PGStats and MIOM are proud to present the latest Melee ranking, Summer #MPGR2018, which spans the first half of the year. MPGR is the spiritual successor to SSBMRank , and an FAQ can be found here .

PGstats has asked 35 top players, community leaders, tournament organizers and analysts to rate the quality of play for each qualifying player during the first half of 2018. They were prompted with the following statement:

Based on quality and quantity of results in 2018, rate each player on a scale of 1 to 10. "A tournament is held every weekend during the ranking period, and all players on the list are able to attend every event. Over the course of the season, who performs the best?"

Each panelist gives each player a score from 1 to 10, and the ratings are compiled into one overall average after suppressing the effect of outliers . Finally, scores were rescaled to a 1-100 rating, which is displayed under each player’s graphic.

Summer #MPGR2018 No. 40: Junebug © Jeff Mahieu (@delta52_)

Rating: 52.1 | SSBMRank2017: 54

Though he might be lesser known than other "Smash Masters," Arjun "Junebug" Rao has proven himself to be one of the strongest players to touch the Smash Bros. series overall. He has displayed his prowess in Brawl, was one of the best in the world at Project M, and has now cemented himself among Melee's elite with wins against players like Zain, La Luna and lloD this year.

Written by: Dylan "Dilly-Jo" Tate | Edited by: Darren "Krakhead" Lynch

Summer #MPGR2018 No. 39: Captain Faceroll © Zotcade

Rating: 53.1 | SSBMRank2017: 52

2018 has been a solid year for Griffin “Captain Faceroll” Williams, who notched a win over S2J at Flatiron 3 among other early-year highlights. Floaties and fastfallers alike have reason to fear his strong fundamentals — at The Even Bigger Balc, the Chicago native went on an impressive bracket run, defeating Darkatma, Ralph, La Luna and HugS on his way to a fourth-place finish.

Written by: Alex "Quality Steve" Lee | Edited by: Anokh "EdwinBudding" Palakurthi

Summer #MPGR2018 No. 38: Bladewise © Connor Kelly (@connrokelt)

Rating: 53.7 | SSBMRank2017: 37

Forever underrated, Theodore “Bladewise” Seybold continues to represent Peach at a high level. His first notable tournament this year, Poi Poundaz, was also his most impressive: he defeated HugS and aMSa to finish in third. Since then, the Washingtonian has failed to make it to Top 24 at any major this year, but he remains an inspiration to wayward Peach mains worldwide.

Written by: Alex "Quality Steve" Lee | Edited by: Anokh "EdwinBudding" Palakurthi

Summer #MPGR2018 No. 37: MikeHaze © Aaron Dolgos (@batteryazid)

Rating: 55 | SSBMRank2017: 25

Long known as a top Fox main, Michael “MikeHaze” Pulido stepped back from Melee this spring to focus on his rap career. Despite a few uncharacteristic losses, he’s still a formidable player, bringing Plup all the way to game five at Dreamhack Austin and defeating Shroomed at Noods Noods Noods: Oakland Edition. MikeHaze still has all the (vape) juice necessary to make it deep into major brackets.

Written by: Alex "Quality Steve" Lee | Edited by: Anokh "EdwinBudding" Palakurthi

Summer #MPGR2018 No. 36: Rishi © Jeff Mahieu (@delta52_)

Rating: 56.5 | SSBMRank2017: 36

Rishi "Rishi" Malhotra has a plan to become a Top 20 player: have fun with it. So far, it's paying off. Quieter major results belie his in-region dominance, where he's beaten Captain Smuckers, Slox, Swedish Delight and a visiting AbsentPage. In teams, he and lloD have established themselves as a world class duo, winning Omega II in June. Oh yeah — and he‘s also got a pretty cool podcast.

Written by: Zane "Epengu" Bhansali | Edited by: Anokh "EdwinBudding" Palakurthi

Summer #MPGR2018 No. 35: Ice © Charles Watson (@m1lkcast)

Rating: 56.8 | SSBMRank2017: 28

Mustafa “Ice” Akcakaya has had a relatively quiet year for a player with such an electric reputation, but it hasn't been without its highlights: Ice placed second at a trio of European regionals, earned a striking pair of Top 16 finishes at EGLX 2018 and GOML 2018, and most notably of all, became a Red Bull athlete in March. Hopefully, this new sponsorship will push him back to the top over the next few months!

Written by: Rui "Rui" Yang Xu | Edited by: Nicole "st. nicholas" Bennett

Summer #MPGR2018 No. 34: Ginger © Todd Gutierrez, Beyond the Summit

Rating: 58 | SSBMRank2017: 49

Avery “Ginger” Wilson, the fiery headed Falco main from Michigan, has had his fair share of ups and downs this year. He was picked up by Balance Gaming following an impressive run at Full Bloom 4, where he defeated Axe in pools. Yet, he has also suffered disappointing losses to unranked players such as Zamu and Arakune. Ginger has the second half of 2018 to improve his consistency and prove that the bird is the word.

Written by: Arjun "ExcitedMage" Deepak | Edited by: Dylan "Dilly-Jo" Tate

Summer #MPGR2018 No. 33: Bananas © Chris Bahn (@bahnism)

Rating: 59.8 | SSBMRank2017: 102

This has undoubtedly been a breakout year for Texas Ice Climbers main Connor "Bananas" Lamb. During the first half of the year, Bananas accumulated numerous impressive wins over the likes of n0ne, Swedish Delight, S2J and ChuDat. That, coupled with an impressively short list of bad losses, has allowed Bananas to make the climb from outside the Top 100 to inside the top 40 in only six months.

Written by: Dylan "Dilly-Jo" Tate | Edited by: Darren "Krakhead" Lynch

Summer #MPGR2018 No. 32: IBDW © Aaron Dolgos (@batteryazid)

Rating: 60 | SSBMRank2017: 84

Cody "iBDW" Schwab isn't your average tristate Fox: his refined execution, lightning-fast reactions, and quiet discipline define him. Just this year, he's taken sets from Shroomed, lloD, La Luna, Rishi, Slox and Overtriforce. A nightmare for floaties and mid-weights alike, iBDW is one of the hungriest players in the Top 50 — teams looking for a free agent, take notes.

Written by: Anokh "EdwinBudding" Palakurthi | Edited by: Alex "Quality Steve" Lee

Summer #MPGR2018 No. 31: Colbol © Kelly Goodchild (@polarity_kupo)

Rating: 60.1 | SSBMRank2017: 30

Colin “Colbol” Green is, as the kids say, crazy. Continuing to prove his incredible prowess at the Captain Falcon matchup, Colbol managed to take sets off of both Wizzrobe and n0ne at MomoCon 2018 and currently boasts a commanding 10-0 set count over Gahtzu this year (including locals). He's more than just a Falcon slayer, though — lloD, Ginger, Drephen, Junebug, Abate and many more have also fallen to the Florida Fox.

Written by: Darren "Krakhead" Lynch | Edited by: Nicole "st. nicholas" Bennett

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