PMRank 2019 has finally arrived. Today begins the long awaited list of this year's top 50 players.
PMRank is a panel-based Power Ranking of the top 50 Project M and Project+ players worldwide. Players, commentators, and tournament organizers within the community had the opportunity to apply to be panelists, and we ended up with a little less than 20 panelists by the time of the project's conclusion. Initially, 70 players were qualified to be ranked based on their placings and attendance at major Project M/+ events throughout 2019. Only 50 highly skilled players made the final list.
PMRank staff collected and organized data from dozens of Project M/+ events from the past year, seeking out tournaments with significant inter-regional competition. Panelists were tasked with reviewing this data and ranking each player in order, from #1 to #70. For each player, the highest and lowest rankings on all panelists’ lists were removed when averaging votes to reduce variance. After an initial ballot, panelists were given time to discuss the aggregated results and move closer to consensus in the case of players with high standard deviations. Then, panelists submitted a second and final ballot.
This project would not have been possible without the dedicated volunteers who helped us engineer spreadsheets, track down tournament data, construct head-to-head charts, create and revise ranking ballots, write and edit player summaries, and gather photographs. A number of photographers have given us permission to use their high-quality photographs of Project M/+ players for the purposes of this project as well.
A slew of new faces make their debut today, as well as the return of a seasoned veteran.
After moving from his native Massachusetts to Illinois this past year, Leo “Comb” Curran makes his PMRank debut. Comb is one of the few staunch ROB enthusiasts who has continued to push his character’s metagame as the scene has transitioned to Project+. After an unremarkable SPRING TRAINING where he lost to LSDX and ORLY, Comb would make a bigger impact at In the Nick of Time. He defeated former PMRank player Kumatora and up-and-coming Falco Anthony before being defeated by Twisty and Arsenals. A few months later at Smash’N’Splash 5, he claimed his biggest win of the year by taking down Arizona’s Wolf/Squirtle co-main Cloudburst. He also narrowly defeated A_E_D’s Mr. Game & Watch, displaying newfound personal growth. Where the Comb of 2018 would have tried a secondary in such difficult matchups, the Comb of 2019 stuck to ROB and emerged victorious against both of them. That dedication to ROB throughout this year rewarded him with solid wins and minimal bad losses lands which combine to earn him the inaugural spot in PMRank 2019.
Written By: Nick
Photo Credit: N/A
A rising threat in one of the most active Project M regions, New England’s Anthony “Anthony” Cardenas joins the prestigious PMRank crowd. The Falco and Mewtwo dual main formerly known as “Daddy’s Milk”, “PapiChungo”, and “Papis Leche” picked up strong wins at regional-sized tournaments and showed significantly more consistency in his play than in his choice in tag. His year began with two Smashing Grounds regionals: In the Nick of Time and “I Can’t Beelieve It’s Not 3.6!”. At the former, he secured victories over local rivals Motobug and uboa before finishing 9th, and at the latter he built on that success by defeating Bees and Grzly to finish 5th. At the East Coast national, Blacklisted 5, Anthony earned wins against Nave and vortex on his way to a respectable 25th place before being defeated by longtime East Coast titans Switch and Gallo. A few months later at Resting Stitch Face 2, he defeated ~CP9~ and placed 17th after being defeated once again by long-time East Coast threats, Switch and Phresh. 2019 was a year of growth for Anthony, who dropped one of his longtime dual mains, Fox, in favor of Mewtwo in hopes of finding a less volatile character. If he continues to develop his characters and travels more, expect to see Anthony to continue to shine as one of New England’s array of national threats.
Written By: Nick
Altan “altan” Türkoğlu earns his first appearance on PMRank with a resumé of solid wins. He started the year off strong at Immunity 3 by defeating Bubbles in pools to come out on winners’ side. He also beat SoCal Yoshi main burntsocks in losers’ bracket before finishing at 13th place. Altan’s other notable wins include defeating Narq in both Super Smash Con P+ 2019 pools as well as the third qualification bracket of Smash‘N’Splash 5. But while altan’s peaks are lofty, his valleys are similarly pronounced. Losses to unranked players such as Vaporeon, Samn, Pyth, and Ividboy have stopped him from reaching a higher rank. But every loss is a chance to grow, and altan has ample opportunity to tighten up his game heading into 2020.
Written By: Pegthaniel
One of Washington’s rising stars, Joseph “Qtip” Hallowell claims the coveted #47 spot on this year’s PMRank. While his Meta Knight put up respectable 9th place performances at both The Crucible and 5:00 PM Fights: Reindeer Games, by far his best showing of 2019 came at Smash Camp: End of Summer. Qtip’s practice and discipline were clear in sets against Cloudburst and Tealz, as he kept his composure to close out tense sets against both. These wins netted him a 9th place finish at his largest event of the year, losing only to Fearless and ilovebagelz, who both placed top 3. With new chances to travel and prove himself in 2020, the sky's the limit for Qtip in the coming year.
Written By: Sabre
After curating the PMRank process for the last few years, Brennan “FlashingFire” Connolly makes his own top 50 debut after great regional performances across the country this year. The Oklahoma Snake main put up impressive top 8 showings at No Fun Allowed 3, The Crucible, and Don’t Sleep! 3, but his best performance by far came in his home state. FlashingFire defended Oklahoma from an array of Texas invaders at Super Bit Wars 7, including American Bowser, Captain Birdman, and Apathy to claim 1st place. FlashingFire’s slick gameplay and calculated zoning also proved successful at this year’s biggest events, with a win over Sabre in a 13th place finish at Low Tier City 7 and wins over Arsenals and Chevy at Smash‘N’Splash 5, rounding out a great year for Oklahoma’s finest.
Written By: Sabre
Earning a spot on PMRank for the first time since his top 30 appearance in 2016, Blake “Ripple” Catsby has shown he’s still able to compete at a high level with multiple characters. Ripple started the year by earning a standout win with Dedede over Connor at the Midwest regional SPRING TRAINING before losing to Sothe and fellow Illinois player Nave, falling just short of top 8. Sothe’s Ivysaur continued to be a major roadblock at Invincible 4 the month after, but he still placed 5th while using Ike, Samus, and Dedede. Smash‘N’Splash 5 was Ripple’s only lackluster performance of the year, where he lost to Bobby Frizz, Poilu, and Cody (formerly Yata!) despite bringing them all to the last game. After a several-month break from traveling, Ripple once again established himself as a strong Midwest threat with a 3rd place finish at Invincible 5, where he beat Chaloopy and Connor with his signature Dedede. Ivysaur would continue to be a problem matchup for Ripple at Lazer Lazer 20, where Noghrilla pulled off a reverse 3-0 against Ripple in Winners Quarters by resorting to Ivysaur after his main lost two convincing games to Ripple’s Dedede. Despite this disappointing set, Ripple was still able to make top 8 through the losers' bracket before falling to ~CP9~. Although Ripple did not travel far out of his home region of Illinois in 2019, he proved that his notoriously patient Dedede and strong secondaries are more than capable of keeping up with this generation of top players.
Written By: Connor
One of multiple new representatives of the Southwest this year, Mewtwo main and Legacy TE developer Rayjay “Ca$ino Wolf” Adger teleports his way onto the PMRank 2019 top 50. While Ca$ino Wolf opted to compete exclusively in his home region of Arizona this year, he was still able to put together quite a resumé. At Smash Camp 2019, he was able to net a win on SoCal’s Sneez after losing to him in winners’ side, before falling to Narq for 7th place. At Smash Camp: End of Summer, Ca$ino impressively 3-0’d Montréal’s Poilu before falling to the losers’ bracket by the hands of tournament winner Boringman and then being eliminated by Arsenals just outside of top 8. While his lack of travel limits his momentum on this year’s rankings, Ca$ino Wolf’s impressive wins and solid placings land him and his precise Mewtwo a spot among the top 50.
Written By: Motobug
A longtime hidden boss emerged into the national spotlight this year, as Arizona’s Edward “Wfycat” Ayala put up great win after great win at regionals in his home state. Bringing a unique fluidity to his fast-paced Pikachu and Mewtwo, Wfycat was able to secure a top 8 finish at 5:00 PM Fights: Film Fest after taking out Arizona heavy hitters Silly Kyle, Yink, and Bad Bully, but his best wins of the year would come at the event’s sequel. At 5:00 PM Fights: Reindeer Games, Wfycat switched between his mains with ease, counterpicking his way to victory against Ca$ino Wolf, Dumshiny, ilovebagelz, and Narq for a spectacular 3rd place finish. Although he put up a lackluster performance at The Encore, drowning in pools after an early loss to Dumshiny in losers’, there’s no denying that Wfycat has the talent to keep improving and putting up top-level results, especially with more experience travelling out-of-region under his belt.
Written By: Sabre
SoCal’s beloved Dedede main, Manny “Dumshiny” Carillo makes his long-awaited PMRank debut after a great year at SoCal’s and Arizona’s biggest events. Despite mediocre performances at the beginning of the year, hovering around top 16 at both Smash Camp and 5:00 PM Fights: Film Fest, Dumshiny found his footing back in SoCal at The Encore with wins over Wfycat and his longtime practice partner, Jason Waterfalls, to place 17th at the biggest major he attended in 2019. Building on this momentum, Dumshiny pulled off a pair of back-to-back upsets against two of the highest seeds at Smash Camp: End of Summer, Dirtboy and ilovebagelz, sending both to losers’ and securing himself a 5th place finish. After rounding out his year with a win over Qtip in his top 8 performance at 5:00 PM Fights: Reindeer Games, it’s clear that Dumshiny’s second half of the year warrants his top 50 ranking, and if his swallow-happy playstyle keeps yielding great wins, we can expect Dumshiny to be much higher on next year’s PMRank.
Written By: Sabre
Justin “Arsenals” Hampton has a long career competitively, ranging from his past life as a challenger-ranked player in League of Legends to his more current lifestyle as a perennially strong PM player. Having travelled to more tournaments than almost any other competitor, Arsenals has had many excellent opportunities to demonstrate how much he has improved from 2018. At the NorCal event Neon Genesix Evangelion, he defeated the excellent Game and Watch player Sugydye in a tough matchup. On the opposite coast, Arsenals picked up a victory against Comb at Massachusetts monthly In the Nick of Time. At Low Tier City 7, hosted in his home turf of Texas, Arsenals defeated notable Melee player Lucky. And to cap off the year at Smash Camp: End of Summer, he triumphed over Ca$ino Wolf and FlashingFire. While he has branched out from his signature Fox since then into other characters as Project+ continues to flesh out, Arsenals remains an especially versatile player and member of the Project M scene.
Written By: Pegthaniel
Other PMRank 2019 Articles
Last Year's Rankings
Credits
PMRank Staff:
PMRank is a panel-based Power Ranking of the top 50 Project M and Project+ players worldwide. Players, commentators, and tournament organizers within the community had the opportunity to apply to be panelists, and we ended up with a little less than 20 panelists by the time of the project's conclusion. Initially, 70 players were qualified to be ranked based on their placings and attendance at major Project M/+ events throughout 2019. Only 50 highly skilled players made the final list.
PMRank staff collected and organized data from dozens of Project M/+ events from the past year, seeking out tournaments with significant inter-regional competition. Panelists were tasked with reviewing this data and ranking each player in order, from #1 to #70. For each player, the highest and lowest rankings on all panelists’ lists were removed when averaging votes to reduce variance. After an initial ballot, panelists were given time to discuss the aggregated results and move closer to consensus in the case of players with high standard deviations. Then, panelists submitted a second and final ballot.
This project would not have been possible without the dedicated volunteers who helped us engineer spreadsheets, track down tournament data, construct head-to-head charts, create and revise ranking ballots, write and edit player summaries, and gather photographs. A number of photographers have given us permission to use their high-quality photographs of Project M/+ players for the purposes of this project as well.
A slew of new faces make their debut today, as well as the return of a seasoned veteran.
After moving from his native Massachusetts to Illinois this past year, Leo “Comb” Curran makes his PMRank debut. Comb is one of the few staunch ROB enthusiasts who has continued to push his character’s metagame as the scene has transitioned to Project+. After an unremarkable SPRING TRAINING where he lost to LSDX and ORLY, Comb would make a bigger impact at In the Nick of Time. He defeated former PMRank player Kumatora and up-and-coming Falco Anthony before being defeated by Twisty and Arsenals. A few months later at Smash’N’Splash 5, he claimed his biggest win of the year by taking down Arizona’s Wolf/Squirtle co-main Cloudburst. He also narrowly defeated A_E_D’s Mr. Game & Watch, displaying newfound personal growth. Where the Comb of 2018 would have tried a secondary in such difficult matchups, the Comb of 2019 stuck to ROB and emerged victorious against both of them. That dedication to ROB throughout this year rewarded him with solid wins and minimal bad losses lands which combine to earn him the inaugural spot in PMRank 2019.
Written By: Nick
Photo Credit: N/A
A rising threat in one of the most active Project M regions, New England’s Anthony “Anthony” Cardenas joins the prestigious PMRank crowd. The Falco and Mewtwo dual main formerly known as “Daddy’s Milk”, “PapiChungo”, and “Papis Leche” picked up strong wins at regional-sized tournaments and showed significantly more consistency in his play than in his choice in tag. His year began with two Smashing Grounds regionals: In the Nick of Time and “I Can’t Beelieve It’s Not 3.6!”. At the former, he secured victories over local rivals Motobug and uboa before finishing 9th, and at the latter he built on that success by defeating Bees and Grzly to finish 5th. At the East Coast national, Blacklisted 5, Anthony earned wins against Nave and vortex on his way to a respectable 25th place before being defeated by longtime East Coast titans Switch and Gallo. A few months later at Resting Stitch Face 2, he defeated ~CP9~ and placed 17th after being defeated once again by long-time East Coast threats, Switch and Phresh. 2019 was a year of growth for Anthony, who dropped one of his longtime dual mains, Fox, in favor of Mewtwo in hopes of finding a less volatile character. If he continues to develop his characters and travels more, expect to see Anthony to continue to shine as one of New England’s array of national threats.
Written By: Nick
Altan “altan” Türkoğlu earns his first appearance on PMRank with a resumé of solid wins. He started the year off strong at Immunity 3 by defeating Bubbles in pools to come out on winners’ side. He also beat SoCal Yoshi main burntsocks in losers’ bracket before finishing at 13th place. Altan’s other notable wins include defeating Narq in both Super Smash Con P+ 2019 pools as well as the third qualification bracket of Smash‘N’Splash 5. But while altan’s peaks are lofty, his valleys are similarly pronounced. Losses to unranked players such as Vaporeon, Samn, Pyth, and Ividboy have stopped him from reaching a higher rank. But every loss is a chance to grow, and altan has ample opportunity to tighten up his game heading into 2020.
Written By: Pegthaniel
One of Washington’s rising stars, Joseph “Qtip” Hallowell claims the coveted #47 spot on this year’s PMRank. While his Meta Knight put up respectable 9th place performances at both The Crucible and 5:00 PM Fights: Reindeer Games, by far his best showing of 2019 came at Smash Camp: End of Summer. Qtip’s practice and discipline were clear in sets against Cloudburst and Tealz, as he kept his composure to close out tense sets against both. These wins netted him a 9th place finish at his largest event of the year, losing only to Fearless and ilovebagelz, who both placed top 3. With new chances to travel and prove himself in 2020, the sky's the limit for Qtip in the coming year.
Written By: Sabre
After curating the PMRank process for the last few years, Brennan “FlashingFire” Connolly makes his own top 50 debut after great regional performances across the country this year. The Oklahoma Snake main put up impressive top 8 showings at No Fun Allowed 3, The Crucible, and Don’t Sleep! 3, but his best performance by far came in his home state. FlashingFire defended Oklahoma from an array of Texas invaders at Super Bit Wars 7, including American Bowser, Captain Birdman, and Apathy to claim 1st place. FlashingFire’s slick gameplay and calculated zoning also proved successful at this year’s biggest events, with a win over Sabre in a 13th place finish at Low Tier City 7 and wins over Arsenals and Chevy at Smash‘N’Splash 5, rounding out a great year for Oklahoma’s finest.
Written By: Sabre
Earning a spot on PMRank for the first time since his top 30 appearance in 2016, Blake “Ripple” Catsby has shown he’s still able to compete at a high level with multiple characters. Ripple started the year by earning a standout win with Dedede over Connor at the Midwest regional SPRING TRAINING before losing to Sothe and fellow Illinois player Nave, falling just short of top 8. Sothe’s Ivysaur continued to be a major roadblock at Invincible 4 the month after, but he still placed 5th while using Ike, Samus, and Dedede. Smash‘N’Splash 5 was Ripple’s only lackluster performance of the year, where he lost to Bobby Frizz, Poilu, and Cody (formerly Yata!) despite bringing them all to the last game. After a several-month break from traveling, Ripple once again established himself as a strong Midwest threat with a 3rd place finish at Invincible 5, where he beat Chaloopy and Connor with his signature Dedede. Ivysaur would continue to be a problem matchup for Ripple at Lazer Lazer 20, where Noghrilla pulled off a reverse 3-0 against Ripple in Winners Quarters by resorting to Ivysaur after his main lost two convincing games to Ripple’s Dedede. Despite this disappointing set, Ripple was still able to make top 8 through the losers' bracket before falling to ~CP9~. Although Ripple did not travel far out of his home region of Illinois in 2019, he proved that his notoriously patient Dedede and strong secondaries are more than capable of keeping up with this generation of top players.
Written By: Connor
One of multiple new representatives of the Southwest this year, Mewtwo main and Legacy TE developer Rayjay “Ca$ino Wolf” Adger teleports his way onto the PMRank 2019 top 50. While Ca$ino Wolf opted to compete exclusively in his home region of Arizona this year, he was still able to put together quite a resumé. At Smash Camp 2019, he was able to net a win on SoCal’s Sneez after losing to him in winners’ side, before falling to Narq for 7th place. At Smash Camp: End of Summer, Ca$ino impressively 3-0’d Montréal’s Poilu before falling to the losers’ bracket by the hands of tournament winner Boringman and then being eliminated by Arsenals just outside of top 8. While his lack of travel limits his momentum on this year’s rankings, Ca$ino Wolf’s impressive wins and solid placings land him and his precise Mewtwo a spot among the top 50.
Written By: Motobug
A longtime hidden boss emerged into the national spotlight this year, as Arizona’s Edward “Wfycat” Ayala put up great win after great win at regionals in his home state. Bringing a unique fluidity to his fast-paced Pikachu and Mewtwo, Wfycat was able to secure a top 8 finish at 5:00 PM Fights: Film Fest after taking out Arizona heavy hitters Silly Kyle, Yink, and Bad Bully, but his best wins of the year would come at the event’s sequel. At 5:00 PM Fights: Reindeer Games, Wfycat switched between his mains with ease, counterpicking his way to victory against Ca$ino Wolf, Dumshiny, ilovebagelz, and Narq for a spectacular 3rd place finish. Although he put up a lackluster performance at The Encore, drowning in pools after an early loss to Dumshiny in losers’, there’s no denying that Wfycat has the talent to keep improving and putting up top-level results, especially with more experience travelling out-of-region under his belt.
Written By: Sabre
SoCal’s beloved Dedede main, Manny “Dumshiny” Carillo makes his long-awaited PMRank debut after a great year at SoCal’s and Arizona’s biggest events. Despite mediocre performances at the beginning of the year, hovering around top 16 at both Smash Camp and 5:00 PM Fights: Film Fest, Dumshiny found his footing back in SoCal at The Encore with wins over Wfycat and his longtime practice partner, Jason Waterfalls, to place 17th at the biggest major he attended in 2019. Building on this momentum, Dumshiny pulled off a pair of back-to-back upsets against two of the highest seeds at Smash Camp: End of Summer, Dirtboy and ilovebagelz, sending both to losers’ and securing himself a 5th place finish. After rounding out his year with a win over Qtip in his top 8 performance at 5:00 PM Fights: Reindeer Games, it’s clear that Dumshiny’s second half of the year warrants his top 50 ranking, and if his swallow-happy playstyle keeps yielding great wins, we can expect Dumshiny to be much higher on next year’s PMRank.
Written By: Sabre
Justin “Arsenals” Hampton has a long career competitively, ranging from his past life as a challenger-ranked player in League of Legends to his more current lifestyle as a perennially strong PM player. Having travelled to more tournaments than almost any other competitor, Arsenals has had many excellent opportunities to demonstrate how much he has improved from 2018. At the NorCal event Neon Genesix Evangelion, he defeated the excellent Game and Watch player Sugydye in a tough matchup. On the opposite coast, Arsenals picked up a victory against Comb at Massachusetts monthly In the Nick of Time. At Low Tier City 7, hosted in his home turf of Texas, Arsenals defeated notable Melee player Lucky. And to cap off the year at Smash Camp: End of Summer, he triumphed over Ca$ino Wolf and FlashingFire. While he has branched out from his signature Fox since then into other characters as Project+ continues to flesh out, Arsenals remains an especially versatile player and member of the Project M scene.
Written By: Pegthaniel
Other PMRank 2019 Articles
1/26/2020 - PMRank 2019: The Edge of Glory
Last Year's Rankings
Credits
PMRank Staff:
- Brennan “FlashingFire” Connolly
- Paul “Motobug” Canavan
- Kyle “Pegthaniel” Guo
- Peter “Pikmon” Woodworth
- Ryan “Sabre” Weinberg
- Paul "Motobug" Canavan
- Samoe "Samoe" Fuchs
- Cosmetic Standardization Project (CSProject)
- Brennan “FlashingFire” Connolly
- “CND”
- Connor “Connor” Remington
- Paul "Motobug" Canavan
- Nick "Nick" Hluska
- Kyle “Pegthaniel” Guo
- Ryan "Sabre" Weinberg
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