Super Smash Bros. pandemonium is sweeping the Columbia area like never before. On Oct. 17, Columbia will host the inaugural play off in the Heart of the South tournament series, a tourney geared towards competitive gameplay of the mega popular Super Smash Bros. Melee and Wii U titles.
With gameplay slated to be held at the Columbia Convention Metropolitan Center, the tourney will gather the regional Smash Bros. gaming circuit, which proclaims a sizable community on the local campus, for an ultimate showdown of technicality and showmanship.
The event will boast a 14-hour marathon of competitive and friendly gameplay starting at 9 a.m., extending all the way up to 11 p.m. Ticket prices are $10 for those who pre-register or $15 at the door, with an additional $10 fee to participate competitively.
The competition will be the first of its kind, thanks to the more-than-$600 pot bonus being offered to the winner within the Smash for Wii U singles matchup. The competition is also expected to receive traffic from other southern states including Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, according to chief organizer Andrew Zah, a fourth-year media arts student.
“I want to see Heart of the South become a national, multiple-day event,” Zah said in an interview with the Free Times. According to the fourth-year, 130 people are already expected for competitive gameplay.
Third-year statistics student Reed Parker gave some insight into the game, the tournament and why he and so many others are enthusiastic about the event on Saturday.
"Having grown up with it [the game] I always wanted to win," Parker said. "I remember I'd always go visit family ... my cousins played a lot more sports than I did ... Smash Bros. was my thing."
Parker explained there will be two separate tournaments, one for the Wii U game, released in 2014, and the other for Super Smash Bros. Melee for Gamecube, which was released in 2001. Parker said he will be participating in the Melee tournament, which does not have a pot bonus for the winner.
"That's the other nice thing, of course, about going to any tournament is that people still just love to play this game from 2001," Parker said.
Zah urges competitive players and friendly players as well as any interested people to come out and support the event. “We always enjoy seeing new people come out and take interest in games that we enjoy playing,” he said.
The Heart of the South tournament series will be a major step toward his goal of turning South Carolina’s regional Super Smash Bros. gaming circuit into a major player within the larger national and international communities.