Frame 11 Brings Upstate Smash Melee Roaring Back: Photo Gallery
If locals returning after pandemic shutdowns was Upstate Melee starting to walk again, and Quit Your Friendlies 4 was the scene relearning how to run – Frame 11 was a full-on sprint.
The Rochester regional hosted by Silo, Spiritor and Higgins was the largest Rochester Melee tournament to date, despite no Ultimate in sight (University of Rochester’s The Hive VIII took on that game the same day with a collegiate crew battle showdown where the hosts claimed victory).
The event had 75 entrants in Melee singles, 19 Melee doubles teams, 24 entrants in 64 singles, 8 64 doubles teams, and 18 entrants in Project+ singles, filling the Trinity Communion Church with 85 entrants overall fighting for the $300 Melee and $200 64 pot bonuses. Many players also attended The Prowling Grounds 67 biweekly the night before as a warm up.
64 singles was won by New York’s top 23rd-in-the-world Raychu, with Rochester’s own Bobakanoosh defending his #1 spot on the Rochester PR as the runner-up. The two teamed up to take the doubles bracket after a tight game 5 set against etab and Waxy:Joe.
A Canada heavy Melee doubles final saw Upstate’s hero Jmook and Ontario Puff Faust taking doubles over Ontario team Zuppy and Nix before singles took the stage.
Potential tensest set of the event was Higgins’ reverse 3-0 on Patches, or any given moment of Albany Puff Pig’s shenanigans of crazy rest reads and rollouts during the tight game 5s against Midnight Blue and Zanya or attempting to hold it down against Zuppy.
The global #3 and Binghamton’s Upstate #1 Jmook largely coasted to victory, much like at QYF4, defending the region from the solid Canadian presence in top 8.
Frame 10 champion and top Buffalo player Zanya did notably take a game in the Sheik ditto from their inspiration on the way to a 4th place finish, losing to Pig in a tight set after being sent to losers by Jmook. Zuppy, a global top 50 player, as expected dominated the rest of the bracket. The stream of the event shot up to the biggest Melee stream on Twitch during top 4, peaking with over 150 viewers.
Watch the VODs for the tournament here and you can catch videos from past Frame tournaments on the Rochester Smash YouTube channel.
Thanks to the TOs for putting on such a great event!
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