FanimeCon 2023 – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Singles & Doubles Ruleset

A. Tournament Rules

  1. Tournament Length

    This tournament is double elimination (two total match losses).

  2. Set Length

    All tournament sets will be best-of-three (first-to-two wins), until Top Eight at which point tournament sets will be best-of-five (first-to-three wins). Rules below do not change between these two set formats.

  3. Set Procedure

    1. Players select their characters. Either player may elect to do Double-Blind Character Selection (see section 1.5). This option is only permitted in the first game, and not in any subsequent games.
    2. Starter Stage Striking is used to determine the first stage (see 2.3.1).
    3. The players play the first game of the set.
    4. The winning player will then ban two stages (see 2.3.2). The losing player will pick a stage for the next game, adhering to Stage Clause (see 2.3.3) and bans.
    5. The winning player will announce their character selection for the next game.
    6. The losing player will announce their character selection for the next game.
    7. The next game is played.
    8. Repeat steps four through seven for all subsequent games until the set is complete.

  4. Stage Agreement Clause

    Players may select any LEGAL stage if they both agree on it. Players may not play on illegal stages, or change the length or terms of a set. If this clause is violated, both players will be subject to complete disqualification from the event.

  5. Double-blind Character Selection

    Either player may request a double-blind selection. In this situation, a pool captain, referee, or third party will be told, in secret, of each player’s character choices for the first round. Both players are to then select their first round character, with the designated third party validating that the character selections match the players’ initial choices.

  6. Stage Striking

    Players will play a best-of-one game of Rock Paper Scissors. The winner may choose to either strike first or strike second. Stages must be played in a P1-P2-P2-P1 order.

  7. Pausing and the Home Button

    The pause setting will turned off during game play. However, if it is not, pausing is only legal while either player remains upon their own respawn platform, and only for the purpose of summoning a Tournament Official or in the case of a controller malfunction. All other pauses will incur a stock loss to the player who pauses the game. If the pause causes the opponent to lose their last stock, the pausing player will receive a game loss. This rule also applies to controllers which cause the game to revert to the Switch home screen.

  8. Stalling

    Stalling, or intentionally making the game unplayable, is banned. Stalling will be identified and punished at the discretion of tournament staff. Stalling includes but is not limited to becoming invisible, continuing infinites past 300%, and going to a position where the player’s character cannot be reached by the opposing player. Stalling will result in a forfeit of the game for the player that initiated the action.

  9. Self-Destruct Moves

    If a game ends with a self-destruct move, the results screen will determine the winner. If a sudden death occurs as the result of a self-destruct move, a standard Sudden Death play-off game applies.

  10. Sudden Death

    If a game goes to Sudden Death, the winner is determined by stocks and percentage at the time the game ends. If both players are tied in stocks, the player with the lower percentage is the winner. In the event of a percentage tie or a game in which both players lose their last stock simultaneously, a  one stock tiebreaker will be played with a three minute time limit on the same stage and using the same characters as the tied game. The results of an in-game 300% Sudden Death do not count. If Sudden Death occurs in a Sudden Death game, this process is repeated.

  11. Stock Sharing

    Taking a partner’s stock is allowed in Doubles.

  12. “Grab and Go” Clause

    In Doubles, a player may not switch controllers with their teammate.

  13. Missing Teammate Clause

    If a player’s teammate is not present for a game, the match may not continue until their teammate arrives. They may not play a 2v1 or play with a CPU.

  14. Character Color and Team Color Selection

    If there is a dispute in character colors or team colors (e.g. both players want to use green Fox), the players will play a game of Rock Paper Scissors to determine who gets the color.

  15. Team Color Clause

    When in Doubles play, players may require both teams to choose character costumes that are similar to their team color. Example: 2 ROB players on a red team would use the Red ROB and the ROB with red arms if requested. In the case of a character that doesn’t have a color option (e.g.: there is no blue Fox color), we recommend those teams use a similar color that is available to that character within reason.

  16. Color Request Clause

    Players may request that their opponent change colors to accommodate color blindness or if the color is indistinguishable from the other team’s color or the stage background. The request must be made before the game starts. Example: requesting Cloud to pick green team to be able to distinguish when limit is charged, or having Sonic on blue team to prevent confusion.

  17. Warm-ups

    Warm-up periods, button checks, and “handwarmers” may not exceed 60 seconds on the game clock. Violation of this rule may result in a game loss at the discretion of the Tournament Official.

  18. Counterpicking

    Each player who lost the previous game is given 60 seconds after bans are selected to notify their opponent of their counterpick. If no counterpick is selected in this time frame, a judge will be summoned and the player will receive a game loss.

  19. Tardiness

    Anyone who is not present for their set 10 minutes past the scheduled start time of the round is subject to a total disqualification from the event.

  20. Final Rulings

    If any unforeseen situations occur, judgment of tournament staff is final. Rules may be altered between phases of a tournament in the best interests of the event. (Example: A game-breaking glitch is discovered on a stage mid-tournament that could be exploited. The stage may need to be removed from legal play for the remainder of the event.)

B. Game Rules

  1. Game Settings

    • Stock and time are set to three stock and seven minutes for Singles and Doubles (if applicable)
    • Final Smash Meter: OFF
    • Spirits: OFF
    • Damage Handicap: OFF
    • Stage Selection: Anyone
    • Items: OFF and NONE
    • First to: One Win
    • Stage Morph: OFF
    • Stage Hazards: OFF
    • Team Attack: ON
    • Launch Rate: 1.0x
    • Underdog Boost: OFF
    • Pausing: OFF
    • Score Display: OFF
    • % Show Damage: YES
    • Custom Balance: OFF
    • Echo Fighters: Separate
    • Radar: Big
    • Teammate Highlight: ON
    • Mii Fighters: All moveset combinations are legal

  2. Stage List


    Starter Stages
    • Battlefield
    • Final Destination
    • Town and City
    • Pokémon Stadium 2
    • Smashville
    Counterpick Stages
    • Hollow Bastion
    • Town & City
    • Kalos Pokemon League

The following Omega and Battlefield forms of stages will not be allowed in tournament:

  • Duck Hunt
  • 75m
  • Dream Land GB
  • Flat Zone X
  • Hanenbow
  • Mute City SNES
  • Pac-Land
  • Super Mario Maker

3. Additional Rules

  1. Starter Stage Striking

    See section 1.6 for details on choosing who strikes first. Players may strike from the legal stages (each person strikes stages in a P1-P2-P2-P1 format) to determine the starting stage for the first game. If Final Destination is chosen, either player may require that it be played on the tournament’s accepted alternative form.

  2. Counterpicking – Character Selection

    After each game of the set and before the stage has been selected, the player or team who won the previous game will declare their character(s) for the next game. Once declared, the player or team who lost the previous game will choose their own character(s).

  3. Counterpicking – Stage Banning and Selection

    After each game of the set and after characters have been counterpicked, the player or team who won the previous game may ban three stages from the full stage list. These bans do not persist throughout the set. The player or team who lost the previous game then chooses from the remaining stages.

  4. Stage Clause

    A player or team may not pick a stage they won in the most recent game of the set, assuming it is not banned from stage selection that phase. This ruling is commonly called Modified Dave’s Stupid Rule (MDSR).

  5. Mii Fighter Clause

    Mii Fighters must use their default costumes (though players may select any color for their Mii in accordance with 1.14, 1.15 and 1.16), and must use a Guest Mii. Any player who intends to use a Mii during a set must declare they are creating Mii Fighters before the set. Mii Fighters should be named after the combination of special moves chosen, listed in the format “XXXX.” Any combination of moves may be used, but any movesets that any player may want to use during a set must be created before the set begins (up to a limit of three Mii Fighters, unless explicitly given permission from the Tournament Official).

  6. Control Setup Clause

    No player may create more than three control schemes per set unless explicitly given permission from the Tournament Official.

  7. Patch

    FanimeCon 2023 will use Patch 13.0.1 or whatever patch is currently live at 11:59PM PST on Thursday May 25, 2023.