Written by Joe Fisk
On March 6, a Super Mario Smash Brothers Ultimate tournament was held in the FRCC Game Room. Over 25 students, faculty, and staff were huddled around the television to watch the 12 player single-elimination tournament. As the tournament progressed, passerby’s stopped to observe from the hallway, while the crowd in the Game Room shrunk with each elimination.
The tournament was won by Matthew Snyder, who played as Dark Pit; second place was awarded to Seth Cumley, playing as Mr. Game and Watch; and third place went to Zach Stoeckmann, playing as Mega Man. Players placing in the top three were awarded gift certificates for free food ranging from burger and fries to pizza from the cafeteria. Some players, such as tournament winner, Snyder, had prior experience.
“I’ve played since [Nintendo]‘64,” said Snyder.
Other players found success preparing for the tournament through research.
“I watched some tournament clips on Youtube just so I could see what to do in preparation,” said Stoeckmann.
Of the 10 other players, Snyder and Stoeckmann agreed that second-place winner, Cumley, was one of their best competitors. Cumley played Snyder in a close match in the final round.
fr“[The best competition was] a tie between Mr. Game and Watch [Cumley] and Marco, who I know from the game room,” said Snyder.
Cumley eliminated Stoeckmann from the tournament in the semifinal round to advance to his championship match against Snyder.
“I agree with him on Mr. Game and Watch [Cumley].” said Stoeckmann. “He’s the one that knocked me out of the tournament and put me in third place. He was really good.”
The event was organized by the Student Life Organization and according to Terrell Schlegel, a student life employee,
“This was the first ever video game tournament as far as we’re aware,” said Schlegel. “Generally, we do tournaments in the Game Room for ping pong and pool. This semester, we wanted to branch out and try video games, as we’ve had an increasing demand and interest in video games.”
Due to the audience’s response, Student Life Organization hopes to schedule more video game tournaments in the future. Upcoming events will be posted on the bulletin boards and screens across campus.
