Editing Tournament:Apex

{{ArticleIcons|ssb=y|ssbm=y|ssbb=y|ssb4-u=y|pm=y|competitive=y}}
{{Infobox Tournament Series
| name                      = Apex
| image                     = Apex2016.png
| imagesize                 = 250px
| founded                   = 2009
| region                    = United States
| format                    = Double elimination
| ssb64winner               = {{Sm|Sensei|USA}} (2010)<br>{{Sm|SuPeRbOoMfAn|Canada}} (2012, 2015)<br>{{Sm|Kikoushi|Japan}} (2013)<br>{{Sm|Isai|USA}} (2014)<br>{{Sm|Stranded|USA}} (2016)
| ssbmwinner                = {{Sm|Jman|USA}} (2009)<br>{{Sm|Hungrybox|USA}} (2010)<br>{{Sm|Armada|Sweden}} (2012, 2013)<br>{{Sm|PPMD|USA}} (2014, 2015)<br>{{Sm|Mew2King|USA}} (2016)
| ssbbwinner                = {{Sm|Ally|Canada}} (2009, 2015)<br>{{Sm|DEHF|USA}} (2010)<br>{{Sm|Otori|Japan}} (2012)<br>{{Sm|Salem|USA}} (2013)<br>{{Sm|Nairo|USA}} (2014)
| pmwinner                  = {{Sm|Armada|Sweden}} (2014)
| ssb4uwinner               = {{Sm|ZeRo|Chile}} (2015)<br>{{Sm|Dabuz|USA}} (2016)
| player(s) with most wins  = {{Sm|Armada|Sweden}} (Melee 2012, Melee 2013, and Project M 2014)
| director
| staffgroup1
| staffgroup2
| staffgroup3
| staff1
| staff2
| staff3
| website                   = http://apex-series.com/
}}

'''Apex''' was a tournament series held in [[Tristate Area|New Jersey]], that had attracted worldwide attention. The series was founded by {{Sm|Alex Strife}}, and throughout most of the ''[[Brawl]]'' era was renowned as the pinnacle Smash tournament series, with it routinely featuring the largest and most stacked ''Brawl'' tournament each year and ''[[Melee]]'' tournaments that were only exceeded by each year's [[EVO]], while additionally having set several attendance records in its time. The series was poised to remain the Smash community's biggest tournament brand going into ''[[Smash 4]]'', but after severe controversies with its management and its 2015 iteration the brand was irreparably tarnished, and 2016 was smaller than the previous events. Following Apex 2016, the series went under hiatus until 2020, where they announced their return under new management. However, due to the [[COVID-19|COVID-19 pandemic]], Apex 2020 was ultimately postponed. 

==History==
The Apex series started in 2009 with [[Apex 2009]], mainly featuring ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'', as well as other side games, including the ''Brawl'' mod ''[[Brawl+]]''.

In 2010, [[Apex 2010]] was hosted, once again featuring ''Brawl'' and ''Melee'', as well as brackets for ''[[Smash 64]]'', ''Brawl+'', and ''[[Brawl-]]''.

Apex took an eighteen month absence after Apex 2010 and no tournament was held in 2011, as Alex Strife wanted to increase the scale of the tournament to become an international spectacle; furthermore, he wanted to move the tournament from summer to winter. The Apex series returned in 2012 with [[Apex 2012]], where it became an {{IW|wikipedia|Evo 2012}} qualifier event, leading to massive ''{{s|wikipedia|Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3}}'' and ''{{s|wikipedia|Super Street Fighter IV}}'' tournaments. Apex 2012 featured an explosive growth in entrants compared to Apex 2010, hosting both the largest ''Brawl'' tournament of all time with 400 entrants, and what was then one of the largest ''Melee'' tournaments with 318 entrants. It also had the greatest attendance of foreign players in a United States tournament since [[Zero Challenge 3]]. It was also the first Apex to feature qualifiers, with a "Road to Apex" circuit featuring ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'' tournaments across the globe that gave players seeding points, which has been continued with every Apex after it.

In 2013, [[Apex 2013]] was hosted, featuring the third-largest ''Brawl'' tournament of all time with 338 entrants, the then-second-largest ''Melee'' tournament of all time with 336 entrants, and the then-largest ''Smash 64'' tournament of all time with 96 entrants.

In 2014, [[Apex 2014]] was hosted, featuring the then-second-largest ''Melee'' tournament of all time with 629 entrants, the second-largest ''Brawl'' tournament of all time with 370 entrants, and the then-largest ''Smash 64'' tournament in the United States with 157 entrants. It also included the ''Brawl'' mod ''[[Project M]]'' for the first time, and was the largest ''Project M'' tournament at the time, with 382 entrants.

In 2015, the sixth tournament, [[Apex 2015]], was hosted, and it featured the then-largest ''Melee'' tournament of all time, with 1,037 entrants, making it the first individual game event with over 1000 enterants. ''Smash 4'' was also introduced to the series, with around 700 to 800 entrants for its first tournament. The tournament was also notably sponsored by [[Nintendo|Nintendo of America]], who allowed players to playtest the then-unreleased ''{{s|wikipedia|Splatoon}}''.

Apex 2015, however, quickly became embroiled with controversy. The first was the hasty exclusion of ''Project M'' from the tournament's lineup after featuring the largest ''Project M'' tournament of the time in Apex 2014, a decision that was reportedly demanded by Nintendo. Furthermore, due to [http://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/2t1b0e/the_truth_about_apex_tournament_host_alex_strife/ numerous] [http://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/2t1r1w/its_time_for_me_to_share_my_side_of_the_alex/ allegations] of [http://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/2t1cq1/the_truth_about_alex_strife_part_2_nyani_edition/ abuse] and [http://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/2t1oj0/well_today_is_differentlets_talk_apex/ harassment], Alex Strife stepped down as the TO of Apex 2015, making it the first time the tournament proceeded without him; the allegations of sexual harassment from Alex Strife also began to spread to how the tournaments themselves were run under him, with a number of players claiming that previous Apex events were poorly run and managed by inexperienced and sometimes rude TOs, as well as allegations that a number of setups at Apex used pirated versions of the game. Apex 2015 was later marred by a number of complications on its first day, as the original venue was found to be unsafe for occupation, as well as lacking a number of required permits for a public event, leading to the local police and fire departments to cancel the event due to safety concerns. The tournament and all equipment were then relocated to a new venue, secured with the help of [[Twitch]], but the entirety of the first day of Apex 2015 was lost. The three-day event was condensed down to two days, leading to many delays and complications in scheduling; the sudden change in venues also led to hundreds of entrants being disqualified from various brackets for the various games after being unable to show up to the new venue, with the ''Melee'' bracket losing upwards of 200 players and the ''Smash 4'' bracket losing upwards of 100 players.

The catastrophes and controversies of Apex 2015, combined with criticism of previous Apex events and Alex Strife's departure from the community, have negatively impacted the Apex name. While [[Apex 2016]] was hosted by a new team of tournament organizers, it attracted considerably less interest compared to the previous years, despite being a three-day event. ''Melee'' singles shrunk to a regional-scale event, with only players from the Northeast in attendance, and only a handful of top ''Smash 4'' players travelled to the tournament; furthermore, after years of hosting among the largest ''Brawl'' tournaments, ''Brawl'' was dropped from Apex 2016 due to a lack of entrants. Despite the tepid attendance of Apex 2016, several players who attended the event praised the event and how it was run compared to previous Apex tournaments.

Even though Apex 2016 was generally praised by its attendants, the series became dormant. While the people behind the brand have insisted that Apex 2016 wouldn't be the last Apex tournament and that they were working on bringing the next iteration together, nothing came to fruition for over 4 years until Apex 2020 was announced as part of the [[Smash World Tour 2020]]. However, because of the [[COVID-19|COVID-19 pandemic]], Apex 2020 was postponed to 2021.

==List of tournaments==
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Event!!Date!!Attendance!!Games
|-
|[[Apex 2009]]||May 9th-10th, 2009||200+||{{GameIcon|Melee}}{{GameIcon|Brawl}}
|-
|[[Apex 2010]]||August 6th-8th, 2010||400+||{{GameIcon|64}}{{GameIcon|Melee}}{{GameIcon|Brawl}}
|-
|[[Apex 2012]]||January 6th-8th, 2012||1,000+||{{GameIcon|64}}{{GameIcon|Melee}}{{GameIcon|Brawl}}
|-
|[[Apex 2013]]||January 11th-13th, 2013||500+||{{GameIcon|64}}{{GameIcon|Melee}}{{GameIcon|Brawl}}[[File:PM_Icon.png|link=Project M|16px]]
|-
|[[Apex 2014]]||January 17th-19th, 2014||700+||{{GameIcon|64}}{{GameIcon|Melee}}{{GameIcon|Brawl}}[[File:PM_Icon.png|link=Project M|16px]]
|-
|[[Apex 2015]]||January 30th-February 1st, 2015||1,600+||{{GameIcon|64}}{{GameIcon|Melee}}{{GameIcon|Brawl}}{{GameIcon|SSB4-U}}
|-
|[[Apex 2016]]||June 17th-19th, 2016||500+||{{GameIcon|64}}{{GameIcon|Melee}}{{GameIcon|SSB4-U}}
|-
|[[Apex 2020]]||TBD||TBA||{{GameIcon|Melee}}{{GameIcon|Ultimate}}
|}

==Champions==

==={{GameIcon|SSB64}} ''Smash 64'' Winners {{GameIcon|SSB64}}===

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Year!!Event!!Entrants!!Player!!Tag!!Character(s)!!Runner-up!!Character(s)
|-
|2010||[[Apex 2010]]||22||Will||{{Sm|Sensei|USA}}||{{Head|Pikachu|g=SSB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Nintendude|USA}}||{{Head|Captain Falcon|g=SSB|s=16px}}
|-
|2012||[[Apex 2012]]||64||Daniel Hoyt||{{Sm|SuPeRbOoMfAn|Canada}}||{{Head|Captain Falcon|g=SSB|s=16px}}{{Head|Fox|g=SSB|s=16px}}|| {{Sm|Isai|USA}}||{{Head|Link|g=SSB|s=16px}}
|-
|2013||[[Apex 2013]]||96||''unknown name''||{{Sm|Kikoushi|Japan}}||{{Head|Kirby|g=SSB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Isai|USA}}||{{Head|Mario|g=SSB|s=16px}}
|-
|2014||[[Apex 2014]]||157||Joel Alvarado||{{Sm|Isai|USA}}||{{Head|Jigglypuff|g=SSB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Moyashi|Japan}}|| {{Head|Kirby|g=SSB|s=16px}}{{Head|Pikachu|g=SSB|s=16px}}
|-
|2015||[[Apex 2015]]||188||Daniel Hoyt||{{Sm|SuPeRbOoMfAn|Canada}}||{{Head|Captain Falcon|g=SSB|s=16px}}{{Head|Pikachu|g=SSB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|tacos|USA}}||{{Head|Yoshi|g=SSB|s=16px}}{{Head|Captain Falcon|g=SSB|s=16px}}{{Head|Kirby|g=SSB|s=16px}}{{Head|Jigglypuff|g=SSB|s=16px}}
|-
|2016||[[Apex 2016]]||54|| Thomas Speziale || {{Sm|Stranded|USA}} || {{Head|Pikachu|g=SSB|s=16px}}{{Head|Captain Falcon|g=SSB|s=16px}}{{Head|Kirby|g=SSB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Star King|USA}}||{{Head|Kirby|g=SSB|s=16px}}{{Head|Fox|g=SSB|s=16px}}
|}

==={{GameIcon|Melee}} ''Melee'' Winners {{GameIcon|Melee}}===

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Year!!Event!!Entrants!!Player!!Tag!!Character(s)!!Runner-up!!Character(s)
|-
|2009||[[Apex 2009]]*||52||Jesus Fernandez||{{Sm|Jman|USA}}||{{Head|Fox|g=SSBM|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Mew2King|USA}}||{{Head|Marth|g=SSBM|s=16px}}{{Head|Sheik|g=SSBM|s=16px}}{{Head|Fox|g=SSBM|s=16px}}
|-
|2010||[[Apex 2010]]||220||Juan Debiedma||{{Sm|Hungrybox|USA}}||{{Head|Jigglypuff|g=SSBM|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Armada|Sweden}} || {{Head|Peach|g=SSBM|s=16px}}
|-
|2012||[[Apex 2012]]||318||Adam Lindgren||{{Sm|Armada|Sweden}}||{{Head|Peach|g=SSBM|s=16px}}{{Head|Young Link|g=SSBM|s=16px}} || {{Sm|Hungrybox|USA}}||{{Head|Jigglypuff|g=SSBM|s=16px}}
|-
|2013|| [[Apex 2013]]||336||Adam Lindgren||{{Sm|Armada|Sweden}}||{{Head|Peach|g=SSBM|s=16px}}{{Head|Young Link|g=SSBM|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Dr. PeePee|USA}}||{{Head|Falco|g=SSBM|s=16px}}{{Head|Marth|g=SSBM|s=16px}}
|-
|2014||[[Apex 2014]]||629|| Kevin Nanney||{{Sm|Dr. PeePee|USA}}||{{Head|Falco|g=SSBM|s=16px}}{{Head|Marth|g=SSBM|s=16px}}|| {{Sm|Mew2King|USA}} || {{Head|Marth|g=SSBM|s=16px}}{{Head|Sheik|g=SSBM|s=16px}}{{Head|Fox|g=SSBM|s=16px}}
|-
|2015||[[Apex 2015]]||1,037||Kevin Nanney||{{Sm|PPMD|USA}}||{{Head|Marth|g=SSBM|s=16px}}{{Head|Falco|g=SSBM|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Armada|Sweden}}|| {{Head|Fox|g=SSBM|s=16px}}{{Head|Peach|g=SSBM|s=16px}}
|-
|2016||[[Apex 2016]]||159||Jason Zimmerman ||{{Sm|Mew2King|USA}}||{{Head|Sheik|g=SSBM|s=16px}}{{Head|Marth|g=SSBM|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Mafia|USA}}||{{Head|Peach|g=SSBM|s=16px}}
|}

*Apex 2009 had {{Sm|Jman}}, {{Sm|Mew2King}}, and {{Sm|ChuDat}} split during Top 3.

==={{GameIcon|Brawl}} ''Brawl'' Winners {{GameIcon|Brawl}}===

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Year!!Event!!Entrants!!Player!!Tag!!Character(s)!!Runner-up!!Character(s)
|-
|2009||[[Apex 2009]]||210||Elliot Carroza-Oyarce||{{Sm|Ally|Canada}}||{{Head|Snake|g=SSBB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Mew2King|USA}}||{{Head|Meta Knight|g=SSBB|s=16px}}
|-
|2010||[[Apex 2010]]||269||Larry Holland||{{Sm|DEHF|USA}}||{{Head|Falco|g=SSBB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Brood|Japan}}||{{Head|Olimar|g=SSBB|s=16px}}
|-
|2012||[[Apex 2012]]||400||Ishikawa Kenta||{{Sm|Otori|Japan}}||{{Head|Meta Knight|g=SSBB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Nietono|Japan}}|| {{Head|Olimar|g=SSBB|s=16px}}
|-
|2013||[[Apex 2013]]||338||Saleem Young||{{Sm|Salem|USA}}||{{Head|Zero Suit Samus|g=SSBB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Mew2King|USA}}||{{Head|Meta Knight|g=SSBB|s=16px}}
|-
|2014||[[Apex 2014]]||370||Nairoby Quezada||{{Sm|Nairo|USA}}||{{Head|Meta Knight|g=SSBB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|ZeRo|Chile}}||{{Head|Meta Knight|g=SSBB|s=16px}}
|-
|2015||[[Apex 2015]]||176||Elliot Carroza-Oyarce||{{Sm|Ally|Canada}}||{{Head|Snake|g=SSBB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Nairo|USA}}||{{Head|Meta Knight|g=SSBB|s=16px}}
|}

===[[File:SSBB_Icon.png|link=Brawl+|16px]] ''Brawl+'' Winners [[File:SSBB_Icon.png|link=Brawl+|16px]]===

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Year!!Event!!Entrants!!Player!!Tag!!Character(s)!!Runner-up!!Character(s)
|-
|2009||[[Apex 2009]]||36||Daniel Rodriguez||{{Sm|ChuDat|USA}}||{{Head|Ice Climbers|g=SSBB|s=16px}}{{Head|Kirby|g=SSBB|s=16px}}{{Head|Captain Falcon|g=SSBB|s=16px}}{{Head|Ivysaur|g=SSBB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Yes!|USA}}||{{Head|Fox|g=SSBB|s=16px}}{{Head|Snake|g=SSBB|s=16px}}
|-
|2010||[[Apex 2010]]||25||Elliot Carroza-Oyarce||{{Sm|Ally|Canada}}||{{Head|Snake|g=SSBB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|HolyNightmare|Canada}}|| {{Head|R.O.B.|g=SSBB|s=16px}}
|}

===[[File:SSBB_Icon.png|link=Brawl-|16px]] ''Brawl-'' Winners [[File:SSBB_Icon.png|link=Brawl-|16px]]===

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Year!!Event!!Entrants!!Player!!Tag!!Character(s)!!Runner-up!!Character(s)
|-
|2010||[[Apex 2010]]||49||Nairoby Quezada||{{Sm|Nairo|USA}}||{{Head|Pikachu|g=SSBB|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Zucco|USA}}||{{Head|Wolf|g=SSBB|s=16px}}{{Head|Ness|g=SSBB|s=16px}}
|}

===[[File:PM_Icon.png|link=Project M|16px]] ''Project M'' Winners [[File:PM_Icon.png|link=Project M|16px]]===

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Year!!Event!!Entrants!!Player!!Tag!!Character(s)!!Runner-up!!Character(s)
|-
|2013||[[Apex 2013]]*||16||Luis Torres||{{Sm|TheReflexWonder|USA}}||{{Head|Wario|g=SSBB|s=16px|l=Wario (PM)}}||{{Sm|Wizzrobe|USA}}|| {{Head|Sonic|g=SSBB|s=16px|l=Sonic (PM)}}
|-
|2014||[[Apex 2014]]||382||Adam Lindgren||{{Sm|Armada|Sweden}}||{{Head|Pit|g=SSBB|s=16px|l=Pit (PM)}}||{{Sm|Mew2King|USA}}|| {{Head|Fox|g=SSBB|s=16px|l=Fox (PM)}}{{Head|Marth|g=SSBB|s=16px|l=Marth (PM)}}{{Head|Mewtwo|g=PM|s=16px}}
|}

<nowiki>*Project M was a side-event at Apex 2013.</nowiki>

==={{GameIcon|SSB4-U}} ''Smash 4'' Winners {{GameIcon|SSB4-U}}===

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Year!!Event!!Entrants!!Player!!Tag!!Character(s)!!Runner-up!!Character(s)
|-
|2015||[[Apex 2015]]||837||Gonzalo Barrios||{{Sm|ZeRo|Chile}}||{{Head|Diddy Kong|g=SSB4|s=16px}}||{{Sm|Dabuz|USA}}||{{Head|Rosalina & Luma|g=SSB4|s=16px}}{{Head|Olimar|g=SSB4|s=16px}}
|-
|2016||[[Apex 2016]]||309||Samuel Buzby||{{Sm|Dabuz|USA}}||{{Head|Rosalina & Luma|g=SSB4|s=16px}}||{{Sm|VoiD|USA}}|| {{Head|Sheik|g=SSB4|s=16px}}{{Head|Fox|g=SSB4|s=16px}}
|}

==External links==
*[http://apex-series.com/ Apex website]
*[https://twitter.com/apex_series Twitter]
*[http://www.youtube.com/apextournament YouTube channel]

{{Apex}}
[[Category:National tournaments]]
[[Category:New Jersey tournaments]]
[[Category:Tournament series]]
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