The phrase "immediate predecessor" refers to the person or thing that comes directly before someone or something else in a sequence or timeline. Full definition
Browning's immediate predecessors at Folsom — Dano Graves and Tanner Trosin — elevated the Bulldogs» offense to new heights with their arms and legs, and raised the status and expectations of Folsom football to the highest level. (sportstarsmag.com)
That being said, Media Create counts only physical retail sales, so there is still a possibility that the Polyphony's new racing game may have beat its most immediate predecessor counting digital downloads, but it's very unlikely to have reached GT5 «s numbers. (dualshockers.com)
According to Trinkaus, not a lot is known about the biological nature of modern humans» immediate predecessors within eastern Eurasia based on human fossil records. (techtimes.com)