Fourth Estate/Christian Segovia

Mason falls short in the Super Smash Brothers tournament at GAMEmason 2024

BY CHRISTIAN SEGOVIA, ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Editor’s note: Players will be referred to by their gamer tags.

On Sept. 21, GAMEmason hosted the Super Smash Brothers Ultimate Crew Battles tournament delivering high-stake actions as Mason faced Shenandoah University in the finals. With their eyes on the title, both teams showcased remarkable skill and coordination in this best-of-three series.

Each team started with 12 stocks of lives, three for each of the four players. If one team beat the other, the round ended with the losing team having three fewer stocks of lives. If a player won but lost one stock of life during the battle, in the new round, the next player would have to start with two instead of three.

Each round consisted of resetting damage meters with no items in place and players choosing the stage.

In series one, Mason’s team started with Drewtwo, playing Hero, taking down two Shenandoah players with one stock of life left in his round. Shenandoah’s Igloo, playing Yoshi, took down Drewtwo. Igloo would then take on Mason’s Ripcord with only one life stock left before handing it off to Shenandoah’s Willy. Willy took down Ripcord but not Mason’s Claytron, who closed series one using Mewtwo taking the lead 1-0 for Mason.

Going into series two, Drewtwo, playing Hero, and Shenandoah’s FarRhombus, playing Jigglypuff, had a close fight but Drewtwo took the win with one stock of life left. Shenandoah’s Igloo would go on to take down Drewtwo but would face a close fight with Ripcord, playing R.O.B, with Ripcord winning. Ripcord managed to get one stock of life off of Shenandoah’s Kipp, playing Pac-Man, before being taken down. 

Mason’s Antipop, playing King Dedede, and Kipp would come into a close fight before Antipop broke Kipp’s shield and won the round with one stock of life. Shenandoah’s Willy changed his fighter to Terry as Antipop knocked one life stock off him. Mason’s Lasag faced Willy in the series finisher.

Early on during the round, Willy evened out the stock of lives between the two opponents. While Lasag tried his best to land a few hits, it was Willy’s movement around the stage that kept him from getting hit, tying the series 1-1 and forcing a final round.

Mason’s Drewtwo came out hot in the final series, taking down Shenandoah’s FarRhombus without losing a single stock of life. Drewtwo continued his attack movements against Shenandoah’s Igloo. Breaking Igloo’s shield, Drewtwo would go on to take down Igloo with two stocks of lives left. Shenandoah’s Kipp ended Drewto’s attack streak in the next fight.

Following the round, Mason’s Ripcord faced Shenandoah’s Willy. Despite being taken down by Willy, Ripcord successfully took off one stock of life from Willy, setting up an even match-up for the next round. 

In the next round, Mason’s Antipop would forward aerial Willy, leaving him with one stock of life left. Nearly winning the series, Antipop would up aerial Willy into the air but Willy came back and took down GMU Antipop.

With only one stock of life left, Willy was up against Mason’s Claytron. 

Willy started the round sending a forward aerial to the left to knock one stock of life from Claytron. Leaving no space for a second stock of life, Willy sent a down aerial to the right side of the stage leading Claytron and Willy to face off on their last stock of life.

Despite Claytron’s efforts, Willy would use a down aerial and left forward aerial against Claytron, sending him off and losing the final stock of life.

In a close game between Mason and Shenandoah, it was Shenandoah who came out victorious with a 2-1 win, denying Mason their three-peat at GAMEmason.