Because NTSC 1.02 is the tournament standard, the community has reverse-engineered its assembly code to the point where we know the exact hexadecimal values for hitbox angles. The preservation of 1.02 is a grassroots miracle; if Nintendo had forced the PAL "balance" patch via an online update in 2023, the competitive scene would have likely split or died. The scene chose 1.02 because the "broken" elements create a deeper skill gap.
It is the primary version used at major international tournaments. While 1.00 and 1.01 are also NTSC, 1.02 is preferred because it is the most common and includes the most bug fixes. melee iso ntsc 102