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]
| Plup | |
|---|---|
.jpg) McGrath at The Big House 7 in 2017 | |
| Current team | |
| Team | Red Bull |
| Games | |
| Personal information | |
| Name | Justin McGrath |
| Born | November 24, 1993 |
| Nationality | American |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 2010–present |
| Team history | |
| 2015–2022 | Panda Global |
| 2018–present | Red Bull |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Twitch information | |
| Channel | |
| Followers | 104 thousand |
Last updated: September 2023 | |
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
editWhen McGrath was seven years old, he received a Super NES from his father.[7]
Career
editMcGrath 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
editOnly Majors and Supermajors are listed.
| Offline tournament | Online tournament |
Super Smash Bros. Melee
edit| Tournament[9][10] | Date | 1v1 Placement | 2v2 Placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEO 2010 | June 5–6, 2010 | 13th | 9th | Nasty |
| Apex 2012 | January 6–8, 2012 | 33rd | 2nd | Hungrybox |
| Apex 2013 | January 11–13, 2013 | 17th | 2nd | Hungrybox |
| Tipped Off 9 | December 14–15, 2013 | 7th | 1st | Hungrybox |
| Apex 2014 | January 17–19, 2014 | 13th | 3rd | Hungrybox |
| MLG Anaheim 2014 | June 20–22, 2014 | 9th | 5th | Hungrybox |
| CEO 2014 | June 27–29, 2014 | 5th | 2nd | Hungrybox |
| EVO 2014 | July 11–13, 2014 | 9th | 1st | Hungrybox |
| Tipped Off 10 | September 20–21, 2014 | 5th | 1st | Hungrybox |
| The Big House 4 | October 4–5, 2014 | 9th | 2nd | Hungrybox |
| Paragon 2015 | January 17–18, 2015 | 5th | 1st | Hungrybox |
| Apex 2015 | January 30–February 1, 2015 | 49th | 13th | Colbol |
| Smash 'N' Splash | June 13–14, 2015 | 2nd | 2nd | Wizzrobe |
| CEO 2015 | June 26–28, 2015 | 7th | 7th | DruggedFox |
| EVO 2015 | July 17–19, 2015 | 4th | 3rd | Hungrybox |
| Paragon Los Angeles 2015 | September 5–6, 2015 | 9th | — | — |
| HTC Throwdown | September 19, 2015 | 25th | 7th | Wizzrobe |
| The Big House 5 | October 2–4, 2015 | 13th | 7th | DruggedFox |
| Smash Summit | November 7–8, 2015 | 4th | 5th | PPMD |
| Eclipse 2015 | November 14–15, 2015 | 4th | 1st | Axe |
| DreamHack Winter 2015 | November 26–29, 2015 | 3rd | 7th | Wizzrobe |
| GENESIS 3 | January 15–17, 2016 | 9th | 25th | M00NShoez |
| Battle of the Five Gods | March 17–19, 2016 | 5th | — | — |
| Pound 2016 | April 2–3, 2016 | 5th | 1st | Hungrybox |
| Smash Summit 2 | April 21–24, 2016 | 5th | 2nd | Hungrybox |
| CEO 2016 | June 24–26, 2016 | 4th | 2nd | Axe |
| EVO 2016 | July 15–17, 2016 | 3rd | — | — |
| Super Smash Con 2016 | August 11–14, 2016 | 769th | 129th | Wizzrobe |
| Shine 2016 | August 26–28, 2016 | 7th | 1st | Mew2King |
| The Big House 6 | October 7–9, 2016 | 17th | 5th | Westballz |
| Smash Summit 3 | November 3–6, 2016 | 5th | 5th | Hungrybox |
| GENESIS 4 | January 20–22, 2017 | 5th | 4th | Axe |
| Smash Summit 4 - Spring 2017 | March 2–5, 2017 | 5th | 5th | Westballz |
| CEO: Dreamland | April 14–16, 2017 | 5th | 5th | Axe |
| DreamHack Austin 2017 | April 28–30, 2017 | 5th | 2nd | Mew2King |
| Smash 'N' Splash 3 | June 2–4, 2017 | 5th | 4th | Axe |
| CEO 2017 | June 16–18, 2017 | 2nd | — | — |
| Bad Moon Rising 2 | July 1, 2017 | 13th | 1st | Druggedfox |
| EVO 2017 | July 14–16, 2017 | 5th | — | — |
| DreamHack Atlanta 2017 | July 21–23, 2017 | 1st | 1st | Mew2King |
| Super Smash Con 2017 | August 10–13, 2017 | 3rd | 2nd | Mew2King |
| Shine 2017 | August 25–27, 2017 | 5th | 4th | Swedish Delight |
| GameTyrant Expo 2017 | September 29–October 2, 2017 | 5th | 3rd | Mew2King |
| The Big House 7 | October 6–8, 2017 | 2nd | 5th | Mew2King |
| Too Hot to Handle | October 28–29, 2017 | 3rd | 1st | Crush |
| Smash Summit 5 | November 2–5, 2017 | 5th | 2nd | Mew2King |
| GENESIS 5 | January 19–21, 2018 | 1st | 1st | Mew2King |
| EGLX 2018 | March 9–11, 2018 | 2nd | 1st | Mew2King |
| Smash Summit 6 | May 3–6, 2018 | 5th | 3rd | Mew2King |
| Get On My Level 2018 | May 18–20, 2018 | 2nd | 1st | Mew2King |
| DreamHack Austin 2018 | June 1–3, 2018 | 1st | 1st | Mike Haze |
| CEO 2018 | June 29–July 1, 2018 | 2nd | 1st | Mew2King |
| EVO 2018 | August 3–5, 2018 | 3rd | — | — |
| Shine 2018 | August 24–26, 2018 | 4th | 2nd | Swedish Delight |
| The Big House 8 | October 5–7, 2018 | 2nd | 3rd | Westballz |
| Smash Summit 7 | November 15–18, 2018 | 9th | 1st | Mew2King |
| GENESIS 6 | February 1–3, 2019 | 3rd | 3rd | Mew2King |
| Pound 2019 | April 19–21, 2019 | 3rd | 1st | Mew2King |
| Get On My Level 2019 | May 17–19, 2019 | 9th | 4th | Wizzrobe |
| Smash 'N' Splash 5 | May 31–June 2, 2019 | 5th | 3rd | Mew2King |
| Smash Summit 8 | June 13–17, 2019 | 7th | 2nd | Zain |
| CEO 2019 | June 28–30, 2019 | 5th | 2nd | IBDW |
| Super Smash Con 2019 | August 8–11, 2019 | 17th | 2nd | Mew2King |
| Shine 2019 | August 23–25, 2019 | 17th (DQ) | 1st | Mew2King |
| The Big House 9 | October 4–6, 2019 | 9th | 1st | Mew2King |
| Mango's Birthday Bash | December 7–8, 2019 | 7th | 1st | Mango |
| GENESIS 7 | January 24–26, 2020 | 25th | 1st | Mew2King |
| Smash Summit 9 | February 13–16, 2020 | 2nd | — | — |
| LACS 2 | July 25–26, 2020 | 4th | — | — |
| Smash Summit 10 Online | November 19–22, 2020 | 17th | — | — |
| Smash Summit 11 | July 15–18, 2021 | 4th | — | — |
| Riptide | September 10–12, 2021 | 2nd | 1st | Hungrybox |
| Smash World Tour 2021 | December 17–19, 2021 | 1st | — | — |
| GENESIS 8 | April 15–17, 2022 | 13th | 1st | aMSa |
| Smash Summit 13 | May 12–15, 2022 | 2nd | — | — |
| CEO 2022 | June 24–26, 2022 | 1st | — | — |
| Riptide 2022 | September 9–11, 2022 | 2nd | 1st | Hungrybox |
| Lost Tech City 2022 | September 30–October 2, 2022 | 2nd | 1st | Hungrybox |
| Smash Summit 14 | November 3–6, 2022 | 9th | — | — |
| GENESIS 9 | January 20–22, 2023 | 4th | 1st | Hungrybox |
| MAJOR UPSET | April 1–2, 2023 | 2nd | 1st | Hungrybox |
| The Big House 11 | October 20–22, 2023 | 2nd | 2nd | Joshman |
References
edit- ^ "SSBMRank 2017". Red Bull.
- ^ "#MPGR2019: 10-1". Red Bull. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
- ^ "Plup could be first ever to defeat all of Big 6". July 10, 2016.
- ^ "CEO 2016 Smash Bros preview - the rivalry, the robot, the rest". June 22, 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "The Melee Stats Top 100: The Top 10". PGstats. November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
- ^ a b "Justin 'Plup' McGrath: Esports – Red Bull Athlete Page". Red Bull. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
- ^ "Get to know Smash Bros. star Justin 'Plup' McGrath". Red Bull. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
- ^ "Melee - Pluplue". SmashBoards. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "Results - Plup". Start.gg. Retrieved September 29, 2022.