Recruiting Blitzball Players
You can recruit a ton of different players to join your Blitzball team after you’ve completed the events at Luca. Many of these players are stronger than the Besaid Auroch team members that you start the game with, and while you have a limited number of roster slots that you can fill, you can slowly dismiss the terrible players that you have as you find stronger ones.
Free Agents vs. Contracted Players
Many of the best Blitzball players are not available when you first gain the ability to initiate Blitzball tournaments. For that reason, you may want to consider holding off on recruiting players or playing Blitzball tournaments until after you have obtained the Airship. Once you have the Airship, you can fly all across Spira, recruiting and contracting players.
While you can recruit some of the players listed below as soon as you can speak to them (free agents), some of the best Blitzball players are the ones who play for the other teams (the Luca Goers, the Al Bhed Psyches, etc.). The only way to recruit these players is to wait for their current contract to expire and hope that the team they play for does not renew their contract. There is a random chance that the team will let the contract expire, allowing the team member to become a free agent. With no contract in place, you’re free to recruit that player and have them join your team.
One effective strategy that you can use to obtain a player from another team is to track when their contract is about to expire. When they have one game left on their contract, save your game at a Save Sphere, play a Blitzball match, and see if their team neglects to renew their contract. You can speak to them to find out how many games they have left on their contract. Just reset your game and try again if they’re resigned.
Player Stats
You want your forwards to have high Shooting (SH) and Endurance (EN) stats, your midfielder to have a high Passing (PA) and Endurance (EN) stats, your defense to have high Attack (AT) and Block (BL) stats and finally, for your goalkeeper to have a high Block (BL) stat.
There are also a few “hidden stats” of sorts that give some players an advantage. These stats include the RNG (Range) stat, RCH (Reach) stat, and a MOR (Morale) stat, none of which you can see on the stat screen. Most importantly, however, is the SP (Speed) stat, which changes how fast a character can swim through the water. Ronso are extremely slow, whereas Guado are pretty fast. Brother is one of the quickest players, which makes him extremely valuable.
Recruits
The following section contains tips on building an ideal team with specific players. You can win Blitzball tournaments with many different player combinations if you choose. These characters have relatively strong statistics, no matter what level they are, though, and can make playing Blitzball much easier.
Use the descriptions and screenshots below to help you locate each of the players. As mentioned above, you may need to wait for some of them to come off contract before you can hire them onto your team. Be prepared to snag them if their team doesn’t renew them.
The players are listed in order, starting from the strongest and most suitable for each position. You can substitute the player at the top of each position list with others listed, depending on each character’s availability. More critical than stats, though, is to go into Blitzball tournaments with proper strategies for winning. Be sure to check out the Blitzball Strategy section for more information:
Strategy and Tips
Blitzball Section
Some strategies and tips that you can use to defeat opposing teams in Blitzball tournaments and league matches.
Press the 
or 
button when you’re near a player to recruit them to your team.
The positions you will need to recruit for include:
- Left Field (LF)
- Right Field (RF)
- Mid-Field (MF)
- Left Defense (LD)
- Right Defense (RD)
- Goalie (GL)
Left Fielders
Your left and right fielders are your primary attackers and shooters. They will be responsible for getting your points for you. You can swap the LF and RF positions without issue, but the list below provides some guidelines on how to strengthen each side to its maximum potential.
Tidus
- Location:
- (Not Applicable)
- Information:
- Tidus is an obvious choice for your left or right forward positions. While his stats are not necessarily the best when compared to some of the other Blitzball players (especially later on in levels), just having access to the Jecht Shot ability makes him the strongest character in the game. Check out the S.S. Winno Walkthrough page for more information on how to obtain Jecht Shot.
Wakka
- Location:
- On the bridge of the Fahrenheit.
- Information:
- Wakka is by no means one of the strongest players in the game, but you do have early access to him when some of the other forwards are already on contract, and he can act as a mediocre fill-in for the left or right fielder position.
Right Fielders
Larbeight
- Location:
- On the docks of Kilika Island.
- Information:
- Larbeight is the strongest forward player you can obtain, and he gets stronger and stronger with each level he attains. He can easily achieve the highest Shooting (SH) stat, but also has a reasonably strong Attack (AT) stat, which is not typical of most forwards. He begins the game signed to the Kilika Beasts, though, so you may not be able to pick him up right away.
Isken
- Location:
- In one of the houses on Kilika Island.
- Information:
- Isken’s strongest stat is Endurance (EN), which means that he will be able to withstand nearly any attack and maintain possession of the ball. His high EN allows him to break through 3 or 4 defenders relatively easily. He also begins the game contracted to the Kilika Beasts, though, so he may be challenging to obtain.
Vilucha
- Location:
- One of the huts in Besaid Village.
- Information:
-
Vilucha tends to be on the weaker side until much later on in levels. At this point, her Shooting (SH) and Endurance (EN) stats really start to take off. She is a good choice for later on in the game if you choose to continue playing Blitzball after you obtain Wakka’s Overdrives and
World Champion.
She is difficult to obtain, though, as Dark Valefor may be guarding the entrance to the village of Besaid (depending on how far in the game you are and what version you are playing). Check the Dark Aeon section for more information on Dark Valefor and how to defeat it.
Mid-Fielders
Your midfielder is going to be in the center of the action all the time. You want them to have strong endurance (EN) so that they can break through other players and possess strong passing skills, enabling them to help carry the ball up the field for your attackers.
Brother
- Location:
- On the bridge of the Fahrenheit.
- Information:
- Brother is quite easily one of the strongest Blitzball players for any team. His stats are formidable, but what quite often goes unnoticed is that Brother is slightly faster than most other Blitzball players. As a result, he can run down and get more involved in stopping the other team when they have possession of the ball. His strong possession skills will have him getting involved in nearly every play and attack, significantly increasing the overall utility of your team.
Berrik
- Location:
- In the cargo area of the Fahrenheit.
- Information:
- Berrik is the second-best midfielder, primarily due to his statistics. Berrik’s Endurance (EN) and Passing (PA) will climb faster than most other characters. Brother arguably has more utility, though, so you may want to consider passing on him, especially given that he may be on contract with the Al Bhed Psyches.
Defense
High attack (AT) and high block (BL) are all your defenders need. They are the last line of defense before your goalie and, hopefully, will not be seeing much action..
Ropp
- Location:
- Inside the travel agency along the Mi’ihen Highroad.
- Information:
- Ropp is definitely the strongest defender. He is a little slow, but his job is to sit at the back and take care of attackers that come through, which he does easily due to his high Attack (AT) and Block (BL) stats. Pick him up early, as he is not under contract with any team.
Kulukan
- Location:
- In the tavern in the docks area on Kilika Island.
- Information:
- Kulukan is not as strong as Ropp but is likely the second-strongest defender in the game. The downside is that he begins the game playing for the Kilika Beasts, so you will have to wait for him to come off contract. You can use Kyou up until that point.
Kyou
- Location:
- On the bridge near Djose Temple.
- Information:
- Kyou starts with pretty good stats and is a great defender to act as a fill-in instead of Kulukan. He does not start off playing for any team, so you can go and pick him up in Djose as soon as possible.
Goalies
Nimrook
- Location:
- In the cargo area of the Fahrenheit.
- Information:
-
Nimrook is the strongest goalkeeper in the game by a wide margin. He can make life extremely difficult for you when you face him in an opposing match because his Catch (CA) statistic is so high. It remains consistently high as he continues to level.
Finding him is easy… the difficulty, though, is in obtaining him. He starts on a contract with the Al Bhed Psyches, and they often re-sign him. It’s possible to get him, but you must be diligent in using the strategy mentioned above.
Miyu
- Location:
- On the north bank of the Moonflow.
- Information:
- Miyu is a good second choice for a goalkeeper. Her Catch (CA) stat rises fairly quickly; however, she does not get access to many tech abilities. She also starts off the game unsigned, so you can promptly pick her up first while you attempt to get Nimrook.
As mentioned above, it is entirely possible to successfully come in first place in tournaments and league matches with almost any players on your team. Enlisting these players will help, but a successful strategy is the most important step. Check out the Blitzball Strategy and Tips page for some added information.