Welcome everyone to another year of PMRank! This year, we are highlighting players from not only North America, but from across the world! We have coordinated with representatives of Australia, Europe, and Japan to make rankings for each of their regions. The rankings themselves are done by the representatives of each region, while the PMRank team handles the graphic design and publishing portions of each ranking.
European Project M continued to shine throughout the last year, with consistent tournament presence in several national scenes. Despite an ongoing version divide, there was a substantial amount of international crossover and even some intercontinental invasions, including past and present NA PMRank players! There were four major international tournaments in Europe during the ranking period, one for each of the largest national scenes and evenly split between versions:
-
Get Stomped On! #28 (December 2022, 3.6)
-
Project Friendship 2 (July 2023, 3.6)
-
Not Fête: International Waters (July 2023, P+)
-
Arcamelee #4 (November 2023, P+)
- attend 2 of the 4 major international tournaments
- attend 1 of the 4 major international tournaments, and have significant local attendance
With that said, let us appreciate the five strongest players on Europe's PMRank!
Photo Credit: N/A
Part of the generation of French players who started in 2015-2016, Léo "Kazeol" Renardat has been a figurehead of that era since his 7th-place entry in the 2019 EU PR. A long time Fox player known for his fast and aggressive play, he changed main to Mario this year to help with his thumb problems and his difficult transition to playing on rectangle.
Despite a 13th-place finish at GSO 28, well below his usual standards, Kazeol has made up for it in his three other tournaments this year. It was at Arts'Cade Open Cup 2023 that we last saw his Fox this year, as he brought out his Mario to beat Smash_Falco3 and win his first tournament of the year. With his Mario, Kazeol has developed a slower but no less terrifying game thanks to his monstrous punishes. He also won Epic Tech #2 with his new main and finished the year with a 4th place at Arcamelee 4. He was sent to the losers' bracket on a reverse 3-0 by his compatriot Smash_Falco3, then lost in the losers' bracket to NyxTheShield, who came to Europe for the occasion.
The now Mario player climbed further up the ranking this year, finishing in 5th place. We shall see what Kazeol has to offer in 2024, and we hope to see more of him in tournaments.
Written By: Adray
Photo Credit: N/A
Hailing from Spain's capital, Paul "PauldeCap" Saura joins Europe's top dogs. He has had a very steady rise from his first ranking in 2019. Known for his quick thinking and strangling corner pressure, he has climbed to this year's Top 5 with no signs of stopping any time soon. Paul has had a really strong in-region showing this year, with positive set counts against everyone except for fellow Lucas player Melody.
He holds a firm grasp over the rest of the Spanish scene with very occasional hiccups. His most notable event in region was Grand Melee Ecorp Series, where he had the most perplexing Losers run we have ever seen from the kid. After being upset by rising star MekaDragon in Winners Round 2, he was able to claw his way to Grands. To do that he had to take out players like Lua, MetaFalo, Lafungo and Isku in a row, before eventually falling to his Lucas upperclassman. However, he would be able to beat him months later at Rice and Shine, taking the tournament with his secondary red Falco "tuflaquitofav", and making him the closest Spaniard to dethroning Melody.
His results in the international scene are also notable, although limited in attendance. In his only international event in 2023, Project Friendship 2, he was able to take 4th place. Here he was able to take sets from IuDKing and Glenco, but was eliminated by SMOM invader Lafungo.
He was easily the second strongest Spaniard at big events, and we can't wait to see more from him in the international scene. This kid can pack a punch with style while everybody chants the wunderkind's name.
Written By: Glenco
A relic of Project M's golden age, Aaron "Professor Pro" Thomas made the most of the game's re-emergence in the UK, entering P+ brackets both at locals and international tournaments. To the surprise of European onlookers, he even showed up and played in those brackets to the end!
As dominant a force as he's ever been locally, Prof dropped only a single set to a compatriot and was the uncontested #1 on the 2023 UK PR. Against international opposition, he similarly had a single hiccup by getting upset by epikfaal at Not Fête, but more than made up for it by defeating IuDKing at that same tournament and especially by double-eliminating NyxTheShield at Arcamelee. These feats lead him to 3rd place on the European rankings, the same position he held the last time he was ranked in the inaugural 2018 EU PR.
Although Professor Pro has formally retired from Smash competition, we still hold out hope that he'll make an appearance again at some point.
Written By: Lafungo
Since *Zen's departure to Canada, Benjamin "Smash_Falco3" Ohayon is the new face of competitive Project M in France. Competing with his Ike for many years now, he has been part of the European PR since the very first one back in 2018. 9th in 2018, then 2nd in 2019, 5th in 2022 and finally 2nd again this year, Smash_Falco3 has muscled up his game to get back to his pre-COVID standards.
His year began with a 2nd place finish at GSO 28 with a defeat at the hands of Spanish Ganon DNL, which was followed by consistent first places at all his local tournaments, except for Arts'Cade Open Cup 2023 where he finished 2nd after getting pushed around by fellow Frenchman Kazeol. In the summer, he finished 2nd again at Not Fête: International Waters, eliminated only in the final by none other than Aklo. He capped off the year with a 1st place at Arcamelee 4, beating the legendary Professor Pro. Looking back on such an exceptional year, you'd have to wonder why Benjamin didn't come out on top of the rankings. And that's down to his only under-performance of the year at Project Friendship 2, where he lost out to Dirtboy in a clear 3-0 and finished in 5th place after a loss to Lafungo, who was on a mission that day with a terrifying Ganoncide that may well go down as one of the biggest upsets of the EU PM scene.
"Le Ike qui perd contre Ganon" is already looking ahead to 2024 with his sights set on The Truce in February, but also The Bigger Mile Club in April for his first tournament in the US. We can't wait to see what Smash_Falco3 has in store for us this year - will he finally become number 1?
Written By: Adray
Photo Credit: N/A
Rounding out the list, we have EUPM's strongest soldier Antonio "Melody" Oliva. The artist formerly known as Trucker Hat is back for more, being ranked #1 for the second year in a row. This means that he is not only the first European to top the rankings twice, but also that he was able to accomplish the task back-to-back. Love him or hate him, Madrid's strongest Lucas player has made hell rain over the rest of the competition, as he has taken gold at no less than 14 out of 18 events in the region in 2023. He has had a few duds along the way, dropping sets to IuDKing, PauldeCap or Ukelele, but he has a strong positive set count against every player on the Spanish rankings this year. He also takes the role of Madrid's main tournament organizer and one of the main men behind Spain's very own MPS Circuit. As a competitor, organizer and driver he was able to rile up the competition and take first place at almost every event. His most notable event in region was Santieur52 2 2, where he would have to defend the continent from American invaders. He would easily make it to Winners Finals, taking out MetaFalo and PauldeCap, but then got annihilated by Chilean legend NyxTheShield with a 3-0 and a handshake. He would then be challenged in Losers by the next invader: SoCal's very own Dumshiny, with whom he would have an extremely nail-biting set in which the Spaniard would ultimately prevail. Grand Finals would be the biggest challenge he would face in a Madrid tournament. Even though Melody was able to take the first set, Nyx was the victor of the 10-game Grand Finals.
Internationally, he has also had great success, starting with the stacked GSO 28. Here he was able to claw though the likes of Neyroe, Satan™️, Kenmak and Smash_Falco3, but fell to the Andalusian demon and eventual winner or the event DNL before getting eliminated in the runback by Frenchman S_F3. He also attended Project Friendship 2, where he would take out players like PauldeCap and Lafungo (twice). However, invasion has become a common theme and the challenger this time was Midwest's very own Dirtboy. The Spaniard would be able to take a set against the world-class Squirtle but would fall after he had run out of PK Freezes to throw. This year has not been the easiest for the Spaniard as he has gone through surgery for his hand problems, but he was able to overcome them and his results back him up. Will he continue as #1 next year? Will his hand heal? Will he drop PM for Yu-Gi-Oh? Nobody knows, but what is certain for everybody is that his country will cheer him on against anybody brave enough to fight on European soil.
Written By: Glenco
If you're reading these articles as they release, a large EU Project M tournament, The Truce, is this weekend! Check the bracket here and catch them live over the weekend here.
Congratulations to everyone who made it on the first edition of Europe's PMRank!
Other PMRank 2023 Articles
1/29/2024 - PMRank 2023: The Edge of Glory
1/29/2024 - PMRank 2023: In The Margins
1/30/2024 - PMRank 2023: 50-41
1/31/2024 - PMRank 2023: 40-31
2/1/2024 - PMRank 2023: 30-21
2/2/2024 - PMRank 2023: 20-11
2/5/2024 - PMRank 2023: 10-7
2/6/2024 - PMRank 2023: 6-4
2/7/2024 - PMRank 2023: 3-1
1/29/2024 - PMRank 2023: In The Margins
1/30/2024 - PMRank 2023: 50-41
1/31/2024 - PMRank 2023: 40-31
2/1/2024 - PMRank 2023: 30-21
2/2/2024 - PMRank 2023: 20-11
2/5/2024 - PMRank 2023: 10-7
2/6/2024 - PMRank 2023: 6-4
2/7/2024 - PMRank 2023: 3-1
Credits
PMRank Staff:
- Che “Che” Woodson
- Brennan “FlashingFire” Connolly
- Paul “Motobug” Canavan
- Peter “Pikmon” Woodworth
Graphic Design and Character Renders:
- Paul "Motobug" Canavan
- Cosmetic Standardization Project (CSProject) & the Project+ Development Team
EU PMRank Panel:
-
Dan "Adray" Nacache
-
Luis "Glenco" López
-
Jonathan "Lafungo" Toole-Charignon
-
Antonio "Melody" Oliva
Last edited:
