By Oscar Huerta, Oct. 24, 2023
ASI invited CPP students with a passion for fighting games to battle their way to the top in a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament Oct. 13 in Ursa Minor.
The 24 competitors brought a vast array of characters and strategies to the arena and lit up the tournament with their skills, leading to the final match between two dominant players who vigorously fought for the champion title.
Julian Vasquez, an aerospace engineering student who competed in the tournament, commented on the liveliness of the tournament, noting how the complexity of Super Smash Bros. allows everyone to create their own fun by developing unique strategies.
“The fun part is when you learn more about Smash, the more you realize that almost any character is viable,” Vasquez said. “There’s so many different play styles. You can talk to almost anybody in this community and everyone will have a different idea on how to play the game.”
The tournament consisted of a single elimination bracket using a standard competitive ruleset: three stocks, a seven-minute time limit and a condensed list of playable stages. Competitors needed to win two out of three games to proceed to the next round, with the champion receiving $25 in Bronco Bucks.
Competitive Sports Manager DJ Netherly said ASI moved the tournament from the Games Room to Ursa Minor in response to increased student interest and participant count. The new venue helped keep the action flowing by allowing three games to occur simultaneously on three different projector setups.
One of the first matches involved Vasquez and biology student William Carrillo. Vasquez primarily played as Pac-Man and utilized the character’s tricky projectile-based moveset to overwhelm Carrillo and take control of the match. This strategy enabled Vasquez to win the match 2-0 and move to the next round.
Carrillo said Vasquez’s game plan threw him for a loop, but he enjoyed the fight and felt motivated to practice for future events.
“Seeing as this is my first Smash tournament and all, you got to expect the unexpected,” Carrillo said. “You never know how well these guys are going to play, and you just have to assume that they’re all the pros. You just got to do your best and see how far you can get.”
Vasquez progressed through the tournament and made it to the top four, where he was confronted by mechanical engineering student Omar Arriaga in the semi-finals. Arriaga played as Donkey Kong throughout the tournament and consistently used the character’s wind-up punch to catch opponents off guard and send them flying to the blast zone.
In the semi-finals match, Arriaga utilized Donkey Kong’s wind-up punch to power through most of Vasquez’s strategically thrown projectiles. Although Vasquez put up a good fight, Arriaga overpowered him and won the match 2-0.
Vasquez said he enjoyed his run in the tournament and achieved his goal of reaching at least top eight, but he also hoped to learn from his loss by talking with his competitors about how he can improve.
“You don’t want to stay stuck in a one-path mindset where if someone beats you, you’re just like, ‘They beat me, and I don’t know how.’ Go and ask them,” Vasquez said. “If you ask them, they’ll most likely give you an idea and a way you never thought about the game.”
Arriaga moved on to the final round to face electrical engineering student Darien Fakouri, a competitor whom Arriaga played with in the past. Fakouri made it to the final round without a single loss after dominating his side of the bracket with his character, Bayonetta.
Starting the final match, Fakouri’s Bayonetta initially proved to be too overwhelming for Arriaga’s Donkey Kong, with Bayonetta’s combo-heavy moveset taking advantage of Donkey Kong’s large body by juggling him up and down across the entire stage. This tactic repeatedly racked up immense damage against Arriaga and let Fakouri easily knock him out and take the first game.
Fakouri started the second game with the same momentum as before, taking Arriaga’s first stock with little resistance. However, Arriaga suddenly kicked into action and started evening the game out using Donkey Kong’s long-ranged attacks to forcefully shut down Fakouri and take his stocks. Arriaga eventually took the game when he knocked Fakouri onto a platform, which gave him just enough time to unleash a powerful smash attack on him for the win.
The crowd cheered as Arriaga took back the game from such uncertain odds.
Unfortunately for Arriaga, Fakouri buckled in for the last game and barely let him touch the ground. After shredding through Arriaga’s stocks, Fakouri closed out the game by carrying him to the top of the screen and knocking him out to win the tournament.
Students interested in future Super Smash Bros. events can check out the ASI Portal or CPP’s Smash Club Discord Server.
Feature image by Oscar Huerta
