Since Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has only just released as of last month, we haven't had much time to see it in action in the esports space, although Redditor BarnardsLoop has revealed a report they compiled based on 88 selected events featuring the game, showing what characters were best based on a number of factors, with Wolf standing out at the top of the list.
That was including all events, but when it comes to the 'super-regional' or national events, the top three placements were achieved by Pichu, Fox, and Snake.
"Fox is probably the biggest surprise, sitting at #6 on All and #1 on National, winning multiple notable events. NYXL, a Tristate event, was listed as category 2 in my system (imo a mistake in hindsight), so it should be noted that Fox arguably has the most noteworthy Top 3 placements of any character so far with Light having won that event," the post reads.
"This isn't as surprising as one might think - despite nerfs from 4, Fox was arguably top 5 in Sm4sh, and every character above him (Sheik, Diddy Kong, Cloud, Bayonetta) very clearly received a large quantity of nerfs. If Fox's nerfs were less impactful than the nerfs applied to his superiors and several of his arguable juniors (see ZSS, Rosalina, etc.) it makes sense he would be among the best outside of newcomers/returnees or heavily buffed mid/low tiers from 4."
While some characters have stood out, BarnardsLoop concludes that all characters seem viable right now and that this is very early data, although for a more detailed breakdown you can check out the Reddit link above. That said, balance seems to be pretty good so far, so we hope that can continue so Ultimate fans can have a varied competitive scene.
What characters do you use?