Southern California

Southern California, abbreviated as SoCal, is a Smash region located in the United States. "SoCal" is generally defined to include the southern half of the state of California, centered on the Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan areas. It deliberately excludes Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, as the state's large size has resulted in the development of largely separate Smash scenes in its two halves.
Since the inception of competitive Melee, Southern California has been home to one of the largest and most active Smash scenes. This can be attributed to the huge population of the Los Angeles area, as well as its prominent air hub and heavy usage of the automobile facilitating transportation to tournaments, leading SoCal to have one of the largest tournament scenes in the world, hosting many iconic locals and majors thanks to the efforts of many tournament organizers and teams, including and . SoCal has long been considered the strongest Melee region in the world, home to both , one of the strongest and most iconic players of the pre-Brawl era, and , one of the Five Gods. The region is also known for being one of the two strongest Project M regions (the other being the Tristate Area), the second-strongest Brawl region in the United States (after the Tristate Area) during the game's competitive lifetime, and one of the strongest Smash 4 regions. Likewise, the region is home to many of each game's best players, including , , , , and . However, the scene had noticeably weakened in Ultimate, due to the hiatus and bans of the scene's best players and the losses of 2GGaming and Beyond the Summit leaving SoCal without a consistent major tournament series.
==Smashers==
:See also: :Category:Southern California smashers
The following players are currently or were previously ranked. Their highest placement is listed.
===Globally ranked players===
Tag	Character(s)	Best placement 	Notes
 	 	PGR v5: 38th OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse: 86th 	
 	 	PMRank 2016: 27th 	
 	 	PMRank 2016: 42nd 	
 	 	MPGR 2018: 20th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2023: 80th 	
 	 	2018 64 League Rankings: 54th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2014: 94th 	
 	 	PMRank 2018: 8th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2016: 46th 	
 	 	PGR v4: 35th OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse: 63rd 	
 	 	LumiRank 2023: 67th 	
 	 	2018 64 League Rankings: 22nd 	
 	 	2016 64 League Rankings: 61st 	
 	 	RetroSSBMRank 2005: 10th 	
 	 	PMRank 2019: 42nd 	
 	 	PGR v4: 11th OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse: 14th 	Banned at several events.
 	 	OrionRank 2017: 59th 	
 	 	MPGR 2019: 17th 	
 	 	PGR v5: 20th 	
 	 	MPGR 2019: 12th 	
 	 	RetroSSBMRank 2011: 8th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2022: 45th 	
 	 	2021-2022 Smash 64 Power Rankings: 14th 	
 	 	RetroSSBMRank 2008: 8th 	
 	 	PMRank 2016: 15th 	
 	 	2019-2020 Smash 64 Power Rankings: 24th 	
 	 	PMRank 2016: 38th 	
 	 	PMRank 2018: 38th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2024: 9th 	Originally from New South Wales and moved to North America in 2023.
 	 	SSBBRank 2014: 82nd OrionRank 2016: 26th OrionRank Ultimate: Six Months In: 91st	Originally from Arizona.
 	 	RetroSSBMRank 2006: 1st 	The greatest Melee player in the golden age, and as such is often called the "King of Smash"
 	 	SSBMRank 2023: 39th 	
 	 	LumiRank 2023: 88th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2023: 11th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2023: 58th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2022: 57th 	
 	 	2016 64 League Rankings: 33rd 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2014: 36th SSBBRank 2014: 17th OrionRank 2016: 5th OrionRank 2019: 64th	Formerly known as DEHF.
 	 	PMRank 2017: 47th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2015: 12th 	
 	 	2024 SSBBRank: 4th 	
 	 	PMRank 2016: 26th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2014: 1st 	One of the Five Gods of Melee and considered the greatest Melee player of all-time by many players.
 	 	PMRank 2019: 35th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2017: 25th SSBBRank 2014: 46th 	
 	 	LumiRank 2024.1: 74th 	
 	 	PGR v1: 36th 	
 	 	PMRank 2023: 36th 	Originally from New York.
 	 	2016 64 League Rankings: 44th 	
 	 	OrionRank 2016: 91st Fall 2019 PGRU: 36th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2022: 30th 	
 	 	MPGR 2019: 61st 	
 	 	OrionRank Mid-Year 2022: 147th 	
 	 	RetroSSBMRank 2001-2003: 2nd 	
 	 	SSBBRank 2016-2017: 11th PGR v2: 23rd 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2017: 10th 	
 	 	PMRank 2022: 34th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2024: 99th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2016: 7th 	Originally from NorCal.
 	 	SSBBRank 2014: 38th PGR v1: 29th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2022: 44th 	
 	 	PMRank 2022: 18th 	
 	 	PMRank 2018: 1st 	
 	 	2016 64 League Rankings: 53rd 	
 	 	MPGR 2018: 54th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2022: 69th 	
 	 	PMRank 2023: 24th 	
 	 	UltRank 2022: 60th 	
 	 	PMRank 2019: 30th 	
 	 	SSBBRank 2014: 63rdPGR v1: 50th 	
 	 	SSBBRank 2014: 13th OrionRank 2016: 17th 	
 	 	PMRank 2016: 25th 	
 	 	PGR v2: 6th Spring 2019 PGRU: 9th 	
 	 	SSBMRank 2016: 8th 	
 	 	2016 64 League Rankings: 46th 	Tournament organizer for the series.
 	 	PMRank 2019: 17th 	
 	 	PGR v5: 43rd 	
 	 	MPGR 2019: 88th 	
===Nationally ranked players===
Tag	Character(s)	Best placement 	Notes
 	 	LumiRank 2023 North America: 115th 	
 	 	OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse: 80th 	
 	 	OrionRank North America Top 200: 149th	
 	 	OrionRank 2022 North America: 110th 	
 	 	OrionRank North America Top 200: 90th 	
 	 	OrionRank 2022 North America: 130th 	
 	 	OrionRank 2022 North America: 121st 	
 	 	OrionRank North America Top 200: 103rd	
 	 	OrionRank North America Top 200: 198th	
 	 	OrionRank 2022 North America: 178th 	Originally from NorCal.
 	 	OrionRank North America Top 200: 147th	
==Tournaments==
:See also: :Category:Southern California tournaments
===Notable tournament series===
Tournament series that have achieved recognition outside their local region.
Tournament 	Games	Type 	Status
(including and )	 	Unscheduled	Discontinued
 	 	Bi-monthly 	Discontinued
 	 	 	Discontinued
 	 	Weekly 	Discontinued
 	 	Unscheduled	Discontinued
 	 	Annual 	Discontinued
 	 	Weekly 	Discontinued
 	 	Bi-weekly 	
 	 	Weekly 	
 	 	Unscheduled	
 	 	Annual 	Ongoing
 	 	Bi-annual 	Discontinued
 	 	Annual 	Discontinued
 	 	Annual 	
 	 	Annual 	Discontinued
 	 	Annual 	On hiatus
 	 	Weekly 	Discontinued
 	 	Annual 	Discontinued
 	 	Unscheduled	Discontinued
===Notable tournaments===
Tournaments that featured at least one game at a superregional level.
Tournament	Date 	Entrants	Supermajor	Major 	Superregional	Other
 	January 18th, 2004 	??? 	— 	—	 	—
 	October 14th-16th, 2005 	32+ 	 	—	— 	—
 	June 23rd-24th, 2006 	160+ 	 	—	— 	—
 	August 15th-17th, 2006 	200+ 	 	—	— 	—
 	July 20th-22nd, 2007 	228+ 	 	—	— 	—
 	July 27th-29th, 2007 	128 	— 	 	— 	—
 	September 29th-30th, 2007 	201+ 	 	—	— 	—
 	January 17th-18th, 2009 	243+ 	— 	 	— 	—
 	September 26th-27th, 2009 	108+ 	— 	—	 	—
 	January 22nd–23rd, 2011 	140+ 	— 	 	— 	—
 	January 14th-15th, 2012 	155+ 	— 	—	 	—
 	November 10th, 2012 	120+ 	— 	 	— 	—
 	April 13th-14th, 2013 	115+ 	— 	—	 	—
 	December 14th-15th, 2013 	220+ 	— 	—	 	—
 	February 28th-March 2nd, 2014 	80 	— 	—	 	—
 	May 24th-25th, 2014 	162+ 	— 	 	— 	—
 	June 20th-22nd, 2014 	325 	 	—	— 	—
 	July 5th-6th, 2014 	208+ 	— 	 	— 	—
 	November 20th-22nd, 2014 	24 	— 	—	 	—
 	January 17th, 2015 	252+ 	— 	—	 	
 	May 9th-10th, 2015 	222+ 	— 	 	— 	—
 	June 6th, 2015 	60 	— 	 	— 	—
 	September 5th-6th, 2015 	1,138 	 	 	— 	—
 	November 5th-8th, 2015 	16 	— 	 	— 	—
 	January 9th, 2016 	190 	— 	—	 	—
 	January 30th, 2016 	208 	— 	—	 	—
 	February 27th, 2016 	204 	— 	—	 	—
 	March 26th, 2016 	371 	— 	—	 	—
 	April 21st-24th, 2016 	16 	 	—	— 	—
 	May 7th, 2016 	345 	— 	—	 	—
 	May 27th-29th, 2016 	201 	— 	 	— 	—
 	June 4th, 2016 	423 	— 	—	 	—
 	June 18th, 2016 	96 	— 	 	— 	—
 	July 23rd, 2016 	432 	— 	—	 	—
 	September 24th, 2016 	564 	— 	 	— 	—
 	November 3rd-6th, 2016 	16 	 	—	— 	—
 	January 14th, 2017 	474 	— 	 	— 	—
 	February 11th, 2017 	349 	— 	 	— 	—
 	March 2nd-5th, 2017 	16 	 	—	— 	—
 	March 24th-26th, 2017 	843 	 	—	— 	—
 	April 8th-9th, 2017 	16 	— 	 	— 	—
 	May 20th, 2017 	359 	— 	 	— 	—
 	May 27th-28th, 2017 	613 	 	—	— 	
 	June 10th-11th, 2017 	570 	 	—	— 	—
 	June 12th, 2017 	229 	— 	—	 	—
 	June 17th-18th, 2017 	101 	— 	 	— 	—
 	July 8th-9th, 2017 	218 	— 	 	— 	—
 	August 19th-20th, 2017 	430 	 	—	— 	—
 	September 2nd-3rd, 2017 	884 	— 	—	 	—
 	September 9th, 2017 	315 	— 	 	— 	—
 	October 14th-15th, 2017 	396 	 	—	— 	—
 	November 4th, 2017 	330 	 	—	— 	—
 	November 2nd-5th, 2017 	16 	 	—	— 	—
 	November 11th-12th, 2017 	131 	— 	 	— 	—
 	December 1st-3rd, 2017 	20 	 	—	— 	—
 	December 2nd-3rd, 2017 	347 	— 	—	 	—
 	April 21st-22nd, 2018 	199 	— 	 	— 	
 	May 3rd-6th, 2018 	16 	 	—	— 	—
 	June 23rd-24th, 2018 	835 	 	—	— 	—
 	July 6th-8th, 2018 	523 	 	—	— 	
 	September 14th-16th, 2018 	144 	— 	—	 	—
 	September 22nd, 2018 	276 	— 	—	 	—
 	November 10th-11th, 2018 	394 	— 	—	 	—
 	November 15th-18th, 2018 	16 	 	—	— 	—
 	December 15th, 2018 	8 	— 	—	 	—
 	January 5th, 2019 	603 	— 	—	 	—
 	February 9th, 2019 	416 	— 	—	 	—
 	March 3rd, 2019 	322 	— 	—	 	
 	March 8th-10th, 2019 	16 	— 	 	— 	—
 	March 16th-17th, 2019 	82 	— 	 	— 	—
 	April 13th, 2019 	174 	— 	—	 	—
 	April 13th-14th, 2019 	842 	 	—	— 	—
 	April 27th-28th, 2019 	12 	— 	—	 	—
 	May 5th, 2019 	82 	— 	—	 	—
 	June 8th-9th, 2019 	503 	— 	—	 	—
 	June 12th, 2019 	256 	— 	—	 	—
 	June 13th-16th, 2019 	16 	 	—	— 	—
 	July 28th, 2019 	8 	— 	—	 	—
 	July 29th, 2019 	400 	— 	—	 	—
 	August 16th-18th, 2019 	127 	— 	 	— 	
 	August 31st-September 1st, 2019	452 	— 	 	— 	—
 	September 20th-22nd, 2019 	578 	 	 	— 	—
 	October 12th, 2019 	86 	— 	 	— 	—
 	October 24th-27th, 2019 	16 	 	—	— 	—
 	December 7th-8th, 2019 	1,001 	 	—	— 	—
 	January 4th, 2020 	63 	— 	 	— 	—
 	February 1st, 2020 	171 	— 	—	 	—
 	February 13th-16th, 2020 	18 	 	—	— 	—
 	July 15th-18th, 2021 	16 	 	—	— 	—
 	August 23rd, 2021 	320 	— 	—	 	—
 	August 26th-29th, 2021 	16 	— 	 	— 	—
 	November 13th, 2021 	127 	— 	 	— 	—
 	November 12th-14th, 2021 	1,330 	 	 	— 	—
 	December 9th-12th, 2021 	16 	 	—	— 	—
 	March 3rd-6th, 2022 	16 	— 	 	— 	—
 	March 7th, 2022 	8 	— 	—	 	—
 	May 12th-15th, 2022 	16 	 	—	— 	—
 	August 6th-7th, 2022 	749 	— 	—	 	—
 	September 15th-18th, 2022 	16 	— 	 	— 	—
 	November 3rd-6th, 2022 	16 	 	—	— 	—
 	December 2nd-4th, 2022 	866 	 	 	— 	—
 	December 18th, 2022 	32 	 	 	— 	—
 	March 23rd-26th, 2023 	16 	— 	 	— 	—
 	April 7th-9th, 2023 	524 	— 	—	 	—
 	June 16th-18th, 2023 	545 	— 	—	 	—
 	July 7th-9th, 2023 	16 	 	—	— 	—
 	April 27th-28th, 2024 	309 	— 	 	— 	—
 	September 21st-22nd, 2024 	64 	— 	—	 	—
 	November 23rd-24th, 2024 	16 	— 	—	 	—
===Largest singles events===
Rank	Tournament 	Date 	Game	Attendance	Winner 	Character(s)
1 	 	December 7th-8th, 2019 	 	909 	 	
2 	 	November 12th-14th, 2021	 	830 	 	
3 	 	April 13th-14th, 2019 	 	804 	 	
4 	 	June 23rd-24th, 2018 	 	780 	 	
5 	qualifier bracket	September 2nd-3rd, 2017 	 	768 	—	—
6 	 	March 24th-26th, 2017 	 	753 	 	
7 	 	November 12th-14th, 2021	 	559 	 	
8 	 	September 5th-6th, 2015 	 	547 	 	
9 	 	September 24th, 2016 	 	544 	 	
10 	 	September 5th-6th, 2015 	 	519 	 	
==See also==
*SoCal Power Rankings
Category:American regions