With an action-packed introduction, the Sonoma State Smash Ultimate Club hosted their very first tournament of the year in partnership with SSU Student Involvement. This prize-filled tournament took place on Sat., Nov. 13 in the Student Center ballrooms, with students of all skill levels being invited to participate.

This was the first of two tournaments that the Smash Ultimate club will be hosting this school year, the next one coming on Feb. 5, 2022. Watch for the sign-ups on the Seawolf Living website during Lobofest at the start of spring semester.

The winners of the tournament could take home a variety of different prizes. The first place prize was a new Nintendo Switch controller. Second and third place were able to choose between multiple prizes such as Amiibos, posters and stickers. Once the winners picked out their prizes, the remaining ones were auctioned off.

The tournament had a variety of rules in place to ensure safety and make the gameplay as exciting as possible. All students were required to wear masks and complete their daily wellness screening before entering the event. As for the gameplay, the SSU Smash Club made a custom ruleset to be used in the competition. First of all, the rounds were decided by a best of three match, meaning the winner needs to win twice to move on. It was also double elimination, so each player had to lose two sets of matches before being removed from the competition. Every player had three lives each game with a seven minute timer running for the match. In addition, there was a limited selection of stages for the competitors to choose from and no stage hazards enabled, meaning the map could not change shape and form.

The competition took place in ballroom B in the student center, where the room was set up with ten different televisions and monitors for gameplay. At the start all ten of these were used for competitive play, but as the playing field got thinner they were used for recreational and friendly gameplay, for students to have fun and get to know each other even after elimination.

Through events like this, Sonoma State hopes to reach their students and help them get involved on campus. Director of Student Affairs, Mo Phillips, understands that gaming is a great way to get students involved in different clubs and organizations on campus.

“We do these events for students to meet others who have a shared interest in gaming,” said Phillips. “We are able to reach a lot of students because we offer a variety of things to do”

The day of the event, 24 students showed up to compete in the tournament. After many rounds, the final match came down to Addison Luong and Eddy Camacho. Camacho was the number one seed entering the tournament and Luong was second. Luong ultimately won in a 2-1 victory after a hard fought match. Over the course of the tournament, Luong recorded a 6-1 record in his dominating championship performance.

After lots of preparation, the tournament proved to be successful. The school and club provided pizza, water and snacks to everyone who attended the event, and participants seemed to have a good time playing and watching the competition.

“I did not play as well as I hoped, but the tournament was really fun,” sophomore and 

competitor Dylan Leonard said. “I will be back out for the next one.”

With the goal in mind of creating an event that would interest students and bring them together, the SSU Smash Club and Student involvement did just that. Everyone at the competition had only good things to say about the tournament itself and the people participating in it. With the next Super Smash tournament coming Feb. 5, 2022, be sure to check in on the Seawolf Living webpage to not miss it and other events like this.