminating {{Sm|Shuton}}. At the {{Trn|Luminosity Invitational 2: Back to School}}, he proceeded to lose early to MkLeo and Zomba in round robin pools, sending him to the losers bracket for the main bracket, but Sparg0 managed to claw his way out to a 2nd place finish through an incredible losers run, beating {{Sm|Sonix}} (3-2) by going [[Roy (SSBU)|Roy]], {{Sm|Maister}} (3-0), {{Sm|Light|p=Connecticut}} (3-1), {{Sm|Asimo}} (3-0), {{Sm|Zomba}} (3-1), {{Sm|Shuton}} 3-0 and managing to reset the bracket against {{Sm|Kola}} (3-1) before losing to Kola. These four performances not only led many to believe Sparg0 had not only redeemed his LumiRank 2024.1 placement, but also made him the undisputed #1 for the [[LumiRank 2024.2]] season.
Sparg0 followed this performance with yet another P-tier victory at {{Trn|Riptide 2024}}, winning every game up to winner's semifinals and taking the event by double-eliminating {{Sm|Shuton}}. At the {{Trn|Luminosity Invitational 2: Back to School}}, though he lost early to MkLeo and Zomba in round robin pools, which sent him to the losers bracket for the main bracket, Sparg0 managed to claw his way out to a 2nd place finish through an incredible losers run, defeating Sonix 3-2 (once again using Roy), Maister 3-0, Light 3-1, Asimo 3-0, Zomba 3-1, Shuton 3-0, and {{Sm|Kola}} 3-1 in the first set of Grand Finals. These four performances led many to believe Sparg0 had not only redeemed his LumiRank 2024.1 placement, but also made him the undisputed #1 for the [[LumiRank 2024.2]] season.


==Rankings==
==Rankings==
Line 150: Line 148:
{|class="wikitable"
{|class="wikitable"
!Ranking!!Time period!!Rank!!Character(s)!!Notes
!Ranking!!Time period!!Rank!!Character(s)!!Notes
|-
|[[OrionRank Pre-Quarantine]]||December 27th, 2019-March 15th, 2020||47th||{{Head|Cloud|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|-
|-
|[[OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse]]||April 2020-December 19th, 2021||2nd||{{Head|PyraMythra|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Cloud|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
|[[OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse]]||April 2020-December 19th, 2021||2nd||{{Head|PyraMythra|g=SSBU|s=20px}}{{Head|Cloud|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||
Line 727: Line 723:
|{{Trn|Cirque 4|g=SSBU}}||October 19th-20th, 2024||4th / 145||&mdash;||&mdash;||???
|{{Trn|Cirque 4|g=SSBU}}||October 19th-20th, 2024||4th / 145||&mdash;||&mdash;||???
|-
|-
|{{Trn|EL DOJO MASTERS 10|g=SSBU}}||October 27th-28th, 2024||1st / 38||&mdash;||&mdash;||???
|{{Trn|EL DOJO MASTERS X|g=SSBU}}||October 26th-27th, 2024||1st / 44||&mdash;||&mdash;||???
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Buen morro Series 2|g=SSBU}}||October 28th-29th, 2024||1st / 37||&mdash;||&mdash;||???
|{{Trn|Buen morro Series 2|g=SSBU}}||October 28th-29th, 2024||1st / 37||&mdash;||&mdash;||???
Line 736: Line 732:
|-
|-
|{{Trn|Don't Park on the Grass 2024|g=SSBU}}||November 16th-17th, 2024||1st / 344||&mdash;||&mdash;||$1,290
|{{Trn|Don't Park on the Grass 2024|g=SSBU}}||November 16th-17th, 2024||1st / 344||&mdash;||&mdash;||$1,290
|-
|{{Trn|LACS Rivals}}||November 23rd-24th, 2024||4th / 8||&mdash;||&mdash;||???
|-
|{{Trn|Warlock's Secret Village|g=SSBU}}||November 30th, 2024||2nd / 88||&mdash;||&mdash;||&mdash;
|}
|}


Line 758: Line 758:
**{{iw|wikipedia|Twice}} is his favorite K-Pop music group, as evident by his "4jeongyeon" tag during 2022 and first half of 2023.
**{{iw|wikipedia|Twice}} is his favorite K-Pop music group, as evident by his "4jeongyeon" tag during 2022 and first half of 2023.
*Sparg0 placed in Top 8 of every offline ''Ultimate'' tournament he entered after {{Trn|GENESIS 7}} in January 2020 until {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 6}} in March 2023.
*Sparg0 placed in Top 8 of every offline ''Ultimate'' tournament he entered after {{Trn|GENESIS 7}} in January 2020 until {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 6}} in March 2023.
*Sparg0 is well known for being one of the players with the best records against Japan's top level, having winning records on acola (7-2), {{Sm|Miya|p=Honshu}} (6-2), {{Sm|Shuton}} (5-2), {{Sm|zackray}} (2-1) and {{Sm|Asimo}} (6-0).
*Sparg0 is well known for being one of the players with the best records against Japan's top level, having winning records on acola (7-2), {{Sm|Miya|p=Honshu}} (5-2), {{Sm|Shuton}} (5-2), {{Sm|zackray}} (2-1) and {{Sm|Asimo}} (6-0).
**He is also the only North American player to win an ''Ultimate'' Japanese supermajor, winning {{Trn|Kagaribi 10}}, and is one of the few non-Japanese players to top 8 more than one Japanese supermajors, alongside {{Sm|Riddles}}.
**He is also the only North American player to win an ''Ultimate'' Japanese supermajor, winning {{Trn|Kagaribi 10}}, and is one of the few non-Japanese players to place top 8 at multiple Japanese supermajors, alongside {{Sm|Riddles}}.


==References==
==References==
Line 775: Line 775:
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rf7srs_7e4 Supernova 2024 Grand Finals - FaZe | Sparg0 (Roy) Vs. LG | Sonix (Sonic)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rf7srs_7e4 Supernova 2024 Grand Finals - FaZe | Sparg0 (Roy) Vs. LG | Sonix (Sonic)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YQc5hHKggs Kagaribi 10 Grand Finals - FaZe | Sparg0 (Cloud) Vs. ZETA | acola (Steve)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YQc5hHKggs Kagaribi 10 Grand Finals - FaZe | Sparg0 (Cloud) Vs. ZETA | acola (Steve)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y9b5bpcPxI Watch the Throne Winners Finals - FaZe | Sparg0 (Cloud) Vs. FENNEL | Miya (Mr. Game & Watch)]
*[https://youtu.be/hM6rjpyxBAQ Don't Park On The Grass 2024 Grand Finals - FaZe | Sparg0 (Cloud) Vs. FENNEL | Miya (Mr. Game & Watch)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6aP-zjyiRc Riptide 2024 Grand Finals - FaZe | Sparg0 (Cloud) Vs. REJECT | Shuton (Pyra & Mythra)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6aP-zjyiRc Riptide 2024 Grand Finals - FaZe | Sparg0 (Cloud) Vs. REJECT | Shuton (Pyra & Mythra)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcIK2EwaSjo Supernova 2024 Winners Semis - FaZe | Sparg0 (Cloud) Vs. E36 | Hurt (Snake)]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcIK2EwaSjo Supernova 2024 Winners Semis - FaZe | Sparg0 (Cloud) Vs. E36 | Hurt (Snake)]

Latest revision as of 21:15, December 10, 2024

Sparg0
Sparg01.jpg
Sparg0 holding his Supernova 2024 trophy
Character info
Melee main Marth
Smash 4 main Cloud
Ultimate main Cloud
Other Ultimate characters Pyra, Mythra
Retired Ultimate characters Inkling, Corrin
Team info
Sponsor(s) FaZe Clan
Former sponsor(s) XTR Esports
Rankings and results info
Most recent ranking Super Smash Bros. 4 Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v2: 31st
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate LumiRank 2024.1: 9th
Best historical ranking Super Smash Bros. Ultimate LumiRank 2023: 2nd
Best tournament result Super Smash Bros. 4 4th / 119 at Super Smash Con: Fall Fest
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 1st / 2,281 at Supernova 2024
Winnings Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ~$112,412.47
Personal and other info
Real name Edgar Valdez
Birth date (age 19)
Location Tijuana, Baja California Mexico

Sparg0 is an Ultimate Cloud player born in San Diego, California who is currently residing in Tijuana, Mexico. He is considered one of the best Ultimate players of all-time; the best Cloud player of all-time; one of the best Aegis players of all-time, being one of the first top-level representatives for both characters; and the best player in North America's online metagame, ranking 1st on two iterations of the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank. He was also the best player in North America throughout 2023, ranking 1st on the LumiRank 2023 North America, and was one of the four best players in the world for 2023 alongside acola, Miya, and Sonix. In addition, he is also considered one of the best doubles players in the world, often teaming up with either Chag or Skyjay, and having won several large doubles events with them.

Sparg0 is one of the most well-known prodigies in Smash, competing with and even taking sets off of top professionals as early as the age of 13. This, along with his heavy usage of sword characters, has given him comparisons to MkLeo's Smash 4 career. He is one of the youngest Ultimate players to win their first major alongside Doramigi and acola, winning Smash Ultimate Summit 4 at the age of 16.

In Super Smash Bros. 4, Sparg0 was also a Cloud player. He was ranked 31st on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v2 and has a win over MVD.

On April 17th, 2022, FaZe Clan announced they had signed Sparg0 as their first Super Smash Bros. player.[1]

Playstyle[edit]

In all Smash games, Sparg0 is a methodical, yet aggressive player, using his movement, game plan, and solid fundamentals with the characters he plays. One of Sparg0's most fearsome traits has always been his adaptability and the capability to change his playstyle. Using Cloud, he has been known to constantly switch up which aerials he will use, as well as the timing of said aerials to constantly throw off his opponents. In particular his ledgetrapping game is a forefront of his playstyle, able to continuously pressure his opponents with back air and constantly keep them at the ledge or offstage. A particular trait of his gameplay while using Cloud is a tendency to go all-in with a calculated risk, heavily using Cloud's limit for an extended edgeguard or suicide up-b, able to keep his opponents on edge for a surprising kill.

Sparg0 is also notorious at mitigating the weaknesses of his characters. Both Cloud and the Aegis are known for having subpar recoveries, yet Sparg0 has shown incredible creativity when it comes to getting back on the stage. His knowledge of when to use his resources and when to take risks has given him a reputation for being notoriously difficult to edgeguard, even when on paper he should be at a disadvantage.

Tournament history[edit]

Pre-Ultimate[edit]

During Smash 4's competitive lifespan, Sparg0 competed both online and in his home region of Tijuana, and in both scenes, he became recognized for his skill despite his young age. Online, he achieved wins over other top players like Chusam, Rax, and Zomba. Sparg0 was ranked 31st on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v2; ranked just four days after his 13th birthday, he remains the youngest player ranked on any iteration of the WWR.

Ultimate's rising prodigy[edit]

Shortly after Ultimate's release, Sparg0 won Smashing Legends Ultimate Christmas Special, the first WWR-eligible event of the new game. About a week later, he won the 818-entrant Ultimate Naifu Wars 2, defeating Vendetta 3-1 in grand finals. With the tournament's large size, and its wide viewership on Nairo's stream, Sparg0 quickly gained notoriety in the Smash community for his skill at only 13 years old. Around this time, Sparg0 made his first trips to compete in the United States. He quickly made an impact in the Southern California weeklies he attended, defeating well-known players such as Elegant. He placed 49th at his first major, GENESIS 6, losing to California natives ImHip and Lui$. Months later at 2GG: Prime Saga, he placed 25th losing to Shuton and Teb.

However, it wasn't until late in the season that Sparg0 made his biggest waves offline. He first had his breakout event offline at the special weekly Weds Night Fights x Orange County Spring 2019 2.6, where he surprised everyone by defeating VoiD 2-0 (then considered the best player in SoCal and one of the best players in the world), Elegant 2-0, and kameme 2-0 to finish 4th, all the while using Cloud, a character many had dismissed due to his nerfs from the previous game. This performance, alongside other notable weekly performances, led himm to be ranked 2nd on the SoCal Ultimate Power Rankings despite living just outside the region. In addition, in the spring, he entered all three tournaments in the Ultimate Naifu Wars: Sandy Road to CEO circuit, with the winner of the circuit being flown out to CEO 2019. Despite finishing second to king_chris in the circuit, chris opted to award the flight to Sparg0, so he was able to attend his first tournament outside Mexico or California. At CEO, Sparg0 defeated Myran 2-1 and Sinji 2-0, achieving wins on two players en route to PGR-ranked seasons of their own. Though he lost shortly after to Marss and WaDi, his 17th place finish and aforementioned wins were his best ever at an offline major. Finally, his strong play online continued, and he was ultimately ranked 2nd on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v3.

Heading into the second half of 2019, Sparg0 had became well-known in the North American community, and was considered one of the Cloud players in the world. However, he was unable to build on the success he found in the first half of the year. Seeded 8th at his home country's Smash Factor 7, he fell at 17th after a loss to Mr. R and an upset by Pablo. Continuing to attend majors throughout the season, he placed 33rd at EVO 2019, 25th at 2GG: SwitchFest 2019, and 49th at 2GG: Kongo Saga. Despite respectable placings, none were able to eclipse his previous peak at CEO nor his incredible performance at Weds Night Fights, and he was unable to get a PGR-ranked win at any. As such, he was unranked on both the PGR and OrionRank, especially as Weds Night Fights was not used on both rankings despite it being a special event rather than another weekly. Sparg0 remained a top threat online, but reduced attendance with his shift to offline play led him to drop to 15th on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v4.

Sparg0's results held steady after the new year. In January 2020, he attended Let's Make Big Moves in New York City, traveling the furthest from his home yet. Despite a strong performance in the Tristate vs The World Crew Battle, taking five stocks for Team World, he placed 33rd in the main bracket, defeating Mr. E 2-1 but losing to Larry Lurr and Light, both 0-2. A 49th place finish at GENESIS 7, losing to MuteAce 1-2 and Cosmos 0-3, ended his final major event before the quarantine period. Though still ranked highly in-region and regarded as one of his character's best players, Sparg0 was unable to break top 16 at a major during this time, and the quickly rising Kola had begun to challenge him for the title of best Cloud player.

The King of Wi-Fi[edit]

Upon the cancellation of events worldwide in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sparg0, like many others, shifted his focus to online competition. Though the influx of PGR-ranked players made the competition tougher than ever, Sparg0's skill and familiarity with online conditions allowed him to keep his footing at the top. He placed highly at many large and lucrative online events, including 1st place at Mazer Gaming Smash, 2nd at The Quarantine Series: Minor Tournament 1, and 5th at The Quarantine Series: Major Tournament 1. At the end of the season, he was ranked 4th on the 75-player Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5, and was the only returning player to rise in placement despite the massive influx of offline threats.

The second half of 2020 brought even greater success. Early on, Sparg0 won Lockhart Series, taking winners' and grand finals 3-1 and 3-0 over Maister. As the thousand-entrant supermajors gave way to a landscape of top player-hosted sub events, Sparg0 gladly traded his subs for first place finishes. He won Maister's Flat Realm 8, Hungrybox's El Jugo Box, Dabuz's Galaxy Gambit 2, and MkLeo's M-Kolosseum 4. Additionally, he was able to keep positive records over his closest competitors, Maister, BestNess, and Sonix. This dominance led him to be ranked 1st on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v6, topping the rankings for the first time.

2021 was more of the same for Sparg0, who continued winning major online events with few blemishes on his record. Notably, two of these tournament wins secured him spots at offline events later in the year. At his region's online qualifier for the recently announced Smash World Tour 2021, he recovered from a 0-3 loss to MkLeo with a 3-2 win over Maister and two wins over MkLeo in grand finals, earning him a spot at the upcoming offline regional qualifier. At Collision Online 2021, he 3-0'd Maister twice in two sets of grands, securing him a spot at Smash Ultimate Summit 3. In the end, despite a close race against Sonix and Maister, he repeated as 1st place on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7, becoming just the second player ever to rank 1st in two separate seasons. With nothing left to prove on Wi-Fi, and with the return of online majors around the corner, the pressure was on Sparg0 to translate his dominance to the in-person stage for the first time.

The next best player?[edit]

At SWT: Mexico Ultimate Online Qualifier, Sparg0 placed 6th, losing 3-2 each to MkLeo and Maister, and disqualifying out of the tie-breaker against Yei. Despite falling short of both his 1st place finish at its online counterpart and expectations from those who were watching him, this placement was good enough to secure him a spot at the Smash World Tour 2021 Championships later that year. A week later at Smash Ultimate Summit 3, Sparg0 was faced with daunting pools matchups against invitees Tweek and KEN, both of whom were among the best in their home regions and the world. However, he shocked the world by winning both sets, 3-1 and 3-2, respectively. Not only did this secure him a spot in final bracket on winners' side, but it marked his first PGR wins at a major since CEO 2019 more than two years prior. He continued his hot streak on Sunday finals, defeating Riddles and Zackray, before falling to Tweek 3-1 and to MkLeo in a crushing reverse 3-0. In the post-set interview, Leo commended Sparg0, and stated his belief that Sparg0 would be the next player to become the best in the world after himself.

Since quarantine, Sparg0 had relegated Cloud to a secondary, and was now using Pyra and Mythra for most matchups. With this new character choice, he continued to reach the podium at every major he attended. At Riptide, he once again lost to MkLeo and Tweek, placing 3rd. With the two absent from Super Smash Con: Fall Fest, Sparg0 entered grand finals on winners' side, but lost two sets to Light to place 2nd. Later that month, he outplaced Tweek for the first time, defeating him 3-2 in losers' finals of Port Priority 6; he lost to Leo 2-3 in grands, once again placing 2nd. By this time, Sparg0 had cemented himself as one of the top three players in North America post-quarantine, along with his fiercest competitors Leo and Tweek.

Arguably Sparg0's most notable result of the year came at Mainstage 2021; with a Summit spot and supermajor win on the line, all eyes were on him to see if he could finally come out on top. An early 1-3 loss to Chag put this in doubt, but Sparg0 responded with a monster losers' run, defeating ESAM, Kola, Light, Chag, Tea, and Elegant along the way. Waiting for him in grand finals was MkLeo, who he had yet to take an offline set from. Sparg0 won the first set of grands 3-1, and looked poised to take the second after leading in percent during game 5. However, an untimely reversal allowed Leo to stuff out Sparg0's recovery with a devastating Byleth down air, stealing the Mainstage title in seconds. Despite another strong finish at the SWT Championships, Sparg0 was unable to get revenge, losing once again to MkLeo and then to Cosmos, both of whom also used Pyra & Mythra.

Though a major title eluded him, Sparg0 ended the year widely considered as the second best player in the world. He was ranked S+ tier, or top 3, on the PGRUContenders North America, and 2nd on the concurrent OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse North America.

The lull in tournament activity in early 2022 allowed Sparg0 time to reconsider his character choices. After finding himself the third best Aegis player at SWT, he decided to return to his longtime choice of Cloud} as his main. Having qualified for Smash Ultimate Summit 4 back at Mainstage, this became his first major event of the year. He swept his pool again, this time as the first seed, defeating Tea, Elegant, and Lavish. After winning his runback against Chag in final bracket, he defeated MkLeo for only the second time, 3-1. Sparg0 then faced off against Light, and defeated him twice in winners' and grand finals, to achieve his first-ever victory at a national tournament, using Cloud for the majority of his sets other than Chag and Lavish.

Sparg0 continued his hot streak at Collision 2022 the next weekend, reverse 3-0ing MkLeo's Byleth in winners' finals and 3-0ing Tweek in the second set of grands for his second straight major victory. However, at the Mexican invitational Delfino Maza RETA 2022, a major in its own right, he finished in 2nd place after Leo pulled out a character counterpick of his own: Corrin. Despite this result, coming out of the first quarter, many players started to believe that Sparg0 had the potential to finally dethrone Leo as the best player in the world, and many eyes were on him and Leo coming into GENESIS 8.

Sparg0 fell slightly short at GENESIS 8, losing to both MkLeo and Glutonny to place third. This, alongside his losses to MkLeo at Relax & Smash at GeekFest Cancún and his disappointing 7th place finish at The Gimvitational, solidified his rival's position on the throne. Still, despite threats from Light, Glutonny and Japan's rising star acola, Sparg0 managed to hold onto his 2nd place position thanks to his incredible first half of the season, as well as his run at Low Tide City 2022, where after he fell to MuteAce prior to top 8, he tore through the loser's bracket, 3-0ing almost everyone in his path, before double-eliminating Kola to take the tournament. On the PGRU v3 NA, he was 0.7 points away from MkLeo, marking the closest time MkLeo was outranked.

However, even with all of his success within the last year, Sparg0 struggled with his mental health. As a result, on June 20th, he announced his hiatus, which he initially declared was indefinite.[2] During the next few months, the metagame saw some notable shifts. In particular, around the time of his hiatus, there was a surge of Steve results, largely due to acola's continued strong performances, which included his victory at The Gimvitational, as well as Onin's victory at Super Smash Con 2022, where he decisively defeated several top players including MkLeo, Glutonny, and Maister. Furthermore, Sparg0 was not the only other player in contention for the throne, as other players such as Light and acola saw consistently strong performances throughout the year.

Although Sparg0 did attend a couple of regional and locals during his hiatus, he did not return to top level play until he was invited to Smash Ultimate Summit 5 in September. However, he was somewhat rusty in his initial few appearances. At Summit, Sparg0 ultimately placed 7th, with his only top 10 win being Glutonny, and he fell to Tweek, ProtoBanham, and Glutonny in the runback. Sparg0 fared better at the Ludwig Smash Invitational, the most stacked invitational of the year, where he qualified for the final bracket after going 3-1 in his Swiss Pools, notably showing his confidence in the Steve matchup by defeating Onin 3-0 and losing only to Shuton. Although he was sent to the loser bracket early by Kurama, Sparg0 saw an impressive loser's run defeating Dabuz, Riddles, Sonix, and Shuton, but ultimately fell to acola following an unfortunate SD at the start of the final game. Even with this run, however, Sparg0 still had much to prove if he were to claim the top spot, and two other players stood in his way: MkLeo, who, despite underperforming at Super Smash Con and Summit, dominated the Ludwig Smash Invitational; and acola, who, in addition to his continued dominance in Japan, placed 2nd at the invitational and claimed victory at the supermajor Let's Make Moves Miami the following week. In order for Sparg0 to get back into the conversation, he would need to derust quickly, as the end of the season was starting to close in, and with the cancellation of the Smash World Tour 2022 and the postponement of the Panda Cup, only two major tournaments remained for Sparg0: Mainstage 2022, a supermajor which saw many SWT-qualified players in attendance, and Ludwig's second invitational: the Scuffed World Tour. Sparg0 would need to see strong performances at both if he were to reclaim his former glory.

Despite facing a bit of trouble early on, Sparg0 easily made it into top 8 at Mainstage 2022. Unfortunately, a headset malfunction knocked him out of the groove, leading to Sparg0's 3-0 defeat by Tweek. This setback did not hinder his run, however, as after switching out his headset, Sparg0 made yet another strong loser's run, defeating Kurama, Light, and Big D to face Tweek once again in grand finals. Despite coming close, Tweek failed to reverse 3-0 Sparg0 as the bracket was reset, and Sparg0 ultimately defeated Tweek 3-2 in the next set, claiming his first major victory since Low Tide City, avenging his devastating loss from the previous Mainstage.

In Sparg0's predicted bracket at the Scuffed World Tour, he had to face Miya, Japan's other rising star, as well as acola. Despite having experience from fighting Maister, Miya proved challenging for Sparg0, as he was ultimately down 2-1 against him, and Sparg0 was forced to switch to the Aegis, which ultimate gave him the set victory. In the following match, despite Sparg0's confidence in the matchup, he quickly realized that acola was still in peak shape, and their set once again went to game 5. However, Sparg0 did not SD this time, and ultimately won the runback and moved on in the winner's bracket where, instead of MkLeo, he had to face Tweek yet again. Sparg0 ultimately cleaned up Tweek, both in their winner final's set and their grand final's set, winning the invitational.

Sparg0's performance in December blew away expectations. Not only was he able to win two major tournaments back-to-back, but he did so as if he had never left before, winning runbacks against players who had defeated him during his rusty period, and proving that he was still one of the best despite returning in a new metagame. His run at these two tournaments marked a strong end to the season, and while rankings for the year have ranked him in different places, all of them agreed that Sparg0 was in the top 3: OrionRank 2022 and UltRank 2022 ranked Sparg0 3rd, while EchoRank and RaccRank ranked Sparg0 1st.

Fight for the throne[edit]

Coming off his strongest year yet, Sparg0 was eyeing the throne for the following year, and at a first glance, it seemed like it was finally his time to shine. Sparg0 saw the best performances of the mid-year season in the spring, where he won the major MAJOR UPSET and the premier-tier tournaments Kagaribi 10 and Battle of BC 5. Although Sparg0's MAJOR UPSET run was notable as he double-eliminated MkLeo in Grand Finals, the latter two events were the highlights of his season, as not only were they two of the largest tournaments of the season, but he also defeated acola twice at each tournament. This, alongside his victory over acola at GENESIS 9 at the start of the season, gave Sparg0 a dominant 5-0 record against acola going into the mid-year season. Sparg0's two premier-tier victories, more than any other player up to that point, and dominance over acola led many players, particularly in North America, to believe Sparg0 would be ranked first by the end of the mid-year season.

Unfortunately, Sparg0's incredible performances were offset by several weak performances. First, he greatly underperformed at Smash Ultimate Summit 6 by going 2-4 in sets, only defeating two players who were not ranked in the top 100 that season and conversely being upset by VoiD in the final bracket to place 13th. In addition, Sparg0 also underperformed at Crown the Third, as he was first upset by Jakal before being eliminated by MkLeo at 9th. His two major finishes outside the top 8 and his loss to a player ranked outside the top 100 weakened his season. Conversely, acola did not have a single placement outside of the top 8, and in fact had a stronger record than Sparg0 (against all players qualified for LumiRank that season, Sparg0's record was 71-16 and acola's record was 90-10, while acola did not have a single loss outside the top 50), therefore making acola the more consistent player. This consistency ultimately pushed acola just barely ahead of Sparg0 in what became the most contentious season of Ultimate, leaving Sparg0 ranked 2nd on the LumiRank Mid-Year 2023. However, the race remained very close to the very end: had Sparg0 won both Grand Finals sets against Sonix at Get On My Level 2023, he would have just barely been ranked #1.

Despite this disappointing finish to the season, Sparg0 was looking to take the #1 throne from acola. He started the season strong at Smash Factor X, which saw Sparg0 take his first-ever set against MkLeo, who used Joker, and get his grand finals runback against Sonix in a tense game 7 that nearly went to time. Sparg0's appearance along with Sonix in Grand Finals at two consecutive North American supermajors cemented the offline rivalry of the two players, who had both long since been dominating the online Smash scene. This led to subsequent Grand Finals featuring these two to be termed "Coinbox Grand Finals", referring to the online weekly tournament series hosted by Hungrybox in which Sparg0 and Sonix regularly trade tournament titles.

Sparg0's strong outings at Get On My Level 2023 and Smash Factor X earned him the 1st seed going into Super Smash Con 2023, which, at 2,607 entrants, was poised to be the biggest Ultimate tournament since the post-quarantine era. Expectations on Sparg0 were high, and with a bevy of high-profile Japanese talent attending the tournament, many were wondering if he could repeat his career-highlight successes at the previous two premier events. Unfortunately, Sparg0 ended up with a shocking 49th-place finish at the event, his worst placement ever tied with GENESIS 6, 2GG: Kongo Saga, and GENESIS 7. Sparg0's losses at the event were to players who weren't ranked in the top 50 at that time: Ly and Aaron. The magnitude of this placing was not lost on Sparg0's competitors: acola ultimately won the event without dropping a set, widening the gap between him and Sparg0.

Although Sparg0 was able to bounce back the following weekend by taking Delfino Maza 2023 over Glutonny, the next few events saw Sparg0 have a more difficult time against other top players. At Tera, Sparg0 lost 2-3 to Tweek before being eliminated by Glutonny for 3rd, despite having defeated him in their last two encounters. ReWired Fest 2023 saw Sparg0 fall to his bracket demon MuteAce yet again before being swiftly cleaned up by Light 3-0. Finally, Sonix remained a thorn in Sparg0's side; Sonix defeated Sparg0 in Winner Finals at Luminosity Makes Moves Miami 2023 only for Sparg0 to double-eliminate Sonix in a grueling 10-game, hour-long pair of grand finals sets.

Although these performances still established Sparg0 as one of the best in the world, it wasn't helping him in his race for #1, especially with acola's continued dominance in Japan. In addition, Sparg0's race to #2 was also becoming tighter after Miya's string of equally strong performances. Not helping his case was his performance at Port Priority 8, which saw Sparg0 lose to KEN before being eliminated by Riddles for 17th, yet another underwhelming finish at an important event; with Sonix winning the event, a few players even went as far as to question whether Sparg0 would end up outside the top 3. Following the event, Sparg0 acknowledged his struggle to adapt to the game's fast-changing metagame and promised to come out stronger at the final invitational of the year, Watch The Throne.

Ultimately, Sparg0 was able to deliver on this promise. Although his Round Robin stage was somewhat shaky, which included a close game 5 set with ApolloKage and being once again swiftly defeated by Light, Sparg0 was able to tear through his Gauntlet Stage, defeating MkLeo 3-1 and Glutonny 3-0. The main bracket saw Sparg0 quickly dispatch the rest of the top 4, with Sparg0 defeating both acola and Miya 3-1 despite both players putting up a noticeably more competitive fight than before. Most notable among this was Sparg0's surprising dominance over his two sets against Sonix, whom Sparg0 defeated in Winner Semis 3-0 and Grand Finals 3-1, using Cloud for every game he won instead of the Aegis, the character Sparg0 normally used for the Sonic matchup. Sparg0's victory at this event, especially his clean victories against acola, Miya, and Sonix, led many to reassess his overall season: many players believed Sparg0's Watch The Throne saved him from falling from his mid-year placement, which was confirmed when he was ranked 2nd on the LumiRank 2023.

Not content on missing out on the top spot for yet another year, Sparg0 looked to finally claim the spot in 2024, and initially, it seemed like he had a great shot. Up until the beginning of April, Sparg0's tournament performances were stellar, placing no lower than 3rd at any event he attended and even claiming a supermajor win at Collision 2024. His record over the top 10 was also pretty solid, having a positive record over Light and SHADIC (both 2-0) but a negative record against Sonix and Hurt (both 0-2). Despite having two losses outside the top 50 in the form of WaKa and Skyjay (though the overall records that season were still in Sparg0's favor) and a negative record against MkLeo up to that point (4-3) in what was MkLeo's worst season yet, many players still considered Sparg0 as a shoe-in for the top 5.

Unfortunately, all these strong performances were offset by the rest of his season, which was arguably Sparg0's worst string of performances since the pandemic. The superregional PSKSHOWDOWN 7 was his first underperformance, as Sparg0 was upset by Mr. E and AlanDiss for 5th. However, this was soon overshadowed by his performances during the Golden Week. Despite high hopes for him due to his previous win in Japan, as well as his reputation for being great against Japan's best players, Sparg0 underperformed at both of his Japanese events, placing 13th at DELTA 8 after losing to Rarikkusu and Lv.1 before then placing 33rd at Kagaribi 12 after losing to Toriguri and Noi. Finally, he failed to replicate his Smash Factor X victory, falling to 5th at S Factor 11 after losing two game 5 sets to Cosmos and SHADIC, an unfortunate reverse 3-stock in the fourth game effectively sealing the deal in the latter set. Although he was able to even up his record against MkLeo at S Factor 11, this unceremonious conclusion to Sparg0's season, coupled with underwhelming records for a top 10 player (4-5 against the top 10 and 22-12 against the top 50) was reflected in his final ranking, where he fell to 9th on the LumiRank 2024.1, his worst placement since the early metagame and a placement that surprised many.

Despite this unfortunate finish and his string of underperformances, Sparg0 was able to get out of this slump immediately as the new season started. His third trip to Japan for Kagaribi 12 saw what many considered a return to form: although knocked into losers by Doramigi, Sparg0 was able to make a strong losers run to 3rd, knocking out Asimo and getting his revenge against Doramigi and Lv.1, ultimately losing to acola for the first time since Ludwig Smash Invitational. His performance at this event, especially his wins over players who had previously defeated him that year, was a foreshadow to what was coming at Supernova 2024. In what many considered his revenge tour, Sparg0 was able to win his runbacks against Hurt and SHADIC, while a surprise character choice of Roy in game 2 onwards allowed him to defeat Sonix and claim his first P-tier win of the season.

Sparg0 followed this performance with yet another P-tier victory at Riptide 2024, winning every game up to winner's semifinals and taking the event by double-eliminating Shuton. At the Luminosity Invitational 2: Back to School, though he lost early to MkLeo and Zomba in round robin pools, which sent him to the losers bracket for the main bracket, Sparg0 managed to claw his way out to a 2nd place finish through an incredible losers run, defeating Sonix 3-2 (once again using Roy), Maister 3-0, Light 3-1, Asimo 3-0, Zomba 3-1, Shuton 3-0, and Kola 3-1 in the first set of Grand Finals. These four performances led many to believe Sparg0 had not only redeemed his LumiRank 2024.1 placement, but also made him the undisputed #1 for the LumiRank 2024.2 season.

Rankings[edit]

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]

Wi-Fi Warrior Rank[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v2Online July-December 2018 31st Cloud (SSB4)

Tijuana Power Rankings[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
Tijuana Power Rankings September 2017 10th Cloud (SSB4)

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

Panda Global Rankings Ultimate[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
PGRUContenders NA 2021 S+ (Top 3) PyraMythra (SSBU)Cloud (SSBU)
PGRU v3 NA March 1st-June 13th, 2022 2nd Cloud (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU)

LumiRank[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
UltRank 2022 June 18th-December 18th, 2022 3rd Cloud (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU)
LumiRank Mid-Year 2023 December 19th, 2022 - July 23rd, 2023 2nd Cloud (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU)Byleth (SSBU)Lucina (SSBU) Lucina is only listed on Luminosity Gaming's main Twitter account
LumiRank 2023 December 19th, 2022 - December 17th, 2023 2nd Cloud (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU)Corrin (SSBU)Byleth (SSBU)Lucina (SSBU)
LumiRank 2024.1 December 18th, 2023 - July 15th, 2024 9th Cloud (SSBU)Corrin (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU) Pyra/Mythra were only listed on the full top 50 graphic.

OrionRank Ultimate[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse April 2020-December 19th, 2021 2nd PyraMythra (SSBU)Cloud (SSBU)
OrionRank Mid-Year 2022 December 22nd, 2021-June 26th, 2022 2nd Cloud (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU)Byleth (SSBU)
OrionRank 2022 December 22nd, 2021-December 18th, 2022 3rd Cloud (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU)Byleth (SSBU)

Wi-Fi Warrior Rank[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v3Online December 26th, 2018-June 28th, 2019 2nd Cloud (SSBU)Zero Suit Samus (SSBU)Wolf (SSBU) X-Factor: 0
Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v4Online July 6th-December 31st, 2019 15th Cloud (SSBU)Pokémon Trainer (SSBU)Inkling (SSBU)
Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5Online January 11th-June 29th, 2020 4th Cloud (SSBU)Zero Suit Samus (SSBU) X-Factor: -5
Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v6Online July 5th-December 27th, 2020 1st Cloud (SSBU)Inkling (SSBU)Sephiroth (SSBU)
Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7Online January 2nd-June 30th, 2021 1st Cloud (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU)Hero (SSBU) X-Factor: 0
Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v8Online January 1st - June 30th, 2024 2nd Cloud (SSBU)Corrin (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU)Piranha Plant (SSBU)Mr. Game & Watch (SSBU)

Panda Global Online Leaderboard[edit]

Ranking Rank Character(s) Notes
March 2021Online 8th Cloud (SSBU)Roy (SSBU)
May 2021Online 3rd Cloud (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU)

OrionRank North America[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
OrionRank North America Top 200 January 2019-March 2020 51st Cloud (SSBU)
OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse North America June 2020-December 19th, 2021 2nd PyraMythra (SSBU)Cloud (SSBU)
OrionRank 2022 North America December 22nd, 2021-December 18th, 2022 2nd Cloud (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU)Byleth (SSBU)

LumiRank North America[edit]

Ranking Time period Rank Character(s) Notes
LumiRank 2023 North America December 19th, 2022-December 17th, 2023 1st Cloud (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU)Corrin (SSBU)Byleth (SSBU)Lucina (SSBU)

Mexican Power Rankings[edit]

Ranking Rank Character(s) Notes
2019 11th Cloud (SSBU)
2020/2021 2nd PyraMythra (SSBU)Cloud (SSBU)
January-June 2022 2nd Cloud (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU)Byleth (SSBU)
July-December 2023 1st Cloud (SSBU)
January-June 2024 1st Cloud (SSBU)

SoCal Ultimate Power Rankings[edit]

Ranking Rank Character(s) Notes
July 2019 2nd Cloud (SSBU)

Tijuana Power Rankings[edit]

Ranking Rank Character(s) Notes
April-June 2019 1st Cloud (SSBU)Wolf (SSBU)Zero Suit Samus (SSBU)
December 2020-June 2021 1st Cloud (SSBU)
July-December 2021 1st PyraMythra (SSBU)
January-July 2022 1st Cloud (SSBU)
January-April 2023 0th Cloud (SSBU)PyraMythra (SSBU)

Tournament placings[edit]

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]

Tournament Date 1v1 placement 2v2 placement Partner
XTR League S2 #4 July 31st, 2016 33rd
XTR League #5 August 28th, 2016 17th
XTR League #6 September 25th, 2016 7th 9th Amezcua
XTR League Season 3 #1 January 15th, 2017 9th
XTR League Season 3 #2 January 29th, 2017 9th 7th Bryan
XTR League Season 3 #3 February 12th, 2017 17th 5th Bryan
XTR League Season 3 #4 March 19th, 2017 2nd
XTR League Season 3 #5 April 2nd, 2017 9th
XTR League Season 3 #6 April 16th, 2017 7th 3rd Bryan
Abary July 8th, 2017 9th 7th Bryan
XTR League S3 October 15th, 2017 5th 3rd OPY
XTR Landa Saga October 29th, 2017 4th 2nd Bryan
XTR League Season 3 #11 December 31st, 2017 5th 3rd Bryan
XTR League Season 4 #1 January 14th, 2018 1st 3rd Bryan
XTR League Season 4 #2 January 28th, 2018 4th 9th OPY
XTR League Season 4 #4 February 11th, 2018 3rd 3rd Bryan
XTR League Season 4 #5 March 11th, 2018 1st 5th Bryan
XTR League Season 4 #6 March 25th, 2018 1st 1st Bryan
XTR League Season 4 #7 April 8th, 2018 4th 1st Bryan
XTR League Season 4 #8 April 29th, 2018 1st 3rd Bryan
XTR League Season 4 #9 May 13th, 2018 9th 3rd Bryan
XTR League Season 4 #10 May 27th, 2018 1st 2nd Bryan
Sparg0 SagaOnline August 4th, 2018 1st
XTR Tournaments 16/09/18 September 16th, 2018 2nd 1st Bryan
XTR League Award October 14th, 2018 1st
Super Smash Con: Fall Fest October 15th-17th, 2021 4th

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

Tournament Date 1v1 placement 2v2 placement Partner Earnings
Smashing Legends Ultimate Christmas SpecialOnline December 26th, 2018 1st $125
Ultimate Naifu Wars 2Online January 4th, 2019 1st $50
Weds Night Fights x Orange County 2019 Off-season 4.10 January 23rd, 2019 4th
Ultimate Naifu Wars 3Online January 25th, 2019 17th
GENESIS 6 February 1st-3rd, 2019 49th 49th Flowerz
ECLIPSE: Ultimate EditionOnline February 9th, 2019 3rd $15
Ultimate Naifu Wars 4Online February 15th, 2019 49th
JMSF 2Online March 1st, 2019 9th
XTR Ultimate Tournaments #3 March 3rd, 2019 1st 2nd twerkmastr
ECLIPSE: Pokémon EditionOnline March 16th, 2019 3rd
XTR Ultimate Tournaments #4 March 17th, 2019 1st 1st WokerX
Ultimate Naifu Wars: Trek to Prime SagaOnline March 23rd, 2019 13th
2GG: Prime Saga April 13th-14th, 2019 25th
Ultimate Naifu Wars: Sandy Road to CEO 2019 1Online April 26th, 2019 1st $50
Ultimate Naifu Wars: Sandy Road to CEO 2019 2Online May 3rd, 2019 9th
Ultimate Naifu Wars: Sandy Road to CEO 2019 3Online May 10th, 2019 2nd $25
Japonawa 2019 May 18th, 2019 1st
XTR Ultimate Tournaments #6 May 26th, 2019 1st 1st Bryan
Revival of Smash Station 4 (Ultimate)Online June 2nd, 2019 13th
Sync or Swim #26 June 6th, 2019 1st
Weds Night Fights x Orange County Spring 2019 2.6 June 12th, 2019 4th / 256 $1,000
CEO 2019 June 28th-30th, 2019 17th
Smash Factor 8 July 26th-28th, 2019 17th 9th Bryan
EVO 2019 August 2nd-4th, 2019 33rd
XTR Make Me Hungry August 18th, 2019 1st 1st Bryan
2GG: SwitchFest 2019 August 31st-September 1st, 2019 25th 5th Chag
Smashing Legends 2 Year AnniversaryOnline September 14th, 2019 25th
XTR Ultimate Tournaments #8 September 15th, 2019 1st 1st Bryan
Smash Legends 3: The FinaleOnline October 5th, 2019 1st $100
2GG: Nightmare on Smashville October 20th, 2019 25th
Delfino Maza 2 November 2nd-3rd, 2019 2nd 2nd Chag
XTR Ultimate Tournaments #13 November 24th, 2019 1st 1st ΩRugal
BIT MASTER MTY 8 November 29th-30th, 2019 4th 5th Lavi
2GG: Kongo Saga December 7th-8th, 2019 49th
Relaxing StationOnline December 14th, 2019 5th
Let's Make Big Moves January 3rd-5th, 2020 33rd 13th Diabeo
Lag Spike: Ultimate New YearOnline January 11th-12th, 2020 3rd $150
Smash Fest to the Sky January 18th-19th, 2020 2nd 2nd Chag
GENESIS 7 January 24th-26th, 2020 49th 9th king_chris
Spot Dodge Thursdays #4 January 30th, 2020 1st
Get in the Game! 2020 February 1st, 2020 1st 3rd ΩRugal $454
Smash Vertex February 6th-9th, 2020 5th 2nd Chag
Every Joe For HimselfOnline February 15th-16th, 2020 1st $500
XTR Ultimate League B.C. #2 February 22nd, 2020 1st 1st ΩRugal
Soaked Series InvitationalOnline February 29th-March 1st, 2020 17th
Spot Dodge Thursdays #9 March 5th, 2020 1st
Lag Spike: Mafia MadnessOnline March 7th, 2020 1st $500
UR2SLOW'S LEAP YEAR TOURNAMENT!Online March 7th, 2020 2nd
XTR Ultimate League B.C. # 4 March 8th, 2020 1st
WNF2020 x Orange County Episode 10 March 11th, 2020 1st
XTR Ultimate League B.C. # 5 March 15th, 2020 1st 1st ΩRugal
Mazer Gaming SmashOnline March 22nd, 2020 1st
Ultimate Naifu Wars 8Online March 27th, 2020 7th
The Quarantine Series Opening InvitationalOnline March 29th, 2020 9th $100
bunker down (3)Online April 4th, 2020 2nd
bunker down (4)Online April 12th, 2020 49th
Ultimate Naifu Wars 9Online April 17th, 2020 1st
The Quarantine Series: Minor Tournament 1Online April 18th-19th, 2020 2nd
Pound OnlineOnline April 24th-26th, 2020 9th
The Quarantine Series: Major Tournament 1Online May 2nd, 2020 5th
The Prodigy InvitationalOnline May 3rd, 2020 1st $500
The BoxOnline May 8th-10th, 2020 49th
Mazer Gaming Gives BackOnline May 15th, 2020 9th
King of WiFi Random CharactersOnline May 30th, 2020 9th
Domics' Atomic ArenaOnline June 19th-21st, 2020 1st
The Top Low TierOnline June 20th, 2020 9th
The Box: Lunch Box 2Online July 29th, 2020 4th $100
Flat Realm 7Online July 31st, 2020 2nd $125
Super Smash GalaxyOnline August 1st-2nd, 2020 2nd $100
Juice Box #8Online August 5th, 2020 65th (DQ)
Epic_TournamentOnline August 7th-8th, 2020 1st
The Cosmic KerfuffleOnline August 8th, 2020 2nd $200
Lockhart SeriesOnline August 9th, 2020 1st $400
Zinc Tank 3Online August 16th, 2020 1st
Weedking Presents: The Money in the Bank Ladder MatchOnline August 19th, 2020 1st $1,000
Frame Perfect Series: ONLINEOnline August 22nd, 2020 9th
Blink Esports BattlegroundOnline August 23rd, 2020 1st
Flat Realm 8Online August 28th, 2020 1st
M-Kolosseum 2Online September 5th, 2020 5th
GOML North American Open: MexicoOnline September 5th-6th, 2020 1st
Frame Perfect Series 2: ONLINEOnline September 18th, 2020 9th
Maister's RNG InvitationalOnline September 25th, 2020 1st
Mashfest 2Online September 26th, 2020 1st $450
US ARMY ESPORTS TOURNAMENTOnline September 26th-27th, 2020 1st $2,200
Galaxy Gambit 2Online October 8th, 2020 2nd
Smash Revolution Sessions 00 October 9th-31st, 2020 1st 1st ΩRugal
The Box: El Jugo BoxOnline October 10th, 2020 1st
Juice Box 18Online November 4th, 2020 17th
GOML North American Open: FinaleOnline November 7th, 2020 7th
Frame Perfect Series 3: ONLINEOnline November 8th, 2020 13th
Ultimate 32Online November 14th-15th, 2020 4th $800
Galaxy Gambit 3Online November 19th, 2020 1st
Blink Esports Battleground 4Online November 21st, 2020 1st
M-Kolosseum 4Online November 21st, 2020 1st
Mount Phenom ZeroOnline November 28th-29th, 2020 1st
Jingle JairsOnline December 5th, 2020 5th
Blink Esports Battleground Grand FinalOnline December 12th, 2020 1st $3,000
The Box: Lunch Box 7Online December 23rd, 2020 9th
The Sephiroth GimvitationalOnline January 2nd-3rd, 2021 1st
Frame Perfect Series 4: ONLINEOnline January 17th, 2021 1st
Smash the Router 4Online January 23rd, 2021 17th
The Box: Lunch Box 8Online January 27th, 2021 1st
The Host Up InvitationalOnline January 30th, 2021 17th
The Box: Juice Box #28Online February 10th, 2021 1st $100
The AirlockOnline February 13th, 2021 5th $300
Juice Box #29Online February 17th, 2021 2nd $35
Mazer Gaming Gives Back 2Online February 21st, 2021 1st $400
The Box: Lunch Box 9Online February 24th, 2021 2nd
Cure Rare Disease Charity InvitationalOnline February 27th-28th, 2021 1st $400
Juice Box #30Online March 3rd, 2021 1st $100
Juice Box #31Online March 10th, 2021 1st $100
SWT: Mexico Ultimate Online QualifierOnline March 13th-14th, 2021 1st
Zinc Tank 4Online March 21st, 2021 1st / 306 $395
Lockhart Series 2Online April 11th, 2021 17th
Beyond the SpectrumOnline April 17th, 2021 25th
Content Events at Esports Stadium Temecula #1 April 18th, 2021 1st
The Box: Juicebox+Online April 21st, 2021 1st $300
Proving Grounds InvitationalOnline April 22nd, 2021 2nd
Collision Online 2021Online April 24th, 2021 1st $200
The Box: Lunchbox+Online April 28th, 2021 1st
The Airlock: Charity Smash TourneyOnline May 15th, 2021 4th $400
The Box: Lunch Box 11Online May 26th, 2021 1st
Pandemic Anniversary Series: FinaleOnline May 29th, 2021 2nd $200
Maruchan Gaming SeriesOnline May 28th-June 13th, 2021 2nd
Get On My Line 2021 North AmericaOnline June 26th-27th, 2021 1st
Smash Alzheimer'sOnline June 24th-25th, 2021 2nd $500
The Box: Lunch Box 12Online June 30th, 2021 1st
Frame Perfect Series 6: ONLINEOnline July 4th, 2021 1st
Mega Smash Mondays 233 July 5th, 2021 1st
Abierto Puerto Vallarta July 10th-11th, 2021 2nd
Cherry's Glasmine 001 July 31st, 2021 1st
Mega Smash Mondays 238 August 9th, 2021 1st
XTR Ultimate League 2021 - 7 August 14th, 2021 1st 3rd Lavi
SWT: Central America Ultimate Regional Finals August 21st-22nd, 2021 6th $200
Smash Ultimate Summit 3 August 26th-29th, 2021 3rd $19,095.72
Riptide September 10th-12th, 2021 3rd 2nd Epic_Gabriel
XTR Ultimate League 2021 - 10 September 25th, 2021 1st 1st ΩRugal
Super Smash Con: Fall Fest October 15th-17th, 2021 2nd $1,922
The Box: Lunch Box 16Online October 27th, 2021 2nd
Port Priority 6 October 30th-31st, 2021 2nd 7th Chag
Mainstage 2021 November 12th-14th, 2021 2nd 3rd Chag
Tam Invitational 2021 November 19th-21st, 2021 1st 1st Chag
Smash World Tour 2021 Championships December 17th-19th, 2021 3rd $8,000
The Box: Lunch Box 18Online January 26th, 2022 2nd
Abierto Ciudad Victoria February 19th-20th, 2022 1st $591
The Box: Lunch Box 19Online February 23rd, 2022 1st
Smash Ultimate Summit 4 March 3rd-6th, 2022 1st $47,337
G4 Smash Ultimate Invitational March 7th, 2022 1st
Collision 2022 March 12th-13th, 2022 1st 2nd Chag $4,494
Delfino Maza RETA 2022 April 1st-3rd, 2022 2nd
Tijuana At War 2022 April 8th-10th, 2022 1st
GENESIS 8 April 15th-17th, 2022 3rd 1st Chag
Low Tide City 2022 April 29th-May 1st, 2022 1st
Relax & Smash at GeekFest Cancún June 3rd-5th, 2022 2nd 2nd Flowerz
The Gimvitational June 16th-19th, 2022 7th
Smash Ultimate Summit 5 September 15th-18th, 2022 7th
Ludwig Smash Invitational October 21st-23rd, 2022 4th $4,200
Mainstage 2022 December 2nd-4th, 2022 1st 7th Chag
Scuffed World Tour December 18th, 2022 1st
Let's Make Big Moves 2023 January 6th-8th, 2023 2nd 1st Chag $2,322
GENESIS 9 January 20th-22nd, 2023 5th 1st Chag $1,446.75
Collision 2023 March 10th-12th, 2023 3rd 2nd Chag $1,125
Smash Ultimate Summit 6 March 23rd-26th, 2023 13th $1,459
MAJOR UPSET April 1st-2nd, 2023 1st
RankUp! 4 2023 April 30th, 2023 1st 5th Karmita_
Kagaribi 10 May 6th-7th, 2023 1st
Battle of BC 5 May 19th-21st, 2023 1st 7th Chag $3,912
Smash Revolution 2023 May 27th-28th, 2023 1st 2nd ΩRugal
Crown the Third June 3rd-4th, 2023 9th / 418 1st / 99 Chag
Get On My Level 2023 July 21st-23rd, 2023 2nd / 877 $1,329
Smash Factor X July 28th-30th, 2023 1st / 702 5th / 108 ΩRugal
Super Smash Con 2023 August 10th-13th, 2023 49th / 2,607
Delfino Maza 2023 August 18th-20th, 2023 1st / 347 2nd / 208 Chag
Rankings 2 2023 August 27th, 2023 1st / 68
Tera September 1st-3rd, 2023 3rd / 1,348
FANCON @ SMASHxHEAVEN September 16th-17th, 2023 1st / 73 $50
ReWired Fest 2023 October 6th-7th, 2023 4th / 352 $1,500
Smash Legends 4 October 13th-15th, 2023 1st / 268 7th / 40 Karmita_
Luminosity Makes Moves Miami 2023 October 27th-29th, 2023 1st / 387
EL DOJO MASTERS 2 November 4th, 2023 1st / 24 ???
Port Priority 8 November 11th-12th, 2023 17th / 710
Watch The Throne December 8th-10th, 2023 1st / 16
The Coinbox IRL December 17th, 2023 2nd / 16 $1,500
Luminosity Makes BIG Moves 2024 January 5th-7th, 2024 3rd / 891 1st / 130 Skyjay
EL DOJO MASTERS 3 January 20th, 2024 1st / 40
GENESIS X February 16th-18th, 2024 3rd / 1,506 2nd / 302 Skyjay
Dōjo #106 February 23rd, 2024 2nd / 93
King Con February 24th-25th, 2024 2nd / 840 1st / 128 Skyjay €1,176
Bonito Harbor March 9th-10th, 2024 1st / 211 1st / 62 Chag ???
Collision 2024 March 15th-17th, 2024 1st / 714 1st / 108 Chag ???
Best of the West II: Misfire March 23rd-24th, 2024 1st / 170 ???
Battle of BC 6 March 29th-31st, 2024 2nd / 494 3rd / 98 Chag ???
EL DOJO MASTERS 5 April 13th, 2024 1st / 60 ???
PSKSHOWDOWN 7 April 20th-21st, 2024 5th / 137 ???
DELTA 8 May 3rd, 2024 13th / 516
Kagaribi 12 Day0 pre-local May 4th, 2024 1st / 110
Kagaribi 12 May 5th-6th, 2024 33rd / 2,030
Warlock x Hex: Un Nuevo Amanecer May 18th, 2024 1st / 50
EL DOJO MASTERS 6 May 25th-26th, 2024 1st / 42 ???
EL DOJO GRINDERS 1 June 15th, 2024 1st / 16 ???
Pre S Factor 11 July 11th-12th, 2024 1st / 87 ΩRugal
S Factor 11 July 13th-14th, 2024 5th / 816 ???
Kowloon 12 with Kagaribi July 27th-28th, 2024 3rd / 1,428
Supernova 2024 August 8th-11th, 2024 1st / 2,281 1st / 497 Chag ???
Hex of Sorcerer The Last Secret August 17th-18th, 2024 1st / 38 ???
EL DOJO MASTERS 9 August 24th, 2024 1st / 61 ???
Beer & Smash August 31st, 2024 1st / 32 ???
Riptide 2024 September 6th-8th, 2024 1st / 1,024 $6,144
EL DOJO MASTERS 9.5 September 21st, 2024 1st / 40 ???
Luminosity Invitational 2: Back to School September 27th-29th, 2024 2nd / 16 ???
Litvitational 3 October 18th, 2024 9th / 16
Cirque 4 October 19th-20th, 2024 4th / 145 ???
EL DOJO MASTERS X October 26th-27th, 2024 1st / 44 ???
Buen morro Series 2 October 28th-29th, 2024 1st / 37 ???
PSKSHOWDOWN 08: DÍA DE MUERTOS November 3rd, 2024 1st / 203 1st / 22 ΩRugal ???
The Throne II November 8th-10th, 2024 1st / 16 ???
Don't Park on the Grass 2024 November 16th-17th, 2024 1st / 344 $1,290
LACS Rivals November 23rd-24th, 2024 4th / 8 ???
Warlock's Secret Village November 30th, 2024 2nd / 88

Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]

Tournament Date 1v1 placement 2v2 placement Partner
Frame Perfect Series 4: ONLINEOnline January 16th, 2021 33rd
I Dair You!Online January 18th-24th, 2021 65th
LEVO #12 | SCL QualifierOnline April 10th, 2021 49th
Smash Ultimate Summit 5 September 15th-18th, 2022 1st
Coinbox #50Online February 22nd, 2023 49th

Trivia[edit]

  • Sparg0 is the only player ranked on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5 to move upwards in placement.
  • Sparg0 is known for listening to K-Pop music during his sets, which has led to jokes from commentators that he will "swap songs" in between games to give him an advantage.
    • Twice is his favorite K-Pop music group, as evident by his "4jeongyeon" tag during 2022 and first half of 2023.
  • Sparg0 placed in Top 8 of every offline Ultimate tournament he entered after GENESIS 7 in January 2020 until Smash Ultimate Summit 6 in March 2023.
  • Sparg0 is well known for being one of the players with the best records against Japan's top level, having winning records on acola (7-2), Miya (5-2), Shuton (5-2), zackray (2-1) and Asimo (6-0).
    • He is also the only North American player to win an Ultimate Japanese supermajor, winning Kagaribi 10, and is one of the few non-Japanese players to place top 8 at multiple Japanese supermajors, alongside Riddles.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Gameplay videos[edit]

Super Smash Bros Ultimate[edit]