Introduction
With the conclusion of the Rivals Championship Series (RCS) with its eighth season and the beginning of Rivals of Aether 2's competitive lifespan, we can look back on the scene to crown the players at the summit of Rivals 1. Rivals is split up into seasons, consisting of eight RCS seasons and one shortened ROCS season (during the COVID-19 pandemic) from the period between 2016 and 2024. Every season, the Rivals of Aether team put out a ranking of the top fifty players in the NA region. This ranking was decided based on a panel that looked at player results at officially recognized tournaments. From this data, we are able to observe the players who stood above the rest.
Methodology
This ranking heavily considers the official RCS top fifty rankings provided by Rivals of Aether themselves each season, as well as the events considered by the ranking teams. I scraped both manually, with the rankings coming from the official website and the tournament results coming from start.gg. Offline events are weighted more than online events. Tournament stats may be slightly inaccurate due to lost media, alternate usernames, and other factors. Whether a tournament is considered RCS or community/GRL mostly comes from the start.gg schedule for each RCS season and the introduction pages from the official top fifty rankings. Characters for each player come from their most commonly used characters and characters they were associated with. I favor consistency and peak performances for these rankings. These are, of course, my opinions. Feel free to contact me with any comments or feedback you have. With that out of the way, let's get into it!
NOTE: Due to the European scene (and other regions' scenes) generally being considered weaker than the North American one, this ranking doesn't include players outside the NA scene
Honorable Mentions
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FireIcey/Kaos
The European Rivals of Aether scene, although not as extensive as the North American scene, flourished during the game's lifespan. Two players clearly stood out amongst the rest. Kaos, who dominated the first three seasons playing any character he felt like, and FireIcey, who took up Kaos's number one mantle and held it for the next five seasons with his fearsome green Zetterburn. Both of these players in their primes had seasons where they would win every tournament they entered. Although they mostly stayed in Europe, Kaos is notable for being the only player ever to be ranked on both the NA and EU rankings. The grip that these two titans had on the scene was undeniable, and it's a travesty that the EU and NA regions weren't more interconnected. If they were, these two would surely be in contention for this list.
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Blue
Character(s):
Wrastor
Season Rankings:
N/A, N/A, 11, N/A, 7, N/A, N/A, N/A
Tournament Results:
Total Wins: 4, RCS Wins: 2, Total Top 8s: 9, RCS Top 8s: 5
Greatest Achievement:
1st at Heat Wave 3 2019, 103 entrants, made CakeAssault look silly
Player Profile:
While his stats may not jump out at you, Blue was in contention for the best player in the world at certain points. An Arizona legend, his career started with a bang by placing just outside of the top ten. His magnum opus was his Heat Wave 3 performance, where he faced off against CakeAssault in grand finals. This set was so dominant from Blue that CakeAssault had to bring out the rarely-seen Zetterburn secondary, just for that to get dismantled too. For those in the scene at the time, Blue was one of the top threats to watch out for.
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CheesyPotato
Character(s):
Kragg
Season Rankings:
N/A, N/A, N/A, 36, 9, 9, 8, 4
Tournament Results:
Total Wins: 4, RCS Wins: 0, Total Top 8s: 27, RCS Top 8s: 16
Greatest Achievement:
4th at Genesis X 2024, 223 entrants, wins over Seggo and Penguin
Player Profile:
CheesyPotato is a player who came into her own in the online era. Using that as a springboard, she became one of the most consistent top players, making lots of top 8s despite her shorter time in the scene. Aside from the bracket demon CakeAssault, she could take games off of anyone else in the top ten. Her best performances came at the most stacked majors each season, with good placements at the Genesis series and online RCS majors.
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Seggo
Character(s):
Kragg, Elliana, Shovel Knight, Olympia
Season Rankings:
N/A, 40, N/A, 21, 4, 7, 2, N/A
Tournament Results:
Total Wins: 5, RCS Wins: 2, Total Top 8s: 21, RCS Top 8s: 14
Greatest Achievement:
1st at Heat Wave 5 2022, 100 entrants, was the only thing in the way between CakeAssault and total domination
Player Profile:
The closest player to making it on the list, Seggo is another Cake Rival™. Much like Blue, his most notable tournament result came from beating CakeAssault in grands. However, this tournament was important as it was the seventh RCS major out of nine that season, and CakeAssault had won the last six. Rumblings that CakeAssault would win every RCS major in the season were permeating the community. The only one that could stop him was the number two player in the world, Seggo.
Seggo gave top-level representation to characters rarely seen in competitive Rivals. Seggo's combo game led him to success with Elliana, Shovel Knight, and Olympia. His Olympia in particular helped him unlock a new level, and having to pick between Seggo and DolphinBrick came down to splitting hairs.
The Top Ten
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DolphinBrick
Character(s):
Orcane
Season Rankings:
11, 5, 5, 4, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A
Tournament Results:
Total Wins: 4, RCS Wins: 3, Total Top 8s: 30, RCS Top 8s: 27
Greatest Achievement:
1st at First Impact 2018, 41 entrants, wins over Adi, Penguin, and MSB and his only offline major win
Player Profile:
DolphinBrick was the best Orcane in the world until his retirement, where he passed the torch to Xaro in season 4. In his prime, he was a pillar of early Rivals of Aether, consistently placing well and taking games off the best players of the time, such as Ralph, MSB, and Fullstream. He was remarkably consistent, being a solo Orcane main in an environment where many top players utilized tournament secondaries, and he achieved impressive results despite not traveling for as many tournaments as others.
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Soulrifle211
Character(s):
Maypul
Season Rankings:
N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, 23, 4, 3, 2
Tournament Results:
Total Wins: 4, RCS Wins: 1, Total Top 8s: 17, RCS Top 8s: 11
Greatest Achievement:
1st at Genesis X 2024, 223 entrants, maybe the most impressive tournament win ever
Player Profile:
The popoff GOAT, you would think Soulrifle211 knew how to earthbend with the way he vibrated tournament venues after a win. It was clear to those in the scene that Soulrifle was a prodigy. He's the youngest player on this list, and in the competitive landscape in general. His play and personality radiated energy and intensity, from his oppressive combo game to his fiery antics on stage and online.
He was a key player in the infamous season 8 race for first. Him, Kusi, and CakeAssault traded majors back and forth, leading to the RCS finals at Genesis, where he beat Kusi and stomped CakeAssault in grands to decisively take the final Rivals 1 tournament ever. Along with this major being one of the most stacked majors of all time, this was Soulrifle211's FIRST win at an RCS tournament. Make no mistake, if there were more seasons after season 8, his trajectory would have ensured that he would be much, much higher on this list.
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BioBirb
Character(s):
Wrastor
Season Rankings:
22, 7, 4, 3, 24, 14, N/A, N/A
Tournament Results:
Total Wins: 3, RCS Wins: 2, Total Top 8s: 30, RCS Top 8s: 26
Greatest Achievement:
3rd at Genesis 6 2019, 209 entrants, sent CakeAssault and Blue packing
Player Profile:
Another old school legend of the game, BioBirb, formally known as Windows, is a Wrastor main and community figure. He dabbled in content creation and commentary in the latter half of his Rivals career. Before that, though, he was a top player in his own right. Sporting an iconic hot-pink Wrastor, he was a legitimate rival to CakeAssault and Penguin at his peak. Even when he eventually stepped back to focus on other endeavors, he was still a threat whenever he entered tournaments (see Heat Wave 4). The bronze medal collector made an impact as both a community member and a player, and he deserves his spot at eighth.
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Kusi
Character(s):
Ori and Sein, Wrastor
Season Rankings:
N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, 3, 5, 7, 3
Tournament Results:
Total Wins: 3, RCS Wins: 2, Total Top 8s: 29, RCS Top 8s: 19
Greatest Achievement:
1st at Riptide 2023, 236 entrants, fought off the Avengers (CakeAssault and Soulrifle211)
Player Profile:
Kusi has had similar placements to Xaro, placing top ten in four seasons. However, with one less season of rankings and without the elusive number one title, Kusi just misses out on a higher spot on this list. Much like Soulrifle211, if there were a few more seasons of RCS after season eight, Kusi would be one of the biggest risers. Making his start in the latter half of RCS, he proved to be a top threat very quickly. Mostly utilizing Ori and Sein, he added a Wrastor in the final RCS season. Although his Ori was extremely potent, his Wrastor elevated him, and he found himself in an extremely close race between him, CakeAssault, and Soulrifle211. The ridiculous punish game that Wrastor granted helped him win his first and second RCS majors, propelling him into the top echelon of Rivals players. He continued this meteoric rise by being a dominant force in Rivals 2.
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Xaro
Character(s):
Orcane
Season Rankings:
N/A, N/A, 37, 5, 1, 3, 6, N/A
Tournament Results:
Total Wins: 7, RCS Wins: 3, Total Top 8s: 33, RCS Top 8s: 19
Greatest Achievement:
1st at RCS Earth, 362 entrants, beat rank 2 (Penguin), rank 3 (Kusi), and rank 4 (Seggo) in a seven-set losers run
Player Profile:
The online menace Xaro came into the scene carrying the legacy that DolphinBrick left. As the only other Orcane main on the list, he took the whale dog to new heights, namely a number one finish on the rankings. This achievement came in the midst of the online season, where he would take names and down strong all over the other top players at the time. As one of three players to reach the top of the rankings, he became the player to beat during the pandemic era.
His Orcane was a beauty to behold, especially since Orcane is a rarer character and considered less powerful than the rest of the cast. In his prime, he was the greatest threat to CakeAssault in bracket, netting many wins against him. Had he been more active, he could’ve been near the top of this list. Nevertheless, the king of Orcane rightfully earned his spot at sixth.
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ZeeBee
Character(s):
Kragg, Etalus, Mollo
Season Rankings:
N/A, 23, 8, 7, 6, 6, 4, 7
Tournament Results:
Total Wins: 1, RCS Wins: 0, Total Top 8s: 40, RCS Top 8s: 27
Greatest Achievement:
2nd at Heat Wave 4, 102 entrants, wins off of CakeAssault, BioBirb, and Protagify
Player Profile:
Imagine someone who wants to play optimally all the time. Someone who chooses the same options because they’re safe, easy, and effective. ZeeBee is the antithesis to that philosophy. Watching ZeeBee for an extended period, you’re bound to see a goofy or reckless option here or there. More often than not, you’ll find that it works.
His career has been defined by his steady top-level play. Making the top fifty in seven seasons, he’s been around from the start. Although Kragg is his staple character, he is not afraid to branch out. He’s played Etalus for a while, and he added a Mollo at the tail end of the RCS’s life. His Mollo was especially fun to watch; he would often spam Mollo’s finisher bombs and self-destruct just as often as he would KO the opponent. Despite his silly demeanor, no one can deny his place as one of the greatest.
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MSB
Character(s):
Kragg
Season Rankings:
9, 6, 7, 6, 11, 8, 13, 12
Tournament Results:
Total Wins: 3, RCS Wins: 1, Total Top 8s: 56, RCS Top 8s: 39
Greatest Achievement:
1st at NA RCS Season 3 September Monthly 2018, 136 entrants, his biggest tournament win
Player Profile:
MSB and Penguin have had similar career trajectories. Both have shown remarkable consistency; they’ve been ranked in every single RCS season. CakeAssault is the only other player who has achieved this. Both have had incredible peaks, with Penguin reaching second in the world and MSB reaching sixth. And, most importantly, both have become the embodiment of their character. In MSB’s case, he’s invented an ungodly amount of Kragg tech. Every single Kragg player, whether they know it or not, has performed things that MSB pioneered. No one else has embraced a character more than him, and it’s paid dividends for MSB.
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FullStream
Character(s):
Etalus, Zetterburn
Season Rankings:
1, 1, 2, 19, 27, N/A, N/A, N/A
Tournament Results:
Total Wins: 15, RCS Wins: 14, Total Top 8s: 34, RCS Top 8s: 28
Greatest Achievement:
1st at Genesis 6 2019, 209 entrants, proved he was still that guy in the Cake era
Player Profile:
Before CakeAssault, FullStream was the original face of Rivals. He's the only player who's ever come close to matching Cake's dominance. In the early access of the game, FullStream had to contend with the likes of Ralph and MrLz, who were considered the best players at the time. Once the first RCS season came along, however, FullStream took his place on the throne with a win over both Ralph and MrLz at Genesis 4. He laid the blueprint for the Cake era by winning almost half of the RCS tournaments in the following season. Even though he stepped back from the game, he never lost his potential to be a top player. He placed within the top eight of tournaments as late as season 5, where he would collect his final appearance on the top fifty rankings.
Surprisingly, Rivals of Aether is FullStream's first platform fighter. You wouldn't realize it, as FullStream's Etalus is one of the scariest things to witness in neutral. Although his Etalus was his signature partner, he was unafraid to venture out and try characters like Zetter, Ranno, and even Ori and Sein. Any character he chose, he wielded prodigiously. Even with him focusing less on the game and more on content creation and games like Smash, he's still the third-best player ever. Imagine what could've been had he continued with the pace he had before.
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Penguin
Character(s):
Absa
Season Rankings:
32, 9, 3, 2, 2, 2, 5, 5
Tournament Results:
Total Wins: 13, RCS Wins: 7, Total Top 8s: 59, RCS Top 8s: 45
Greatest Achievement:
1st at Smash N' Splash 2019, 122 entrants, the only one who could stop losers Cake
Player Profile:
Penguin is the paragon of consistency. She’s one of three players who have been ranked on the RCS top fifty for every season that the RCS has been active. Her accolades include exceptional tournament wins, numerous top-eight placings, and a custom skin added to the game. If you were paying attention to competitive Rivals, you knew there was a period where Penguin and CakeAssault were the main grand finals matchup for every major. From an outside perspective, that may sound boring. However, as Cake and Penguin were friends, they got to hone their skills against each other in both friendlies and in brackets. As a result, those tournament sets produced some of the greatest moments in Rivals competitive history. For a specific example, watch Penguin and Cake at Smash ‘N Splash 5, one of the most electrifying sets of Rivals ever played.
As a player, Penguin utilized Absa’s unique movement like no other. The way she danced around platforms with gravity jumps and up-b edge cancels made her slippery and difficult to catch in neutral. Moreover, the way she controlled space with Absa’s cloud made every wrong move by her opponents punishable with death by cloud kick. Arguably, Penguin’s most dominating trait is her adaptations throughout a set. It’s not unusual for her to concede a game before completely steamrolling through the rest of the games. Her competitive spirit and numerous accolades make her an easy lock for number two on the ranking.
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CakeAssault
Character(s):
Forsburn
Season Rankings:
4, 2, 1, 1, 5, 1, 1, 1
Tournament Results:
Total Wins: 37, RCS Wins: 31, Total Top 8s: 64, RCS Top 8s: 58
Greatest Achievement:
1st at Riptide 2021, 245 entrants, beat his biggest rival (his shoulder)
Player Profile:
In many other competitive landscapes, the greatest of all time is disputed. Lebron vs. Michael Jordan in the NBA, Garry Kasparov vs. Magnus Carlsen in chess, Armada vs. mang0 in Super Smash Bros. Melee. However, no Rivals fan is going to have any qualms about having CakeAssault as the king of the competitive Rivals of Aether world.
CakeAssault had an uncanny precognition when it came to Rivals. Every single option that his opponents choose, he's ready for. Oftentimes, it seems like he knows what they're going to do before they do. Once he got the download on an opponent, there was nothing they could do. There's a reason his tag in-game was "OS". He parried more than other top players, leading to brutal guessing games that he seldom lost. He truly left no room for anything less than perfect play from his opponents, and sometimes even that wasn't enough.
Ever since his humble beginnings entering as "Dank Fornasty" in season one tournaments, he's been the one to beat. After being ranked number four in the season-end rankings, he unlocked another level. For the next three seasons, the competition boiled down to "Cake and his rivals" as players aspired to be the one to upset the king.
For all of his amazing qualities, his weakness was online tournaments. CakeAssault looked the most mortal during the online season brought about by the pandemic. During the limited ROCS and season five, he only gained a single tournament win out of the fifteen that occurred, and gained his career-worst fifth place in the rankings that year.
As coronavirus restrictions subsided and tournaments began running in person, CakeAssault grew to his previous untouchable stature. Season six saw him win the three offline events that were held, including a Genesis win against his future enemies, Soulrifle211 and Kusi, foreshadowing the rivalry that was incoming.
The pinnacle of CakeAssault's illustrious career came during season seven. In an unprecedented show of dominance, Cake won EIGHT out of the NINE (!!) RCS tournaments, with the only one able to stop the #CakeSweep being a surging Seggo. The competition picked up in the last season, but Cake fought the aforementioned Soulrifle211 and Kusi to just barely nab his final number one ranking.
It takes a special type of player to place as the best in the world in five out of the eight RCS season rankings, and never even drop below the top five in the rest. He’s won pretty much every prominent offline tournament there is, and then some. There have been fewer than twenty RCS tournament winners, but he's won RCS tournaments under three different usernames. He kept up with the old guard of Ralph, MrLz, and FullStream, battled Penguin and Xaro in the heights of their careers, and fended off Soulrifle211, Seggo and Kusi to end the scene with a bang. He's managed to become the villain and also the protagonist. There's a reason he is mentioned twenty-six times in this article before his actual entry: he IS the competitive scene. Without a shadow of a doubt, CakeAssault is the greatest to ever touch the game.