Hungrybox unveils MatchBox, an open Smash Ultimate ladder

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fans have always decried the game’s unorganized ranked matchmaking, but a new ladder called MatchBox developed by SmashPros and Juan “Hungrybox” DeBiedma seeks to fix it. The new leaderboard seeks to manually match high-level players against each other, and the system is free for anyone to join. Here are details on the new Smash Ultimate ranked ladder and how to join the race for the top.

The new system was officially revealed by Hungrybox on Jan. 12, 2023, through his official social media channels. The ladder, simply titled MatchBox, aims to provide a better training environment than the game’s built-in matchmaking. Smash Ultimate doesn’t take rank into consideration past Elite Smash, so there’s no way for actual top players to consistently match into each other. 

MatchBox pairs players up through Discord based on an internal ranking system. The service then places players on a leaderboard based on their record, which will be factored into the matchmaking system. MatchBox has only been out for a few hours, but the top spot currently belongs to Mr. Game and Watch phenom Monte followed by Lammers44 and Hareta.

To join MatchBox and start grinding the ranked ladder, head to the official Smashbox website and connect your Discord account. 

This should automatically whitelist you for matchmaking. After that, head back to the MatchBox website and select ranked or unranked. Hit Find Match and wait in the queue for a matchup with a player at approximately your skill level. It may take some time for the leaderboard system to provide a good experience for new players. However, playing the ranked ladder now is a great opportunity to test your skills with the most famous names in Smash Ultimate.

Note that the service is still very new. The website is currently running very slowly as hundreds of players attempt to join. Be patient and give the Smash Pros team some time to iron out the logistics before spamming join or reaching out to the server owners.

MatchBox is inspired by SmashMate, a similar service in Japan that top players use to coordinate practice sessions.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest updates on all things Super Smash Bros.