Welcome everyone to another year of PMRank! PMRank is a panel-based Power Ranking of the Top 50 Project+ players in North America. We're excited to put together another list of the best performers throughout the 30+ eligible events this year, covering Game 5 in the D #1 through Condo of Blood 2. Initially, 78 players were qualified to be ranked based on their placings and attendance at major Project+ events throughout 2023. Panelists were tasked with reviewing this data and ranking each player in order, from #1 to #78. 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 to determine the placement of our PMRank Top 50.
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.
The last of the PMRank debuts appear today, as well as mainstays making meteoric rises.
Photo Credit: N/A
A name often heard echoing in unison through any venue once a sole player lets loose the infamous “AYO?!?!?” Ares “Blitz” Cochran finally achieves his long term goal of landing on PMRank at a respectful #20. With an impressive résumé of victories over his competition, Blitz, alongside fellow Canadians Krumpberry and Erg, showed that our neighbors to the North are formidable foes as ever even in the absence of the Ice King, Rongunshu. Blitz struck first at The Bigger Mile Club securing wins over West Coast Ganondorf Potatoes and rising Midwest star SoulOfficer. It was fighting in his home turf at GOML shadow major Get Out of My Venue where he netted one of his highlight wins over an opponent very few have felled in Morsecode762. He carried this momentum into P+’s premier water park event Undertow where he made easy work of Midwest defenders Star and Comb only to be stopped by Techboy and Michael. Blitz ended his year once again attempting to defend his nation from the invading Dirtboy at Condo of Blood 2. Although he forced a Grand Finals reset, securing a set win over the Squirtle icon, Blitz fell in the reset for second place. The Quickdraw King of the North has finally left his mark on the annals of P+ history, a quest he began long ago. Will he let his blade rest or is this merely the start of his true climb in 2025?
Written By: Mr.Watch&Learn
After making the Edge of Glory in last year’s PMRank iteration, Michael finally broke past the “hidden boss” status and into the spotlight for Jigglypuff mains all around. Starting off the year at Full Bloom 2024, Michael carried Moist and SSBMRank 2023 #20 Polish to the blast zone, but Michael lost against the other pink ball player, Shenanigans, as well as fellow Illinoisian metroid to finish out at ninth place. A few months later, Super TPS III found Michael weaving through mawwwk and SoulOfficer’s projectiles to a respectable fifth place. Things were quiet for a while, but Michael re-entered the spotlight following his run at Undertow 2024. In pools, Michael secured a spot in the Winner’s side of Top Cut by taking down Blitz with an incredible offstage Rest. In Top Cut, Michael won against Switch in a decisive 3-1 victory and then made it into the Winner's side of top 8 after defeating Motobug. While he couldn’t put a stop to a red-hot Ellipsis, Michael defeated Switch again in Losers Quarters before falling to Shiny Zubat in Losers Semis, ending Michael’s run at fourth place. Towards the end of the year, Michael traveled to Tussleopolis and picked up wins on the likes of Dumshiny, Studebacher Hoch, LoyaL, and Veka, with losses only to fellow Illinois residents Rise and Comb for a ninth place finish overall. Michael continues to be a pillar of Project+ Jigglypuff and defies the perceptions of Jigglypuff’s place in the meta. We can’t wait to see who he Rests in 2025.
Written By: ilikepizza107
Imogen Heat, through a season full of ups and downs, had their incredibly high peaks take them to their career-best ranking of #18. While a victim of the monster runs of wren and harrow at SG 10th Anniversary, Imogen Heat made a statement to the greater scene at The Bigger Mile High Club with sets over Apathy, Ivayne, and Dirtboy on their way to ninth place at the most stacked event of the year. The lightning-fast Fox had another strong performance at Invincible VIII. Despite an early loss to Lord English, Imogen Heat drilled through mawwwk, Kendrick, SoulOfficer, Jisp, and Star before being knee’d out of bracket at fourth by ORLY. Their next few events saw them take losses to Anchor, Ford$, Serb, natebug01, and JSalt before bouncing back in a big way at their final event, Mass Madness Deluxe. After a loss to a red-hot Comb, Imogen Heat swept through WARDOGZ and Serb before emerging victorious from a game five nailbiter vs Shiny Zubat, one of their longest-storied rivals. In a similar fashion, in the next set, they defeated another of their greatest rivals, Flarp, in Losers Finals, before being taken out by Comb once again in Grand Finals. This incredible run right at the end of their year makes their competitive future look brighter than ever; and maybe, just maybe, (their) Fox can win a major.
Written By: Motobug
One of NorCal’s many top level players, Av lands on his third consecutive PMRank, once again rising up the list in the process. With his Lucas now fully on the backburner, the world’s strongest Kirby had a powerful start to the year. While his performance at Exodus 2024 may have been quiet, only earning a win on Kendrick for seventh place, the purple puffball went on a tear at Metal Tavern. There, Av hammered Dumshiny, Suvir, Cloudburst, and Sneez to earn himself the silver medal - his only gatekeeper being the now rare three-time PMRank Top 3 SoCal titan, Jonny Sosa. In April, he continued his streak of strong performances at The Bigger Mile High Club, grabbing wins on Veka and NorCal rival Ivayne before becoming a victim of Ryzuul’s monster run through top 32. Av did not make another appearance until Five Nights at Fingy’s 2 in October, where he achieved another silver medal, this time over ilikepizza107, TRai, Zushi, and evil lesbian, before Ivayne took his revenge for TBMHC in Grand Finals. Av traveled to the East Coast for his final event of the season, cardd’s basement, defeating Rooster, essy, and Shenanigans, only losing to the tournament’s eventual runner-up, Moist. With many of NorCal’s strongest forces currently inactive, Av has carried the torch well; with a few refinements (and the possible addition of a Charizard to his character lineup), Av may be the next in the long lineage of NorCal players within the top 10.
Written By: Motobug
Illinois’ fearsome Falcon Chris “Danger” ORLY boogies on down to a career-high placing of #16 after a year characterized yet again by his classic bracket run to third at a stacked event. The Wise Sage of American Spirits can often be found bestowing wisdom on anyone that will listen to chronicles of either his latest set with metroid or his exploits in the game of the week with Wyld. But those tasked with facing him in bracket must remember the storied history of one of ILPM’s greatest players, and also to remember to differentiate ORLY’s strategies from that of his fellow Illinois racecar man compatriot, Chaloopy. One thing they do share is being on the receiving end of the cheers of “so cool, every time” that have become a mainstay at Midwest events anytime a Stomp-Knee rears its head. His wild playstyle punctuated by his terrifying reads and stone cold composure make him a terrifying opponent to face in bracket, evidenced by his amazing run at Undertow 2024, where he dove right into bracket, kicking his way out of the corner against Vaporeon, Jagz$, and the Olimar duo of sfy bees and ~CP9~, before falling to Ellipsis and Shiny Zubat to end his run at third out of 120 entrants. With wins on Star, Veka, Tuck, SoulOfficer, Comb, Sothe, and Rise peppered in at various events throughout the Midwest, his résumé is a perfect indicator of just how threatening this old dog is. With the “B*stard Slide” fully implemented, all eyes are on ORLY to see just what new tricks will be propelling him around the stage and up the rankings in 2025.
Written By: shad
Longtime Lucas lover, Hyperflame, PK Thunders himself back onto the rankings for the first time since 2019 to show everyone he can still PK Freeze out the competition and take the ranking of #15. Competing outside of MDVA for the first time since 2022, he showed up at The Bigger Mile High Club where he Meteor Kicked his way through Big Large and Zushi before ending his run at 25th after a showcase match, as the quintessential old school Lucas met Shadowhawke, the quintessential new age Lucas. At Creed III, Hyperflame didn’t drop a set on his way to top 3 with wins on Soap and Gclem before being defeated by Switch in Winners Finals and losing the runback to Gclem in Losers Finals. From there, he charged all his PSI attacks and headed off to Illinois to claim victory in one of the most powerful regions and Hyperflame hit his stride at Super TPS III. On the Winners side, he beat Rise, ORLY and Ripple and lost game five against Dirtboy, but this wasn’t the end of his night. In the Losers bracket, he beat Chaloopy, and then PK Starstormed Dirtboy to claim the runback and secure the bracket reset before going on to take the gold with a clean 6-0 Grand Finals. After nearly a decade of competing in PM/P+, Hyperflame shows us that he always has what it takes to be considered amongst the Top 50.
Written By: Artemis
Suvir returns for his third year in a row to PMRank’s Top 50 — wherever one might rate him as a top player, it’s apparent from his devastating punish game and patient neutral that he deserves to be up here at #14. While he might not have attended any PMRank events from April to October, his hit list includes big names like essy, metroid, TRai, Dirtboy, I0N, and Potatoes, and he made it to top 8 at every event he attended: Five Nights at Fingy’s 2, Metal Tavern, Exodus 2024, and even The Bigger Mile High Club, one of the most stacked events of the year. At TBMHC, he notably took down TRai, metroid and then Flarp, who was fresh off of beating SipMastah, to make Winners Semis before finishing at an outstanding fifth place out of 134 entrants. With dvd’s absence from the scene, he’s without a doubt the most consistent Sheik in the game. The number next to his name may have jumped up a number of spots, but even now, he’s actively training for a marathon — trading one grind for another might leave him with less time for Smash, but he assures us that he’ll always find a way to be a part of the scene.
Written By: Studebacher Hoch
After ending the 2023 season on a relatively high note with his top 4 placement at Honeypot 6, all eyes were on Comb going into the 2024 period. At the Vortex Gallery at Frosty Faustings, he took down SgtPingwen and fellow Illinoisian SoulOfficer before dropping two close game five sets against Yung Quaff and Rise, placing fifth. Shortly after, Comb took a trip back to his roots to celebrate the Smashing Grounds’ 10th Anniversary and to revel in a 3-1 victory against MA mainstay Flarp, but Comb’s festivities were kept in check by losses to ~CP9~ and harrow. Things were quiet for Comb for months until Tech Zone 3 in September, where he claimed a set off of ORLY and then he made top 32 at Undertow 2024 a week later. However, Comb was saving his best Robo Beams for the end of the year. He placed seventh at Tussleopolis where he left PartyGhoul and Michael by the wayside, with only SipMastah and Dirtboy able to stop the bot, the latter of which only barely did so in their game five set. Comb’s shining moment of the year, however, was at Mass Madness Deluxe - his Second Coming back to his old region in 2024. There, Thalia, Shiny Zubat, and Flarp all fell at the hands of Comb’s onslaught, where he secured first place at the stacked regional. After his meteoric rise in 2022, Comb continues to represent the Robotic Operating Buddy at the highest levels of competition as he continues to stack up impressive wins and steady performances year after year. Who knows what heights the self-proclaimed smash game fashionista might boost to next.
Written By: ilikepizza107
Armed with his trusty Sugar Free Redbull, some Pistachios, and an extremely loud Puerto Rican White Sox fan cheering for him at every chance, Chaloopy went on an absolute tear in his best year yet since escaping the Netplay Realm of Hypotheticals, moving up from 2023’s #16 to #12 this year. Chaloopy’s love of all things B-move, and of course his world renowned reaction techchase footstool combos are a sight to behold, and something that leaves all his opponents shaking in their boots and praying that his fearsome Falcon might be feeling a little fatigued (it has been known to happen). But unlike last year with the uncharacteristic 25th place at Joey’s Birthday Bash 2, Chaloopy was freakishly consistent, placing no worse than third at every tournament except for Tussleopolis, where he placed ninth, losing to a red hot Zushi and his bracket demon Dirtboy. His unstoppable Falcon and his perfectly complimenting immovable Ganondorf allowed him to pick up wins on Shenanigans, Veka, Star, ORLY, metroid, Michael, Ripple, Rise, Zushi, Jagz$, Dirtboy, and Comb across ten events, showing that his streak of placements was nothing short of extraordinary. If Chaloopy can carry even a fraction of this momentum heading into 2025, competitors may need to block his fanbase on social media and file noise complaints about the resounding “so cool, every time”.
Written By: shad
Jagz$ placed 41st on 2022’s PMRank and narrowly missed qualifying in 2023, but this year, he wanted to remind everyone that he’s not only one of the best Marth mains in P+, but one of the best players around. Jagz$ started the year traveling out to Colorado for The Bigger Mile High Club, his first event away from his home region of Florida since September of 2023. Jagz$ was in his element fighting through the stacked pools at the event, taking a set off of another 2024 PMRank player, SoulOfficer, to make it into the top 32. In top 32, he also secured the win on Shenanigans, but he was stopped in his tracks by the winner of the event, SipMastah. After this event, Jagz$ was warmed up and ready to go. Jagz$ claimed second place at two national tournaments: Ripped Off in Georgia and Warehouse War 4 in Tennessee. At these tournaments, he Ken Combo’d many players onto his résumé of impressive wins including Rooster, Shenanigans, and Chaloopy at Ripped Off, as well as Switch, Dingo, Shadowhawke, Switch (again), and Chaloopy (again), at Warehouse War 4. His final national for the year, Undertow, brought him more notable victories including Whoratio, mawwwk and New Jersey’s hidden boss Mulldrifter. Jagz$ showed us he can shield break and tipper his way into being in the conversation as one of the greats.
Written By: Artemis
Other PMRank 2024 Articles
1/27/2025 - PMRank 2024: The Edge of Glory
1/28/2025 - PMRank 2024: 50-41
1/29/2025 - PMRank 2024: 40-31
1/30/2025 - PMRank 2024: 30-21
1/31/2025 - PMRank 2024: 20-11
2/3/2025 - PMRank 2024: 10-7
2/4/2025 - PMRank 2024: 6-4
2/5/2025 - PMRank 2024: 3-1
2/6/2025 - PMRank 2024: Recap
1/28/2025 - PMRank 2024: 50-41
1/29/2025 - PMRank 2024: 40-31
1/30/2025 - PMRank 2024: 30-21
1/31/2025 - PMRank 2024: 20-11
2/3/2025 - PMRank 2024: 10-7
2/4/2025 - PMRank 2024: 6-4
2/5/2025 - PMRank 2024: 3-1
2/6/2025 - PMRank 2024: Recap
Last Year's Rankings
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
Editors:
- “CND”
- Paul "Motobug" Canavan
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