Today marks the conclusion of PMRank as we present the Top 3 Project M players of 2016. None of these players were part of the conversation for best player in 2015, but each exhibited meteoric rises to top player status last year. At various points throughout 2016, strong arguments could have been made for any of these players to be the best, but only one came out on top by the year’s end.
PMRank is a panel-based Power Ranking of the top 50 Project M players worldwide. Players, commentators, and tournament organizers within the community had the opportunity to apply to be panelists, and we ended up with about 20 panelists by the time of the project's conclusion. Initially, 85 players were qualified to be ranked based on their placings and attendance at major Project M events throughout 2016. Only 50 highly skilled players made the final list.
With that information in mind, the panelists were given the following prompt:
Given all of the results of 2016 in Project M, if everyone on this list entered 50 tournaments, who on average would place the best?
Panelists were also tasked with rating each player on their list from 1-10, with the lowest ranking player given a 1 and the highest a 10, scaling it appropriately. For each player, the highest and lowest rating on all panelists lists were removed when averaging votes to reduce variance.
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.
Let's get down to business. To defeat, the Huns.
Photo Credit: Casey “CND” Ruiz
Rating: 9.721
Other Notable Results: 1st at EVO 2016, 1st at Push More Buttons, 1st at Clutch City Clash, 1st at Nebulous Prime #36 (Supernova Pre-Game), 1st at Brocal Gym: Leg Day, 1st at 5:00PM Fights
By the end of 2015, Jonathan “Sosa” Sosa had established himself as one of the kingpins of the SoCal scene. He, Machiavelli and Venom were well known locally for trading sets and weekly victories, but Sosa had not yet shown the world what he and his Wario could do. In January, he netted himself a 4th place finish at FinalBOSS, ending Zenokids’ best tournament run and beating notables such as Hero of Time and StereoKiDD. April saw Sosa travel to the East Coast along with a sizeable helping of SoCal’s heavy hitters for Supernova, ready to prove themselves on enemy territory. After winning the New York weekly immediately prior to Supernova, Sosa looked poised to take home his first national win. But after getting past EmuKiller and Hyperflame, he fell to his in-region rival Venom and to Switch, who at that point was not terribly well known, ending up at 9th place. At The Big Balc in May, Sosa took down Luck, Machiavelli, and again defeated StereoKiDD to make top 8, but he clearly hungered for more.
By the time summer rolled around, Sosa was packing some serious heat. He emerged victorious at Push More Buttons, EVO 2016, BroCal’s Gym: Leg Day, and Clutch City Clash, defeating top player after top player. His hot streak included wins on Sothe, iPunchKidsz, Hyperflame, ThundeRzReiGN, and many others. Sosa’s EVO run was particularly impressive - he engaged Melee juggernaut Hungrybox in a top-notch spacing battle, eventually winning the 5-game set. He continued by defeating Jose V and lloD before running into Junebug, who problematically 3-0’d him in the first set of grand finals. Digging deep, Sosa returned the 3-0 against the MD/VA mastermind to win the tournament. His fine-tuned aerial drift, expert shield drops, oppressive combos, and nasty waft setups allowed Sosa to find openings and capitalize in a way few other Wario players could replicate, if any. One particularly interesting development of the summer season was the growth of the rivalry between Sosa and ThundeRz, which drew on SoCal/NorCal regional competition as well as their repeated encounters in bracket grand finals. Sosa had the edge after beating him at both BroCal’s Gym and Clutch City Clash, but lost to him at Salty Jauns 3 in early October, finishing 2nd at that event. The two seemed to be on roughly equal footing going into the PMCC finale, Olympus.
At the long-awaited East Coast national, Sosa made quick work of his early opponents, bruising his way through *Zen, Zhime, and dvd. Gallo brought him to game 5, but ultimately Sosa was able to send the New Yorker to the loser’s bracket and earn a winner’s semis set against Lunchables, whom he had not yet played. Despite a valiant effort, Sosa fell victim to the Texas Toon Link’s tricky bomb setups and agile movement, and dropped into loser’s. There he encountered Malachi, another new opponent, and battled it out in one of the closest high-level sets of the entire tournament. Sosa clinched the last game before finally succumbing to a vengeful Gallo, finishing the most skill-dense tournament of the year in 4th place. Later at Rewired 2016 in Arizona, Sosa found himself upset early by Aion, a Sonic player who has been something of a personal demon at the local level. In one of the most impressive loser’s runs in all of Project M, Sosa then defeated Dyl, Burntsocks, Strong Bad, AZ hidden boss Silly Kyle, Boringman, Jose V, and finally Mr Lz. Only the Olympus champion, ThundeRz, was able to contain Sosa, who finished in 2nd place.
Sosa's accomplishments throughout 2016 have been nothing short of amazing, and his playstyle has become the gold standard for Wario players everywhere. With determination, precision, and a healthy dose of arrogance, Sosa has climbed his way to #3 on PMRank 2016, and only time will tell if that attitude will allow him to become the best in the world in 2017.
Written by: FlashingFire and Sabre
Rating: 9.874
Other Notable Results: 1st at Super Bit Wars 4, 1st at ARLO 3, 1st at Infinity and Beyond 108 (Low Tier City 4 Pre-Game), 1st at Farmer’s Fight 3, 1st at Tourney Locator $1K
By the end of 2015, Zachary “Lunchables” Sain had all but conquered Texas, closing out the end of the year with a win at Austin regional Forte 3. However, while everyone in the South knew of Lunchables’ greatness, his performances at nationals hadn’t fully demonstrated the extent of his abilities. All that changed for the 16-year old pizza connoisseur in 2016, where his potential came to fruition. Like many players on this list, Lunchables started 2016 off with a bang, taking Super Bit Wars 4 over seasoned Smash veteran Mew2King in two heated sets. Coupling a patient dash-dance heavy playstyle with devastating punishes, Lunchables secured a 3-0 in Grand Finals, and this performance would set the pace for the rest of the year.
Lunchables’ first PMCC event was The Big Balc, where he demonstrated his mastery of both his favorite character, Roy, and trademark Toon Link, defeating Hero of Time, StereoKiDD, and his would-be rival ThundeRzReiGN, all without dropping a game. With a loss to Flipp and an elimination at the hand of Junebug after a fast-paced five-game set in loser’s semis, Lunchables’ 4th place finish at The Big Balc would turn out to be his lowest placing of the year. In the month that followed, Lunchables traveled to his next major out of state event, Smash n Splash 2. There, he tore through a bracket of Aki, Dirtboy, Sothe, and Marshall to secure a spot in grand finals. Coming from the loser’s bracket, Mr Lz’s Paragon-proven Game & Watch prevailed in a 10-game test of endurance. While a tournament victory had escaped his grasp, it would be the very next week at Low Tier City 4 where Lunchables would get revenge on the Flat Zone Floridian. Lunchables was the hometown hero, and a favorite to win the tournament, especially after he defeated Mr Lz in Winner’s Semis. However, ThundeRz came into their rematch in Winner’s Finals with a vengeance, sending the Dallas native to loser’s finals. There, Lunchables prevailed over MD/VA titan Junebug in a last-hit, last stock set with his Fire Emblem duo of Marth and Roy. Lunchables managed to reset the bracket against ThundeRz’s deadly DK, but ultimately fell after a 9-game grand finals.
Following LTC4, Lunchables was eager for a proper victory, and it would come at Oklahoma regional ARLO 3. Featuring Junebug, Hyperflame and Malachi, this tournament was far more stacked than its modest 58 entrant count would suggest. Lunchables collided with NY/NJ #1 Malachi in winners semis, and prevailed with his well-trained Roy. In winner’s finals against Junebug, he went down 2-0 before comboing June across Final Destination for three consecutive games, securing his seat in grands. A more focused Malachi met him there and pushed Lunchables to his limits. Fighting through a chess-like character counterpick war, Lunchables clutched out a last-stock scenario to take the tournament through winner’s side.
While others geared up for Olympus by attending as many events as they could, Lunchables instead seemed to quietly prepare. Roughly a week prior to the circuit finale, he announced his retirement via Twitter, to the shock of many. This set up Olympus as the final chapter in Lunchables’ tournament career. With the pressure mounting, Lunchables advanced to top 32 as expected, then defeated MD/VA’s formidable BaconPancakes and SoCal’s #2 player, Jose V. Sosa eagerly awaited Lunchables in winner’s semis - up until this point, their paths had not crossed. While Sosa had previously implied that Lunchables dropped out of Clutch City Clash in order to avoid his Wario, it would be in-game at Olympus where Lunchables would expertly dodge Sosa’s attacks and punish them with his evasive Toon Link. Lunchables took two games in quick succession from the SoCal kingpin. Sosa battled back with a win in game 3, but his adaptation did not come quick enough; he lost the set after being dismantled in game 4.
In winner’s finals, Lunchables once again dueled with ThundeRz, who had just finished 3-0’ing Junebug. Taking a game after a switch to Marth, Lunchables would fall to loser’s finals, where he met New York representative and crowd favorite Gallo. In similar fashion to how he dispatched Jose V, the Texas prodigy used his signature Roy to 3-0 Gallo. Lunchables reached the peak of the Olympus bracket by taking the first set against Thunderz and putting them both on equal footing. But it was ThundeRz who would emerge victorious with his patient neutral game and massive zero-to-death combos, leaving Lunchables with a 2nd place finish. A titanic achievement, to be sure, but a bittersweet ending to his Project M career.
While Lunchables is now retired and no longer actively pursuing the throne, his placings and victories over other masterful players leave a lasting legacy. Lunchables is one of the only players in Smash history to earn clear recognition as the best player of 3 different characters, using all three of his swordsmen frequently in tournament. Inspiring countless fans with his solid fundamentals, the accomplishments of the Texas Titan will not easily be forgotten, and have earned him rank #2 on PMRank 2016.
Written by: Strong Bad and Sundark
Rating: 10.000
Other Notable Results: 1st at Salty Juans 3, 1st at BOSS 3, 1st at New Fish, 1st at Legacy Special
Xayya “ThundeRzReiGN” Thammavongsa has long dominated NorCal with his fearsome Donkey Kong, but he remained relatively unknown outside of California until NorCal national FinalBOSS at the start of 2016. ThundeRz shocked the world by sweeping through iPunchKidsz, Sosa, and Strong Bad before taking Junebug, then the best player in the world, to game 5 in two electrifying sets. Although ThundeRz struggled to find his place at his first 2 out-of-state majors, taking 7th at Shuffle VIII and 25th at Supernova, he soon proved without a doubt that his strong regional results were no fluke. He took New York regional New Fish over Ally and Flipp, who was hot off his victory at Supernova, without dropping a set. After New Fish, ThundeRz only picked up steam, and would place top 8 at every major he attended for the rest of the year.
At SoCal national The Big Balc, ThundeRz fell early to Jose V, but then made a relentless loser’s run through players like Hero of Time, Oracle, and iPunchKidsz before finally being stopped cold at 5th place by Texas Titan Lunchables and his Toon Link. The dominating 3-0 performance would mark the start of a spectacular rivalry throughout 2016. Some say that ThundeRz never left the loser’s bracket at The Big Balc; next month at midwest major Smash n Splash 2, ThundeRz was disqualified into loser’s round 1 of the top 96 bracket. Sent to the loser’s bracket by his own tardiness, he climbed all the way to a respectable 4th place by taking out the Midwest’s best (Ellis, Ripple, Aki, and Sothe) before finally meeting his match against Mr Lz in the loser’s semifinal, who went on to win the tournament.
ThundeRz had no need for a loser’s run the next week at Low Tier City 4, where he defeated Junebug for the first time to find himself in winner’s finals. It was there where he would showcase his improvements since Big Balc; utilizing patient shielding, ThundeRz traversed Lunchables’ projectile pressure and hit him where it hurt whenever he landed a grab. Through a 13-game series against the hometown hero, ThundeRz took his first national and PMCC event. It was somewhat fitting that an event called Low Tier City would be won by someone who played Donkey Kong, a character whose viability had long been doubted. But as ThundeRz continued to demonstrate the character’s powerful KO setups, surprising speed, and long-reaching moves, he served as the sole catalyst for DK’s monstrous 13-spot leap on the PMU Tier List.
ThundeRz kept traveling throughout the summer, landing 7th at EVO 2016 and entering into a rivalry with SoCal’s top dog, Sosa, at other events. They battled in grand finals at BroCal’s Gym: Leg Day, Clutch City Clash, and Salty Juans 3. Sosa sent ThundeRz home with 2nd place at the first two events, and he nearly claimed a three-peat after beating him once again in winner’s finals. But this time NorCal’s #1 was made of tougher stuff - he came back to win two sets of grand finals, changing the tide of their tug-of-war.
After Salty Juans 3, ThundeRz would set his sights on what the entire Project M community was looking forward to: the Project M Championship Circuit finale, Olympus. There, ThundeRz defeated three top 20 players in a row (Switch, Darc, and Professor Pro) to reach winner’s semis, where he once again met up with Junebug in a simian showdown. In one of the most emphatic statements of his career, ThundeRz 4-stocked Junebug in the opening game and created combo video footage that will be enjoyed for years to come. While the next two games were much closer, ThundeRz moved on to winner’s finals with a 3-0 victory over the Project M icon. His next opponent would be Lunchables, hot off a win against the SoCal savage who had given ThundeRz so much trouble over the summer, and hungry for vengeance after Low Tier City 4.
Lunchables began the set with Toon Link like before, but after losing game one to ThundeRz’s well-prepared DK, he made a character switch to Marth. ThundeRz now had to adapt to an opponent with longer range, a deadly downward-sending KO move, and relentless juggles. The Donkey Kong player rose to the challenge with his own precise movement and merciless grab conversions to take winner’s finals, but that was not the end of Texas’ smash prodigy. Lunchables rose again in grand finals, pushing back by resetting the bracket. In the final showdown, which represented the culmination of the efforts of both the Project M community and its most talented players, ThundeRz took the crown with a resounding Giant Punch.
If Olympus established his position as the best player in the world, Rewired 2016 cemented it. Dropping only two games in top 48, ThundeRz defeated Jose V and Mr Lz before taking down Sosa three games to none with his secondary Captain Falcon, dominating what had earlier seemed to be a turbulent rivalry. While he began the year as one of California’s hidden bosses, ThundeRz travelled far and wide in 2016 to come out on top against the best of the best. With 3 national victories in a row to close out the year and a unanimous decision by PMRank panelists, there is no question that NorCal’s hero ThundeRzReiGN is the greatest Project M player in the world going into 2017~
Written by: Strong Bad and Sabre
And with that, PMRank 2016 has come to a close. We thank each of you who has been with us on this journey as we ranked the best Project M players. Countless hours were volunteered not only by myself, but by multiple individuals to make this project possible. Through this endeavor, we hope to have effectively showcased the wide field of talent still present in the Project M scene and inspired many players to improve their gameplay this year in order to raise their rank, or show up on the rankings for the first time next year. We understand that people will find controversy in these rankings no matter how they turn out, but we’ve set a baseline for next year and learned a lot along the way. It has been an honor to organize and present PMRank to you all, and it is my hope that the work we did here will contribute toward the long-term health of the Project M community. See you all at events; I’ll be looking to improve my own rank as well. Here’s to another great year for Project M!
-Adam “Strong Bad” Oliver, PMRank Leader
Rest of the List
Credits
PMRank Staff: Adam “Strong Bad” Oliver, Cody “Yata!” Anderson, Brennan “FlashingFire” Connolly, Devin “reslived” Gajewski, Nick “Boiko” Boiko.
Graphic Design: Eric “FingerStripes” Bohorquez, Desiree “TinyKasama” Macasieb
Editing: Adam “Strong Bad” Oliver, Brennan “FlashingFire” Connolly, Ahmed “Apollo Ali” Akbar
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