Huge Smash Bros Melee Clash at The Off Season 2

Fighters are a major focus for a lot of gamers now, with hot new fighting games getting released. There’s still plenty going on competitively for older titles though, particularly Smash Bros. This weekend will see a major event take place for the game. One of the year’s biggest Melee tournaments is going down at the Off-Season 2.

The charity tournament put on by Team Summertime with OpTic is returning for a second season. The offline event features tournaments for both Melee and Smash 64, with a bit more of a focus on the more popular title. This is how it’ll work and what you can expect at the event.

The Off-Season 2

The Off-Season is back for Season 2. The tournament series is returning over September 23-24, with two full days of Smash Bros events. We’ll see main events for Melee and the original Super Smash Bros at this tournament, a nice change of pace from the normal Ultimate focus. It’s great to see the OG Smash getting representation like this too. Although, this is primarily a Melee event.

Melee at The Off-Season 2

The Melee event is the bigger tournament here, with a $25,000 prize pool, pretty impressive for this title. With that kind of prize, we’re seeing most of the best Melee players turn up for the event. Leading out those invited is Zain, undoubtedly one of the best active players right now.

Cody Schwab is also coming, a Smash player who has been dominating lately having just won a coinbox (in a maid’s outfit thanks to a donation goal). aMSa, everyone’s favourite Red Yoshi main, is going to attend along with Jmook, Mang0, HungryBox, Axe, and S2J. Those are the bigger names that have been invited. However, others will be competing in the open bracket too. We’ll see Wizzrobe, Magi, Salt, and more fighting it out in this open stage to make it through to the final.

With this stacked lineup and such a huge prize for Melee, this is an impressive event and it might be one of the most important to catch for Melee in 2023.

Smash 64

Alongside the Melee event, we’re getting a separate tournament for Super Smash Bros. That’s the original incarnation of the series from the Nintendo 64. While a nostalgic favourite, this title is often overlooked at competitive events. The Off-Season 2 though makes a point of promoting it up to the main level. The event has a $5,000 prize and quite a few players joining in.

It’s always fun to see what players are doing with 64 at events like this. Melee might have evolved the series into what it is, but the more stripped-back and clunky N64 title still has a lot of fans. There’s something to be said for its rawer mechanics and stripped-down roster. To say nothing of its still classic mini-games like break the targets and board the platforms. Seeing it get an outing as a serious competitive game is a highlight.

Those are the two main events at the Off-Season 2. This is an event which is one of the biggest in the year for Melee. You can follow along on the official stream too. With pretty much all the major names in Melee showing up to this tournament, it has the potential to upend the rankings for top Smash players too.