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. It is considered to be one of the two strongest regions for Project M in the world (the other being Southern California), with 13 PMRanked players and multiple other unranked threats.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Notable players

Nationally ranked players

These Tristate players were ranked on the 2019 MPGR.

SSBMRank	Name	Notes
9	iBDW
18	Swedish Delight
19	Hax$	Known for playing one of the most technical Foxes, as well as formerly maining the world's best Captain Falcon.
35	2saint
40	Rishi
53	La Luna
56	Slox
73	Ryobeat
84	lint
99	TheSWOOPER

Other top players

Aklo
Animal
Captain Smuckers
D1: One of the most famous Melee commentators.
Darktooth
DJ Nintendo
JFlex
JJM
Kaeon
Leighton
Mr. F
PC Chris : One of the best players in the world from 2006-2007 before retiring from the game.
Prog: One of the most famous Melee commentators; lived in New York during much of his Smash career.
PudgyPanda
SwiftBass : Lives in New Haven, Connecticut, but formerly ranked 10th on the New York City Power Rankings and 86th on the 2015 SSBMRank
vortex
Whiskers
Zealous5000

Major tournaments hosted

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.
Collision XIV	43	September 3rd, 2016
Olympus	93	October 28th-30th, 2016
Apollo	144	January 7th-8th, 2017
Apollo 2	86	February 11th, 2017
Apollo IV	103	April 8th, 2017
The Scarlet Classic III	78	April 23rd, 2017
The Scarlet Classic IV	213	April 15th, 2018
NYXL Pop-Up!	98	December 22nd, 2018
Scarlet Classic V	162	April 14th, 2019
Defend the North 2019	90	July 19th-21st, 2019

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Notable players

Nationally ranked players

These Tristate players were ranked on the Fall 2019 PGRU.

PG ranking	Name	Notes
3	Tweek	Known for his diversity in the character roster. Currently the best Pokémon Trainer player in the world, and one of the best Wario, Wolf, Roy players in the world. Won Let's Make Moves, Glitch 6, Frostbite 2019, Get On My Level 2019, and Low Tier City 7, and was the runner-up at EVO 2019.
4	Nairo	The best Palutena player in the world with a strong Zero Suit Samus secondary. Won Mainstage and Let's Make Big Moves.
9	Dabuz	The best Rosalina & Luma and Olimar player in the world.
28	LeoN	The best Bowser player in the world.

Other top players

ANTi : One of the best Snake and Mario players in the world.
Gen : Originally ranked Area 51 on the Spring 2019 PGRU.
John Numbers : One of the best Wii Fit Trainer player in the United States.
Juice : One of the best Falco players in the world.
Jul : The best Robin player in the world.
Mr. E : The best solo Lucina player in the United States. Originally ranked 38th on the Spring 2019 PGRU.
NickC : One of the best Captain Falcon players in the world.
Rivers : One of the best Chrom and Diddy Kong players in the world.
Secret : Originally ranked Area 51 on the Spring 2019 PGRU.
Sinji : The best Pac-Man player in the United States. Formerly ranked 25th on the Spring 2019 PGRU.
Suarez : The best Yoshi player in the United States. Originally ranked 49th on the Spring 2019 PGRU.
Venia : One of the best Greninja players in the United States.

Super Smash Bros. 4

Notable players

Nationally ranked players

These Tristate players were ranked on the Panda Global Rankings 100.

PG ranking	Name	Notes
2	Nairo	The best Zero Suit Samus and Bowser player in the world, and one of the best players in the world. Won Super Smash Con 2016 and Super Smash Con 2017.
4	Dabuz	The best Rosalina & Luma player in the world and one of the best players in the world. Won 2GGC: Civil War and The Big House 7.
14	ANTi	One of the best players in the world, possessing a wide cast of characters at the top level. Won CEO 2016.
34	6WX	One of the best Sonic players in the world.
36	Vinnie	One of the best Sheik players in the world.
37	Mr E	The best Lucina player in the world and the second best Marth player in the world.
45	SDX	One of the best Mewtwo players in the world of all time.
54	Shoyo James	One of the best Diddy Kong players in the United States.
85	Sinji	The best Pac-Man player in the world.

Other top players

DKwill : One of the first top level Donkey Kong players in the world.
John Numbers : The best Wii Fit Trainer player in the world.
Jtails : Known as a major innovator of Diddy Kong's early metagame.
Venia : The best Greninja player in the United States.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Notable players

Nationally ranked players

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

SSBBRank	Name	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 spent most of his Brawl career living in the Tristate Area, but also spent time living in Ohio and Georgia.
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

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

Project M

Notable players

Nationally ranked players

These players were ranked on the PMRank 2016.

PMRank	Name	Notes
4	Malachi	The best Peach and Sheik main in the world.
7	Gallo	The best Mario main in the world.
11	Emukiller	Placed 1st at SKTAR 3 with Mewtwo, now mains Meta Knight.
13	Frozen	The best Mewtwo main in the world, but is currently inactive.
14	Envy	The best active Ike main in the world.
16	DVD	The best Toon Link main in the world.
17	Jaden
18	Switch	The best Wolf main in the world.
23	Phresh	The best Ice Climbers main in the world.
28	StereoKiDD	One of the best Ness players in the world.
32	Zhime	The best Zelda main in the world.
34	Boiko
50	Shiny Zubat	One of the best Luigi and Yoshi players in the world.

Other Top Players

Aidan :Rising player, one of the best Zero Suit Samus players in the world.
Dusty :Ranked 2nd on the Philadelphia Project M Power Rankings.
Aklo -Hidden boss. Attends events very rarely, but has wins on players like Gallo, Kycse and Zhime.
Yung Quaff -Placed 7th at The Bigger Balc after defeating multiple PMRank players.

Tristate Area

Contents

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Notable players

Nationally ranked players

Other top players

Major tournaments hosted

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Notable players

Nationally ranked players

Other top players

Super Smash Bros. 4

Notable players

Nationally ranked players

Other top players

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Notable players

Nationally ranked players

Other top players

Major tournaments hosted

Project M

Notable players

Nationally ranked players

Other Top Players

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