Top Players who perform better in Singles than Teams, Ranked

The title of this article itself sounds like a contradiction. In Teams, one gets to collaborate with his partner - surely everyone performs better in that format? That’s what I thought too (it also was the premise of an article I wrote earlier), but somehow, these 10 people defy that trend. I’m not certain if it’s for better or worse, but here they are:

4. Brittani Tapley

Just to be transparent, it was a lot harder finding Fandom players for this list than Melee. I don’t attribute this to teamwork in Fandom being easier than Melee, but more because Melee is more random, which causes this phenomenon.

Brittani’s a pretty unique case, because Duel of the Fates are (as of this writing) the current Teams Champions, they are in their second reign having defended the title in both reigns. They are a Top 5 all-time Fandom team without question.

But her in Singles? She is the best player of all time. Ever since the start of 2023 there has been nothing more terrifying than facing Brittani 1v1. At least when playing Duel, you can count on your teammate to help you out. When you play Brittani, there are 2 guarantees: The first being that she 100% knows more than you. The second being that you need a miracle to even make it to the final question. There is nowhere to hide.

3. Thomas Scully

This is a bit like the Brittani situation, because Scully has won both the Teams and Singles titles. He even won the Teams title twice! So I would understand if, on that basis alone, you think he might not be the best fit for this list.

Respectfully, I disagree. He might’ve only won the Singles title once, but he’s made it to countless contender and title matches. He scaled the mountain over and over again and beaten so many people. You get the sense that he was prennenially the #2 best player in the league, at almost any given time, second only to the champion.

His Teams career was good, but didn’t give off that same aura. Mischief Managed fell victim to a R1 tournament upset after their title loss, and broke up. Manhattan Project is a superteam that played well, but I daresay not as well as most would’ve expected them to for 90% of their existence. They did eventually win the coveted title, and that helps, but that doesn’t quite make Manhattan an era-defining team the way Thomas Scully is an era-defining player.

2. Ryan Payne

Ryan is a player that has been around for a long, long time, yet I still find it hard to pin down where his level is. I think his General and Fandom knowledge are both equally formidable, and his positive Singles record in both divisions show that, along with an impressive resume of beating excellent competitors, such as John Maher and Kaleb Koho in Melee, along with Javi Madan and Alex Martinez in Fandom. On his day, I genuinely think Ryan can beat anyone in either division.

The thing with Ryan is that - as knowledgeable as he is, his in-game decisions can be questionable. There have been times when Ryan’s overestimated himself on strengths, been unnecessarily detailed when answering questions. (He’s also not the best at the Fandom betting round, not that I can really call out anyone for it considering how badly I choke there as well). That might also explain why he experiences fewer successes in both Fandom Teams, with Beat the Geeks and Flerken Shit Up, and with his numerous Warzone/Melee teams. After all, with collaboration, there is much less margin for error in Teams. I do honestly believe that as long as he is paired with a partner/manager who can rein in his worst tendencies (ala Sexual Chocolate), he will experience success eventually.

1. Dominic Rizzi

Up until now, the players mentioned, while they might not have experienced great success in Teams, I have vocalized hope that eventually, they can/could have gotten over that hump. I am afraid I cannot say that for Dominic Rizzi, and not just because he’s retired.

Rizzi has been the Fandom Singles champion, and was one the first challengers for the Warzone Singles title. Anyone who’s seen him play knows that he’s blessed with incredible knowledge.

Anyone can also see that his big problem is strategy, or rather the lack of it. He has lost title matches on strategy alone. That problem is amplified a hundredfold in teams: I have watched enough Light It Up and Schizo matches to conclude that these teams are basically exact the same - both consisting of players with all the knowledge in the world, but are also both bad at communication and even worse at strategy.

Rizzi is the slam dunk #1 choice for this list, because he is the only person who, fundamentally, just isn’t made for Teams.