Genesis X was a supermajor that took place from Feb 16th-18th in San Jose, CA in 2024. I will not spend a great deal of time/energy writing about what Genesis is or the area; nothing changed since the previous year, and anyone who so wants to hear about the area can reference my Genesis 9 document.
There are a lot of positives to be said for Genesis. The area is nice, with plenty of food options in easy walking distance, and two hotels conjoined to the venue means that a very high percentage (myself included) of the full weekend attendees can easily get to and from the venue. Furthermore, Genesis does a much better job on setups than its only real supermajor rival (Big House), with it being very reasonable to find a setup at any time Friday/Saturday other than peak R1 pools. Additionally, this is the second year in a row that I have observed it run the largest Melee bracket of the year with next to no hiccups, even when challenged with absurd security line delays this year. Pools/brackets are scheduled well, run on time, and adequate staff/volunteers ensure things happen when they are supposed to. It would also be remiss not to mention the unique theater seating for top 8, which looks incredible both in photos and as an experience for those who found seats. Overall, while most of this document will be dedicated to complaints, I do not want it said that I believe Genesis is anything less than an excellent series, just one with some significant issues this year.
The first and most publicized of those issues was with security lines. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Genesis X had the single worst security line I have ever experienced, even beyond video game related events. It took me almost 90 minutes of standing in line to enter the venue the first day, and I heard multiple reports of >2 hours from people. This is not acceptable. I understand that it is “necessary” due to venue contracts to screen people for food, and necessary for safety to screen for weapons, but I have never experienced anything at an event even close to the Genesis lines this year. Furthermore, the security was at other times outright rude and belligerent. One of the most striking examples was when many people were standing in the aisles by the seats to watch top 64. Understandably, this was a fire hazard, and so security came to tell people not to do that. However, they did this by shouting at people that they could not stand and needed to sit down, which a good number of people misinterpreted and attempted to oblige by sitting on the floor. In response, a member of security began shouting threats to the effect of intending to drag them out of the venue. This is not only rude and unacceptable, it’s bad security practice. As security, avoiding violent escalation with the public should be among their very highest priorities. It’s a simple principle of the field that there are many members of the public and a much lower number of you. Starting a fight is an excellent way to get yourself and others hurt, and it’s a very bad sign that this individual was not thinking in those terms. To my understanding, this security was hired by Genesis and not the venue itself, which sounds damning, but is in my opinion actually a good thing. If the staff were attached to the venue itself, Genesis might have no recourse, but as it stands they can simply not hire this group again.
Next I will point out what I complained about on twitter previously: Sunday setups. Genesis had advertised that they would have setups for friendlies until 9pm (might have been 10?) on Sunday, which was a selling point to some people. This was technically true, but on early Sunday morning about 100 of the 150 setups were packed up so that a smaller portion of the venue could be used. This really sucked, and it was incredibly hard to find a setup to play on the vast majority of Sunday. I ended up playing ~7 money matches in a row just to have an excuse to be on one, and I don’t even like money matches. I’m not really sure what to say about this, other than please do not do it. Melee players go to Melee tournaments to play Melee. I will reiterate that the setup situation was great Friday/Saturday, but it really leaves a bad taste in the mouth of attendees when so few setups are available the final day.
Lastly, I think Genesis misplayed their hand with the theater seating for top eight. In simple terms, unless you were there several hours before top 8 started, were willing to stand in a (no exaggeration) 4 block long line with no guarantee of entry, or had some sort of reserved section, you were not getting in that theater. However, I can’t say this was an error so much as it was a clearly failed experiment. I understand the difficulty of choosing whether or not to rent the extra space, and the risk you run by making the upcharge for it optional, but it just didn’t work out here. Hundreds of people paid extra for the theater space and were unable to use it.