Smash Bros Pro injured when jumping from illegal taxi on way to tournament
A great fighting game tournament, Genesis 9, took place from January 20 to 23 in San Jose, California. Top talent from around the world, including Super Smash Bros. Competitors Leonardo “MkLeo” Lopez and Samuel “Dabuz” Buzby, gathered at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center to play games like Guilty Gear Effort Y ether rivals. but for one super smash bros melee professional, British player Elliot “Frenzy” Grossman, the Genesis 9 tournament began with an illegal taxi and, he claims, a near-kidnapping.
“They tricked me into an illegal taxi that was leaving [the San Francisco International Airport] and almost got kidnapped,” Frenzy tweeted on Jan. 19 with a photo of his scarred right hand. “I jumped out of the car after seeing the police chase the vehicle and luckily I only hurt myself and scraped my hand and back. At the hospital [right now], [but I have] I have no idea how something works here [to be honest].”
You might be wondering what the heck Frenzy is talking about since it sounds like some action movie stunt with Tom Cruise or something. Well, it turns out that Falco’s principal, who was on his way to the Genesis 9 tournament, encountered some…complications when he landed in California.
“So, I had just gotten off an 11-hour flight from London Heathrow Airport to San Francisco International Airport,” Frenzy said. my city in an email. “I was planning to take an Uber to my hotel in San Jose, but my phone had died on the way and Wi-Fi often didn’t work well in airports. I decided to take a taxi instead, so I headed to the taxi stand.”
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Frenzy is a pro Melee player for the British esports organization Reason Gaming. Hailing from England and maining Falco, he is 2nd best UK player Y the 47 best melee competitor in the world as of 2022. However, their track record speaks for itself. He regularly ranks in the top 10 in most tournaments he enters and also has a few first-place wins to his credit, the latest being in the galint melee Open: Fall 2022 Edition back in november. The guy can play! However, he was not prepared for the California transportation game.
“A driver came up to me and asked if I was looking for a taxi, to which I said yes and then asked where I was going as usual,” Frenzy said. “He shows me the car and opens the door for me to get in with my things and when I close the door and put on my seatbelt, I look out the window and see several police officers with guns drawn running towards the vehicle and yelling ‘¡! Stop the vehicle! and out!’ The driver ignores this and then immediately sped up while I was still getting in and buckled up, at which point I knew I had made a huge mistake. At that point, I decided that if I got out fast enough, it was safer for the driver to get away and be at his mercy or get involved in a police chase that could end in a crash at higher speeds.”
“When I turned around to put on my seatbelt, I saw several police officers running to go around the car through the window,” Frenzy said. “They had weapons in hand. The driver then sped up, with one foot on the ground, and tried to get away. It was then that I decided to retire. I was familiar with this kind of thing going on on the internet, but this specific attempt took me completely by surprise, so I knew exactly what was going on.”
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Frenzy said he was on “such an adrenaline rush” that things got blurry. One minute, he was buckling up his seatbelt to head to Genesis 9. The next, he was “rolling on the ground” after jumping out of the fake cab. He said he “didn’t make a bad landing or have anything else on the road” near him that would cause further injury as he rolled on the tarmac with the car speeding between 15 and 20 mph. Still, he was in “pretty bad pain”, with a backpack only slightly breaking his fall and his right hand bearing most of the impact. The Mills-Peninsula Emergency Department in Burlingame said Frenzy did not break anything, but had “really bad swelling, abrasions and bruising” on his right hand, as well as “friction burns” on his back from rolling on gravel and “low blood pressure”. “For a moment. He also contacted the police after the incident to get a quick police report.
“The cops asked a lot about the exact actions of the criminal and explained that they had been behind this guy who had been running this scheme for a while,” Frenzy said. “They gave me information about the case number and who to contact. I am not 100% sure how the vehicle or the criminal was caught while I was recovering from the jump, but I saw that he was handcuffed in the distance while I was attended to later ”.
An officer with the San Francisco Police Department said my city over the phone that while they were unable to release any specific information about the incident, Frenzy’s case is real and an “ongoing investigation” is currently underway. The officer also said my city that the person conducting the investigation will call us back, but that hasn’t happened yet.
“These types of schemes are all over the world and as a fairly seasoned traveler I am usually aware of them,” Frenzy said. “However, in a period of trial and after a long flight, I was deceived. They try to trick you by positioning themselves near legitimate taxi ranks and even color their cars in the same design as the legitimate ones. They will approach people, especially those who are alone or tourists, and ask if they are looking for a taxi and where they are going. Because of this, I usually tend to stick to ride sharing apps when I travel, but this time my phone was out of battery so I was in a tight spot.”
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In the end, Frenzy made it to Genesis 9 to play around a bit. super smash bros melee thanks to the help of the tournament organizers. After taking a day or two to recover, she said that she felt well enough to compete. She didn’t place as well, placing 49th in the tournament. However, he said that “the event itself was incredible even in spite of what happened” and he is “looking forward to coming back in top form next year.” Here’s hoping he arrives much safer next time.