By Imran Shabbir

“GAME!” shouted the in-game announcer. The match was over. I was then officially sent to the loser’s bracket. Cluttered, negative thoughts filled my head: I’m sent to the losers’ bracket?  How is he that good? Will I win against my other opponents? Will I even reach the championships? In addition to my mind being infiltrated with disastrous thoughts, I heard advice from my coaches (through a Google Meet).

“Don’t worry about it,” comforted my alumni coach. “I won most of my tournaments through the losers’ bracket.”

“Yeah, in fact, the next person you’re about to face is someone you already defeated in the main bracket”, reported my teacher. He was the person who helped sign me up for the OSEA, an organization that arranges tournaments for various video games; I signed myself up for the Super Smash Bros Ultimate Tournament.

            Let’s rewind this moment a bit. Let’s rewind to a less stressful time. Perhaps… right before the round robins! Before I entered the tournament, I spent every day playing Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

Now before I continue, if you are one of those old folks who don’t have much knowledge of video games, or you call newer generational video game consoles “Gaming Gadgets,” Super Smash Bros Ultimate is a fighting game that involves knocking your opponent out of the “stage” (think of the stage as in a boxing ring). You can select various iconic video game characters such as Super Mario, Donkey Kong (who I play as), Sonic, and more! If you’re still confused about what I’m talking about, I recommend reading this article by Nintendo here.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the game, I think it’s time to talk about why I enjoy this game. As a kid, I always found it amusing to see two characters from different universes interacting with each other. This is called a crossover. When I was first introduced to Super Smash Bros through a Wii Interactive Kiosk, I was shocked to find Mario fighting against Sonic, two video-game characters in their different universes. Besides being entertained by the characters in-game, I was fascinated by the competitive scene. The competitive scene involves players fighting each other in tournaments to see who is the strongest player. What surprised me the most was that this game has skills similar to real-life sports! Now before you raise your pitchforks at me, let me explain as I go through my experiences through my tournament at OSEA.

            I had never entered a tournament before. I do know some popular tournaments, but I never took the opportunity to sign up for one, generally because I didn’t feel I had the appropriate skill level. However, the opportunity to compete in a high school tournament meant that I could compete with people around my age. Before entering the true tournament, however, I had to qualify for it. This means that I had to compete in a round-robin pool to gain enough points to compete in a real tournament. My matches during that time were easy, to the point where I would never lose a single game. Oftentimes, I slouched in my chair while destroying my opponents. My overconfidence assured me no struggle… or so I thought.

            December 14, 2024 9:00 AM. My stomach was filled with a hearty breakfast. I washed my face. I powered on my Switch. I connected my controller to the Switch. I plugged in my headphones to the Switch. I powered on my laptop. I hovered over to the Google Meet Room. Upon entering the meeting, I was greeted by my coaches. It was not until 9:30 that I was introduced to my first opponent. “A Roy?” I thought. “Easy,” I responded to my head. “A Kazuya?” I thought again. “Easy,” I responded to my head once more.

This cycle of confidence in my matches continued on till 11:30. “Terry?” I usually thought to myself. “Easy,” I responded to my head. What was interesting about this fight was that it was streamed. Having my matches viewed by the commentators was exciting for me, especially when I could illustrate my skills in crushing this player, right? Right? RIGHT? My overconfidence got the best of me, and here we are at the beginning of my story. After receiving my loss, I stared at the screen.

I pondered everything that led up to this point: the round robins, my victories, the announcement of how I was to be competing in the tournament at the school. It all seemed like everything crumbled to dust. I exited the gaming world and walked to my bathroom in defeat. As I washed my face, I looked at my parallel self through the mirror, filled with trepidation. I wondered to myself whether I could win the championships or at least reach it. I reflected upon my ambition of becoming a top player, standing amongst the top esports athletes like Hungrybox, and Nairo.

I reminded myself of a quote from Kratos (the protagonist from God of War): “Death can have me when it earns me.” I still was not out of the league. I could still win. With my newfound courage, I proceeded to my room awaiting my next match. “Another Kazuya?” I thought to myself. I did not respond to myself. I won the match. “A Cloud?” I thought again. Likewise, overconfidence absented my mind.

I stepped foot into the Terry player again. The match was still streamed by the opposing coach here at 3:28:30 and 4:46:00. The first round was a total slugfest. Sweat was dripping down my face as I focused on my monitor: “GAME!” The in-game announcer shouted. I lost the round. I still had one more chance. I wiped off the thought that this could be my last game. “3, 2, 1… GO!” Started the in-game announcer. In a span of a minute, I took 2 stocks off the Terry. My sudden rise in aggression must have put him off guard. Putting Terry in a desperate situation, he went for a seemingly safe power dunk (a move that Terry has), off the stage, to go for a kill. He missed. I saw my opportunity for a kill. I rushed towards the stage and performed a hand slap (a move that Donkey Kong has), and spiked Terry off the stage, turning the set into 1-1.

“This was it!” I cheered in my head. “I have a chance!”

My final round commenced. This was the deciding factor of whether I could fight the champion. I could not see anything around me–not my controller, my bed, or my door. I only saw my screen, as if I were immersed in it. “3, 2, 1,… GO!” again began the in-game announcer.  Donkey Kong jumped into the air, readying to stomp his foot in the air below Terry. Terry looked up in horror, realizing that he was about to be spiked! My eyes widened in excitement as I watched Terry drop away from the stage.

“GAME!” The in-game announcer called. I gazed at my laptop in the Google Meet with my coaches. Each commended me for my victory in coming back from the losers’ bracket to defeating the enemy. I learned the importance of resilience. Even though I was sent to the losers’ bracket and lost games, it was never fully over. At least in the game world, there’s always another chance.

And then, came the championship match…