Intense screaming fills the room. People pump their fists into the air in celebration. Raw emotion pushes against the walls as Michael King, a senior, walks away with a victory.
Stop. Rewind.
The clock reads 9:00 a.m. and I’m preparing for the first ‘Fall Schnuck Smash Tournament’ (FSST1), the second tournament I’ve hosted for a video game called Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Since June 23, 2017, I’ve brought friends together with these seasonal tournaments as a way to have fun and distract ourselves from the troubles of life for a day. I’m putting together the final touches on the prizes and the (traditionally unsuccessful) livestream. I hear the doorbell ring and I welcome in the first three of the expected 24 competitors of the day.
As time ticks by, more players walk in as I prepare the bracket. These competitors have been training to play this game for weeks, months, even years. Super Smash Brothers is a world renowned fighting game made by Nintendo. Players take control of famous and beloved characters like Mario, Sonic, Princess Peach, Pikachu and even Pac-Man to duke it out in arena-style combat, where the goal is to knock your opponent off the stage rather than kill them.
The day consisted of a total of more than 50 head-to-head matches building up to the grand finals. After much competition, the last two standing was Matt Ake, the defending champion from SSST1 (First Summer Schnuck Smash Tournament), and Michael King, initially knocked down to the losers bracket by Matt, only to win his way into the Grand Finals. The Grand Finals was best-of-five. However if the winner of the losers bracket takes the match, the bracket will need to be reset, which leads to another match. After his 3-0 defeat in the semifinal match (before he was sent to losers’ bracket), it was looking rough for King in the finals. Ake was more than a formidable opponent, he’s one of the best, but King was not afraid. King, primarily playing the character Toon Link, took everyone by surprise by not allowing Ake to take a single round in match one, he did the impossible and beat Matt Ake.
But King’s journey wasn’t over, he reset the bracket so he wasn’t a true winner. He needed to beat Ake. Again.
Ake didn’t take this loss sitting down, he unleashed the beast and won twice against King. Another win would signal the end of the tournament and setting Ake to be the two time Schnuck Smash Tournament Champion. King decided it was do or die and didn’t let up; winning twice, sending the tournament finals into game five. The tension and stress was thick in the air, not a single person was relaxed. It was neck-and-neck the entire round until Michael’s Toon Link knocked Matt’s character off the stage.
King. Had. Done. It.
This propelled the room into mass hysteria. It didn’t matter that this was a small get together with a bunch of friends; the emotion and joy was breathtaking. Despite the grueling set up and planning, this moment alone reminded me why I do this. That moment of comeback and triumph made it all worth it. That’s the essence of these tournaments and what I strive for.
Now we just have to wait for WSST1.
