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:
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Get Stomped On! #28 (December 2022, 3.6)
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Project Friendship 2 (July 2023, 3.6)
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Not Fête: International Waters (July 2023, P+)
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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 debut the next five players on Europe's PMRank!
Photo Credit: N/A
Eric "Knullebibs" Meijlink is one of the most well-known players from the European mainland. While on the young side, Knul has been playing for longer than most people reading this article, since version 2.1 more than a decade ago!
This has made the intrepid Bowser player extremely experienced and knowledgeable of the intricacies of the very obscure matchups his choice of character creates, which he took advantage of to place an astonishing 7th place at GSO28, upsetting the French favorite Kazeol. Quick and precise, the king of perfect wavelands and the continent's favorite crews player has put up a strong defense of his post in this Dutch-packed ranking and taken 10th place for the land of the big pancake, carrying both a big shell and his character on his back once again. We look forward to seeing more of Knullebibs and his dizzying movement in 2024. Until then, Europe still has a big turtle at the top.
Written By: Melody
Photo Credit: N/A
Starting off the single-digits and coming out of nowhere, Iu-Francesc "IuDKing" Vilaclara has come to cause a ruckus in the European scene. This old-school Melee player has had a very interesting ride to prominence in 2023. In Melee, he is a fierce competitor most known for his outstanding punish game across the cast and he has transitioned extremely well to Project M. Convinced that his tried-and-true main Donkey Kong is very strong in the purple mod, he has made an effort to push himself as well as his gorilla to the podiums of most of his locals.
He has gone from your average 2-2er to an expected presence in grands, with no signs of stopping any time soon. His rise to stardom in PM had a rough start which he has since overcome with some very strong wins under his belt. Out of his many accolades, his most notable was the MPS Circuit Finals, where he beat Spain's finest, including players like MekaDragon, Ukelele, Loost, MetaFalo and even Melody, ultimately falling only to Ukelele in the runback. However, his results are not limited to his hometown, as he has traveled to plenty of tournaments around Europe and had outstanding success, such as his runs at Arcamelee #4 where he beat Kine., placing 5th, or at Not Fête where he placed 9th.
Only time will tell how much he will keep 9-winding the competition next year but one thing is certain, Iu is here to stay.
Written By: Glenco
Photo Credit: N/A
Jonathan "Lafungo" Toole-Charignon is always such an interesting player to talk about. While being the only American in the ranking, Lafungo has been a staple of the European scene as he's been living and competing in the continent for the past 5 years. He made EUPR back in 2019 with a respectable 9th place, but missed out on most of the COVID era play while focused on other ventures and didn't have the results to qualify for last year's ranking. However, due to the prospect of an interesting adventure to pursue in the Spanish year-long circuit, where he competed more than in his home country of the Netherlands, and also with a revitalized love for the game after his long break, the only remaining Ganon player in the ranking decided to tackle 2023 in a way befitting of the most quirky player in the European scene.
While his local results were nothing to write home about, being upset several times at the beginning of the year, Lafungo turned his year around starting in July, when he took Spain by storm by placing 3rd at Project Friendship 2. Even though he had already had a stellar run in the first tournament of the Spanish circuit back in March with wins on players such as Ukelele and MekaDragon, none were ready for what he did at PF2, where he beat PauldeCap, Spain's current #2 player, and also the French favorite Smash_Falco3 in a nail-biting reverse 3-0 set decided by a daredevil raw ganoncide that made the rounds on social media when it happened. Not many noticed at the time, but this is the first recorded occurence of an international European event with major French attendance where there wasn't a single French player in the Top 3... since forever, pretty much. Lafungo was not the only one to slay a French player in that Top 8 and break this historic streak, but the fact that such an upset happened and made history in such a fairy tale way, was magical. (edited)
We truly can't predict what game Lafungo will bring to 2024, or whether he'll be there at all, but we can definitely expect to be talking about his feats this year for years to come; the same feats that have earned him an 8th place in this year's rankings.
Written By: Melody
Photo Credit: N/A
Sander "Fout NL" Weber has been a staple of the European scene for a while. Originally a Melee competitor turned multi-game player, and a fierce loyalist of one of the most infrequent characters in the game, Fout has always been a crowd favorite for his calculated, technical and precise play. This was only heightened in the previous two rankings, which saw him climb from 12th to 8th, and extends to this year as he takes one more step upwards to 7th thanks to a dominance of his local scene that he has not displayed previously. Tied for 2nd in his local PR, he has dominated the Somnio series, being the highest placing Dutch player in every single iteration he attended, taking sets for the first time from both the Dutch master Ace as well as Melody at Somnio 1.
While Fout has not traveled much this year compared to the odyssey he had in previous years, he has maintained a pristine level of play that has carried him to a well deserved place among the best of the best in Europe, and we hope to see more of him in 2024.
Written By: Melody
Photo Credit: Sim1
Aaron "Ace" Cromer needs no introduction. The veteran has been the best Dutch player for the last decade and has appeared in every European ranking without ever placing lower than 6th. This year is no exception, as he's dominated the national scene taking first or second in most of the tournaments with no international attendance, as well as placing a strong 3rd at the first Somnio.
While his year has not been as dominant, being wounded here and there and for the first time being knocked out of tournaments before the Grand Finals several times by his fellow Dutchmen, no other player north of the Rhine has the results to match those of this Wario main. This is partly thanks to the array of secondary characters that he now plays as part of his main lineup instead of just pocket options. Link, Ganondorf, Wolf... None seem out of reach for this fine greedy gentleman seeking his next tournament bounty to secure.
The Dutch scene has been shaken up quite a bit this year and we might be looking at a turning point and beginning of a new legacy in the kingdom of Orange, but at least for another year, the shoulder-tackling, big-time clapping man-in-yellow takes the Dutch crown for another year and will introduce us to this year's top 5 best of the continent.
Written By: Melody
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.
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
2/21/2024 - PMRank 2023: EU 20-11
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:
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Dan "Adray" Nacache
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Luis "Glenco" López
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Jonathan "Lafungo" Toole-Charignon
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Antonio "Melody" Oliva
