Plup

Last updated

Plup
Plup at Big House 7 (cropped).jpg
McGrath at The Big House 7 in 2017
Current team
TeamRed Bull
Games
Personal information
NameJustin McGrath
Born (1993-11-24) November 24, 1993 (age 30)
NationalityAmerican
Career information
Playing career2010–present
Team history
2015–2022Panda Global
2018–presentRed Bull
Career highlights and awards
  • 2x DreamHack champion (2017, 2018)
  • GENESIS champion (2018)
  • Smash World Tour champion (2021)
  • 2x CEO champion (2022, 2023)
  • Riptide champion (2023)
Twitch information
Channel
Followers104 thousand
Last updated: September 2023

Justin McGrath, better known as Plup, is an American professional Super Smash Bros. player from Orlando, Florida. McGrath is considered to be one of the best Super Smash Bros. Melee players in the world, having been ranked as one of the top 10 Melee players every year since 2015. [1] [2]

Contents

McGrath initially rose to prominence in 2015 after placing highly in several major tournaments. [3] [4] Among his best placings are first at GENESIS 5, second at The Big House 7 and Smash Summit 9, and third at EVO 2016 and EVO 2018. McGrath was initially the best Samus player in the world but later switched to primarily playing Sheik. In addition to playing Samus and Sheik, McGrath uses Fox as a secondary. McGrath has also competed professionally in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate , playing primarily with Mega Man and Ridley, and Project M playing primarily with Samus. McGrath was formerly sponsored by Panda Global. [5] A 2021 list compiled by PGstats ranked McGrath as the tenth-greatest Melee player of all time. [6]

Early life

When McGrath was seven years old, he received a Super NES from his father. [7]

Career

McGrath began his Super Smash Bros. career in 2010. He entered the CEO 2010 tournament as a Samus player and finished in 13th place out of a total of 62 players. [8] In 2014, he finished in 13th place out of over 600 players at Apex 2014. In 2016, McGrath finished in third place at CEO 2016 Prologue, CEO 2016, and EVO 2016. After finishing in the top 10 at Shine 2016 and Summit 3, he was ranked as the sixth-best placer of the season. In 2017, McGrath won his first major at DreamHack Atlanta 2017 after defeating Hungrybox in the finals and placed second at Big House 7. In 2019, he finished in second at Smash Summit 9. [7]

Notable tournament placings

Only Majors and Supermajors are listed.

Offline tournamentOnline tournament

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Tournament [9] [10] Date1v1 Placement2v2 PlacementPartner
CEO 2010June 5–6, 201013th9thNasty
Apex 2012 January 6–8, 201233rd2nd Hungrybox
Apex 2013 January 11–13, 201317th2ndHungrybox
Tipped Off 9December 14–15, 20137th1stHungrybox
Apex 2014 January 17–19, 201413th3rdHungrybox
MLG Anaheim 2014 June 20–22, 20149th5thHungrybox
CEO 2014June 27–29, 20145th2ndHungrybox
EVO 2014 July 11–13, 20149th1stHungrybox
Tipped Off 10September 20–21, 20145th1stHungrybox
The Big House 4October 4–5, 20149th2ndHungrybox
Paragon 2015January 17–18, 20155th1stHungrybox
Apex 2015 January 30–February 1, 201549th13thColbol
Smash 'N' SplashJune 13–14, 20152nd2ndWizzrobe
CEO 2015June 26–28, 20157th7thDruggedFox
EVO 2015 July 17–19, 20154th3rdHungrybox
Paragon Los Angeles 2015September 5–6, 20159th——
HTC ThrowdownSeptember 19, 201525th7thWizzrobe
The Big House 5October 2–4, 201513th7thDruggedFox
Smash SummitNovember 7–8, 20154th5th PPMD
Eclipse 2015November 14–15, 20154th1st Axe
DreamHack Winter 2015November 26–29, 20153rd7thWizzrobe
GENESIS 3January 15–17, 20169th25thM00NShoez
Battle of the Five GodsMarch 17–19, 20165th——
Pound 2016April 2–3, 20165th1stHungrybox
Smash Summit 2April 21–24, 20165th2ndHungrybox
CEO 2016 June 24–26, 20164th2ndAxe
EVO 2016 July 15–17, 20163rd——
Super Smash Con 2016August 11–14, 2016769th129thWizzrobe
Shine 2016August 26–28, 20167th1st Mew2King
The Big House 6October 7–9, 201617th5th Westballz
Smash Summit 3November 3–6, 20165th5thHungrybox
GENESIS 4January 20–22, 20175th4thAxe
Smash Summit 4 - Spring 2017March 2–5, 20175th5thWestballz
CEO: DreamlandApril 14–16, 20175th5thAxe
DreamHack Austin 2017April 28–30, 20175th2ndMew2King
Smash 'N' Splash 3June 2–4, 20175th4thAxe
CEO 2017 June 16–18, 20172nd——
Bad Moon Rising 2July 1, 201713th1stDruggedfox
EVO 2017 July 14–16, 20175th——
DreamHack Atlanta 2017July 21–23, 20171st1stMew2King
Super Smash Con 2017August 10–13, 20173rd2ndMew2King
Shine 2017August 25–27, 20175th4thSwedish Delight
GameTyrant Expo 2017September 29–October 2, 20175th3rdMew2King
The Big House 7October 6–8, 20172nd5thMew2King
Too Hot to HandleOctober 28–29, 20173rd1stCrush
Smash Summit 5November 2–5, 20175th2ndMew2King
GENESIS 5January 19–21, 20181st1stMew2King
EGLX 2018March 9–11, 20182nd1stMew2King
Smash Summit 6May 3–6, 20185th3rdMew2King
Get On My Level 2018May 18–20, 20182nd1stMew2King
DreamHack Austin 2018June 1–3, 20181st1stMike Haze
CEO 2018June 29–July 1, 20182nd1stMew2King
EVO 2018 August 3–5, 20183rd——
Shine 2018August 24–26, 20184th2ndSwedish Delight
The Big House 8October 5–7, 20182nd3rdWestballz
Smash Summit 7November 15–18, 20189th1stMew2King
GENESIS 6February 1–3, 20193rd3rdMew2King
Pound 2019April 19–21, 20193rd1stMew2King
Get On My Level 2019May 17–19, 20199th4thWizzrobe
Smash 'N' Splash 5May 31–June 2, 20195th3rdMew2King
Smash Summit 8June 13–17, 20197th2nd Zain
CEO 2019June 28–30, 20195th2ndIBDW
Super Smash Con 2019August 8–11, 201917th2ndMew2King
Shine 2019August 23–25, 201917th (DQ)1stMew2King
The Big House 9October 4–6, 20199th1stMew2King
Mango's Birthday BashDecember 7–8, 20197th1st Mango
GENESIS 7January 24–26, 202025th1stMew2King
Smash Summit 9February 13–16, 20202nd——
LACS 2July 25–26, 20204th——
Smash Summit 10 OnlineNovember 19–22, 202017th——
Smash Summit 11July 15–18, 20214th——
RiptideSeptember 10–12, 20212nd1stHungrybox
Smash World Tour 2021December 17–19, 20211st——
GENESIS 8April 15–17, 202213th1staMSa
Smash Summit 13May 12–15, 20222nd——
CEO 2022June 24–26, 20221st——
Riptide 2022September 9–11, 20222nd1stHungrybox
Lost Tech City 2022September 30–October 2, 20222nd1stHungrybox
Smash Summit 14November 3–6, 20229th——
GENESIS 9January 20–22, 20234th1stHungrybox
MAJOR UPSETApril 1–2, 20232nd1stHungrybox
The Big House 11October 20–22, 20232nd2ndJoshman

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mang0</span> American esports player

Joseph Manuel Marquez, known by his gamertag Mango, is an American professional Super Smash Bros. Melee player and streamer from Norwalk, California. Known for his aggressive, high-risk playstyle, he is widely considered one of the game's greatest players of all time, and is one of the "Five Gods" of Melee, along with Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma, Adam "Armada" Lindgren, Kevin "PPMD" Nanney, and Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman. Marquez began his career playing Jigglypuff; however, he has primarily played Falco and Fox since 2011. He has been part of the Cloud9 esports team since 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mew2King</span> American professional esports player

Jason Sheldon Zimmerman, known by his gamertag Mew2King, commonly shortened to M2K, is an American former professional Super Smash Bros. player from Cinnaminson, New Jersey. He has won more than 70 tournaments during his career, primarily in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Zimmerman is one of the "Five Gods" of Melee, along with Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma, Adam "Armada" Lindgren, Kevin "PPMD" Nanney, and Joseph "Mang0" Marquez and is also widely considered one of the greatest Super Smash Bros. Brawl players of all time. He has also competed at a top-level in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Project M.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armada (gamer)</span> Swedish Super Smash Bros. player (born 1993)

Adam Lindgren, known by his handle Armada, is a Swedish professional Super Smash Bros. player. He is widely considered one of the greatest Super Smash Bros. Melee players of all time and the greatest Melee Peach player of all time. Lindgren has won several major tournaments: he is a three-time champion of GENESIS, two-time champion of EVO, two-time champion of Apex and one-time champion of The Big House. Considered one of the "Five Gods" of Melee, alongside Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman, Joseph "Mang0" Marquez, Juan "Hungrybox" DeBiedma, and Kevin "PPMD" Nanney, Lindgren was ranked one of the top two Melee players in the world every year from the beginning of formal rankings in 2013 until his retirement from singles tournaments in 2018, with Lindgren ranked as the number one Melee player in the world in 2015 and 2016. A 2021 list by PGstats ranked Lindgren as the second-greatest Melee player of all time.

Kevin Nanney, also known by his gamer tag of PPMD and formerly known as Dr. PeePee, is an inactive American professional Super Smash Bros. Melee player. Nanney is one of the "Five Gods" of Melee, alongside Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman, Joseph "Mango" Marquez, Adam "Armada" Lindgren, and Juan "Hungrybox" DeBiedma. He is a two-time champion of the Apex tournament series and was ranked as one of the top six players in the world from 2010 to 2015, after which he was removed from rankings due to inactivity. Nanney uses Falco and Marth and is known for his intelligent and patient playstyle. A 2021 list compiled by Melee Stats, which was hosted on PGstats, ranked Nanney as the seventh-greatest Melee player of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hungrybox</span> Argentinian-American professional esports player

Juan Manuel DeBiedma, better known by his alias Hungrybox, is an Argentine–American professional Super Smash Bros. player, streamer, tournament organizer and commentator. Recognized as one of the greatest and most successful Super Smash Bros. Melee players of all time, he is one of the "Five Gods of Melee" along with Adam "Armada" Lindgren, Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman, Joseph "Mang0" Marquez, and Kevin "PPMD" Nanney, and is regarded as the greatest Jigglypuff player in history. He is also an active competitor in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and has been a member of Team Liquid since 2015, becoming its co-owner in December 2021. He is currently ranked as the 8th best Melee player in the world for 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leffen</span> Swedish professional gamer (born 1998)

William Peter Hjelte, better known by his gamer tag Leffen, is a Swedish professional fighting game player and streamer. Although mostly known as a Super Smash Bros. Melee player, he has also competed in Dragon Ball FighterZ, Guilty Gear Strive, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In Melee, Hjelte plays the character Fox, and is considered one of the best players in the world, having been ranked as one of the top seven Melee players in the world every year since 2014. A 2021 list compiled by PGStats ranked Hjelte as the sixth greatest Melee player of all time.

Professional Super Smash Bros. competition involves professional gamers competing in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games published by Nintendo. Organized tournament competition began in 2002 with Super Smash Bros. Melee, released for the GameCube in 2001; however, in the series' native Japan, there have been tournaments as early as 1999 with the original Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. Later tournaments have featured the other games in the series, with the two largest and most popular Smash Bros. scenes revolving around Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. Smaller scenes exist for the original game and Project M, a popular fan modification of Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii, and to a lesser extent, Brawl itself. Major Smash Bros. tournaments include the GENESIS, Evolution Championship Series (EVO), Super Smash Con and The Big House annual series. Major League Gaming (MLG) has also previously included Smash Bros. games in its Pro Circuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Big House (tournament)</span> Annual video game tournament

The Big House is an annual Super Smash Bros. tournament series held in Michigan since 2011. It is considered one of the largest and most prestigious Smash Bros. tournament series alongside GENESIS, Evolution Championship Series (EVO) and Super Smash Con.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genesis (tournament)</span> Series of Super Smash Bros. tournaments

Genesis, stylized as GENESIS, is a series of annual Super Smash Bros. tournaments occurring in the San Francisco Bay Area of the US state of California. The first Genesis tournament took place in 2009 in Antioch at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tweek (gamer)</span> American professional esports player

Gavin Dempsey, also known as Tweek, is an American professional Super Smash Bros. player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MkLeo</span> Mexican professional Super Smash Bros. player

Leonardo López Pérez, better known as MkLeo and sometimes Leo, is a Mexican professional Super Smash Bros. player. He was widely considered the best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate player in the world during the pre-COVID era, and was ranked #1 in the Panda Global Rankings for the first and second half of 2019. Prior to the release of Ultimate, he was ranked as the best player in the world at Super Smash Bros. for Wii U for the first half of 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zackray</span> Japanese professional Super Smash Bros. player

Sota Okada, also known by his gamer tag zackray, is a Japanese professional Super Smash Bros. player. As of the end of 2019, he was ranked the seventh best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate player in the world and the highest ranked player from Japan. In October 2019 he won The Big House 9, becoming the first Japanese player to win a premier-tier tournament held outside of Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samsora</span> American professional esports player

Ezra Samsora Morris, better known as Samsora, is an American former professional Super Smash Bros. player from New Orleans, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marss</span> American professional esports player

Tyler Martins, also known as Marss, is an American professional Super Smash Bros. player. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U he won several minor tournaments but failed to take any of the premier-events, and was ranked as the 16th best player of all time in the game. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate he has fared considerably better, winning several premier tournaments and claiming 3rd and 5th in the rankings for the first and second half of 2019, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dabuz</span> American professional esports player

Samuel Robert Buzby, also known as Dabuz, is an American professional Super Smash Bros. player. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, he won several major tournaments and was ranked between 3rd and 6th best player in the world throughout the game's competitive history. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he was ranked 7th and 9th best for the first and second halves of 2019, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axe (gamer)</span> American professional esports player

Jeffrey Williamson, known professionally as Axe, is an American professional Super Smash Bros. Melee player. As of 2023, he is ranked as the 17th best Melee player in the world and has finished in the top ten of formal rankings presented by Red Bull and esports team Panda Global every year between 2016 and 2022. Some of his notable tournament placements at major Melee tournaments include first place at Smash Summit 8, second place at GENESIS 6, and fifth place at EVO 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zain (gamer)</span> American professional esports player

Zain Naghmi, more commonly known by his tag Zain, is an American Super Smash Bros. Melee player from Reston, Virginia. Beginning his career in 2014, he rapidly climbed the ranks, becoming a ranked top 100 player in the world within only two years, a top 10 player since 2018 and was ranked the number one player in the world in 2022. Naghmi plays Marth and is currently considered the best Marth player in the world. He was sponsored by Golden Guardians from February 2020 to March 2023. In April 2023, he was signed by Moist Esports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SuperGirlKels</span> Canadian esports player

Kelsy Medeiros, known professionally as SuperGirlKels, is a Canadian professional Super Smash Bros. player. Medeiros's competitive gaming career spanned from 2014 until her retirement in 2023, during which she competed in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournaments using the character Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sasha Italia Sullivan, known by her gaming handle Magi, is an American professional Super Smash Bros. Melee player from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

References

  1. ↑ "SSBMRank 2017". Red Bull .
  2. ↑ "#MPGR2019: 10-1". Red Bull. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Plup could be first ever to defeat all of Big 6". July 10, 2016.
  4. ↑ "CEO 2016 Smash Bros preview - the rivalry, the robot, the rest". June 22, 2016.
  5. ↑ Justin McGrath [@Panda_Plup] (December 3, 2022) "I'm quitting Panda. I've truly enjoyed my time there, and they treated me well. I know that, at a certain point, they had the community's best interests in mind. I just don't think I can support them anymore. Now I must sleep 1000 years in preparation for da next tournament" (Tweet). Retrieved December 3, 2022 – via Twitter.
  6. ↑ "The Melee Stats Top 100: The Top 10". PGstats. November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Justin 'Plup' McGrath: Esports – Red Bull Athlete Page". Red Bull. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Get to know Smash Bros. star Justin 'Plup' McGrath". Red Bull. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Melee - Pluplue". SmashBoards . Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Results - Plup". Start.gg. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.