Finding One Melee to Rule Them All

Once upon a time, at a simpler time of the game... where there was no store, no trading, no item qualities, no crates and keys, and basically almost nothing that earned the game the name of "war-themed hat simulator"... all melees were created equal, limited to one class and all used as last resorts (well, for the most part).

Then the Mann-Conomy update came, and brought with it the beginning of the modern era. One of the key things that floated in with the flood... a melee that was not created equal, one that would rule over the others. It was known as the Frying Pan.

For eternities it would hold allure among awed fans of TF2. Several times Valve did attempt to unseat it and bring some equity among the greater melees, but each time the Frying Pan continued to prove popular.

Until almost two and a half years later. Then came the fifth (or seventh, if you're really counting those others) iteration of the many-class melee. It was known as the Ham Shank, and it would attract many people. It began posing a threat to the Frying Pan.

Encouraged by the success of the Ham Shanks, the other melees would declare their quest to unseat the Frying Pan, and they all now battle for the privilege of being called the premier greater melee of TF2.

Which fabled melee will you take up and advance the cause of? Which one will win the battle? Let's find out.

• Panzershreck (Frying Pan)
  
• Hale's Hippies (Conscientious Objector)
  
• Mount Crushmore (Freedom Staff)
  
• Headrollers (Bat Outta Hell)
  
• Break a Leg (Ham Shank)

• the Trial by Fire, an all-day event where players can show off their skills in MGE or PUGs against other players
  
• the Induction, a voting stage where community members can vote on who will represent each melee in the tournament
  
• the Showdown, a round-robin tournament with the five teams competing for the win

• MagicalKillaCow, for casting
  
• Mersopolis, for the original idea
  
• Vain Glory, for the logo
  
• stamda, for the team names
  
• pastryrock, for some guidance about how RSP runs things
  
• SPUFserver, for the website and possibly servers used during the event