We are down to the final 10. To celebrate each of the players, we have given them their own page to celebrate 2015. Share your thoughts about today with the hashtag #SSBMRank2015.


Photo Credits to Thomas Tischio (@Tischphotos)

Rank
Rating
SSBMRank 2014
7
9.043
16
Tournament Results
Apex2015 ceo2015 evo2015 bh5
49
7
4
13
3
Other Results
5th at Paragon 2015
9th at Paragon LA
25th at HTC Throwdown
4th at Smash Summit
4th at Eclipse
Summary
Justin “Plup” McGrath, the fan favorite Samus who had an amazing breakout year in 2014, started off the new year on a low note with a 49th place finish at Apex 2015. However, he only went up from there and has been on a meteoric climb ever since he picked up his now rock-solid Sheik. All within twelve months, he’s defeated four of the six players ranked above him in Mango, PPMD, Hungrybox, and Leffen. Besides the blemishes of HTC Throwdown and Big House 5, where he placed 25th and 13th respectively, his placings in 2015 were fantastic: 2nd at Smash ‘N’ Splash, only losing to Mew2King, 7th at CEO 2015, an amazing 4th at EVO 2015, 4th at the hyper-competitive Smash Summit, and 3rd at Dreamhack Winter. The kind of Sheik he’s showcased in most of his matches is methodical, patient, and precise. Plup always looks for brutal tech chases, which he is a master at stringing out as long as possible. Along with Druggedfox, Plup is responsible for a huge leap in Sheik’s development in 2015 — but it’s his Samus secondary that sets him apart from other Sheik mains. Almost the polar opposite playstyle of his other main, he plays a highly aggressive and very technical Samus. His approaches are still calculated, but he chooses not to abuse Samus’ strong ranged game and instead opts to bully the opponent with precisely spaced tilts and tricky grab setups. Plup is also well known for his efficient and devastating use of Charge Shots to end his opponent’s stocks very quickly. If he can refine his play versus Armada’s Peach, the goofy kid from Apopka, Florida might just be a threat to be one of the best players of 2016. He now stands as one of the few players capable of turning the Top 6 into the Top 7.
– Eli Schoop
Top 10 H2H Stats
Player
2015 Sets
Set Wins
Set Losses
%
vs. Mango
5
2
3
40
vs. Leffen
4
2
2
50
vs. Mew2King
5
1*
4
20
vs. PPMD
2
1
1
50
vs. Armada
2
0
2
0
vs. Hungrybox
21
6
15
29
vs. Top 1-6
39
12
27
31
vs. Axe
3
2
1
67
vs. Plup
0
0
0
0
vs. Shroomed
4
2
2
50
vs. Westballz
7
5
2
71
vs. Top 7-10
14
9
5
64
Total
53
21
32
40

Panelists

42 Panelists

(More Panelists were asked from each region, but did not turn in a ballot in a timely manner)

Socal (6)
– HugS
– s2j
– MacD
– MikeHaze
– Kira
– Reno

Norcal (4)
– TarheelJKS
– Laudandus
– Toph
– Shroomed

Midwest (5)
– Juggleguy
– FendrickLamar
– Duck
– Webs
– DarkAtma

New England (3)
– Mafia
– MattDotZeb
– Gtown Tom

Maryland/Virginia (4)
– Nintendude
– Redd
– Chillindude
– Wife

Pacific Northwest (5)
– Silent Wolf
– Bladewise
– Vish
– eBay
– Fat Goku

Arizona (3)
– Axe
– Tai
– DarkDragoon

South (5)
– s0ft
– Flow
– Chi Wong
– Gahtzu
– Hungrybox

Tri-State (2)
– Zhu
– Swedish Delight

Canada (2)
– Idea
– n0ne

Europe (3)
– MikeHaggar (w/ Armada)
– Imperfect
– Mahie

Rest Of The List

12/21/2015 – SSBMRank #100-91
12/22/2015 – SSBMRank #90-81
12/23/2015 – SSBMRank #80-71
12/24/2015 – SSBMRank #70-61
12/25/2015 – SSBMRank #60-51

12/28/2015 – SSBMRank #50-41
12/29/2015 – SSBMRank #40-31
12/30/2015 – SSBMRank #30-26
12/31/2015 – SSBMRank #25-21
1/1/2016 – SSBMRank #20-16

1/4/2016 – SSBMRank #15-11
1/5/2016 – SSBMRank #10, #9, #8, #7
1/6/2016 – SSBMRank #6, #5, #4
1/7/2016 – SSBMRank #3, #2, #1
1/8/2016 – SSBMRank Recap

Other Information

Acknowledgements

SSBMRank is a big undertaking every year. We could have not done this without the help of HTC, who generously helped us out with this year’s production values. Nick, Darkdragoon, was a workhorse with the formatting and the graphics this year as well. We also had countless volunteers that helped out with numerous tasks.

Photographers
Robert Paul (@tempusrob)
Michael Hathaway (@tl_peanuts)
Thomas Tischio
Old Abbot (@oldAbbot)
Itsjustatank (@itsjustatank)
Ludwig Ahgren
/u/BirdUPSSBM
Big Blue eSports (@BigBlueES)
SleepyK (@sleepike)
Alex Baldwin
Meowth

Blurb Writers
Eli Schoop
Bradley Stafford (@bradcobra)
Louis Torracinta
Sawyer Frey (@ssbm_tm)
Derek Zhang (@DZhang4)
Matt Deslatte (@pantsnameguy)
Matthew Reed (@Matthew__Reed)
Jack McDonald (@KezzupReviews)
Luke Geldart (@Haksause)
Andrew Blessington (@AJawesome07)
Nick Gow (@ssbm_Song)
Anthony Bruno (@slime_machine)
Bryan Rapp (@Mithrintia)
David Tyler (@flossy_tas)
Josh Kassell (@roboticphish)
Solomon McMurphy (@HFMSmash)

Fact Finders
Eli Schoop
Bradley Stafford (@bradcobra)
Louis Torracinta
Derek Zhang (@DZhang4)
Matt Deslatte (@pantsnameguy)
Matthew Reed (@Matthew__Reed)
Jack McDonald (@KezzupReviews)
Luke Geldart (@Haksause)
Andrew Blessington (@AJawesome07)
Bryan Rapp (@Mithrintia)
David Tyler (@flossy_tas)
Solomon McMurphy  (@HFMSmash)

Editors
Sheridan Zalewski (@sheridactyls)
Louis Torracinta
Scott Zeng
Andrew Blessington (@AJawesome07)
Nick Gow (@ssbm_Song)
Andrew Nestico (@PracticalTAS)
Anthony Bruno (@slime_machine)
Bryan Rapp (@Mithrintia)
David Tyler (@flossy_tas)
Josh Kassel (@roboticphish)

Picture Finders
Bradley Stafford (@bradcobra)
Louis Torracinta
Scott Zeng
Sawyer Frey
Derek Zhang (@DZhang4)
Matthew Reed (@Matthew__Reed)
Luke Geldart (@Haksause)
Nick Buckman