After several rocky years in which he missed nearly every major competition, Super Smash Bros. Melee is about to get one of its legends back.
In a recent post on TwitLonger, Kevin “PPMD” Nanney announced that he’s eyeing a return to competitive Smash in 2019. This news hit just before the four-year anniversary of his victory at APEX 2015.
PPMD went into vivid detail about his plans to make a full return to the Smash scene in that post, mentioning that he wants to start slowly by first streaming before trying to make a competitive comeback.
“I’d love for my return to streaming also be my return to competing,” PPMD said. “This is now probably my main reason. I think a full return to everything would be really exciting and I wouldn’t have to hold back my enthusiasm with concerns about how often I could interact or worries about how my hormones could affect my attitudes towards things, etc.”
PPMD has gone on record countless times talking about how low hormone levels caused him to become unmotivated, sluggish, and depressed when he was still competing. This, in addition to several other illnesses, compiled and made the Melee great take a step back after 2015.
In an interview with ESPN in February 2016, PPMD opened up about his struggles, and specifically what he would do when he was ready to make a return.
“My first goal is to throw everything I possibly can at my body until it is fixed,” PPMD said. “When that is achieved, and it will be achieved, make no mistake, I will take all of my physical and mental lessons I have learned, and begin working furiously on my game. Bringing all of my old knowledge together with my new knowledge.”
That was almost three years ago, but the response to his planned return has been met with nothing but positivity from the Smash community.
With his return approaching, PPMD will fill a void left as Adam “Armada” Lindgren retired from Melee singles play in September 2018.
Related: Super Smash Bros. Melee legend Armada retires from singles-play
This return was foreshadowed by an interview with Daniel “Tafokints” Lee on the MeleeItOnMe YouTube channel in December. In this interview, he talked more about his hopes for the Melee community, his mindset, and his improving health.
The last major event PPMD attended was Battle of the Five Gods in 2016, where he came in 10th place.
