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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.

Nanney entered into a hiatus from professional competition in 2016, citing health issues, and has not entered a singles tournament since. However, Nanney has remained active on social media and Twitch and has insisted that he has not permanently retired from competition.

Gaming career

Nanney garnered attention in 2009 after placing higher than Mango at Revival of Melee 2 and finishing runner up to Hungrybox. Nanney won the tournament's next incarnation in 2010. He placed 5th at Apex 2012 after losing to eventual 4th place Javier "Javi" Ruiz. Next year at Apex 2013 he placed 2nd after losing to Armada in the Grand Finals. On July 16 Nanney became sponsored by Twitch streaming channel VGBootCamp.

In 2014, Nanney won Apex 2014, the second largest tournament at the time. In June Dr. PeePee won SKTAR 3 beating Mew2King in the finals and automatically qualifying for MLG Anaheim 2014. He finished 4th at MLG Anaheim despite being the favorite to win. Nanney was invited to the Nintendo organized Super Smash Bros. Invitational at the E3 2014 to play Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, pre-release, and received the Fan-Favorite Award.

In May 2014 he left VGBootCamp and became a member of Evil Geniuses as their first Super Smash Bros. player. In 2015 Nanney became a repeat Apex champion when he beat Armada after Armada forced a bracket reset. Nanney then placed 5th in doubles at Bad Moon Rising on March 14–15, 2015, with his good friend and former rival Adam "L0zR" Jones. Nanney and Jones performed very well as a team in doubles tournaments earlier in Melee's life. Nanney competed only in doubles, and not singles, at this event. He placed third at EVO 2015, only his second singles tournament of the year. He was sent to losers in a rematch with Armada and then eliminated by Hungrybox in the Losers Final. Nanney won Canada Cup 2015 on October 30-November 1, 2015, over notable Samus player James "Duck" Ma. He placed 5th at Smash Summit on November 5–8, 2015. On January 15–17, 2016 he got 6th at GENESIS 3.

At the Battle of the Five Gods tournament on March 17–19, 2016, Nanney won two sets and lost one in Group B of the group stage, qualifying for the Playoffs Group. There, Nanney won no sets and lost four, leading him to not qualify for the finals Bracket, and finish in 10th place. At this event, Nanney also participated in a recorded panel where the rest of the "Five Gods" besides Hungrybox, who was not available for the session, discussed their thoughts about each other.

Nanney announced he would not be attending EVO 2016 citing health issues as the reason for this decision. In 2020, he indicated that it was chronic fatigue syndrome that prevents him from competing.

On July 1, 2017, Nanney participated in the doubles tournament at Bad Moon Rising 2, competing only in doubles and teaming up with Adam "L0zR" Jones once again. Nanney decided to enter this tournament to support his friend in Jones' decidedly final tournament appearance. The duo eventually finished at 4th place in the tournament, including a remarkable come-from-behind victory over Team Liquid's team of Hungrybox and Hungrybox's coach, Luis "Crunch" Rosias, in the Losers Quarterfinal.

In 2021, Nanney was announced as a new signing by Golden Guardians, along with fellow Melee player Edgard "n0ne" L. Sheleby and commentator Kris "Toph" Aldenderfer. The organization released its Melee team in late 2023.

Nanney trains an hour a day on average. He has cited one of the reasons for his success as a player due to his ability to outplay his opponents psychologically by forcing them to make bad decisions.

Personal life

Nanney struggled with depression over the years, which has limited his ability to travel to events and at times he has found motivation in the game difficult. Nanney is a 2009 graduate of Crest High School in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. He has a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Nanney currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. His younger brother Alex "Twitch" Nanney is also a competitive Smash player.

Nanney has expressed interest in playing competitive Melee for a living.

After a hiatus, Nanney began streaming on his Twitch channel again on April 23, 2019.

Notable tournament placements

Only Majors and Supermajors are listed.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

References

1. Joe Cribari (10 July 2014). "Who Will Be Crowned Greatest Smash Player Alive at EVO 2014? "5 Gods" vs "3 Underdogs"". Nintendo Enthusiast. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
2. "Ultimate SSBM rank". 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
3. "The Melee Stats Top 100: The Top 10". PGstats. November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
4. Jacob Wolf (2014-07-10). "WMelee 'God' PPMD preparing for comeback amid health struggles". Nintendo Enthusiast. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
5. Jared Wynne (2014-06-23). "'Super Smash Bros.' triumphantly returns to the MLG stage". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
6. Jonathon Dornbush (2014-06-10). "Nintendo holds first Super Smash Bros. Invitational at E3 2014". Polygon. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
7. Julius Vissing (2014-05-09). "Kevin "PPMD" Nanney Chosen to Lead Evil Geniuses' New Super Smash Bros. Division". Shoryuken. Archived from the original on 2018-09-30. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
8. ^ "PPMD Biography". Evil Geniuses. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
9. Ian J. Barker (2014-06-19). "With MLG Anaheim, the resurgence of competitive 'Smash Bros.' is in full swing". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
10. "Apex Series 2015: Final Results and Prize Money for Super Smash Bros. Event". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
11. Zamora, Alonso (February 2, 2015). "PPMD se corona campeón del Apex 2015 en Super Smash Bros. Melee". LevelUp. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
12. "Bad Moon Rising: Results (220 Entrants!!!!) Ft. Hbox, Plup, Twitch, ColBol, Nintendude, and more!!!!". SmashBoards. March 18, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
13. Womack, Barrett (July 20, 2015). "Melee at Evo 2015: Armada Is the Champion". Red Bull Esports. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
14. "Congratulations to the Winner of Canada Cup 2015 Melee Singles!". Reddit. November 1, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
15. "The battle in and out - Kevin "PPMD" Nanney". ESPN Esports. February 19, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2019. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |people= ignored (help)
16. "Battle of the Five Gods Smash Invitational Results". Shoryuken.com. March 19, 2016. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2019. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |people= ignored (help)
17. Nanney, Kevin; Zimmerman, Jason; Lindgren, Adam; Marquez, Joseph; Maingrette, D'Ron (March 20, 2016). All Five Gods Interviews Edit [Re-Upload]. YouTube. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
18. Dozsa, Preston. "PPMD will not attend EVO 2016 due to health issues". The Score eSports. Archived from the original on 2016-07-07. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
19. "Smash Melee God PPMD explains why he doesn't enter netplay tournaments". Dexerto. 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
20. "Kevin 'PPMD' Nanney to return to 'Super Smash Bros. Melee' in doubles". ESPN Esports. June 23, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2019. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |people= ignored (help)
21. "PPMD Lived up to the Hype at Bad Moon Rising 2". DBLTAP. July 3, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2019. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |people= ignored (help)
22. "Golden Guardians Continue Expansion Into Super Smash Bros. Melee | Golden Guardians". www.goldenguardians.com. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
23. Labilles, Justin-Ivan (30 November 2023). "Golden Guardians continues esports withdraw with release of top Smash Melee roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
24. Nanney, Kevin (15 February 2015). "What's up guys! EG | PPMD here. Winner of Apex and player of bird dude and sword guy. Ask me anything!". Reddit. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
25. Rod Breslau (2014-01-23). "Apex 2014 Smash Melee Champion PPMD: "Melee is a journey that's tied to myself"". onGamers. Archived from the original on 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
26. "Evil Geniuses – News – Where I Have Been and Where I am Going". Archived from the original on 2014-09-27.
27. "Shelby Star". June 9, 2009. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
28. Womack, Barrett (April 22, 2015). "Friendlies: PPMD, the Good Doctor". Red Bull Esports. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
29. Nanney, Kevin (February 6, 2015). Apex 2015 – EG | PPMD Interview: "I'm thinking of speedrunning Super Mario 64.". Event occurs at 6min 30sec. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
30. "Hey everyone, I have decided it's time to stream again. I will go live tomorrow at 2:30PM EST, and will have a speech 30 minutes later, with Melee after that. I think it will be pretty fun. See you in chat =)". Twitter. April 22, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |people= ignored (help)
31. "Melee - Dr Peepee". SmashBoards. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2021.

External links

• PPMD on Twitter

• 1990 births
• Living people
• American esports players
• Super Smash Bros. Melee players
• Sportspeople from Raleigh, North Carolina
• American Twitch (service) streamers
• Project M players
• People from Shelby, North Carolina
• Evil Geniuses players
• Team Razer players