As another PMRank comes to a close, another recap begins. We’ll be going over both character and regional representation from throughout 2024, as well as presenting the PMRank combo video.
This year’s character spread has many similarities to last year’s, but with a few key differences.
A Rise and a Fall
For the sixth PMRank in a row, a unique character takes the crown for this year’s most represented fighter: Ike. With dedicated mains in metroid and Blitz, secondaries in the hands of Moist and PartyGhoul, and his firm standing within Pikmon’s lineup brings Ike to five total representatives.
In stark contrast, Zero Suit Samus takes perhaps the most drastic fall in PMRank history, going from the #1 spot in 2023 with six representatives to zero. With familiar faces such as Malachi, Stango, and techboy not meeting activity requirements this year, and other ZSS secondaries not appearing in the lineups of some players, she’s fallen below the active line. Like many characters before her, including herself, she’s likely to bounce back again in the future if the past is any indication.
Out of the Shadows
An ever-developing metagame as well as a new patch allowed some characters to reach PMRank status for the first time in years. Dedede’s duo of Ripple and Mulldrifter, Michael’s breakout for Jigglypuff, and the return of Morsecode and Anther for Samus and Pikachu are just a few of the highlights for the zero-rep regulars. We’ve also seen some players pick up secondaries from last year’s zero range too, such as Shiny Zubat’s Bowser and Star’s Pit.
Below The Cut
The zero representation group ends up at its lowest number ever at just seven characters! While Peach is a usual suspect in this group, all of the remaining characters had representatives on last year’s list: Kycse for Charizard, Stango for DK, Ivayne for Falco, Jodeci Joestar and Not Chris for Ness, dvd and Lunchables for Toon Link, and the plethora of ZSS players were all inactive in 2024.
The Fall of the Multi-Mains
While not apparent from this graphic, there’s been quite a shift in character usage on a per-player basis. Compared to previous seasons, especially recent ones, a larger portion of our players only won sets with a single character at eligible events. In previous seasons, solo mains hovered at around 50-60%, while 2024 saw that number climb to 68%! In addition, many of the players with secondary characters only used them for a single set: essy’s Fox versus Dirtboy and Prince Fluff’s Sheik versus harrow are just a couple examples of this. While there are still true multi-character representatives, such as SipMastah and Shiny Zubat at the top of the list juggling three or more characters, as well as dedicated dual mains such as evil lesbian and Motobug, secondaries appear to be falling out of style. Will further metagame development in Project+ v3.0 see the return of multi-mains, or will that number continue to fall?
We’ve seen a bit of regional diversity spring up in the 2024 season. Let’s go over some of the highlights:
The Two Superpowers
At first glance, you might notice two particularly large groupings of PMRank players on this year’s region spread: Illinois and New England. Illinois continued its rise that began in 2019 to a staggering eleven players, mixing in old-school representatives in Ripple and new-school talent such as SoulOfficer to make one of the strongest regions in PMRank history. New England, on the other hand, has remained consistently strong, retaining at least eight players in the region each PMRank since 2019. This year, New England had some of its tenured players either return to the rankings or make their national debuts with their slew of eligible events - and having their highest player ranking in PMRank history at #4. With the impressive strength of both of these regions, there’s no question they were the hubs of Project+ in 2024.
California
In years past, California usually had an abundance of representatives from both NorCal and SoCal, but this year, California collectively only had four players make PMRank. While 2024 saw SipMastah become the fourth Californian player to rank #1 and the fifth year the Golden State took home the top rank, a lack of events in the region made it difficult for players both to qualify and to show the extent of their talents. With incredible players such as Jonny Sosa, Darc, The Doctor, and Ivayne still making appearances in the past year, there’s always potential for them to take over PMRank once again.
Our Friends to the North
While the King of Canada Rongunshu has mostly moved on to Aetherian pastures, his fellow Canadian competitors made waves within the US in his stead. The continuation of Blitz’s momentum from 2023’s Honeypot 6, along with the national breakouts of Erg and Krumpberry earned Canada three spots on this year’s ranking - the most they’ve ever held. Players such as Titanium, Pnut, and LiteralFraud all had impressive showings this year as well, so there might just be more Canadians making their PMRank splash next time around.
The Southeast Soars
Despite not making any previous appearances on PMRank throughout its history, Tennessee showed up in full force with three players making their debuts in 2024. Xtreme, Shenanigans, and Moist had their years of in and out of region grinding pay off with the best collective results the state has seen in Project M/Project+ history. Florida also made its return after being absent last year, with Jagz$ giving Florida another placement within the top 15.
The Remaining Perfect Attenders
With the “Bobs” (Malachi and Kycse) not making activity for this year, only three players remain that have been on every PMRank to date: Dirtboy, Pikmon, and SipMastah. All three of these players also made top ten this season, which is also the case for the two players on this year’s list that have been on all but one PMRank, Flarp and Switch.
Finally, it wouldn’t be a PMRank release without a combo video, courtesy of Motobug:
Thank you all for another great year of Project+. 2024 saw our first period of year-over-year growth in a very long time, with more tournaments, more overall players, and higher entrant counts across the board. Despite everything, our community is still putting in the work to keep the game alive and thriving more than anyone could have expected this long into its life. Let’s keep it up in 2025!
Written by: Motobug
Other PMRank 2024 Articles
Last Year's Rankings
Credits
PMRank Staff:
Graphic Design and Character Renders:
Editors:
Character Representation
This year’s character spread has many similarities to last year’s, but with a few key differences.
A Rise and a Fall
For the sixth PMRank in a row, a unique character takes the crown for this year’s most represented fighter: Ike. With dedicated mains in metroid and Blitz, secondaries in the hands of Moist and PartyGhoul, and his firm standing within Pikmon’s lineup brings Ike to five total representatives.
In stark contrast, Zero Suit Samus takes perhaps the most drastic fall in PMRank history, going from the #1 spot in 2023 with six representatives to zero. With familiar faces such as Malachi, Stango, and techboy not meeting activity requirements this year, and other ZSS secondaries not appearing in the lineups of some players, she’s fallen below the active line. Like many characters before her, including herself, she’s likely to bounce back again in the future if the past is any indication.
Out of the Shadows
An ever-developing metagame as well as a new patch allowed some characters to reach PMRank status for the first time in years. Dedede’s duo of Ripple and Mulldrifter, Michael’s breakout for Jigglypuff, and the return of Morsecode and Anther for Samus and Pikachu are just a few of the highlights for the zero-rep regulars. We’ve also seen some players pick up secondaries from last year’s zero range too, such as Shiny Zubat’s Bowser and Star’s Pit.
Below The Cut
The zero representation group ends up at its lowest number ever at just seven characters! While Peach is a usual suspect in this group, all of the remaining characters had representatives on last year’s list: Kycse for Charizard, Stango for DK, Ivayne for Falco, Jodeci Joestar and Not Chris for Ness, dvd and Lunchables for Toon Link, and the plethora of ZSS players were all inactive in 2024.
The Fall of the Multi-Mains
While not apparent from this graphic, there’s been quite a shift in character usage on a per-player basis. Compared to previous seasons, especially recent ones, a larger portion of our players only won sets with a single character at eligible events. In previous seasons, solo mains hovered at around 50-60%, while 2024 saw that number climb to 68%! In addition, many of the players with secondary characters only used them for a single set: essy’s Fox versus Dirtboy and Prince Fluff’s Sheik versus harrow are just a couple examples of this. While there are still true multi-character representatives, such as SipMastah and Shiny Zubat at the top of the list juggling three or more characters, as well as dedicated dual mains such as evil lesbian and Motobug, secondaries appear to be falling out of style. Will further metagame development in Project+ v3.0 see the return of multi-mains, or will that number continue to fall?
Regional Representation
We’ve seen a bit of regional diversity spring up in the 2024 season. Let’s go over some of the highlights:
The Two Superpowers
At first glance, you might notice two particularly large groupings of PMRank players on this year’s region spread: Illinois and New England. Illinois continued its rise that began in 2019 to a staggering eleven players, mixing in old-school representatives in Ripple and new-school talent such as SoulOfficer to make one of the strongest regions in PMRank history. New England, on the other hand, has remained consistently strong, retaining at least eight players in the region each PMRank since 2019. This year, New England had some of its tenured players either return to the rankings or make their national debuts with their slew of eligible events - and having their highest player ranking in PMRank history at #4. With the impressive strength of both of these regions, there’s no question they were the hubs of Project+ in 2024.
California
In years past, California usually had an abundance of representatives from both NorCal and SoCal, but this year, California collectively only had four players make PMRank. While 2024 saw SipMastah become the fourth Californian player to rank #1 and the fifth year the Golden State took home the top rank, a lack of events in the region made it difficult for players both to qualify and to show the extent of their talents. With incredible players such as Jonny Sosa, Darc, The Doctor, and Ivayne still making appearances in the past year, there’s always potential for them to take over PMRank once again.
Our Friends to the North
While the King of Canada Rongunshu has mostly moved on to Aetherian pastures, his fellow Canadian competitors made waves within the US in his stead. The continuation of Blitz’s momentum from 2023’s Honeypot 6, along with the national breakouts of Erg and Krumpberry earned Canada three spots on this year’s ranking - the most they’ve ever held. Players such as Titanium, Pnut, and LiteralFraud all had impressive showings this year as well, so there might just be more Canadians making their PMRank splash next time around.
The Southeast Soars
Despite not making any previous appearances on PMRank throughout its history, Tennessee showed up in full force with three players making their debuts in 2024. Xtreme, Shenanigans, and Moist had their years of in and out of region grinding pay off with the best collective results the state has seen in Project M/Project+ history. Florida also made its return after being absent last year, with Jagz$ giving Florida another placement within the top 15.
The Remaining Perfect Attenders
With the “Bobs” (Malachi and Kycse) not making activity for this year, only three players remain that have been on every PMRank to date: Dirtboy, Pikmon, and SipMastah. All three of these players also made top ten this season, which is also the case for the two players on this year’s list that have been on all but one PMRank, Flarp and Switch.
Finally, it wouldn’t be a PMRank release without a combo video, courtesy of Motobug:
Thank you all for another great year of Project+. 2024 saw our first period of year-over-year growth in a very long time, with more tournaments, more overall players, and higher entrant counts across the board. Despite everything, our community is still putting in the work to keep the game alive and thriving more than anyone could have expected this long into its life. Let’s keep it up in 2025!
Written by: Motobug
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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