A large warring crippled tournament, Genesis 9, took spot from January 20-23 successful San Jose, California. Top endowment from astir the world, including Super Smash Bros. competitors Leonardo “MkLeo” Lopez and Samuel “Dabuz” Buzby, gathered astatine the San Jose McEnery Convention Center to play games similar Guilty Gear Strive and Rivals of Aether. But for 1 Super Smash Bros. Melee pro, British subordinate Elliot “Frenzy” Grossman, the Genesis 9 tourney started with an amerciable taxi and, helium claims, a adjacent kidnapping.

“Got tricked into an amerciable taxi coming retired of [the San Francisco International Airport] and astir got kidnapped,” Frenzy tweeted connected January 19 with a representation of his scarred-up close hand. “Jumped retired of the car aft seeing the constabulary pursuit aft the conveyance and precise luckily lone bruised and scraped my manus and back. In the infirmary [right now], [but I have] nary thought however thing works present [to beryllium honest].”

You mightiness beryllium wondering what the hellhole Frenzy’s talking about, arsenic it sounds similar immoderate enactment movie stunt with Tom Cruise oregon something. Well, arsenic it turns out, the Falco main, who was making his mode to the Genesis 9 tourney, encountered some…complications erstwhile helium touched down successful California.

“So, I had conscionable got disconnected an 11-hour formation from London Heathrow Airport to San Francisco International Airport,” Frenzy told Kotaku successful an email. “I was readying to get an Uber to my edifice successful San Jose, but my telephone had tally retired of artillery connected the mode and wifi was often spotty astatine the airports. I decided to get a taxi alternatively and so, I walked retired to the taxi stand.”

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Frenzy is simply a pro Melee subordinate for the British esports enactment Reason Gaming. Hailing from England and maining Falco, helium is the UK’s second-best player and the 47th-best Melee rival successful the world arsenic of 2022. His grounds speaks for itself, though. He regularly places successful the apical 10 bracket astatine astir tournaments helium participates successful and has a fewer first-place wins nether his loop arsenic well, with his past 1 being astatine the Galint Melee Open: Fall Edition 2022 backmost successful November. The dude tin game! However, helium wasn’t prepared for the crippled of California transportation.

“A operator approaches maine and asked if I was looking for a taxi, to which I replied yes and past asked wherever I was going arsenic per usual,” Frenzy said. “He shows maine to the car and opens the doorway for maine to get successful with my things and arsenic I adjacent the doorway and loop up, I look retired of the model and spot aggregate constabulary officers with weapons drawn moving towards the conveyance and shouting ‘Stop the vehicle!’ and ‘Get out!’ The operator ignores this and past accelerated instantly arsenic I was inactive getting successful and belting up, astatine which constituent I knew that I had made a monolithic mistake. In the infinitesimal I conscionable decided that if I got retired speedy enough, it was safer than either the operator getting distant and being astatine his mercy oregon getting progressive successful a constabulary pursuit which could extremity successful a clang astatine higher speeds.”

“When I turned astir to enactment my seatbelt on, I saw aggregate cops moving retired to situation the car retired of the window,” Frenzy said. “They had guns drawn. The operator past accelerated, ft to the floor, and tried to get away. That was erstwhile I decided to bail out. I was acquainted with this benignant of happening happening from the internet, but I was caught wholly disconnected defender by this circumstantial attempt, truthful I knew precisely what was going on.”

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Frenzy said helium was successful “such an adrenaline rush” that things went blurry. One minute, helium was buckling his seatbelt to caput to Genesis 9. The next, helium was “rolling connected the ground” aft jumping retired of the fake taxi cab. He said helium “didn’t onshore severely oregon person thing other connected the road” adjacent him to origin further wounded arsenic helium rolled onto the asphalt, the car going astir 15-20mph. Still, helium was successful “pretty superior pain,” with a backpack lone somewhat cushioning his tumble and his close manus taking astir of the impact. The Mills-Peninsula Emergency Department successful Burlingame said Frenzy didn’t interruption thing but had “really atrocious swelling, abrasions, and bruising” connected his close manus arsenic good arsenic “friction burns” connected his backmost from rolling connected gravel and “low humor pressure” for a while. He besides got successful interaction with cops aft the incidental for a speedy constabulary report.

“The cops asked a batch astir what the criminal’s nonstop actions were and they explained they had been aft this feline that had been moving this strategy for a while,” Frenzy said. “They gave maine immoderate accusation astir the lawsuit fig and who to contact. I’m not 100% definite however they caught the conveyance oregon the transgression arsenic I was recovering from the jump, but I saw helium was successful handcuffs acold distant arsenic I was being attended to aboriginal on.”

A San Francisco Police Department serviceman told Kotaku implicit the telephone that, though they couldn’t divulge immoderate circumstantial accusation astir the incident, Frenzy’s lawsuit is existent and an “ongoing investigation” is presently successful progress. The serviceman besides told Kotaku that the idiosyncratic conducting the probe volition springiness america a callback, but that hasn’t happened yet.

“These sorts of schemes are each implicit the satellite and, arsenic a beauteous experienced traveller, I’m usually alert of them,” Frenzy said. “However, successful a lapse of judgement and aft a agelong flight, I got tricked. They effort to instrumentality you by positioning adjacent to wherever the morganatic taxi stands are and adjacent colour their cars successful the aforesaid layout arsenic legit ones. They volition attack people, particularly those who are connected their ain oregon who are tourists, and inquire if they are looking for a taxi and wherever they are going. Because of this, I usually thin to instrumentality to thrust stock apps erstwhile traveling, but connected this juncture my telephone was retired of artillery truthful I was successful a unsmooth situation.”

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In the end, Frenzy made it to Genesis 9 to play immoderate Super Smash Bros. Melee thanks to the assistance of the tournament’s organizers. After taking a time oregon 2 to heal up, helium said helium felt bully capable to compete. He didn’t spot that well, getting 49th successful the tournament. However, helium said the “event itself was astonishing adjacent contempt what happened” and is “eager to instrumentality successful afloat signifier adjacent year.” Here’s hoping helium gets determination overmuch safer adjacent time.