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.
PMRank mainstays, returning veterans, and new faces all make their PMRank 2024 appearances today.
Cloudburst has been at this for a long time — you might remember him terrorizing the likes of Fortefreak and ilovebagelz in 2015 or so, all the way until now. The attendance of the second best Squirtle in the world diminished this year, but he still put up solid results: a third place finish at Metal Tavern, a ninth place finish at The Bigger Mile High Club, and a fifth place finish at Smash Camp: New Lands 2024. His notable set wins included Potatoes, Darc, Sneez, and Mr.Watch&Learn.
Results are cool and all, but they're not an indication of who these players are as people. Cloudburst is one of the nicest guys in the scene, and even though he’s stepping away to go be the sickest Rocket League player to ever do it, he was always a joy to have at tournaments. Whether it’s on the Rocket League pitch or hiking out in the deserts of Arizona, we know Cloudburst will do well. Thanks for being a part of the scene, and for all your years of dedication. That’s my teammate!
Written By: Studebacher Hoch
While splitting his focus with another Smash mod and Rivals 2, Mr.Watch&Learn still made it a priority to show up for PMRank events. With a quiet but solid 17th place at The Bigger Mile High Club with wins over international talent Smash_Falco3 and Illinois natives Tuck and Nave, it was Terminal Velocity where W&L began to show signs of his 2019 heights. Starting out the event with victories over Anchor at his peak and sfy bees on the rise, he continued that momentum into Garden Brawl with a win over Shadowhawke. Watch&Learn ended the year with his best tournament, Undertow 2024, defeating natebug01 and locking in a win over Dirtboy to make the Winners side of top 32. After a loss to Motobug, he hammered his way to one more win over Shenanigans before falling to fellow NY/NJ resident Switch for 13th place out of 120 entrants. After barely missing the cut last year, it’s nice to see a familiar face bounce back and claim his spot at #29.
Written By: Motobug
After debuting on PMRank 2023 at #45, Pacific Northwest’s premier Project+ Puppygirl , or so it was coined last year, PartyGhoul, was not confined to its home region this year, attending both The Bigger Mile High Club and Tussleopolis in an effort to bolster its résumé this year, and bolster it certainly did, as Peaches was able to reach #28. Unfortunately, The Bigger Mile High Club was not a kind mistress, as has been the story for many PMRank level players, While there, PartyGhoul fell to Veka and one of the rising stars of 2024, sfy bees, en route to an early exit at 33rd. But it did not get dismayed. From there, PartyGhoul went on a string of strong showings in the comfort of PNW, winning Ghost Town 2 over Spark and Catosat, snagging wins over Grealy and Pikmon to reach a respectable third place at Smash Camp: New Lands, and finally, placing fifth at Carnival Clash 2, not before beating Nerfy, Serb, and essy. At the aforementioned Tussleopolis, PartyGhoul narrowly escaped defeat in pools at the hands of Apollo Ali, clutching out a game five set, and PartyGhoul was able to usurp Veka as the first seed of the pool after defeating her 3-0. From there, PartyGhoul defeated natebug01 with its trusty Ike, before falling to Comb in another close game five set and then ORLY shortly after in Losers. After a decent showing at Tussleopolis, Peaches returned home to the PNW for CYBERSPACE, where, after losing early in bracket to moxi, it placed second behind essy, taking out Zushi, moxi in the runback, and Shadows along the way. If there’s one thing to look for heading into 2025, it will be if PartyGhoul will be able to make the most of those occasional out of region appearances that helped so much this year.
Written By: shad
When she’s not traveling down to Central Illinois to inspire a new generation of P+ players at the two largest college scenes, Star can be found grinding, hungry to improve after her PMRank debut at #41 last year. And improve she did, this year reaching #27. At her first tournament of the year, a return to her home state for the first iteration of the Game 5 in the D, Zoey tore through her first two rounds of IL teamkill in Tuck and ilikepizza107, hot off his win over Ellipsis. After being defeated by Morse, she did not let the fall of her carpool be in vain, as she went on to defeat both the recently revived Anther, and Lordy in Losers before having her run halted by techboy in a very close game five set in the spirit of the tournament’s name. From there, while her out of region performances may not have been what she had wanted with early exits at Undertow and The Bigger Mile High Club, Star remained the stalwart threat of the Midwest she has always been, picking up wins over ORLY and SoulOfficer at Smash of the Titans 8, essy and Rise at Tech Zone 3, ~CP9~ twice at Tussleopolis, and Chaloopy and ORLY again at Show Me Your Moves 2024. Going into 2025, all eyes are on her to see if her out of region consistency can reach the levels she's shown in region, and if she can, she’s going to be a real problem for all in her path.
Written By: shad
Massachusetts mainstay Motobug makes their way back onto PMRank by spindashing themselves to the rank of #26. Starting off the season spring-jumping up the mountainside, they challenged some of the best players from around the world at The Bigger Mile High Club. After getting sent to Losers side in pools, they were not to be counted out yet as they took sets off Helix and ~CP9~ on the way to top 32. In top 32, Motobug had a chance to avenge their loss from Ryzuul at Metal Cavern in Australia, but the US soil didn’t do anything to sway the rematch in Motobug’s favor. The set ended with a close game five, but Motobug didn’t let this change their determination to win with the next event set in their home state of Massachusetts. At Terminal Velocity, they unleashed their Knuckles to drill claw their way through the competition. As they made their way through the Winners side, they erupted past grealy, Shadowhawke, and Flarp to make it to the Winners Finals where they bowed out at third after facing Shiny Zubat and then Flarp in the runback. For their final event of the year, Motobug homed in on Ohio’s annual event, Undertow, where they Spin Dashed through Shenanigans and Mr.Watch&Learn into ninth place out of 120 entrants. The Commonwealth’s Sonic & Knuckles aficionado will remind you that if you end up against them, they’ll Rising Uppercut you out of the way.
Written By: Artemis
“And there it is.” Long-time Melee veteran and SSBMRank top 100 member essy has burst into the Project Plus scene in spectacular fashion! Utilizing her years of experience piloting various Melee cast members and her uniquely high talent to pinpoint the opposing player’s weaknesses on the fly, essy has earned for herself one of the most explosive debuts in P+ history at #25. In search of worthy opponents and adrenaline packed sets, essy brought her one-of-a-kind Lucas and her grab bag of secondaries to a whopping ten PMRank events, traveling to every corner of the nation this season. When a new player is repeatedly pitted against the notoriously deep and balanced cast featured in P+, one would expect a record littered with inconsistencies due to matchup inexperience – but instead Tim Roger’s biggest fan demonstrated just how far a thoughtful, present gameplan and the techskill to execute it can take a player. Rather than falling prey to devious matchup checks, essy put on a masterclass in consistency with only three finishes below top 8 and two of those coming from the incredibly stacked brackets at Warehouse War 4 and Undertow 2024. To put into perspective just how far this videoball enthusiast’s endeavors have gotten her, in just her first year competing in P+ essy’s wins include: two sets versus the likes of Ganondorf staple Ford$, fellow rising star SoulOfficer and her longtime Melee sparring partner ORLY, as well as individual sets versus Wisconsin Melee player Jisp, ILPR up-and-comer Jackie, Yoshi techmonster Whoratio, fellow PMRank player Studebacher Hoch, top-level Fox AZ_Rocky, Ripped Off champion Xtreme, and an intense, thrilling reverse 3-0 featuring essy’s Fox against perennial PMRank staple Dirtboy (seriously, if you haven’t seen this one check it out). Capping the year off in style, essy achieved her first ever regional victory at the PNW’s event CYBERSPACE from Winners side, where she tore through Washington’s #4 Shadows (for the third time this season), Zushi fresh off of his breakout performance at Tussleopolis, and clutching out the runback against PMRank veteran PartyGhoul after losing to it earlier in the year at Carnival Clash 2. With no intention of staying complacent with her results, the P+ scene at large will be sure to hear her game ending catchphrase echoing on top level stages for years to come: ”That’s gonna do it.”
Written By: evil lesbian
A member of the Massachusetts Project M scene whose presence dates all the way back to the first Game Underground venue, sfy bees finally makes his PMRank debut at #24. In previous years, the eccentric Olimar player either did not get quite the quality of wins needed or was short of enough activity, but he blasted past the requirements for both this season. Starting off strong at SG 10th Anniversary, his trusty yellow Pikmin dispatched of longtime MAPM titans, Twisty and Kumatora, before falling to fellow Olimar adversary ~CP9~ for fifth place. The iconoclastic spaceman main took down PartyGhoul and essy across events before his big breakout at Undertow 2024. Here, sfy bees used his lenticular gameplay to earn a high-value pair of wins over Star and Shiny Zubat before losing out to Switch and ORLY for ninth place at the stacked event. In the remainder of his year, the stupendous sfy bees claimed another win over essy, two new ones over Shadowhawke, and evened up his record vs ~CP9~. As someone who teetered on the edge of greatness for years, the many sfy bees fans of the world are sure to be rejoicing over the long-awaited debut of sfy bees on this year’s PMRank.
Written By: Motobug
Veka spent 2023 Chasing Stars, and was rewarded with her first PMRank placement of #35. This year, she was the star to be chased, leaving many others in the dust on her way to a higher placing of #23 for this year. With her methodical neutral and potent punish game punctuated by her attendance and continued enrollment in the Chaloopy School of 3 AM Netplay Sessions, it was no surprise to see the meteoric rise of Veka this year. Her year began with a pair of Midwest events in the form of the first Game 5 in the D and Full Bloom 2024. At these events, she defeated Anther and SoulOfficer, and fell in close game five sets to techboy and Che en route to respectable fifth and ninth place finishes, respectively. From there, she headed to Colorado for The Bigger Mile High Club, where she found herself with wins on Shenanigans, PartyGhoul, and Blitz, with a narrow game three loss to Av and a 3-1 loss to Dirtboy ending her run at 17th for one of the hardest brackets of the year. From there, Veka remained in the Midwest, racking up wins on Star and Whoratio at Who’s on Ledge? 6 in Iowa before falling to the Illinois Falcon duo of Chaloopy and ORLY. She had the last laugh against ORLY, though, as she double-eliminated him on her way to second at Invincible VIII, with wins against Star and Mawwwk along the way to her best showing of the year, although Chaloopy continued to have her number. After Invincible, Veka took a break for much of the rest of the year, only making an appearance at Tussleopolis to remind the Midwest (and the world) that she still has what it takes. After losing to PartyGhoul in pools, she was tasked with the Yoshi duo of Whoratio, who she defeated 3-1, and Shiny Zubat, her biggest obstacle in the Plus Side Netplay brackets that they both entered frequently. She gave it her all, but ultimately couldn’t quite defeat her dastardly bracket demon and the eventual tournament winner, falling 3-2. From there, she defeated evil lesbian 3-1 before Michael 4.1e10 ended her run at 13th. Throughout the year, when Veka was on and playing at her best, she looked downright terrifying for her opponents, and if she can harness that going into 2025, there’s no doubt in my mind her star will be even harder for others to chase.
Written By: shad
After narrowly missing the cut last season, ~CP9~ returns to PMRank at a career-best placement of #22. Now firmly settled in Texas after a history of residing in different regions, ~CP9~’s 2024 started out by visiting one of those former homes, Massachusetts, for SG’s 10th Anniversary. There, he dispatched of MA mainstays Serb, sfy bees, and Prince Fluff, as well as another former MA resident, Comb, for a third place finish. Just two weeks later, ~CP9~ visited Indiana to tear through the Midwest’s up-and-comers, taking down Not Chris, SoulOfficer, and Shenanigans for fourth place. The peak of ~CP9~’s campaign came per Undertow 2024, where the prominent premier Pikmin plucker potently planted preeminence pertinent to grealy, Moist, Studebacher Hoch, and top 5 pillar techboy to procure a particularly profound fifth place - presently the peerless pinnacle placement an Olimar has positioned at a Project Plus major. With his infectious laugh and his iconic green Olimar T-shirt, ~CP9~ and his Olimar are a pleasure to have both in our scene and on PMRank 2024.
Written By: Motobug
In a turbulent, ever-evolving world like the one we live in, it’s nice to see that some things never change. Chief among them? Death, taxes, and Brian “metroid” hitting you with some of the dumbest Ike bull**** you’ve ever seen, all the while vigorously shaking his head to show he does NOT approve. A longtime staple of the IL scene and one of the most genuinely kind people you’ll ever meet, Brian has hosted and organized events for the scene, namely 2023’s PM Concert: Symphony, a Midwest Invitational and has been housing the out of state homies for regionals and majors for years now. The other thing he’s been doing for years? Proving just how much of a menace Project+ Ike can be with remarkable consistency, maintaining a top 3 spot on the stacked Illinois Power Rankings since the mod’s debut in 2019. While metroid wasn’t able to travel as much as he usually would this year due to a busy schedule, attending a mere four PMRank tournaments compared to 11 in 2023, when he showed up to an event you knew some top players were about to take dirt naps. This year’s most notable victims included Marcato, Che and Michael at Full Bloom 2024, ~CP9~ and Shadowhawke at The Bigger Mile High Club, Y G L, Slowking, Kendrick, and his longtime IL rival Chaloopy at Who’s on Ledge? 6, and promising up and comers SoulOfficer and essy at Undertow 2024. With Brian’s engagement to his now-fiancé Alicia (congratulations y'all!), it’s unlikely that he’ll be traveling too much in 2025, but you’ll still be sure to see this kind-hearted Gunpla enthusiast protecting his home region and hitting the most devastating weak dair edgeguards you could possibly imagine on your favorite player.
Written By: evil lesbian
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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