Welcome back to my third article on the greatest players of Project M 3.6! Today I’ll be running through #30-21 on my list. If you missed my last two articles, which include a more extensive introduction to the series, as well as players ranked #50-31, you can catch those linked below:
#50-41
#40-31
Without further ado, let’s get into it!
#30 - Anther
One of the Midwest’s first big stars of the 3.6 era, Antoine “Anther” Sledge was putting Michigan on the map long before anyone had heard of techboy or Morsecode762. The only Pikachu main to ever find top level success in 3.6, Anther’s first event of 2016 included an incredible run to the winners side of Grand Finals at Shuffle VIII, after wins over Drephen and BaconPancakes, before falling victim to the unstoppable momentum of Hyperflame’s own bracket run. Although he didn’t travel to many majors, Anther left his mark by the end of the year both in the Midwest, and around the world.
He placed 3rd at PM in the Big House, defeating Morsecode762 and trading sets with Frozen along the way, and picked up wins over Aion and burntsocks before falling to LUCK for a 33rd place finish at Olympus. While Olympus, and his next performance at Flex Zone 2, where he placed 17th after an early loss to Zhime, were arguably Anther’s worst performances of 3.6, this minor slump would soon be reversed in explosive fashion. Anther defeated Dirtboy and Morsecode at Bounty Hunters, securing a top 3 finish at the Midwest regional before being double eliminated by techboy, but his finest moment was just around the corner. After making short work of his pool, and defeating both Dadpool and GabPR in top 64, Anther would take out none other than Malachi, fresh off of his own win over ThundeRz, to secure a top 8 finish at The Bigger Balc.
The reclusive owner of Anther’s Ladder would become far less active by the end of 2017, only attending two events between Bigger Balc and the end of his career, but both served as excellent reminders that Anther was and likely always will be one of the Midwest greats of Project M. He placed 4th at Showdown: Battle Royale, and, nearly a year later, defended Michigan’s pride at Evicted, where he would defeat lloD, N0ne, and XYK on his way to a 5th place finish.
Anther’s consistency in the Midwest was highly impressive at a time when players like techboy and Morsecode were on the rise and Dirtboy was already an established top player, and his national performances at events like Bigger Balc show that, for all his flashy quick attack movement and thunder combos, his Pikachu was far from a gimmick. As with many players in today’s article, it’s impossible to say where Anther would be had he continued to compete into 2019, but his great results and longstanding legacy from the events that he did enter are enough to warrant his status in the top 30 of our list.
#29 - Twisty
The final member of the triad that has dominated Massachusetts PM since 2017, Will “Twisty” Gomez has established himself over the last two years as one of the best players in the Northeast. Despite not quite making PMRank in 2016, Twisty picked up great wins over the likes of Jason Waterfalls, Strong Badam, Shiny Zubat, and Seagull Joe at various majors across the East Coast, and travelled as far as Texas to compete at ARLO 3, where he placed 9th. However, the Wario main’s stock would quickly rise in 2017.
He started the year with a top 8 finish at Shuffle: Battle of the Midwest, where he defeated XYK and eliminated Lucky, before placing 5th at CGC 2017 with wins over Mask and MorKs. An unfortunate bracket (read: playing ThundeRz in losers) contributed to Twisty placing 25th at Bigger Balc, but he quickly bounced back with a top 8 finish at home, coming in at 7th at Blacklisted 3 after defeating Pikmon, Dingo, and regional rival Silver. While he would put up another poor showing at Supernova 2, placing just outside of top 32, he would once again come back with a vengeance, this time at Low Tier City 5. Despite an innocuous start to his bracket, with 2-1 victories over CP9 and DrinkingFood to make his way to Winners Quarters, Twisty was slowly building momentum. One more 2-1 set victory, this time over ThundeRz himself, would bring Twisty to winners side of top 8 at his biggest major so far. He went on to take out Fuzz in a game 5 set, guaranteeing himself an eventual 3rd place finish at LTC 5. While his Low Tier City run may have seemed out-of-nowhere, and is in hindsight by far the best performance of his career, Twisty continued to pick up great wins over the rest of 2017 over the likes of Flipp, Gallo, and Yung Quaff at various regionals.
In 2018, Twisty’s results continued to impress, and he would go on to place top 16 at every event remaining in our dataset. He picked up wins over Ivayne, Fearless, and Flarp at We Tech Those 3, and defeated The Doctor at both Flex Zone 3 and Even Bigger Balc. While a string of 9th and 13th place finishes seemed to have become the norm for Twisty by the end of 2018, he would put up one more great performance at Blacklisted 4, making top 8 over Noghrilla, Boiko, and Flipp. Twisty’s 2019 would prove equally impressive, with a top 8 finish at Frozen Phoenix 2019 and wins over Noghrilla and Ellipsis at SnS 5 to place 13th.
Overall, after his high-profile breakout events in 2017 Twisty comfortably settled into the role of a top 25 player for the next two years, and could be consistently counted upon to place within the top 16 of most majors, making him a staple of modern PM brackets and one of the best Wario players in the world.
#28 - Boringman
One of the strongest players from an already-fearsome region, Parker “Boringman” Boring first gained national attention for his great performances in-region, with wins over ThundeRz and other top NorCal players at locals and regionals in the summer of 2016. At the time a Mario and Meta Knight main, Boringman’s first big breakout came at Rewired, where he would defeat both LUCK and Aion to place 5th at one of the last majors of 2016. He would repeat his performance against LUCK a few weeks later at BOSS 3, a NorCal regional where he placed 3rd with additional wins over Pikmon and The Doctor. Boringman’s momentum only grew as he travelled to his first East Coast major in 2017, placing 5th at Flex Zone 2 with wins over Switch, Aidan, Strong Badam, and Shiny Zubat, and he went on to place 13th at Bigger Balc despite an early loss to Aero in winners, sweeping through Blank, Aidan, and The Doctor before being eliminated by ThundeRz.
Although Boringman’s roster had significantly changed over the course of 2017, from picking up Mewtwo, to dropping Mario, to dropping Mewtwo, to picking up Sonic, by the end of the year he would put up one more fantastic performance to solidify himself within the upper echelon of PM’s elite at Fair and Balanced. Dropping sets only to Malachi and Sosa, Boringman placed 4th at the NorCal regional, taking sets over Blank, Jason Waterfalls, and Tealz, and using his Sonic to great effect for the first time on a major stage. Boringman’s worst results of our dataset came in early 2018, with losses to NorCal rivals Ivayne and Pikmon at Cashed Out 2018, and relatively poor out of region performances at both Flex Zone 3 and Smash ‘n’ Splash 4, where he placed 13th and 17th respectively.
However, just when many were beginning to doubt his skill, Boringman came back in a big way at Even Bigger Balc. After being sent to losers by techboy, Boringman would utilize both his Meta Knight and his Sonic to eliminate Noghrilla, Flipp, Jfyst, and Kycse, including a reverse 3-0 comeback over Flipp after switching to Sonic, to make top 8 at the SoCal super-major. Although he would fall short of closing out a game 5 set against Envy, and end his run at 7th place, Boringman’s momentum remained strong for the rest of the year. He picked up a win over Filthy Casual at Low Tier City 6, and defended NorCal at Fair and Balanced 2, where he defeated Punk Panda, $wift, Rongunshu, and BaconPancakes to secure an all-NorCal top 3. Although relatively inactive in early 2019, Boringman also placed 9th at Smash ‘n’ Splash 5, with wins over Jfyst, Fearless, and Cala, and pulled out his Lucario against the latter for the first time at a major to showcase yet another new main.
Over nearly the entirety of 3.6, Boringman stood out as one of the best players on the West Coast, and proved his merit on the biggest stages in PM with amazing bracket runs at Even Bigger Balc, Fair and Balanced 2, and Flex Zone 2. With three characters in his current roster, and his perpetual character crisis potentially (probably not) solved, Boringman is still taking names in P+ and left a powerful legacy on the 3.6 era.
#27 - Blank
Once an up-and-coming SoCal talent, and protege of his older brother Sosa, Brian “Blank” Sosa’s national career became a sight to behold prior to his retirement in late 2018, and a frankly pristine resume of national results help him to stand out as one of the best modern players of the 3.6 era. But before all that, Blank’s first national was Big Balc, where he would place 13th after defeating Arizona’s own Blue, and taking Hyperflame to the brink of defeat in a fast-paced and explosive set. Continuing to rise up the ranks in SoCal, he would defeat both Aero and Sneez at BroCal’s Gym: Bulking Season, in January, but placed a disappointing 33rd at Bigger Balc, after being upset by Yung Quaff in his infamous bracket run and then eliminated by Boringman.
However, Bigger Balc would be the last time that Blank failed to not only break top 32 at a major, but top 12, and his placings continued to rise from there. He would in fact place 9th at both Low Tier City 5 and Salty Juan’s 4, with wins over the likes of Aki, Filthy Casual, and Jfyst, before beginning a string of top 6 finishes that would last until the end of his career. He placed 4th at Clutch City Clash 2, 5th at Fair and Balanced 2, and 3rd at Last Balc, with wins over the The Doctor, Jose V, Fearless, Chevy, and Dingo, and won the “super-local” Infinity & Beyond 200 over Lunchables, but his biggest moment was still to come. At Even Bigger Balc, Blank found himself down 2-0 against Yung Quaff, who was poised to repeat last year’s feat of sending the young Zero Suit main down to losers, before Blank rallied in spectacular fashion to make a reverse 3-0 comeback. Blank proceeded to pick apart Flipp and ilovebagelz to guarantee his place in Winners Semis, and, after dropping a set to ThundeRz, put up similarly dominant showings against both Envy and techboy to place 3rd, double eliminated by the eventual champion.
Blank attended one more event in 2018, placing a respectable 5th at Retro Rumble and maintaining his top 8 streak, but his incredible performance at Even Bigger Balc was more than enough to secure his place as a top 10 player for 2018. Although it certainly felt like Blank was a rising talent from seeing him play regularly at SoCal locals, it’s undeniable that from his first major onward he was a top player to be reckoned with at a national scale. He placed within the top 16 at all but one major across his career, and demonstrated remarkable improvement every year, culminating in his fantastic run at Even Bigger Balc.
#26 - Phresh
Despite having no recorded placements in any version prior to 3.6, NY/NJ’s Messiah “Phresh” Williams quickly established himself as a top player, and the best Ice Climbers player in the world. He placed 9th at We Tech Those with wins over Hyperflame and Twisty, two up-and-coming players in their own right, and Gallo, a far more established name also from New York. He would go on to defeat Twisty at his next two majors as well, en route to 13th place finshes at Supernova and Blacklisted 2, and that matchup practice would play a big role in his landmark performance at Big Balc, his first West Coast major. After defeating Blank, Phresh would face off against Sosa, the #1 player from New York’s rival region, and defeat him in dominant fashion, ending game 3 with a 3-stock. Phresh’s blizzard-heavy neutral and brutal handoffs proved incredibly effective against not only the Sosa brothers, but Oracle and Junebug as well, bringing him to 3rd place at Big Balc, his best performance of the year. Phresh finished out his year with 9th place finishes at both We Tech Those 2 and Olympus, picking up wins over Junebug, Hyperflame, StereoKiDD, and Kycse along the way.
Bag Season continued in 2017 with a 9th place finish at Flex Zone 2 after Phresh defeated Envy and Silver, and took sets over Switch, dvd, Emukiller, Yung Quaff, and Flarp at Downfall 6. While it was often said that Phresh struggled more heavily against players from his own region (it was frequently joked that he was top 10 in the world and 11th on the NY/NJ PR), such as Switch and dvd, he was showing that he could at least hold his own against the best players on the East Coast. That being said, he certainly did struggle against NY/NJ’s elite relative to other top players. A full third of his losses in 2017 came against Malachi and Switch alone, as did many of his worst placements, 13th at Philadelphia Championships to Boiko and Switch, 17th at Bigger Balc to Jfyst and Malachi, and 17th at Blacklisted 3 to Darc and Switch. However, he was also picking up wins over the likes of BaconPancakes and Aki at those, his worst events of the year.
At his best, Phresh placed 3rd at CGC over Silver, Kycse, and Twisty, 4th at Smash ‘n’ Splash 4 over techboy and Dirtboy, and 5th at Low Tier City 5 with another clean victory over Sosa. All told, Phresh was clearly proving himself as a top 20 player throughout 2017, even as techboy rose to challenge his title of best Icies player, and would actually eliminate him just before top 8 at Supernova 2. Unfortunately, Phresh’s focus on PM seemed to wane by the end of 2017, and his results mostly showed it. He placed 13th at Neo Tussle City, a Midwest regional, with losses to XYK, Ellipsis, and Sothe, and 9th at Downfall 7 with a loss to Kycse, one of the only times he would lose the Zard-Icies matchup in his career, and 17th at Blacklisted 4 after an early loss to Flarp in losers.
Although impressive victories over both Dirtboy and Flipp brought him to a 9th place finish at We Tech Those 3, the overall downward arc of Phresh’s PM career seemed to end in unusually bland fashion for the always-animated Icies player. Having said that, Phresh pioneered Ice Climbers in a way that nobody had seen before in PM, and for over two years proved a consistent threat to some of the game’s greatest players, which easily merits a spot on this list.
#25 - iPunchKidsz
One of the best players in the world in version 3.5, David “iPunchKidsz” Vargas pioneered Lucario to the top of the early 3.6 meta as well, and was the face of SoCal PM before the national rise of Sosa. IPK started off with a top 8 finish at Paragon Los Angeles, making a monster losers run to defend his home region against the likes of Professor Pro, StereoKiDD, Plup, and Bladewise, before being eventually eliminated by Hungrybox. Despite falling local results by the end of 2015, resulting in being ranked 8th in SoCal at the time, IPK would show up in force time and again on the national stage, reminding everyone just how talented he was. He made another losers run at FinalBOSS, steamrolling Jose V, Filthy Casual, Strong Badam, and Sosa to place 3rd after being double eliminated by the newly ascendent ThundeRzReiGN.
After another short break between majors, IPK would do just as well on the East Coast, making top 8 at Supernova after defeating StereoKiDD, Frozen, and, most notably, Junebug, marking the first time that Junebug would not make top 8 at a 3.6 event. Despite having been eliminated by Hyperflame at 7th, IPK would take his revenge back on his home turf at Big Balc, where, after taking out Jose V, he would eliminate Hyperflame to make top 8 once more. The SoCal titan continued to perform well at his next few majors, from placing 3rd at Push More Buttons to 5th at EVO 2016 over Marshall, Bladewise, and Filthy Casual, and 5th at BroCal’s Gym: Leg Day over Aion and Aero. While he wasn’t quite living up to the earlier part of his year, where he was challenging players like Sosa, Junebug, and Hyperflame consistently, IPK was still more than holding his own as the year went on.
His only non-top 8 placement in 2016 would come at Clutch City Clash, where, after a shocking upset at the hands of Phorcys, he was eliminated at 9th by LUCK. However, 2017 and onward would mark a bit shift in IPK’s focus and results. Having achieved notable success as a Mario Maker player, IPK began to stop entering PM events, dropping off the SoCal PR and attending few majors. He would place 25th at BroCal’s Gym: Bulking Season to Nashun and Westballz, both players he was formerly ranked above in SoCal, and 17th at Bigger Balc after losses to both Flipp and Lucky, albeit with a win over Fearless in the Lucario ditto along the way. Bigger Balc would be IPK’s last notable event for nearly a year, before he attended the official send-off Balc event, where he placed 33rd to Sneez and Txukasa.
Despite this innocuous end to his PM career, iPunchKidsz left an unmistakable legacy in SoCal and on the PM scene as a whole. As a SoCal player, it always felt as if no matter how unmotivated he was at locals, IPK had an unrivaled ability to power up at nationals and put SoCal on his back in an incredibly hype fashion, and it would take two years, until the rise of Rongunshu, for another Lucario to even remotely challenge his legacy as the greatest Lucario of all time.
#24 - Frozen
While Emukiller may have been the first NY/NJ Mewtwo main to showcase the character’s potential in PM, after the end of 3.02, it was Jake “Frozen” Somma who took the mantle of best Mewtwo in 3.5 and on, and he would continue to push the character forward in 3.6. Frozen started off his 3.6 resume by placing top 16 at Paragon Los Angeles with wins over Dakpo and Aero, but his first of several breakout moments came at We Tech Those, where he placed 3rd after defeating Envy and Professor Pro. He continued to show strong placements for the next six months with top 24 placements at Supernova, Blacklisted 2, and Big Balc, and wins over Boiko, Aion, and Twisty in the process, but soon another explosive performance was on the horizon.
After dropping to losers bracket at SuperSmashCon 2016, Frozen would go on to eliminate BaconPancakes, Emukiller, and Hungrybox on his way to Grand Finals, where he would fall just short of his first major win against Hyperflame. Not long after, that big win would come at PM in the Big House 2. Frozen made it to Winners Semis without issue, before dropping a set to Anther in a matchup that he frankly seemed totally unprepared for. Early kills, tricky edgeguards, and a hit-and-run neutral made Anther look like the perfect counter for Frozen’s wall of dtilts and hover-cancelled aerials, but not for long. Frozen eliminated Professor Pro and Dirtboy in order to earn a rematch with Anther, and, in one of the best sets of 2016 (IMO), was able to clutch out a game 5 victory against the Midwestern Pikachu main. Grands almost felt like an afterthought; Frozen swept Sharkz 6-1 and claimed his first major victory in dominant fashion.
At the same time that Frozen was competing at a top level in PM, he was beginning to transition his primary focus to Smash 4. He placed 25th at Olympus for PM, with wins over Aki and Kumatora, but also made top 8 in Smash 4 at the same event, and shortly thereafter stopped competing in PM entirely. While Frozen did compete in two PM majors in 2017, he did so at events where he was also competing in Smash 4, and his results began to decline accordingly. He placed 5th at Smashadelphia 2017 after defeating Fearless, still a respectable showing in its own right, but would place 9th at SuperSmashCon 2017 after losses to Switch and Dusty. That being said, the fact that a rusty Frozen was still making top 16 at relatively stacked East Coast regionals should tell you something about just how strong of a player he was in his prime.
Frozen was highly consistent for the entirety of his career, proving a credible threat to even the highest echelon of national champions such as Professor Pro and Emukiller while rarely being the victim of upsets himself. In addition to being a member of the PMDT and becoming a top player in Smash 4 and then Smash Ultimate, Frozen applied his deep and creative understanding of Mewtwo’s unique properties in ways that are arguably unmatched even today, and remains one of my all-time favorite players of the 3.6 era.
#23 - Emukiller
Speaking of former NY/NJ Mewtwo players, while Michael “Emukiller” Silbernagel once gained fame as the best Mewtwo in 3.02, the New Jersey legend remained a top level threat throughout 3.6, primarily with his Meta Knight but occasionally bringing out the Mewtwo as well. Despite a rough start to 3.6, placing 33rd at We Tech Those with losses to Goode and Seagull Joe, Emukiller almost immediately returned to form in 2016.
He placed top 16 at Supernova, eliminating Envy and Aero along the way, and shortly after would win We Tech Those 2 in dominant fashion over Goode, Switch, Phresh, and Envy. Both at the time and to this day, that victory would be the most notable event ever won by a Meta Knight in 3.6, despite the character’s top-tier status on most tier lists. Emukiller put up another strong showing at SuperSmashCon 2016, placing 4th after defeating BaconPancakes, before placing 9th at Olympus with wins over XYK, Dirtboy, Lucky, and Venom.
This would become the first of many 9th place finishes throughout Emukiller’s career, as he proved to be one of the most consistent players in PM throughout 2017. He would place 9th at his next two majors as well, picking up wins over Filthy Casual, Lucky, Hungrybox, and LoyaL at Bigger Balc and Supernova 2, before breaking the mold in the latter half of 2017. Just when Emukiller finally seemed to be settling into a pattern of respectable but not amazing placements, he made his way to winners side of Grand Finals at SuperSmashCon 2017 with consecutive wins over BaconPancakes, Hyperflame, and Switch. Although Switch came out on top in a 10-game bracket reset, it was a firm reminder that Emukiller was still one of New Jersey’s strongest players.
Unfortunately, 2018 was decidedly less kind to Emukiller. He placed 13th at We Tech Those 3, with wins over Goode and LUCK, but was upset by fellow NY/NJ player Aidan in losers. After placing 9th at Smashadelphia 2018, a top-heavy event where he was eliminated by two other top 20 players (lloD and BaconPancakes) but picked up no notable wins, Emukiller would drown at Even Bigger Balc, placing 65th. Not only would this be the lowest placing of his 3.6 career, it was also the first time in multiple years that he had lost to one, let alone two, non-PMRank players in bracket.
However, Emukiller’s legacy doesn’t end at Even Bigger Balc, fortunately for him and for the happy tune of this article. He entered one more major, returning to his 3.02 roots by playing only Mewtwo at Smash ‘n’ Splash 5 to great success. After a supremely disrespectful victory over Nave in pools, he used his old main to place 17th at the most stacked tournament of the year, defeating Fearless and Morsecode762 on the way. From his great 2016 to the solidly respectable results that Emukiller put up in 2017 and onward, he stands out as one of the consistent benchmarks that any top player could compare themselves against throughout the entirety of 3.6, and as a top 25 player in his own right.
#22 - Darc
At one point, Dustin “Darc” Hayes was arguably the best player in the world for probably half the Project M cast simultaneously, and the old-school Melee player brought his talents to bear in the early years of 3.6 to great effect. Pulling from an arsenal that included Fox, Captain Falcon, Sheik, Marth, Samus, Zero Suit Samus, and yes, Bowser, Darc dominated the Northeast and put up incredible results at nationals when he regularly entered PM events. At his first major of 3.6, Darc found himself on the winners side of Grand Finals after victories over Vortex, Jaden, Seagull Joe, and Frozen, before falling just short of 1st place after a bracket reset by Junebug.
At Supernova, Darc picked up wins over Boiko, including an infamous 4-stock after switching to Marth, and Phresh, before falling victim to Hyperflame’s bracket run and ending his own at 9th. He would take his revenge quickly, however, eliminating Hyperflame, along with BaconPancakes and Kycse, on his way to a 4th place finish at Blacklisted 2. At We Tech Those 2 Darc was in his element, utilizing years of Melee experience to claim victory over Malachi, the Blacklisted 2 champion, and going on to place top 8 at yet another major. The only real “low point” of Darc’s 3.6 career was arguably Olympus, where he placed 17th after a shocking losers’ bracket upset by Sneez, who also upset LUCK and Zhime in the same bracket, but even what was by far his worst major performance included a victory over Silver, his teammate and fellow Massachusetts Fox player, who would soon become a top 50 player in his own right. In 2017 and on, Darc began to play less and less PM, entering majors very infrequently and only in his home region, but his results betrayed little to no rust when he did show up. At Blacklisted 3, one of the biggest majors of 2017, he would place 7th after defeating Zork, Marshall, and Phresh, all in dominating fashion.
Nearly a full year later, we got one more glimpse of Darc, at the Revival of Smashing Grounds. At this “mega-monthly,” Darc swept to Winners’ Quarters without issue, where he nearly defeated Kycse in a game 5 set with his Captain Falcon. In losers, he cleanly eliminated both Aidan and Flarp before being eliminated himself by Switch. All in all, only losing to top 15 players was still a pretty solid showing for a guy whose last major was almost a year ago. Despite never having been particularly active, and having stopped travelling for PM relatively early into 3.6 compared to a lot of the players on this top 50, Darc’s legacy as one of the absolute best players on the East Coast with a plethora of characters, fueled by occasional reminders that he can still compete with the best players even in today’s meta, has only grown over the years. Darc remains known as one of the best singles and doubles players to ever emerge from New England, and it’s a treat every time he shows up to remind us all that he’s still got it.
#21 - Professor Pro
Finally, we close out today’s set of articles with yet another legend from the early days of 3.6, Aaron “Professor Pro” Thomas. One of the best players in Europe from 3.02 onward, the British Snake main first gained attention for his stylish and creative combos, and for his notorious set with Rolex at SKTAR 3, but coming into version 3.6 he was considered to be easily one of the best players in the world. That said, it was a shock to everyone when Professor Pro was eliminated before top 16 at Paragon Los Angeles, taken out by Hungrybox and iPunchKidsz on the same day that he would, in turn, upset Hungrybox in Melee. Undeterred, Prof went on to take out Hero of Time, Strong Badam, and Mr Lz to make his way to the winners side of Grand Finals at Tipped Off 11, and trade sets with Junebug to take home a 1st place finish at his very next major.
Shortly after, at We Tech Those, Professor Pro would asset dominance over Flipp in the Snake ditto, and defeat Phresh and dvd to guarantee himself 5th place, before being taken out by Frozen and Gurukid in a pair of surprising upsets. He would become the victim of an even more shocking upset just a week later, at Kings of the North IV. Despite sweeping to the winners side of Grand Finals without dropping a game, Professor Pro found himself unprepared to face the explosive playstyle of Sothe in their rematch, and fell short of 1st place after a 10 game bracket reset. Although many of the players listed above first claimed prominence after defeating the already-established Professor Pro, he was far from being left behind by the 3.6 meta. He dominated Europe’s biggest events of the year, taking 1st place at BEAST 6 and again at Heir 3, and put up strong results in 2016 in America as well.
At Shots Fired 2, he took out Kycse, dvd, Ally, and Flipp, including a 3-0 victory almost immediately after the Flipp’s upset over Mr Lz, before resetting the bracket against Junebug to eventually place 2nd at the stacked major. Despite being less active in the latter half of the year, Professor Pro did defeat both techboy and Switch at PM in the Big House 2, before being upset by Sharkz in winners (on a monster bracket run of his own) and once again being defeated by Frozen in losers. At Olympus, he held his own against some of PM’s new-school elite, with victories over Envy, XYK, and Boiko, and respectable sets against ThundeRz and Malachi to place 9th.
Ultimately, however, Professor Pro’s attention was clearly shifting more and more away from Project M and towards Melee. He stopped entering PM majors regularly after 2016, and placing 17th at SnS 3 in 2017 would be his last notable result in PM at all. That being said, Professor Pro, along with Junebug and Mr Lz, absolutely defined the narrative of early 3.6 majors. Not only was he one of the absolute best players in the world, but beating him was enough to singlehandedly bring you into that tier as well, as it did for many players that would go on to become great in their own right. That’s one hell of a legacy right there.
If you enjoyed this article and want to stay updated on my content, feel free to follow me on Twitter at Sabre_Metrics, or subscribe to my YouTube channel and my Medium. Next week we’ll be digging into 20-16, which means that somehow the blurbs will be even longer, and I’ll have much more to work with as we move away from 2016-only competitors and towards the players that set the stage for where the meta is today.
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