Character No Speculation Singles Tier List

[Hardy]

I'm starting this thread so we can have a more reliable tier list, focused on things we have seen or at the very least have been said in the manga/fanbooks, leaving little room for speculation and doubts. Players we haven't seen play (or barely) are naturally not listed.

Spoiler: U-17 Singles Revised (In Progress)

Alphabetical order within individual tiers.

S Tier (Top of the World)

Byoudouin
Volk

A+ Tier
Echizen Ryoga
QP
Oni

A Tier (High Pro Level)

Atobe
Amadeus
Bismarck
Fernandez
Rhinehart
Tanegashima
Tezuka
Tokugawa
Watanabe
Zeus

B Tier (TnK Rally+)

Akutsu
Echizen Ryoma
Fuji
Irie
Yukimura

C Tier (TnK Rally)
Chardard
Delon
Dorgias
Sanada
Shiraishi
Siegfried
Toyama

D Tier
Hakamada
Krauser
Momoshiro
Nakagauchi
Oshitari Y.
Sengoku
Yamato

Spoiler: Prefecturals - Tokyo - Kanto - Nationals

Prefectural Tournament
(Chapters 1 - 40)

High

Echizen Ryoma

Mid

Ibu Shinji
Inui Sadaharu
Kaidoh Kaoru
Kamio Akira

Low

Arai Masashi
Sasabe


Tokyo Tournament
(Chapters 41 - 109)

High

Akutsu Jin
Echizen Ryoma
Fuji Shuuske

Mid

Momoshiro Takeshi
Sengoku Kiyosumi

Low

Fuji Yuuta
Mizuki Hajime


Kanto Tournament
(Chapters 110 - 236)

High

Echizen Ryoma
Sanada Gen'ichirou

Upper Mid

Atobe Keigo
Fuji Shuusuke
Inui Sadaharu
Kirihara Akaya
Tezuka Kunimitsu
Yanagi Renji

Lower Mid

Akutagawa Jiro
Aoi Kentarou
Hiyoshi Wakashi
Kamio Akira
Kaidoh Kaoru
Kiraku Yasuyuki
Sengoku Kiyosumi

Low

Kawamura Takashi


National Tournament
(Chapters 237-379)

S Tier

Echizen Ryoma

A Tier

Yukimura Seiichi

B Tier

Fuji Shuusuke
Sanada Gen'ichirou
Tezuka Kunimitsu
Tooyama Kintarou

C Tier

Atobe Keigo
Chitose Senri
Kirihara Akaya
Kite Eishirou
Niou Masaharu
Shiraishi Kuranosuke
Tachibana Kippei

D Tier

Ishida Gin
Liliadent Krauser
Momoshiro Takeshi
Oshitari Yuushi

E Tier

Chinen Hiroshi
Kai Yuujirou
Kikumaru Eiji
Tanishi Kei

F Tier

Aoi Kentarou
Kawamura Takashi
Saeki Kojirou

Only characters that had at least one onscreen match (or currently have one) IN SINGLES (or a close equivalent) are to be ranked.

Concerning the Tier Lists for Prefecturals, Tokyo, Kanto and Nationals, the above criteria apply to the given time frame.

 

[ShadowHeart]

That will be quite hard. A reminder that Volk actually beat the current #1 player in the world.

Byo ain't stronger than Volk though. Yeah sure Byo won that match but that doesn't mean he's stronger Volk.

 

[Hoid4President]

Byo ain't stronger than Volk though. Yeah sure Byo won that match but that doesn't mean he's stronger Volk.

Byo is not stronger thank Volk, but beat Volk...

 

[ShadowHeart]

Byo is not stronger thank Volk, but beat Volk...

Yeah and Atobe beat Tezuka but he wasn't stronger than him. Same goes for Ryoma and Sanada in Kanto. Ochi/Mouri beat Juilo/Silva yet we know the Spanish pair are stronger.

 

[-Ken-]

Yeah and Atobe beat Tezuka but he wasn't stronger than him. Same goes for Ryoma and Sanada in Kanto. Ochi/Mouri beat Juilo/Silva yet we know the Spanish pair are stronger.

No in all of those cases. They're on par and the results will be unknown if they play again, but the losing player isn't stronger than the winning player.

The only sole exception might be Taka vs Gin because Taka shot is a fluke shot.

 

[ShadowHeart]

No in all of those cases. They're on par and the results will be unknown if they play again, but the losing player isn't stronger than the winning player.

The only sole exception might be Taka vs Gin because Taka shot is a fluke shot.

Nope if Sanada used his Lighting he would 6-0 Ryoma. I mean Tezuka pushed Atobe even with his arm completely fucked. Guy couldn't even use Zero Shiki serve at the end of the match which is the reason Atobe won.

 

[-Ken-]

Nope if Sanada used his Lighting he would 6-0 Ryoma. I mean Tezuka pushed Atobe even with his arm completely fucked. Guy couldn't even use Zero Shiki serve at the end of the match which is the reason Atobe won.

Sanada sealed his Rai so irrelevant. It doesn't matter. Even if Sanada play Echizen 10 trillion times more after that he still wouldn't use Rai because he decide to seal it and ignore his responsibility as a team leader and his promise to Yukimura who is his best friend because sealing it until he face Tezuka so Tezuka has less prep time for it is more important to Sanada (Which turns out to be very helpful because Tezuka pull out Tezuka Phantom with very limited prep time to counter it).

Tezuka move injured his arm is a drawback of using his move. It doesn't make him stronger even if he lose. Now Tezuka IS stronger because he can ignore those drawback.

But Echizen is a little stronger than Sanada without Rai and Kantou! Tezuka is a little weaker than Kantou! Atobe. It simply doesn't matter. They're pretty much on par.

Byoudonin wouldn't get 6-0 6-0 by Volk if they play again. And as long as Byoudonin is at least somewhat close to Volk WHO BEAT #1 player, Tokugawa needs to be in that tier as well. Surpassing that tier will be extremely difficult.

The only 2 players I would give that benefit of doubt to is Nanjirou and Bundro. That's it.

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 9, 2025, Original Post Date: Jul 9, 2025 ---

By using your logic, you can even say that Echizen is better than Tokugawa because he lose when PoP timer run out. And just find excuses for every single matches in the series.

 

[mathematicianrcg]

Guys, we are off topic a bit. Lmao

Going back,

I think Tokugawa really beats Tane, Duke, and even Oni now.

Byodouin is a lot stronger than the other G5. But Toku might close the gap after his match with Medanore.

Also, we don't know who is stronger: Volk or Medanore. (Medanore was Injured, but states that he could have surpassed Volknlong ago if not for injuries)

So, is Medanore stronger than Volk now?
Or Volk is still stronger? Or they are on par and equal?

 

[ShadowHeart]

Sanada sealed his Rai so irrelevant. It doesn't matter. Even if Sanada play Echizen 10 trillion times more after that he still wouldn't use Rai because he decide to seal it and ignore his responsibility as a team leader and his promise to Yukimura who is his best friend because sealing it until he face Tezuka so Tezuka has less prep time for it is more important to Sanada (Which turns out to be very helpful because Tezuka pull out Tezuka Phantom with very limited prep time to counter it).

Tezuka move injured his arm is a drawback of using his move. It doesn't make him stronger even if he lose. Now Tezuka IS stronger because he can ignore those drawback.

But Echizen is a little stronger than Sanada without Rai and Kantou! Tezuka is a little weaker than Kantou! Atobe. It simply doesn't matter. They're pretty much on par.

Byoudonin wouldn't get 6-0 6-0 by Volk if they play again. And as long as Byoudonin is at least somewhat close to Volk WHO BEAT #1 player, Tokugawa needs to be in that tier as well. Surpassing that tier will be extremely difficult.

The only 2 players I would give that benefit of doubt to is Nanjirou and Bundro. That's it

Doesn't matter Sanada still had Lighting he didn't develop it after the match. Nope Ryoma winning shot was a once in a lifetime chance that they both acknowledged. So if that shot didn't win the match Sanada wins. That's because Konomi had Tezuka sacrifice his arm for some stupid reason. But if Tezuka decided to not prolong the match Tezuka wins that match. Medanore been hyped to have higher potential than Volk and he's definitely showing it. I mean Ryoga will outshine Volk and Byo feats when we finally see him go all out. Even if what you said about PoP Ryoma being stronger than Tokugawa which is nonsense. The fact Tokugawa is strong enough to outlast Ryoma PoP makes him stronger.

 

[Hoid4President]

Doesn't matter Sanada still had Lighting he didn't develop it after the match. Nope Ryoma winning shot was a once in a lifetime chance that they both acknowledged. So if that shot didn't win the match Sanada wins. That's because Konomi had Tezuka sacrifice his arm for some stupid reason. But if Tezuka decided to not prolong the match Tezuka wins that match. Medanore been hyped to have higher potential than Volk and he's definitely showing it. I mean Ryoga will outshine Volk and Byo feats when we finally see him go all out. Even if what you said about PoP Ryoma being stronger than Tokugawa which is nonsense. The fact Tokugawa is strong enough to outlast Ryoma PoP makes him stronger.

The losing players can't be stronger than the winning players. Hence they lost...

 

[ShadowHeart]

The losing players can't be stronger than the winning players. Hence they lost...

Yes they can it happens in real life all the time. It happened in this manga too Atobe/Niou beat Ochi/Mouri.

 

[Hoid4President]

Yes they can it happens in real life all the time. It happened in this manga too Atobe/Niou beat Ochi/Mouri.

Sounds like a lot of excuses for the losing players. It's okay if they lost, maybe they can win next time...

And Sanada beating Ryoma 6-0?! Impossible...

 

[-Ken-]

Doesn't matter Sanada still had Lighting he didn't develop it after the match. Nope Ryoma winning shot was a once in a lifetime chance that they both acknowledged. So if that shot didn't win the match Sanada wins. That's because Konomi had Tezuka sacrifice his arm for some stupid reason. But if Tezuka decided to not prolong the match Tezuka wins that match. Medanore been hyped to have higher potential than Volk and he's definitely showing it. I mean Ryoga will outshine Volk and Byo feats when we finally see him go all out. Even if what you said about PoP Ryoma being stronger than Tokugawa which is nonsense. The fact Tokugawa is strong enough to outlast Ryoma PoP makes him stronger.

But Atobe being strong enough to outlast Tezuka arm doesn't makes him stronger? Ok. It's just double standard and applying excuses whenever you want at this point.

IT. DOESN'T. MATTER.

Ryoma winning shot is never mention as once in a lifetime. Ryoma even use cool drive later, showing that it is repeatable. You're making stuff up to support your point now. Can you show evidence that Ryoma died and the second time he use cool drive he's on another life?

Your comparison of Atobe and Tokugawa shows everything there is to be show.

 

[ShadowHeart]

Sounds like a lot of excuses for the losing players. It's okay if they lost, maybe they can win next time...

And Sanada beating Ryoma 6-0?! Impossible...

Why not Tezuka 6-0 in there practice match. If Sanada used Lighting in there match Ryoma wouldn't even win a point let alone a game.

 

[Hoid4President]

Why not Tezuka 6-0 in there practice match. If Sanada used Lighting in there match Ryoma wouldn't even win a point let alone a game.

Sanada couldn't use Lightning (Rai) because it was sealed for Tezuka. So Kanto Ryoma is better than Kanto Sanada.

If you use Nationals Sanada (w/.Rai) against Nationals Ryoma (PoP) then he still loses.

 

[ShadowHeart]

But Atobe being strong enough to outlast Tezuka arm doesn't makes him stronger? Ok. It's just double standard and applying excuses whenever you want at this point.

IT. DOESN'T. MATTER.

Ryoma winning shot is never mention as once in a lifetime. Ryoma even use cool drive later, showing that it is repeatable. You're making stuff up to support your point now. Can you show evidence that Ryoma died and the second time he use cool drive he's on another life?

Your comparison of Atobe and Tokugawa shows everything there is to be show.

He wasn't Tezuka purposely drew out that match to test his arm. So totally different situation to Ryoma and Tokugawa match. Not to mention Tokugawa been shown to be far superior to Ryoma throughout the manga. So it doesn't matter if Ryoma could use PoP like Kintaro can. It was you should go back and read end of the match I never said Ryoma died.

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 9, 2025, Original Post Date: Jul 9, 2025 ---

Sanada couldn't use Lightning (Rai) because it was sealed for Tezuka. So Kanto Ryoma is better than Kanto Sanada.

If you use Nationals Sanada (w/.Rai) against Nationals Ryoma (PoP) then he still loses.

Yet Sanada still could use it but chose not to. So like I said Kanto Sanada is far superior to Kanto Ryoma.

 

[Tobi_is_a_Good_Boy]

He wasn't Tezuka purposely drew out that match to test his arm. So totally different situation to Ryoma and Tokugawa match. Not to mention Tokugawa been shown to be far superior to Ryoma throughout the manga. So it doesn't matter if Ryoma could use PoP like Kintaro can. It was you should go back and read end of the match I never said Ryoma died.

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 9, 2025, Original Post Date: Jul 9, 2025 ---

Yet Sanada still could use it but chose not to. So like I said Kanto Sanada is far superior to Kanto Ryoma.

Think Ken got confused. Ryoma never died. Byodouin is the one that died against Amadeus on the mountain top.

Sanada couldn't use Lightning (Rai) because it was sealed for Tezuka. So Kanto Ryoma is better than Kanto Sanada.

If you use Nationals Sanada (w/.Rai) against Nationals Ryoma (PoP) then he still loses.

Kanto Sanada was holding back, so he was stronger than Kanto Ryoma since he never used his full strength. He already had Rai but chose not to use it.

Same thing with Kanto Tezuka, he already had Pinnacle of Mastery already, but couldn't use it due to being injured. So Kanto Tezuka is stronger than Kanto Atobe.

 

[mathematicianrcg]

Sounds like a lot of excuses for the losing players. It's okay if they lost, maybe they can win next time...

And Sanada beating Ryoma 6-0?! Impossible...

nah. It is possible for a stronger player to lose to a slightly weaker player?

Dont you play games in real life?

For example, if you play chess, it is possible that a weaker player can have a fluke win if you blundered even if you will win 9/10 times.

not arguing about pot characters. just the fact that a stronger player can lose to a slightly weaker player.

For ex:

It is mentioned by Konomi himself that Zeus would have beaten tanegashima 99/100 times.

the 1/100 just happened this tournament, does that mean Tanegashima > Zeus back then???

 

[Hoid4President]

nah. It is possible for a stronger player to lose to a slightly weaker player?

Dont you play games in real life?

For example, if you play chess, it is possible that a weaker player can have a fluke win if you blundered even if you will win 9/10 times.

not arguing about pot characters. just the fact that a stronger player can lose to a slightly weaker player.

For ex:

It is mentioned by Konomi himself that Zeus would have beaten tanegashima 99/100 times.

the 1/100 just happened this tournament, does that mean Tanegashima > Zeus back then???

I can see your point and I agree. It is possible that a weaker player/team can beat a better team, happens all the time in sports in real life.

That's a good argument about Zeus. I would say he was the better player too despite losing before Tanageshima got his semi-finals upgrades.

 

[-Ken-]

He wasn't Tezuka purposely drew out that match to test his arm. So totally different situation to Ryoma and Tokugawa match. Not to mention Tokugawa been shown to be far superior to Ryoma throughout the manga. So it doesn't matter if Ryoma could use PoP like Kintaro can. It was you should go back and read end of the match I never said Ryoma died.

Tezuka didn't drew out the match to test his arm. Give source please? Nowhere did it state he do it for that reason AT ALL. He drag it out for the team to give the team a shot which he ultimately fail to win. He wouldn't have be able to win either way.

Or you are telling me that Tezuka throw a game that he is stronger on purpose? Do you even understand Tezuka as a character and his personality? If he can end the game before his arm gave out he would. He couldn't.

You say that "Ryoma winning shot was a once in a lifetime chance" but that chance trigger again and again whenever Ryoma use Cool drive. That's not once in a lifetime unless Ryoma died. It's literally not once in the lifetime if it happen multiple times throughout the series.

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 9, 2025, Original Post Date: Jul 9, 2025 ---

Think Ken got confused. Ryoma never died. Byodouin is the one that died against Amadeus on the mountain top.

Not at all. He say it's once in a lifetime shot for Echizen but Echizen did the cool drive later in the series. It's almost as if he skip reading teh rest of PoT.

Kanto Sanada was holding back, so he was stronger than Kanto Ryoma since he never used his full strength. He already had Rai but chose not to use it.

Same thing with Kanto Tezuka, he already had Pinnacle of Mastery already, but couldn't use it due to being injured. So Kanto Tezuka is stronger than Kanto Atobe.

It doesn't matter if Sanada doesn't decide to use Rai or not. He decide not to use it so that's basically the level of Kantou! Sanada. If you disagree, you don't know Sanada as a character and should reread his match against Tezuka.

Same thing with Tezuka. If he can't use Pinnacle of Hard Work then it doesn't matter if he had it. If Kantou Tezuka before his arm heal play 1 trillion more games against Atobe can he use it in any of the game for even a single point? It's completely irrelevant. He can't access it. Beginning of national Tezuka IS stronger than Kantou! Tezuka because he CAN use pinnacle of hard work. Otherwise they would the the same level.

According to this logic, Kantou! Tezuka is equal to beginning of national Tezuka although he can't use Pinnacle of Hard work and Kantou! Sanada is equal to National! Sanada although he sealed and will not use Rai and In even if he will lose the match and betray his promise to Yukimura and his responsibility as vice captain of Rikkai.

So if those 2 play against their national self, it would be 7-6 close game because they are equal? No.

Volk doesn't hold anything back against Byoudonin so it's a different case anyways. I would agree that Volk has higher chance of winning, but I would disagree by saying Volk is simply stronger. Even if they play again Byoudonin chance of winning isn't 0%.

Whatever Tokugawa shown needs to be stronger be on the level of #1 pro player at the very minimum because Volk beat that level and Byoudonin manage to play a good game against that Volk.

 

[Ganonslayer101]

Tezuka didn't drew out the match to test his arm. Give source please? Nowhere did it state he do it for that reason AT ALL. He drag it out for the team to give the team a shot which he ultimately fail to win. He wouldn't have be able to win either way.

Or you are telling me that Tezuka throw a game that he is stronger on purpose? Do you even understand Tezuka as a character and his personality? If he can end the game before his arm gave out he would. He couldn't.

You say that "Ryoma winning shot was a once in a lifetime chance" but that chance trigger again and again whenever Ryoma use Cool drive. That's not once in a lifetime unless Ryoma died. It's literally not once in the lifetime if it happen multiple times throughout the series.

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 9, 2025, Original Post Date: Jul 9, 2025 ---

Not at all. He say it's once in a lifetime shot for Echizen but Echizen did the cool drive later in the series. It's almost as if he skip reading teh rest of PoT.




It doesn't matter if Sanada doesn't decide to use Rai or not. He decide not to use it so that's basically the level of Kantou! Sanada. If you disagree, you don't know Sanada as a character and should reread his match against Tezuka.

Same thing with Tezuka. If he can't use Pinnacle of Hard Work then it doesn't matter if he had it. If Kantou Tezuka before his arm heal play 1 trillion more games against Atobe can he use it in any of the game for even a single point? It's completely irrelevant. He can't access it. Beginning of national Tezuka IS stronger than Kantou! Tezuka because he CAN use pinnacle of hard work. Otherwise they would the the same level.

According to this logic, Kantou! Tezuka is equal to beginning of national Tezuka although he can't use Pinnacle of Hard work and Kantou! Sanada is equal to National! Sanada although he sealed and will not use Rai and In even if he will lose the match and betray his promise to Yukimura and his responsibility as vice captain of Rikkai.

So if those 2 play against their national self, it would be 7-6 close game because they are equal? No.

Volk doesn't hold anything back against Byoudonin so it's a different case anyways. I would agree that Volk has higher chance of winning, but I would disagree by saying Volk is simply stronger. Even if they play again Byoudonin chance of winning isn't 0%.

Whatever Tokugawa shown needs to be stronger be on the level of #1 pro player at the very minimum because Volk beat that level and Byoudonin manage to play a good game against that Volk.

I think it's important to note that unlike in Sanada vs Ryoma or Atobe/Niou vs Ochi/Mouri, Volk doesn't seal his power in their match. He holds nothing back and lost. And in that Match Byoudin evolved his mental and Kijin. So in any rematch Byoudin doesn't need to sacrifice a game to time loop and has already experienced Infinite Tornado. Volk's counter to perfected eight consciousness was the IT which got beat. So not only are they more equal, but arguably Byoudin has a higher chance to win in any rematch barring any theoretical upgrades.