Tristate Area

The Tristate Area refers to a Smash region centered on southeastern New York, New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania (more specifically, the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas); the region borders and/or overlaps with parts of Upstate New York, the Connecticut portion of New England, Pittsburgh/Northeast Ohio, and Maryland/Virginia. The Smash Bros. community's definition of "Tristate Area" differs from its general meaning; the former includes the Philadelphia area and generally excludes southwestern Connecticut, while the latter always includes southwestern Connecticut while excluding Philadelphia.

Anchored by NYC and Philadelphia, two of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States, the densely populated Tristate Area has accordingly grown into one of the largest Smash regions in the country, particularly for Smash 4. It was also home to the largest Brawl community in North America during the game's peak levels of activity. Dedicated TOs, such as Alex Strife and Keitaro, combined with easy access to the NYC area's major airports, have helped the Tristate Area develop into the Smash hub it has become today. With the prominence of the Apex series, the region was even considered the unofficial center of grassroots activity; however, with the decline of Apex and the rise of new supermajors in other parts of the United States, the Tristate Area has lost its status as the undisputed most important Smash region. It still maintains a large and active tournament scene to this day, however.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Notable players

Nationally ranked players

See also: New York City Power Rankings, New Jersey Power Rankings, Philadelphia Power Rankings, Tristate Power Rankings, Category:New York smashers, Category:New Jersey smashers, and Category:Pennsylvania smashers

These Tristate players were ranked on Melee It On Me's 2016 SSBMRank.

SSBMRank	Name	Characters	Notes
21	The Moon
27	dizzkidboogie
65	DJ Nintendo
51	Slox		Lives in Bridgeport, Connecticut, but ranked 5th on the New York City Power Rankings.
64	Captain Smuckers
83	Reno		Originally from New York, but currently lives in southern California.
90	Zanguzen

Other top players

• Hax : Known for playing one of the most technical Foxes, as well as formerly maining the world's best Captain Falcon. Currently inactive due to hand injuries.
• PC Chris : One of the best players in the world from 2006-2007 before retiring from the game.
• SwiftBass : Lives in New Haven, Connecticut, but formerly ranked 10th on the New York City Power Rankings and 86th on the 2015 SSBMRank
• D1: One of the most famous Melee commentators.
• Prog: One of the most famous Melee commentators; lived in New York during much of his Smash career.

Major tournaments hosted

See also: Category:New York tournaments, Category:New Jersey tournaments, and Category:Pennsylvania tournaments

A list of significant regional and national Melee events hosted in the Tristate Area; nationals are highlighted in bold.

Name	Entrants	Date	Notes
Smash 4 Cash	<40	June 2004	As one of the earliest tournaments in New York City, many details concerning entrants and exact date have been lost.
MLG New York 2004		October 24th, 2004
MLG New York 2005		February 25-26th, 2006
MLG New York Opener 2006	143	April 21st-23rd, 2006
MLG New York Playoffs 2006	208	October 13th-14th, 2006
MLG Long Island 2007	71	May 5th-6th, 2007
Revival of Melee	136	March 7th-8th, 2009	The first Melee national following the release of Brawl.
Revival of Melee 2	159	November 21st-22nd, 2009
Apex 2010	220	August 6th-8th, 2010
Revival of Melee 3	163	November 20th-21st, 2010
Zenith 2011	83	May 28th-29th, 2011
Revival of Melee 4	110	November 19th-20th, 2011
Apex 2012	318	January 6th-8th, 2012	A series-wide supermajor.
Zenith 2012	92	May 26-27th, 2012
Revival of Melee 5	114	November 17th-18th, 2012	Following the winners' semifinals set between Mew2King and Unknown522, the event became a major landmark in the handling of tournament direction and rule violations.
Apex 2013	336	January 11th-13th, 2013	A series-wide supermajor.
Zenith 2013	126	June 1st-2nd, 2013
Revival of Melee 6	118	November 16th-17th, 2013
Apex 2014	629	January 17th-19th, 2014	A series-wide supermajor; at the time, the largest grassroots Melee event and the second-largest Melee tournament ever, behind only EVO 2013.
Revival of Melee 7	113	March 8th-9th, 2014
SKTAR 3	237	May 31st-June 1st, 2014
Zenith 2014	281	August 2nd-3rd, 2014
Justice 4		October 11th, 2014
Apex 2015	1,037	January 30th-February 1st, 2015	A series-wide supermajor; at the time, the largest Melee tournament ever.
NeoNebulous 7	171	March 29th, 2015
Super Nebulous 3	198	April 25th-26th, 2015
Nebulous Prime 1	129	August 14th-16th, 2015
SKTAR 4	93	August 22nd-23rd, 2016
Shots Fired 2	125	March 5h-6th, 2016
Super Nebulous 4		March 27th, 2016
Apex 2016	159	June 17th-19th, 2016	Following the controversies of Apex 2015, its Melee event was diminished in size to a regional.
Olympus	93	October 28th-30th, 2016

Super Smash Bros. 4

Notable players

Nationally ranked players

See also: New York City Power Rankings, New Jersey Power Rankings, Philadelphia Power Rankings, Tristate Power Rankings, Category:New York smashers, Category:New Jersey smashers, and Category:Pennsylvania smashers

These Tristate players were ranked on Panda Global's 2015 Panda Global Rankings.

PG ranking	Name	Characters	Notes
2	Nairo		Considered one of the best players in the world.
3	Dabuz		Considered one of the best players in the world.
10	ANTi
15	Tweek
20	6WX
28	Mew2King		Although originally from New Jersey, has lived outside of the Tristate Area for most of his Smash 4 career.
34	NAKAT
35	False
38	Angel Cortes
39	Xzax

Other top players

• Jtails: Known as a major innovator of Diddy Kong's early metagame.
• DKwill: Considered the best Donkey Kong player in the world.
• Mr.E: One of the best Marth mains in the world.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Notable players

Nationally ranked players

See also: New York City Power Rankings, New Jersey Power Rankings, Philadelphia Power Rankings, Tristate Power Rankings, Category:New York smashers, Category:New Jersey smashers, and Category:Pennsylvania smashers

These Tristate players were ranked on CLASH Tournaments' 2014 SSBBRank.

SSBBRank	Name	Characters	Notes
1	Nairo		One of the best players in the world during his prime in 2012-2014.
5	Mew2King		Brawl's undisputed best player in its early years, and he still remained one its best players throughout its lifetime. Originally from New Jersey and spend most of his Brawl career living in the Tristate Area, but also spent time living in Ohio.
7	ADHD		One of the best players in the United States and the world throughout Brawl's lifetime.
9	Vinnie		Lived in New York for most of Brawl's lifetime, but moved to Texas
11	Anti		One of the best Meta Knights in the United States and the world.
12	NAKAT		Quickly rose to prominence as a top Ice Climbers player in 2013.
18	Salem		Famous for winning Apex 2013, the second-largest Brawl tournament of all time.
20	Dabuz		One of the top Olimars in the United States.
29	Xzax		A top Falco player, lived in Philadelphia during Brawl's lifetime.
34	Vex Kasrani		Rose as the best solo King Dedede main in 2013-2014.
39	Will		The best Donkey Kong in the world.
42	Orion		Lives in New Jersey, but also spent time in the Netherlands during his Brawl career for school.
48	Atomsk		Known as one of the best players in the United States during his prime from 2009-2011.
54	False		A top Snake main, also known for his dominance in doubles with Nakat.
59	Jbandrew		Lived in New Jersey during Brawl's competitive lifetime.
66	Shadow		One of the top Meta Knights on the East Coast during the early stages of Brawl.
80	Keitaro		Known as the tournament director of the KTAR and SKTAR tournament series.
81	Kingtoon		A top Toon Link player in North America.
90	Malcolm
91	Jtails

Other top players

• ZeRo: Although originally from Chile, ZeRo spent much of his Brawl career living in the Tristate Area, where he quickly rose to become one of the best players in the world.
• Ksizzle: One of the top players in the United States during his prime from 2009-2010.
• Chibo: Founder of CLASH Tournaments, one of the largest Smash streaming groups.
• Inui: An old school player most known for his prominence in doubles.
• NinjaLink: An old school player renowned for playing a variety of characters at a professional level.
• Zucco: A top Lucario player in the United States when he was active.

Major tournaments hosted

See also: Category:New York tournaments, Category:New Jersey tournaments, and Category:Pennsylvania tournaments

A list of significant regional and national Brawl events hosted in the Tristate Area; nationals are highlighted in bold.

Name	Entrants	Date	Notes
Clash of the Titans IV	249	February 7th-8th, 2009
Apex 2009	210	May 9th-10th, 2009
KTAR	45	December 6th, 2009
KTAR 2	74	March 20th, 2010
Apex 2010	269	August 6th-8th, 2010
KTAR 3	74	September 25th, 2010
KTAR 4	77	January 15th, 2011
KTAR 5	116	May 21st, 2011
Clash of the Titans 5		June 25th-26th, 2011
KTAR 6	130	August 14th, 2011
Apex 2012	400	January 6th-8th, 2012	A series-wide supermajor; the largest Brawl tournament of all time.
Clash of the Titans 6		June 2nd, 2012
SKTAR	140	July 14th-15th, 2012
Apex 2013	338	January 11th-13th, 2013	A series-wide supermajor; the third-largest Brawl tournament of all time.
KTAR 7	55	July 6th-7th, 2013
SKTAR 2	141	August 3rd-4th, 2013
KTAR 8	44	December 28th, 2013
Apex 2014	370	January 17th-19th, 2014	A series-wide supermajor; the second-largest Brawl tournament of all time.
KTAR 9	33	March 22nd, 2014
SKTAR 3	97	May 31st-June 1st, 2014	The last Brawl national before the release of Smash 4.
Apex 2015	176	January 30th-February 1st, 2015