Tristate Area

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The Tristate Area according to the Smash community definition. Regions rarely considered part of Tristate are shaded lighter. New York City and Philadelphia are highlighted in yellow.

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. While conventionally the Tristate Area refers only to the New York metropolitan area, the competitive Super Smash Bros. community also includes in the term the Philadelphia metropolitan area and other parts of eastern Pennsylvania, while usually excluding western Connecticut.

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. Nevertheless, the region remains one of the strongest regions in all of competitive play, featuring many of Smash's best players, including Cody Schwab, Dabuz, Malachi, Nairo, and Tweek, and maintaining a large and active tournament scene thanks to the Collision and Luminosity Makes Moves series, both of which took Apex's place as Tristate's premier tournament series.

SmashersEdit

See also: Category:New York smashers, Category:New Jersey smashers, Category:Pennsylvania smashers

The following players are currently or were previously ranked. Their highest placement is listed.

Globally ranked playersEdit

Tag Character(s) Best placement Notes
  2saint (New York)     MPGR 2019: 35th
  404Cray (New Jersey)     SSBMRank 2024: 46th
  6WX (Pennsylvania)     PGR v1: 20th
  ADHD (New Jersey)     SSBBRank 2016-2017: 2nd
  Agent (New York)     SSBMRank 2024: 53rd
  Aidan (New York)     PMRank 2017: 19th
  Aklo (New York)        SSBMRank 2024: 8th
  ANTi (New York)          SSBBRank 2018-2019: 2nd
  PGR v2: 9th
  OrionRank 2019: 93rd
  Arch (New York)       SSBBRank 2020-2022: 15th
  Atomsk (New Jersey)      SSBBRank 2016-2017: 13th
  OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse: 102nd
  Bbatts (New Jersey)     SSBMRank 2023: 36th
  Bobo (New York)     LumiRank 2024.2: HM (101-150)
  Boiko (New York)      PMRank 2023: 23rd
  Bongo (New York)     PMRank 2023: 18th
  BONK! (Pennsylvania)     OrionRank Mid-Year 2022: 143rd
  Bubbles (New York)     PMRank 2019: 20th
  Captain Smuckers (New York)     MPGR 2019: 42nd
  Char (New Jersey)     LumiRank 2024.2: HM (101-150)
  Chem (New York/Pennsylvania)     SSBMRank 2023: 25th
  Chia     2023 SSBBRank: 8th Founder of CLASH Tournaments, one of the largest Smash streaming groups in the early 2010s.
  Cody Schwab (New York)     SSBMRank 2023: 1st
  Dabuz (New York)          SSBBRank 2020-2022: 5th
  OrionRank 2018: 3rd
  OrionRank 2019: 7th
  Darktooth (New York)     MPGR 2018: 59th
  Dawson (Pennsylvania)     SSBMRank 2024: 58th
  DJ Nintendo (New York)     SSBMRank 2014: 39th
  DKwill (New York)      SSBBRank 2014: 39th
  DrLobster (New York)     SSBMRank 2024: 69th
  dvd (New Jersey)     PMRank 2023: 1st
  E-tie (New Jersey)     SSBMRank 2024: 92nd
  Emukiller (New Jersey)     PMRank 2016: 11th
  Envy (New York)     PMRank 2018: 11th
  False (New Jersey)     SSBBRank 2014: 54th
  PGR v1: 35th
Moved to Ohio in 2017.
  Free KayFlock (New York)     LumiRank 2024.2: 138th Also known as ZeroTwoNone.
  Fro116 (New York)     SSBMRank 2024: 48th
  Frozen (New York)        OrionRank 2016: 86th
  Spring 2019 PGRU: 46th
  PMRank 2016
  Gallo (New York)     PMRank 2016: 7th
  Hax$ (New York)     SSBMRank 2013: 6th Passed away in 2025.
  Jaden (New York)      PMRank 2016: 17th
  Jakal (New Jersey)     OrionRank 2022: 30th
  Jbandrew (New Jersey)      SSBBRank 2014: 59th
  Jflex (New Jersey)     SSBMRank 2022: 37th
  JJM (New Jersey)      SSBMRank 2022: 81st
  John Numbers (New York)      OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse: 146th
  Jtails (New York)      SSBBRank 2014: 91st
  Jude (New Jersey)     SSBMRank 2024: 96th
  Juice (Pennsylvania)       OrionRank 2019: 81st
  Kaeon (New York)     SSBMRank 2017: 91st
  Keitaro (New Jersey)      SSBBRank 2014: 80th Known as the tournament director of the KTAR and SKTAR tournament series.
  Kingtoon (Pennsylvania)     SSBBRank 2014: 81st
  Kyoz (New Jersey)     2024 SSBBRank: 6th
  La Luna (New York)     SSBMRank 2017: 19th
  Louis (New York)     SSBMRank 2024: 95th
  Malachi (New York)     PMRank 2019: 1st
  Malcolm (New Jersey)     SSBBRank 2014: 90th
  Marcus (New Jersey)         Spring 2019 PGRU: 43rd
  Max Power (New Jersey)     2024 SSBBRank: 10th
  mayb (New Jersey)     SSBMRank 2024: 42nd
  Mew2King (New Jersey)        RetroSSBMRank 2008: 1st
  SSBBRank 2014: 5th
Widely considered the greatest Smash player of all-time and one of the Five Gods. Moved out of Tristate in 2014.
  Mot$ (New Jersey)     SSBMRank 2022: 68th
  MPg (Pennsylvania)     OrionRank Mid-Year 2022: 132nd
  Mr. E (New York)       PGR v2: 18th
  Spring 2019 PGRU: 38th
  Mr. Watch & Learn (New York)     PMRank 2019: 25th
  Nairo (New Jersey)        SSBBRank 2018-2019: 1st
  PGR 100: 2nd
  Fall 2019 PGRU: 4th
  NAKAT (New York/New Jersey)       SSBBRank 2014: 12th
  PGR v1: 34th
Moved to SoCal in 2016.
  Nanami (Pennsylvania)      SSBMRank 2024: 77th
  Narq (New York)     PMRank 2019: 33rd
  Orion (New Jersey)     SSBBRank 2014: 42nd
  PC Chris (New York)      RetroSSBMRank 2006: 3rd
  PkChris (New York)     LumiRank 2024.2: 107th
  Phresh (New York)     PMRank 2023: 7th
  Quandale Dinglelingleton (New York)     UltRank 2022: 80th
  Quidd (New York)     OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse: 44th
  Raz (Pennsylvania)     SSBMRank 2024: 45th Moved to Pennsylvania from South Carolina in 2024.
  Rishi (New York)     MPGR 2018: 26th
  Rivers (New Jersey)        PGR v5: 35th
  Spring 2019 PGRU: 18th
  Ryobeat (New York)     MPGR 2019: 73rd
  Salem (New Jersey)      SSBBRank 2014: 18th
  OrionRank 2016: 8th
Moved to Florida in 2016.
  Shadow (New York)     SSBBRank 2014: 66th
  Shiny Zubat (New Jersey)      PMRank 2023: 15th
  Sinji (New York)      OrionRank 2018: 42nd
  Spring 2019 PGRU: 25th
  SluG (Pennsylvania)     SSBMRank 2022: 9th
  StereoKiDD (New York)     PMRank 2017: 14th
  Stocktaker69 (New York)     OrionRank Mid-Year 2022: HM
  Suarez (New York)     Spring 2019 PGRU: 49th
  Swedish Delight (New Jersey)     SSBMRank 2016: 11th
  Switch (New Jersey)     PMRank 2018: 2nd
  Syrup (New Jersey)      LumiRank 2024.2: 14th
  TheSWOOPER (New Jersey)     SSBMRank 2022: 33rd
  Tilde (New York)     OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse: 29th
  Tweek (New Jersey)        OrionRank 2019: 2nd One of the greatestUltimate players of all-time. Resided in the Midwest in Smash 4 and the first half of 2019.
  UtopianRay (New York)      OrionRank Ultimate: Six Months In: 74th
  Vex Kasrani (Pennsylvania)     SSBBRank 2018-2019: 13th
  Vinnie (New York)       SSBBRank 2016-2017: 4th
  PGR v1: 18th
  vortex (New York)      MPGR 2018: 96th
  Wally (New Jersey)     SSBMRank 2024: 37th
  Xzax (Pennsylvania)     SSBBRank 2014: 29th Moved out of Tristate at the start of Smash 4
  Yoda Cage (Pennsylvania)     OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse: 132nd
  Zanguzen (New Jersey)     SSBMRank 2014: 46th
  Zealous5000 (New Jersey)     SSBMRank 2017: 98th
  ZeRo     SSBBRank 2014: 3rd 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.
  Zhime (New York)     PMRank 2016: 32nd
  Zomba (New York)     LumiRank 2024.1: 14th

Nationally ranked playersEdit

Tag Character(s) Best placement Notes
  Jul (New York)     OrionRank North America Top 200: 152nd
  BlazingPasta (Pennsylvania)     OrionRank North America Top 200: 83rd
  Cee (New York)      LumiRank 2023 North America: 112th
  Elam (New York)     LumiRank 2023 North America: 116th
  fawn (New York)     LumiRank 2023 North America: 129th
  GuyGuy (New York)     LumiRank 2023 North America: 107th
  KingArc (New York)     OrionRank North America Top 200: 171st
  Kofi (New York)     OrionRank North America Top 200: 144th
  NickC (New York)     OrionRank North America Top 200: 56th
  Odyssey (New Jersey/New York)     OrionRank North America Top 200: 129th
  Raptor (New York)       OrionRank North America Top 200: 191st
  Steffen (New Jersey)     LumiRank 2023 North America: 195th

Other notable playersEdit

Tag Character(s) Notes
  Bum (New York)   The best Melee Donkey Kong play in the golden age and remains one of the most recognizable Donkey Kong players.
  D1 (New York) One of the most famous Smash commentators. Currently banned.
  Ksizzle (New Jersey)    Nairo's brother. One of the best Brawl players in Tristate at his prime.
  NinjaLink (New York City)     An old school player renowned for playing a variety of characters.
  Prog (Long Island) One of the most famous Melee commentators who lived in New York during most of his Smash career.

TournamentsEdit

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

Notable tournament seriesEdit

Tournament series that have achieved recognition outside their local region.

Tournament Games Type Status
Apex (New Jersey)        Annual Discontinued
Apollo (New York)   Monthly Discontinued
B-Airs (Pennsylvania)   Weekly Ongoing
BrookLAN (New York)   Weekly Ongoing
Collision (New York/New Jersey)       Annual Ongoing
Defend the North (New York)     Annual Ongoing
Encore (New York)   Weekly/Monthly Ongoing
Failsafe (New Jersey)     Biannual Ongoing
Fireside Open (New Jersey)      Annual Ongoing
Keystoned (Pennsylvania)   Annual Ongoing
KTAR (New Jersey)      Unscheduled Discontinued
Luminosity Makes Moves (New York)   Annual Ongoing
Nebulous (New York)       Weekly Discontinued
Revival of Melee (New York)   Annual Discontinued
Scarlet Classic (New Jersey)      Annual Ongoing
SKTAR (New Jersey)      Annual Discontinued
Smashadelphia (Pennsylvania)        Annual Ongoing
The Function (New York)   Annual Discontinued
The Nightclub (New York)   Annual Discontinued
We Tech Those (Pennsylvania)    Annual Discontinued
Xeno/XenoSaga (New York)    Weekly/Monthly Ongoing
Yoshi's Island (New York)    Annual
Zenith      Annual Discontinued

Notable tournamentsEdit

Tournaments that featured at least one game at a superregional level.

Tournament Date Entrants Supermajor Major Superregional Other
MLG New York 2004 (New York) October 24th, 2004 ???  
MLG New York 2005 (New Jersey) February 25th-26th, 2006 32+  
MLG New York Opener 2006 (New Jersey) April 21st-23rd, 2006 143+  
MLG New York Playoffs 2006 (New York) October 13th-14th, 2006 208+  
MLG Long Island 2007 (New York) May 5th-6th, 2007 71+  
Revival of Melee (New York) March 7th-8th, 2009 136+  
Clash of the Titans IV (Pennsylvania) February 7th-8th, 2009 249+  
Apex 2009 (New Jersey) May 9th-10th, 2009 200+    
Revival of Melee 2 (New York) November 21st-22nd, 2009 159+  
Apex 2010 (New Jersey) August 6th-8th, 2010 400+   
Revival of Melee 3 (New York) November 20th-21st, 2010 168+  
KTAR 5 (New Jersey) May 21st, 2011 116  
Zenith 2011 (New Jersey) May 28th-29th, 2011 83  
KTAR 6 (New Jersey) August 14th, 2011 130+  
Concentrate II (New Jersey) October 30th, 2011 58  
Revival of Melee 4 (New York) November 19th-20th, 2011 110+  
Apex 2012 (New Jersey) January 6th-8th, 2012 1,000+     
Zenith 2012 (New Jersey) May 26th-27th, 2012 92+    
Clash of the Titans 6 (New Jersey) June 2nd, 2012 58  
SKTAR (New Jersey) July 14th-15th, 2012 140+  
Revival of Melee 5 (New York) November 17th-18th, 2012 110+  
XSmash (New Jersey) December 22nd, 2012 ???  
Collision VI (New York) January 5th, 2013 38    
Apex 2013 (New Jersey) January 11th-13th, 2013 500+    
Zenith 2013 (New Jersey) June 1st-2nd, 2013 120+      
SKTAR 2 (New Jersey) August 3rd-4th, 2013 141  
KTAR 7 (New Jersey) July 6th-7th, 2013 55+     
Revival of Melee 6 (New York) November 16th-17th, 2013 110+  
KTAR 8 (New Jersey) December 28th, 2013 60+     
Apex 2014 (New Jersey) January 17th-19th, 2014 700+     
Revival of Melee 7 (New York) March 8th-9th, 2014 110+  
SKTAR 3 (New Jersey) May 31st-June 1st, 2014 250+     
Zenith 2014 (New Jersey) August 2nd-3rd, 2014 418+       
Apex 2015 (New Jersey) January 30th-February 1st, 2015 1,600+      
Shots Fired (Pennsylvania) February 28th-March 1st, 2015 194+     
Super Nebulous 3 (New York) April 25th-26th, 2015 218  
Nebulous Prime 1 (New York) August 14th-16th, 2015 200+      
SKTAR 4 (New Jersey) August 22nd-23rd, 2015 160+    
We Tech Those (Pennsylvania) November 14th-15th, 2015 160+    
Shots Fired 2 (New Jersey) March 5th-6th, 2016 368      
Super Nebulous 4 (New York) March 27th, 2016 196  
SuperNova (New York) April 16th, 2016 172  
NEW FISH (New York) May 7th, 2016 289     
KTAR XVIII (New Jersey) June 11th, 2016 428    
Apex 2016 (New Jersey) June 17th-19th, 2016 500+     
We Tech Those 2 (Pennsylvania) July 23rd-24th, 2016 110  
Collision XIV (New Jersey) September 3rd, 2016 193    
SuperBoomed (New York) October 22nd-23rd, 2016 88  
Olympus (New Jersey) October 28th-30th, 2016 314      
KTAR XIX (New Jersey) November 19th, 2016 493    
Apollo (New York) January 7th-8th, 2017 161  
The Flex Zone 2 (New York) February 18th, 2017 134  
Keystoned (Pennsylvania) March 11th-12th, 2017 68  
KTAR XX (New Jersey) April 1st-2nd, 2017 192  
Royal Flush (New Jersey) May 12th-14th, 2017 515   
Smashadelphia 2017 (Pennsylvania) June 23rd-25th, 2017 263       
The Empire Smashes Back (New York) November 3rd-5th, 2017 61  
We Tech Those 3 (Pennsylvania) January 13th-14th, 2018 248    
The Gang Hosts a Melee Tournament (Pennsylvania) February 3rd, 2018 242  
Smash Valley: Lucky 7 (Pennsylvania) February 17th, 2018 315     
Keystoned II (Pennsylvania) March 10th-11th, 2018 96  
Collision XV (New Jersey) March 31st, 2018 273  
The Flex Zone 3 (New York) April 7th, 2018 101  
OMEGA II (New York) June 16th-17th, 2018 140  
Smash Sounds (New York) July 7th-8th, 2018 269  
Final Smash Attack: Player's Ball (New York) July 29th, 2018 26  
SuperNova 2 (New York) July 29th-30th, 2018 173  
NYXL Pop-Up! (New York) December 22nd, 2018 171  
Let's Make Moves (New Jersey) December 29th, 2018 504  
The Gang Steals The Script (Pennsylvania) March 9th, 2019 219  
Keystoned III (Pennsylvania) March 9th-10th, 2019 41  
Collision 2019 (New Jersey) March 16th-17th, 2019 410  
Suplex City Smash (New Jersey) April 6th, 2019 222  
The Scarlet Classic V (New Jersey) April 14th, 2019 219    
Smash at The Paramount (New York) June 15th, 2019 235  
Defend the North 2019 (New York) July 19th-21st, 2019 505    
Return to Yoshi's Island (New York) November 2nd, 2019 148  
Tri-state Showdown: Fall 2019 (New Jersey) November 9th, 2019 229  
Let's Make Big Moves (New York) January 3rd-5th, 2020 655  
Keystoned IV (Pennsylvania) March 14th-15th, 2020 50  
Momentous (New York) June 12th, 2021 16  
Keystoned 4.5 (Pennsylvania) June 19th-20th, 2021 42  
Let's Make Big Moves 2022 (New York) January 7th-9th, 2022 690  
Collision 2022 (New Jersey) March 12th-13th, 2022 757  
The Function 2 (New York) May 7th, 2022 200  
Keystoned V (Pennsylvania) March 19th-20th, 2022 56  
Apex 2022 (New Jersey) November 18th-20th, 2022 1,087        
Redemption Rumble (New York) December 30th-31st, 2022 16  
Let's Make Big Moves 2023 (New York) January 6th-8th, 2023 791  
EON: Revelation (New York) February 11th, 2023 129  
Collision 2023 (New Jersey) March 10th-12th, 2023 1,075    
Keystoned VI (Pennsylvania) March 18th-19th, 2023 72  
High Rez (New York) July 8th-9th, 2023 240  
B-Airs 400 (Pennsylvania) October 6th, 2023 133  
The Function 3 (New York) November 11th, 2023 259  
Luminosity Makes BIG Moves 2024 (New York) January 5th-7th, 2024 915  
Collision 2024 (New Jersey) March 15th-17th, 2024 1,183    
The Function 4 (New York) October 26th, 2024 295  
Knightmare at The Roundtable (New Jersey) October 26th, 2024 129  
Nounsvitational 2024 (New York) December 7th-8th, 2024 16  
Luminosity Makes BIG Moves 2025 (New York) January 3rd-5th, 2025 861  
The Reaper Invitational (New York) January 19th, 2025 8  
The Roundtable 2 (New Jersey) January 25th, 2025 127  
Tri-state Showdown 2: The Invitational (New Jersey) February 2nd 48  
The Roundtable 3 (New Jersey) February 22nd, 2025 127  

Largest singles eventsEdit

Rank Tournament Date Game Attendance Winner Character(s)
1 Apex 2015 January 30th-February 1st, 2015   1,037   PPMD   
2 Luminosity Makes BIG Moves 2024 January 5th-7th, 2024   891   Tweek  
3 Luminosity Makes BIG Moves 2025 January 3rd-5th, 2025   832   Sparg0    
4 Let's Make Big Moves 2023 January 6th-8th, 2023   791   Tweek  
5 Collision 2022 March 12th-13th, 2022   749   Sparg0   
6 Apex 2015 January 30th-February 1st, 2015   734   ZeRo  
7 Collision 2024 March 15th-17th, 2024   714   Sparg0   
8 Let's Make Big Moves January 3rd-5th, 2020   650   Nairo   
9 Apex 2014 January 17th-19th, 2014   629   Dr. PeePee   
10 Collision 2023 March 10th-12th, 2023   619   Riddles   

See alsoEdit