With E-sports on the rise, Glendora High School ASB hosted their first annual Super Smash Brothers tournament on January 17th.
As one of the creators of the event, Brandon Lam commented, “You catch wind of this game everywhere on campus.”
Finally, the gamers had a chance to display their home-honed skills in a school event and mingle with others who share their interest. For example, sophomore Kyle Ngo revealed that this video game tournament is the first GHS -sanctioned event that he ever attended as a sophomore.
Just like any other sporting events, the friends and family members of the contestants cheered on their players even if they did not know how to play the video game.
Andrea Gonzalez, the aunt of Robert Silvestre who has autism, came to support her nephew because he was participating in the tournament.
Several players also gave positive comments on the tournament’s atmosphere. The plain Event Center transformed into a casual but competitive arena. Red and blue lights and white projections on the walls and floor complimented the gamer music set-up by sophomore Evan Turunen.
There were groups of friends enjoying the free snacks and board game tables, gamers excitedly waiting for their next game were circling in groups around the large, 70-inch T.V. screens.
Like a sporting event, there were instances of the crowd holding their breath, staring at the match with absolute focus, and some even jumped to cheer after a close match between two equally good players.
“In the end, people had started taking sides of who they wanted
to win. So the little crowd that was cheering for me made me really happy,” stated Maxx Pace Hicks, the junior who took home the first place title, revealed after the tournament.
With the exception of some minor input lag, this non-traditional and overall successful event hosted by the ASB provided a fun time for everyone who came.
It is of no doubt that gamers will band together once again for another event like this in the future. When that day comes, gamers will do what they do best—They will rise up to meet the challenge.
