Students who enjoy video games and were looking for a bit of nostalgia found themselves in the San José State Student Union Ballroom for a Super Smash Bros. tournament esports showcase on Monday.
Spartan Esports hosted the showcase tournament and allowed 64 people to participate while others watched. The event staff set up snacks, drinks and gaming systems with a limited number of controllers. Many student participants brought their own controllers.
The Esports team made separate seating arrangements for those playing in the gaming tournament with designated referees and set up large projectors of competitors playing for those who wanted to watch.
“This is at least my third Esports showcase and this has been going on for a while now,” Douglas Mccoeur, current president for the Versus Gaming Club, said.
Prizes were also awarded to the top five winners and special prize giveaways were given to attendees who were watching the event. The first place winner got a Meta Quest 3 Virtual Reality headset, the runner up won a Nintendo Switch and the third place winner got the Nintendo Switch Lite, according to a post on the team’s Instagram.
“It's basically double elimination and everyone starts on the winner’s side,” Matthew Go, member of the SJSU Esports organization, said. “If they lose once they go to the loser’s bracket and if you lose again you’re out.”
As for the students attending, prize giveaways, such as a Mario pipe-shaped mug, a Yoshi neon light and stuffed animals, were randomly given away according to a post on the Spartan Esports’ Instagram.
Geology junior Theodore Gardiner was the coordinator for the Super Smash Bros. tournament as they headed into elimination rounds.
“It's a fun event for people to come out and participate in,” Gardiner said. “Strut yourself, show your skill and come out and have a good time.”
Mccoeur said as fun as the events are, there is still a level of competition involved, especially for those who are already a part of the Esports organization.
“We are currently predicting that all of our specialty players who make the Esports team will make the pools so the top 16 will definitely be interesting,” Mccoeur said.
Broadcasters, live streamers and referees at the event made sure everyone was situated at the correct station when the tournament began.
Jordan Sunglao, business management senior and team operations lead, said he is in charge of overseeing the Esports team as a whole and they have12 different teams with over 100 players that compete in different video games.
Sungalo said SJSU has been the top competing public school in Esports so it can be difficult for people to make the team. “We focus more on the competitive side most of the time so it's nice to have a place where everyone at the school can come and play together,” Sungalo said.
Sungalo said some people perceive video games as an activity to do alone, but he personally sees value in the gaming community.
“I’d say the event is pretty significant because most people that play video games are inside by themselves a lot so it's nice to have a community where you can see the same person playing your favorite video game so you can play together,” Sungalo said.
Psychology senior Matthew Go said he stumbled upon the Esports Smash Bros. event when he first transferred to SJSU.
“I was actually searching for an Esports team for Smash Bros and they held the same tournament a year and a half ago,” Go said. “I really enjoyed it so then after that I joined.”
Sungalo said Super Smash Bros. has been the only video game event that's been played at this event, but the organization is looking to host more events like this in the future.
Sungalo also said that the only time they haven't planned this event was during COVID-19.
“We're hoping this tournament could be the gateway for the school to give us a little more funding,” Sungalo said. “They did give us the funding for this. We have about $2,000 in the prize pool so we're looking forward to having more events with bigger prizes.”
