The Esports Club, in sponsorship with the Blockchain Club, hosted the third annual Peak of Smash tournament, a regional Super Smash Brothers Tournament, on Saturday, Sept. 24.
Super Smash Brothers, a ‘king of the mountain’ style fighting video game published by Nintendo, has a worldwide competitive scene.
“We have competitive Smash in every part of the world. It’s huge in Japan, and America, and in Europe, “ EC Ogu, a senior at UW, said.
The 11 hour long tournament hosted over 70 competitors from across the region.
“The Peak of Smash is a regional series for Wyoming where we invite Colorado, Montana, and surrounding states, “ Ogu said. “We ran [this] regional [tournament] where we invited the top players and pretty much any other competitor that wanted to come.”
Those who placed at this tournament earned “ranking points” which can earn them a spot at the international Smash World Tour Tournament representing the state.
“Each state in the United States has their own scene, and they each have their own power ranking of players, so it’s the top 10 players in each state [who get to attend the Smash World Tour Tournament],” Ogu said.
Not all competitors at the P3ak of Smash were fighting for glory, however.
“The stronger players look to earn some ranking points and bragging rights,” Ogu said, “[some participants] look to get some practice against stronger players.”
The tournament, as well as all of the Esports Club’s weekly Smash Bros Tournaments, was designed to host a variety of different skill levels.
“This [tournament is] more on the casual side. We provide a casual and competitive experience for anybody,” Austin Emmert, the President of the Esports Club said.
“Usually when people think of club sports, you think you have to be good and you have to be competitive in the sport that you’re choosing, but here in esports, we get together and just run casual events, and have competitive teams.”
Caleb “Chronos” Filler, a student of Aims Community College in Greeley Colorado, won the tournament, winning a $400 grand prize.
“Just don’t be afraid to give it a try, if you’ve ever been on the fence about playing Smash Bros or playing video games,“ Ogu said. “This is a great opportunity to make new friends.”